That one time I met Neil Gaiman

This is a working weekend (they all seem to be lately), but I did get to take a quick break today and run over to University Bookstore. Usually, I'm there to sign my own stock...but today someone else was signing stock: Neil Gaiman! Neil has a big event in Seattle tonight, but I couldn't make it. So, my pals at U Bookstore told me it would be okay if I came by while Neil was in the store so I could meet him. I did, and he was absolutely wonderful. It's always amazing when you meet heroes, and they're such warm, friendly people!

Neil also signed Good Omens for me and one of my Sandman volumes. If you've read his stuff, you know he's a good writer, but those two works hold a special place in my heart. I read them in high school, at an age when the world was really opening up to me and I had so many ideas in my head that I was just trying to figure out. His writing, along with Marion Zimmer Bradley's, gave me a number of moments where I was just like, "Ah-ha! That's exactly it. That's what I was feeling and didn't even know it." I was quickly realizing the world wasn't black and white, and it definitely had a huge impact on me to know there were others out there who saw all the grays and nuances of life.

So, anyway, it was quite an honor to meet him. He said I was "magnificently pregnant," which is probably the best way I've heard it described. :) It was a sign of his easy-going nature that I wasn't as tongue-tied as I usually am around idols. If you don't know his stuff...well, it's all good. In books, I recommend Good Omens (written with Terry Pratchett), Stardust, and American Gods. And if you like graphic novels, you should be reading Sandman right now.