Not jealous of LKH's writing, but definitely envious of this

[pith]

Laurell K. Hamilton said the following about Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book, as quoted in Neil's blog.

The Graveyard Book is a fairy tale, peopled with ghosts, vampires, werewolves, ghouls, and witches. It's a world where being dead doesn't make you less of a person, and the living can be more dangerous than the dead. After finishing The Graveyard Book, I had only one thought -- I hope there's more. I want to see more of the adventures of Nobody Owens, and there is no higher praise for a book.

I won't even go into the injustice that she gets to read this book before Gaiman fans do, simply by virtue of her fame. It does, however, raise the question: Clearly she's capable of reading books by good, sane authors, so why isn't that goodness and that sanity rubbing off on her?

ETA: Or perhaps a more important question: who would look to LKH for recommendations for kidlit/YA? Yikes. Yes, I know Gaiman has a built-in adult audience for almost anything he does, but....

Comments

[brightlotusmoon.livejournal.com]

I wanna read it! *pout* Oh, well. I can wait.

But if she DARES associate herself with Neil Gaiman's awesomeness, I will cut her.

[syrinx.livejournal.com]

Ditto.

[wonderbink.livejournal.com]

ut if she DARES associate herself with Neil Gaiman's awesomeness, I will cut her.

I thought she already had, albeit clumsily, in a previous blogflog. I'll have to dig to find it. On second thought, never mind, it would probably just piss you off all over again. (Or just make you laugh, since, like I said, she's so transparent and inept as she goes all "Lookit me! I R just liek Neel!")

[brightlotusmoon.livejournal.com]

It would make me laugh, because I'd find her ridiculous. But I'd be interested in reading the blog regardless, just so I can say, "Yeah, you wish, hack."

[arclights.livejournal.com]

Oh, she so did. IIRC (and I think I do), they were both at one of the big cons, and she was whining about how every time she went to smother Gaiman, he was busy/too ninja for her/whatev. And then she followed it up on how one day she needed to invite him out to dinner.

It was pretty painful, but lulzy nonetheless.

[brightlotusmoon.livejournal.com]

*falls over giggling* Go, Neil! I'll bet was avoiding her because he knew who she was. And I am sure that such a dinner might have consisted of LKH asking Neil if he thought she was awesome.

[arclights.livejournal.com]

I can't imagine that encounter going well at all. The logic is probably simple for her -- he's awesome, and she knows she's awesome, so obviously they see things the same way. She'd be telling him all about how her characters direct her writing/life/whatev and be expecting totally life-affirming encouragement and agreement in return.

And he's probably too nice to flat-out tell her she's bugfuck crazy. :/

[plum-arden.livejournal.com]

Wonder how jealous this would make her: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8315478@N03/2195257035/in/set-72157603721524238/

That's at Poppy Z. Brite's house. LOL! I thought that picture was cool before, and now I find it cooler by 643858743. :)

[brightlotusmoon.livejournal.com]

Awww! They're both so cute. What a goreous cat.
Poppy Z. Brite, hah! Laurell would absolutely be jealous.

[plum-arden.livejournal.com]

That kitty had a twin brother. One of the kitties died though, I can't remember what was wrong with it. Poppy was VERY sad.

And couldn't you just hear LKH right about now? "I'm SO much more famous than her! Why did he go visit her? Oh, woe is me! *wankwankwank*" LOL Poppy may be a little crazy at times, but you know, she listens to her fans, even the ones that wish she'd write horror again. She loves her fans. LKH..not so much.

[brightlotusmoon.livejournal.com]

I wonder if Laurell strives to be more darkity-dark than Poppy.

[plum-arden.livejournal.com]

Good luck to her. Poppy is darkity dark without trying. She has more gothness in her pinkynail than Laurell has in her whole body. And Poppy hasn't been goth or darkity dark in years. LOL

[brightlotusmoon.livejournal.com]

That's right, she hasn't.
I have yet to read a book more weirdly and grotesquely darkity dark than Exquisite Corpse.

[plum-arden.livejournal.com]

That book was disturbing. And very well written.

[brightlotusmoon.livejournal.com]

The ending scenes still give me nightmares.

[jamoche]

Tagged with "wank:namedropping":

http://community.livejournal.com/lkh_lashouts/295466.html

tldr version:
LKH: "Oh, look at me, I'm such buddies with Neil because we've exchanged the usual near-stranger chitchat at cons we both happened to be at!"
Neil's blog around the same time period in reference to LKH: *crickets*

[brightlotusmoon.livejournal.com]

I read all the comments and I'm still grinning. Wow, that woman is deluded.
And concerning LKH's review of The Graveyard Book along with the reviews of several other authors: Even though he didn't mention anything else about her, but I bet she know thinks they're best friends forever.

[graesea.livejournal.com]

Perhaps he sent her an advance reader's copy?

[muse-books.livejournal.com]

He did or his publisher did I am sure as other writers are also quoted in the blog.

He did give an advance copy to a friend of mine who has been a fan of his for years. That I know was a personal gift. There is also the odd review popping up in mags even though the book isn't out for afew months.

Pity the British - we have to wait until end of October for it. :(

[easol.livejournal.com]

I wonder if it's for a quote or something.

[cywrain.livejournal.com]

Other authors were quoted. I particularly like Diane Wynn Jones's comment about the book:

'This is, quite frankly, the best book Neil Gaiman has ever written. How he has managed to combine fascinating, friendly, frightening and fearsome in one fantasy I shall never know, but he has pulled it off magnificently - perfect for Halloween and any other time of the year.'

High praise indeed. Comments like this almost make up for the fact that LKH is commenting on a Gaiman book at all.

[tsubaki-ny.livejournal.com]

I'm inclined to agree with her.

He read from it at Comic-Con. If you ever get the chance to hear him read things, by the way, even on BOOKS ON TAPE... dooo eeeet.

[viridian5.livejournal.com]

I endorse this opinion. I heard him read from Coraline at a book signing, and he was great. My favorite part was him doing the voice of the mice.

[tsubaki-ny.livejournal.com]

Hey, the dollar is crap -- can you get it from Amazon.com? (I've been bad/indulgent and gotten Graham Joyce and Robin Hobb stuff from Amazon.co.uk when I was too impatient to wait. And the pound is NOT crap. You should not be deprived of your Gaiman. :-D)

[manekikoneko.livejournal.com]

I really hope it was his publisher. He's friends with Jonathan Ross and Steven Moffat and people I quite like, I don't want to think of Laurell getting to hang out with them.

[caudebac.livejournal.com]

And if Laurell is anyway associated with Moffat, Anita might crop in DW! >.<

Besides, LKH associated with Gaiman, Moffat, or even Simm hurts my brain. Although I could see Gaiman just indulging her with a gentle smile while slowly plotting to make her into the next crazy homeless lady in another book. :P

[tsubaki-ny.livejournal.com]

Yeah, he seems to be a pretty phlegmatic soul. (And he doesn't exactly have any REASON to care one way or the other. He's a colleague, not a disgruntled reader.)

I doubt he sent her an ARC, though. They came out in May and if you're connected to the business in any way, they're not that hard to get hold of. (Sadly, they have no Dave McKean pictures in yet.)

[cathellisen.livejournal.com]

They have the same agent, it's probably passed on that way.

[nicbemused.livejournal.com]

Don't they share an agent or something?

[easol.livejournal.com]

I believeth so.

[bludflower.livejournal.com]

There's no higher praise than Laurell's praise.

LKH: "I'm a better praiser than YOU GUYS! You all loose the praise contest! BOO-YAH!"

Ohh, Lordy...

[snipervalentine.livejournal.com]

I want to see more of the adventures of Nobody Owens, and there is no higher praise for a book.

Great. Now, on top of the rest of her insanity, she thinks she's Oprah.

[parafan.livejournal.com]

You all are assuming she actually read the book. To listen to her she is WAAAY too busy to read. She researches by calendar. My bet is on that she assigned it to one of her staff and used their comments to respond.

[no-ron.livejournal.com]

exactly! i wonder where she managed to cram in reading a whole novel inbetween all the whine-fest, "hard work", travelling, blogging and sexing with her "sweetie".
and how come she never even marginally mentioned it in her blogs?

[tsubaki-ny.livejournal.com]

*tries not to gloat* *fails* (http://tsubaki-ny.livejournal.com/128359.html)

(I think it may very well be his best, craftwise. His prose is always lovely -- now he's getting down the Pratchett-esque trick of having all the random elements matter and pay off, which he's previously always done better in his short works.)

(Granted, I would listen to him read the phone book and read him writing about failed Sumerian worm-farming systems. I am not impartial.)

[othellia.livejournal.com]

I think it's sad that Diana Wynne Jones' review is listed right LKH's. As if they were on the same literary level... *pouts*

[easol.livejournal.com]

Yargh! Howl trumps Whorenita in every way!