Ask Amanda Palmer and Neil Gaiman discussion
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Ask Amanda and Neil here!
Hi Amanda and Neil,Since you are, respectively, my favourite musician and my favourite author, I was very happy when I heard you were getting married, and when I found out you'd collaborated on some projects together. My question is: do you have any more collaborative work planned, and what medium would you like to use the next time you work together?
Thank you for being so engaged with your fans and answering our questions, and for creating so much art that I love.
- Rebecca
Hi Neil and Amanda!Just a quick one - What are your favorite spots in Boston/Cambridge, and why?
Thank you!
-Megan O.
Hi Neil and Amanda!I really have got nothing to ask you but can I ask you for something?
I've always loved writing stories just about anything under the sun. And as much as I love writing, I also love reading books. It's in the books I read that I get the drive to write. Do you have any advice for a young aspiring writer like me to improve myself and be someone like you guys someday?
Hello Ms Palmer and Mr Gaiman, and thank you for taking the time to give us such a treat and honor!My question:
Neil: You've spoken before about, early on in your career, doing what you thought would get you closer to "the mountain" in the distance. Have you had times when you didn't know where or what that "mountain" was? How do you find your path if/when you are unsure of the right direction?
To both: In your life and careers, have you had times when you are just not sure what to do or where to go from there? If so, how have you coped with uncertainty and been able to move forward?
Again, thank you! Keep doing what you do - Art can and does save the world.
Dear Neil and Amanda,This is not a question, just a thank you to both of you.
To Neil, for changing my life as a teenager when I discovered your Sandman series. It was my gateway into the world of comics and graphic novels and I've never looked back since.
To Amanda, this is a much more personal thank you. While I have not read all of your book yet, what I have read has been one of the influential factors in my going to the doctors today and finally starting the process of trying to address my mental health issues that I've been ignoring for over 15 years. Lots of things over the past months have led to me finally admitting I need help, so I'm finally asking and I'm now willing to take all the fucking doughnuts that anyone offers me.
I'm very much looking forward to reading your book in full, Amanda, and to following the works of both of yourselves in future.
Thank you.
Dear Mr. Gaiman,I just want to say that I love your books (I mostly read the kids stuff but Coraline and The Graveyard Book are classics, in my opiniion) I am just wondering if there will ever be a sequel to Odd and the Frost Giants.
Thank you.
Dear Mr. Gaiman,I'm your most devoted fan. Your stories accompanied me since my childhood. And they are inspiration for my works (I'm book ilustrator).
I am just wondering if you're planning to visit Poland once again? Because we prepared (actually city of Krakow prepared) special bench to read your absolutely amazing books. It is green with your name on it. Please come once again we will be most thankful and you could try reading or writing in your own green place in this beautiful city.
I dont know if the photos will upload (it's me (on the right) and my bff keeping you a place).
Thank you for everything.
Natalia
https://www.goodreads.com/photo/user/...
https://www.goodreads.com/photo/user/...
Mod
thanks ami! we're heeeeeeerrreeeeee
Hi Neil and Amanda!My question goes to both of you:
Which was the best piece of advice you've gotten about being an artist/writer and which was the worst?
Amanda, I've asked Neil this question but (besides Judy Blume!) what children's books are your favorites? (I use goodreads to keep track of the books my son reads since he reads far more than I do!) Thank you! Kate
Hello Neil and Amanda!What are your favourite music genres? Favourite bands?
I hope you are well xx
Seeing Amanda live in Chicago and singing happy birthday to Neil a couple years ago is still one of the best experiences of my life.My question is for both of you: when you're in a bit of a creative slump, what kind of things do you do to get over the first hurdle and start creating again?
Amanda, I got your book yesterday, I'm from Argentina. I love your writing style. Would you consider writing Neil's memoirs?
Dear Amanda,Thank you so much for The Art of Asking. It's wonderful and I love it.
Hi Neil,
I wanted to ask: If you had to chose one quote of all the Sandman quotes, which one would it be?
A big Thank you to both of you for taking time. You're awesome. And please excuse any mistakes I made, I'm not a native speaker.
What's the hardest thing about writing a book? What's the easiest?
AFP: I was lucky enough to catch The Bed Show at Bard last week. Loved it. Will you continue to work on the play? Any plans for future productions?I appreciate how both of you dabble in so many genres, with such great success--a testament to creativity, intellect, tenacity, and open-mindedness. Thanks for sharing yourselves with all of us.
Hello to both of you :)Forgive me if someone else has asked but would you ever consider collaborating on a novel?
:)
So I'm a huge fan of both of you and this question is sort of weird - because you're both amazing and brilliant and teem with gorgeous words and music, I kinda picture your nights at home together like a cross between a Tim Burton movie and a Ramones concert. But I'm sure that's not the case. So, when you both have down time, how do you spend your nights together?
Dear Neil and Amanda, I'm wondering how you stay committed to your art during times of depression. As someone who has a mental health condition that has been detrimental to my creative process, I'm definitely looking for any and all answers to this one.
Thank you.
Hello Amanda and Neil!Amanda, I just bought your book on Wednesday and I started to read it today.. I am honestly so into it! It's a great book, I got so interested into the whole Art of Asking after seeing your TED speech, you rocked it!
You and Neil are the cutest couple ever. :) Loads of love from Ireland! <3
I don't even know where to start...Amanda, I loved your book. I loved especially the parts about meeting, courting and otherwise marrying Neil.
Neil, are you ever going to write a memoir in this vain, about your similar experiences with Ms Palmer... or... HAVE YOU ALREADY?!? With a blender setting so high we wouldn't know at first read?
How do you both balance your creative work and family/marriage/etc time? It seems like you are both so busy with tours and work that it'd be hard to find time for anything else! (Not that I'm complaining when the results are so good!)
Another question for both of you, if I may...Which book would you recommend for a 10 year old to read, who is a slow reader and gives up easily when the stories are too long? He likes books, tries to read so many -- and either finds them boring or never finishes them. Examples for unfinished ones are: Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett, The Hobbit and Odd and the Frost Giant by you, Neil. He loved the stories in those, but didn't manage to finish the book. I'd love to get my son to read more, especially since I see how he struggles to find something he likes. Right now he's mostly reading comics and manga.
Thank you. (And any group member who wants to join in, feel free to give me advice)
For both folks.Do you view yourselves as artists whose creations leave you once they are available for public consumption or do they still live in your minds and hearts as they (and you) age? Does this change your relationship with the story/music or the fans who interact with both you and the material? Thanks for the entertainment and relief; you've both helped me immensely and I appreciate your art.
Mod
A joint question - would the two of you ever consider writing together? I'm actually thinking of a Mark Danielewski/Poe [bo..."
We're on the phone right now (she's in the Bay Area on book tour, I'm in New York) but we can answer that one together...
We've done lots of fun little projects together (the 8 in 8 songs, for example, and the EVENINGS WITH NEIL AND AMANDA) but we're both very aware that our biggest project is the marriage. And its nice to come home from things and grumble to someone who is nothing to do with it.
But we also love helping: I got to help Amanda shape the ART OF ASKING material as an editor, and she reads and comments on everything I write (and I listen to her comments, because she is smart). So there's an invisible collaboration in the background.
Truthfully, if I wrote a book that inspired Amanda to make a song sequence, I'd be thrilled, just as she'd be thrilled if a song of hers inspired me to write a book.
(Amanda has a section in her book THE ART OF ASKING about the Art-Blender, and how we've become living, fresh ingredients in each others' work.)
Hello Neil & Amanda,You two are so wonderful and awesome! When will you be back in Sarasota?
Thank you!
Margi
Hi Amanda,I'm Nad from Argentina, ¿do you have any plans on touring down here? Bring along husband, we love you both :)
N.
Hi Neil and Amanda!I am a huge fan, so thanks for taking the time to read this! Neil, i was wondering if you have a favorite among the characters you have written? Who was the most fun for you to write, and who do you feel you relate to the most? Do your favorites change as you write, or have you kind of had the same favorites all along?
Also, I was wondering how each of you deal with criticism to your work and creativity? I have been writing a lot of poetry lately, and have made it a personal goal to someday publish of book of poems, but i kind of live in fear of criticism i might get from it. Have either of you felt that? And if so, how did you move past it?
Thanks so so so much
Amanda
Good evening!Amanda, are you planning to come to the UK in the near future? ( pretty pleeeeease) ( I know Neil is coming, I already have the tickets for that event :) )
PS, you are the most awesome couple ever :)
Check out this fun party 4 the 10th Birthday of theRiffRaff statue in NZ featuring Richard O'Brien. Time for a Huge Time Warp Celebration down under :)http://www.riffraffstatue.org/page/ri...
https://www.facebook.com/events/30289...
Mod
@Neil, How do you transition from writing adult to YA and childrens novels? Do you find it difficult to make the switch? Is there something that doesn't change in writing for a..."
I don't know. I just wrote stories and mostly let publishers decide who they are for. When I handed in Coraline there was a certain amount of doubt as to whether it was for adults or children, but I was pleased the children's book publishers got it.
The craft of writing doesn't change. Writing for younger readers is probably slightly harder because you want to make certain that every word matters.
@Amanda Are you going to make a studio recording of the Nikola Tesla song? Tesla is epic. Or if you're not and you ever gig in Glasgow/Scotland again could you play it?
I am curious about your favorite books of the 2000s. Lots of love and hugs to you both, from Ankara/Turkey
Dear Amanda and Neil! Since I've read the Art of Asking, I can't help myself but wonder - how hard is it to have an open marriage? I know it's all about trust, I understand the concept, my brain does not have a problem with this.. but when I imagine my boyfriend sleeping with somebody else, it just breaks my heart. Did you have any trouble dealing with this?P.S. Amanda, I love you for writing the book, it was so true and sad and funny and I cried and cried. I especially love the parts when you write about Neil, it was so beautiful. Thank you for this.
Mod
oh good lord, yes. i just had a nice long discussion last night with armistead maupin about this, he was at my book tour show at the JCC in san fran (what an amazing writer and man...aghhhh). short story: yes. we are all constantly plagued by self-doubt, and it doesn't go away. i related the story about how i think neil's even worse than me in this department...i don't ever really get that sinking feeling that my songwriting skills will vanish. but neil's told me that he fears he'll sit down to write a book and the chops to write will have just vanished. (at which point i'm like: "really? you're neil gaiman. how many books will you need to write before that goes away?" answer: "∞"). i think it's just part of the artistic process, and probably healthy. if we didn't have the fuel of doubt, we might not run.
Amanda, I am about half way through the audio book of The Art of Asking. I have to say I have been moved to tears several times and laughed probably just as many times. It has come to me at the perfect time in my life as there are some things I really need to ask for. My question is how do deal when someone mocks your asking? You may answer this in the book but as I said I am not through it yet. This is something I really have a hard time with as someone I love mocks frequently in his quest to be funny and it just kills my heart...any advice? Neil no questions to ask just want to say I have read American Gods no joke at least 20 times and I love it...thank you for this book as it has been my escape when I needed it. :)
Thank you both
DEAREST Amanda, I have grown up with your music and ethos from the beginning of The Dresden Dolls to now- I find your voice enchanting and you give me great comfort when I need it the most.
My question is- do you feel your literary voice has evolved over the time you've been making music? I am looking forward to receiving your book for christmas (AHH!). When listening to your music I sense you maturing vastly throughout your career, so I'm excited to hear what the 'maturist' (who needs dictionaries?!) Amanda will sound like!
NEIL! You're fab, your wife is fab.
Love xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hi! I have one and the same question for both of you. How did you two exactly meet? And can you both describe the feeling of that and what it meant for you at that moment?
I admire you both as artists and as a couple, both you and your work are an endless source of inspiration for me.
I was curious to know if you guys have watched Hedwig and the Angry Inch and what you think of it? Amanda I could see you playing Hedwig on Broadway!!! Also, Niel have you begun working with John Cameron Mitchell on the film adaption of your book?
Thanks guys!!!
Ps-reading "the art of asking" as we speak at a cool restaurant I work in called Grey Dog! Stop by sometime!!!! Love the book. Love you both! Thanks for all the inspiration!!!!! Xoxo
Mod
Dear Amanda Palmer, which of the m..."
i'll type for both of us....
neil says....
favorite neil thing: the sleeper and the spindle
favorite amanda thing: the bed song
amanda says....
favorite neil thing: the ocean at the end of the lane
favorite amanda thing: always hard to pick, but i love the dresden dolls song Half Jack. it never gets old.
Hi Neil and Amanda! Serious power couple. Neil- What is your favorite part of the writing process? Also I made you a birthday card to bring to Boston on your birthday but I didn't get a chance to go, sad face.
Amanda- I can't wait to read your book! Also want to have a uke jam session sometime?
Thank you. Thank you, both, for giving me safe places to discover far off places and more about myself. Neil,
I have adored your books and comics for quite a while. I'm experiencing an entirely new joy in your books as I read them to my daughters and watch as new doors open in their minds and hearts. Thank you!
Amanda,
I've been listening to your new book on Audible and I only have 24 minutes left! I paused to write here... This is my first glimpse into you and your world, and it has changed me. We live very different lives, yet you reached into the depths of me and left your handprint on my heart. I didn't realize I had closed doors on my own heart. Shut down my own creativity for the sake of making it in my work world (where I don't entirely fit in). I'm going to make some changes, thanks to you.
Thank you, both, and take good care of each other.
Mod
I noticed your lead characters in Neverwhere, American Gods and Anansi Brothers love to drink, so I imagine you are a great drinking buddy so do you prefer wine, beer or spirits?"
I was a fabulous and fantastic and enthusiastic drinker in my twenties. Then I turned thirty, and suddenly a second glass of wine would send me to sleep. So I drifted away from drinking, much to the disappointment of my wife.
I love single malts, and good red wines...
Hello Amanda and Neil!I enjoy the work that both you do - although I was a fan of Neil's long before Amanda. I was surprised when you two got together because it seemed like something that doesn't happen in real-life.. so much talent individually already, and then as a couple. So cool!
My question is about why you create art. Do you create art more as a process of self-expression for yourselves, or more for others to enjoy? Although you both create art for the public, do you ever write anything that you don't share, just because it had to be created? I'm interested in what people find more important in art, the end result, or the process, or some combination.
Last question (someone may have asked) for Neil: Is there going to be a Sandman movie?
Hello to you bothThank you for being so engaging
This one particularly is more for Amanda- do you ever get tired of being so open? I know it's a massive part of your life, but does that ever drain you?
As soon as you have time please do visit the UK <3
You are both fantastic people. Thank you.
This question is for both of you together as well as individually.Between Amanda's showcasing of talented artists on her albums with the Dresden Dolls, her solo albums, and with Grand Theft Orchestra, Evelyn Evelyn, etc., and her involvement as a producer on "The Temple of Art" documentary directed by photographer and frequent collaborator Allan Amato, and Neil's "Make Good Art" speech, his career-long collaboration with illustrators, the recent "The Art of Neil Gaiman" book, and Neil's involvement as a producer on "The Temple of Art" as well, you both are clearly advocates of placing an emphasis on creative expression, especially in regards to the visual arts.
Where do you both see art intersecting with other expressive mediums, such as music or literature, and how do you see the internet, and social media in particular, as changing the way that people are exposed to art and consume art on a daily basis?
Hello Neil and Amanda! I have been a cosmic fan of the work you both do for years, and you have both been such an intense creative inspiration. BRAVO! And thank you for being brave enough to share yourselves with us. I am an artist, visual and performance, (sideshow/snakecharming/sworddancing/fireeating/glasswalking/bellydance goodness!) and my family and I are hitting the road next year with a stage show we are performing from a stage on our RV! We are SO gonna find you both and give you a free private performance for being such motivating and inspirational forces....The Art of Asking, in motion! <3 http://theclockworks.wix.com/theladyo...
http://theclockworks.wix.com/clockwor...
Rosie wrote: "Hello to you bothThank you for being so engaging
This one particularly is more for Amanda- do you ever get tired of being so open? I know it's a massive part of your life, but does that ever drain..."
I hope she comes to the UK too- went to her concert last year, by far the best night of my life!
Rosie wrote: "Hello to you bothThank you for being so engaging
This one particularly is more for Amanda- do you ever get tired of being so open? I know it's a massive part of your life, but does that ever drain..."
I was going to ask a similar question -- do you get "Compassion Fatigue"?
Ask Amanda Palmer and Neil Gaiman
Books mentioned in this topic
Hansel and Gretel (other topics)House of Leaves (other topics)
American Gods (other topics)
The Ocean at the End of the Lane (other topics)
There is lots of conversation and critique about The Art of Asking's lack of attention to privilege, wealth, and class. I think it's a vital conversation and one that we often avoid. Who is allowed to ask? Who isn't? Who is automatically seen as a beggar or a con artist when they ask? Is it more dangerous for some to ask than others? I know TAOA isn't a treatise on social inequality--but do you have a response to this particular critique?