GAIMAN ON BARNES & NOBLE On Friday, October 9th, barnesandnoble.com welcomed Neil Gaiman to discuss Smoke and Mirrors. Neil Gaiman: Apart from having completely forgotten about the chat, I am fine. I am actually having one of those wonderful days that authors dream of. Today was the day that everything that I have done in the last year started arriving. So I got my copes of Neverwhere in paperback. My copies of Smoke and Mirrors. I got my first advanced copy of The Day I Swapped My Dad For Two Goldfish and the beautiful illustrated hardcover of Stardust so it was one of those productive days--I didn't actually do anything but I felt productive. Bella Luna from the heart of the dreaming: What's your favorite piece in Smoke and Mirrors, or any piece that means something special to you? NG: I suppose that I can point most easily to my favorite stories in there: there is one called The Wedding Present which I wrote while writing the book, while putting together Smoke and Mirrors and was just very happy and proud of. I think that Murder Mysteries and Snow, Glass, Apples are probably the best stories in there. I will always have very a very soft place in my heart for Chivalry. Jeff from Gladstone, OR: Hey, Neil! I heard about a Stardust novel coming out. Is this different from the hardcover? If so, does it have a lot more stuff, like the American version of Neverwhere did? NG: Not really, no, the version that will come out in January will be a mass market hardcover and I did a another draft because I had an opportunity, but I didn't expand it like Neverwhere, which increased about 18,000-20,000 words. The version will be without pictures for bookstores that won't sell giant books with pictures and for readers who want a magical fairy-tale for adults, so the DC comic hardcover is in a very limited edition and will only be available through comic stores and the Avon Stardust will be sold everywhere. Tony from New York: I hear there's a "hidden track" in Smoke and Mirrors. A hidden story. Is that true? NG: Kind of, yes. I figure that there are many people in this world who don't read author introductions so anyone who doesn't read the introduction to Smoke and Mirrors will have read one story less than the people who do. Pac87@aol.com from xx: Who would you consider your greatest influences? NG: Depends on the day of the week. I suppose G.K. Chesterton, R.A. Lafferty, Lou Reed, E.E. Cummings, Samuel R. Delany, and James Branch Cabell. Andrew Grafham from Reading, England: What music are you listening to at the moment? NG: Actually at the moment I turned off the music to hear the questions, but if I wasn't right now I have a 50 cd's on a 50 cd changer and pressed "random". The last 4 tracks that were playing before I started doing this were Stina Nordenstram, before that it was Portis Head song, before that it was a Michael Niman track from Drowning by numbers soundtrack and before that it was the Adverts--"Crossing the Red Sea." Costa from Dade Coounty, FL: Do you prefer writing novels or short stories? NG: I like doing best whatever I am not doing at the moment. The problem with writing a short story is that you begin by creating the world on the first page who you may or may not ever use again--you probably won't if you are me. In a novel, you have the joy of not having to make up the world every time you sit down but it is a marathon rather than a 100 yard dash and you do have to keep going. So, I prefer the other one at the time, but I love being able to alternate. I think I ma a tremendously lucky writer in that I seem to have a certain amount of facility in various amounts of media which means that I can go from short story to novel and I can go from comics to radio to TV, to movies and am blessed. Lucy Anne from New York: Where are your characters drawn from: fiction, real life, having a gift for observation? Even when the stories are about strange creatures, we always seem to recognize a little of ourselves in them, even if it is a funhouse mirrored view. NG: Most of my characters turn up either on the page or they turn up doing something in my head as images or daydreams. What I tend not to write on the whole is The Other. I tend to look inside of myself for most of my characters. People would ask which character in Sandman was me and I always told them all of them. Probably the most coherent account I ever gave us this was in Sandman 75, where I had Shakespeare try and explain where his characters came from. Martin from Vermont: I haven't read this book yet, but I can't wait. Are there any plans to make Neverwhere into a movie? Also, I heard that you would be writing another novel in the near future. Any word on that? NG: Yes, Neverwhere, I just handed in the third draft of the script which everyone is very happy with, to Jim Henson films, who will be making it in association with Denise DiNovi Productions. It will be directed by Jessie Dillon and is a lot of fun. I am very happy with the script. The book that I am writing right now is not the next novel, it is a children's book called Coraline which is a very, very scary book for children and probably too scary for adults to read. The books that I am starting in January is I think going to be a very, very thick novel and it has a working title of American Gods. Anubis from Kyben: Your stories are very much like those of author Harlan Ellison. Has he influenced your work in any way? NG: I just put Harlan's copy of Smoke and Mirrors in the mail to Harlan with a note telling him that he was probably "God father to many of them." I don't know that there is a specific thing you can point to, but Harlan's fiction has always been very important to me and he is still one of the most powerful short story writers we have. I am currently collaborating with Harlan on a short story which we began writing in front of a large audience in a roped off area of a convention and it is called Shoot day for Night. Rocky from New York City: Hi Neil, are you planning a promotional tour of the East Coast next year? If so, do you know if you'll be coming to New York City? NG: When Stardust comes out in hardback in January, Avon will be sending me all over the NOrth American continent to sign it. Last time I heard, it was going to be a 21 city author tour over about a month. So, yes, I am sure I will be signing in NYC. Maybe doing more than one signing in NYC. Keep an eye out in the second or third week of January. Because there are only so many cities you can visit on a 21 city signing tour, there will also be a authorless signing tour--where signed copies of Stardust are and cool stuff will be available at stores all over America in places where I wont be singing. Last Month, I signed 3,300 copies of Stardust for the authorless signings and didn't just sign them, but did my best to write something or do a drawing on each of them. Rocky from New York City: Hi Neil, Neverwhere was wonderful, are you planning to bring more of your work to television or perhaps the silver screen in the near future? Also, everyone enjoyed The Day I Swapped... is there another children's book to look forward to soon? If so, will you be working with Dave McKean again? Thanks and continued success! NG: Dave and I enjoyed doing the The Day I Swapped... so much that we think we will probably do quite a few children's books over th next few years. There is a sequel to The Day I Swapped... called The Day My Dad Went Out For Milk and there is a book called The Wolves In The Walls which is probably the next one that we'll write. And we have also been approached by a few animation companies wishing to do televised versions of The Day I Swapped... so that is half the question answered. I am talking with a number of TV companies in the US about creating TV for them. And we should see. I have no idea. Paul from Barnesandnoble.com: Thank you Neil Gaiman! Do you have any closing comments for the online audience? NG: Thank you all for coming online. I am sorry that I couldn't answer all your questions. Good Night. Back to the Transcripts-section.