Anything But That

[ephemeralthings.livejournal.com]

I...I found something terrible today. This community has been discussing the way that LKH tries to ride on Gaiman's coattails of awesomeness for months, and even I've gotten a little bored with it. (It's induced eye-rolling and the comment, "That's nice, Laurel." *pat, pat* "Now go off and play with your friends.") But before today, I kind of thought the connection was all in LKH's head. After all, it seems that's the place where many things live. (Oh, owww. Mental squick. I just thought about what goes on in her head. Bad idea. Very Bad Idea.)

But no.

On Amazon, the page for Neil Gaiman's "The Graveyard Book" quotes LKH in the editorial review section.

I feel the strange urge to cry now, and I'm not even a huge Gaiman fan.

"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." -- Laurell K. Hamilton, author of the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter novels
-Amazon

www.amazon.com/Graveyard-Book-Neil-Gaiman/dp/0060530928/ref=pd_ys_shvl_title

Comments

[rodentfanatic.livejournal.com]

"There is no higher praise for a book"?

I don't think she meant to word it like that (to me, it reads like she's saying that a book could get no higher praise than her saying she wants more) but if she did, then she should be slapped.

[delilahkanes.livejournal.com]

Oh, god. That was my interpretation too.

Now that Neil Gaiman has LKH's endorsement, maybe he will finally be able to sell a couple of books to put food on the table. Here's hoping, you guys!!!!

[ephemeralthings.livejournal.com]

Oh, I don't know. I don't think he'll ever make it as a 'real' writer. Not like LKH at any rate.

[easol.livejournal.com]

He needs more long-haired bisexual bishies, bizarrely inappropriate similes and random sex scenes for THAT!

[ephemeralthings.livejournal.com]

Indeed. Although can you imagine Gaiman's version of the Anita books? The hair would come to life and strangle people when its owners weren't paying attention. Actually that could work. Oh dear.

[easol.livejournal.com]

I like that idea. Love it, actually. Especially for Nathaniel.

[notadoor.livejournal.com]

There's a short story writer named Kelly Link who has at least one story involving sentient hair.

(It's in a collection called Pretty Monsters. I don't know if it's out yet.)

[http://users.livejournal.com/_shiisa_/]

*steps between Neil and LKH, waving a cross at the latter* VADE RETRO!

[unrund.livejournal.com]

unrelated but: ICONLOVE *hearts you* May I nab this Icon?

[http://users.livejournal.com/_shiisa_/]

The phrase was from some t-shirt I couldn't afford, so I made this icon instead! Yes, no problem, feel free to nab it! *quite flattered*

[unrund.livejournal.com]

*nabs*
It is awesome. I shall employ it often and with abandon *grins and pets icon*

[http://users.livejournal.com/_shiisa_/]

:D *hands over half-chewed blankie and a few cans of whiskas* have fun!

[manekikoneko.livejournal.com]

This is actually printed on the back of the book. It's a little horrifying. But on the upside, once someone starts reading Gaiman, they can't possibly look at LKH the same way. Maybe some of her readers will be drawn in by the endorsement and come to realize how crap she is in comparison.

[ephemeralthings.livejournal.com]

No! It's actually on the book? Oh, poor Gaiman.

[dameruth.livejournal.com]

Well, at least she was expressing admiration and enthusiasm, rather than saying, "It was pretty good but it needed more sex and slaveboi men with long hair."

If she'd said *that* it'd be crosses, stakes and Holy Water time, you can bet . . . but she was *trying* to say something good.

[ephemeralthings.livejournal.com]

Especially since i'm pretty sure the book is geared towards young adults. Ick.

[dwg.livejournal.com]

Oh, no no no. IIRC, Laurell and Neil shared the same agent for a while (they still do? I'm not sure) and she met him at some con and was understandably dazzled by his awesomeness. Again, there was a blog about it a while ago (here (http://blog.laurellkhamilton.org/2007/07/comic-con-part-q.html) and here (http://blog.laurellkhamilton.org/2007/09/glad-its-friday.html). phear my google-fu) where it's like they're totally BFFs now.

Course, what happens in reality and what goes on in LKH's skull may not be the same thing.

But oh, language. No higher praise for a book because she wants to see MOAR? *headdesk*

[ephemeralthings.livejournal.com]

Despite LKH's inherent ickiness, the review isn't actually tragic. It is very LKH-centric, but as we all know, the universe is.

[manekikoneko.livejournal.com]

Neil himself has mentioned LKH exactly twice on his blog -- once in reference to the blurb in question (http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2008/07/misc-stuff.html), and another occasion in which a fan questioned Neil (http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2007/06/come-to-dance-macabray.html) on the fact that he and LKH both used the expression "Danse Macabre."

(The longer blurb he mentions sounds better than the shorter version used on the book.)

[cat-empress.livejournal.com]

I love your icon. So much. Just watched that episode the other night - those two never get old.

[saucyirishlass.livejournal.com]

The Royal we - ur doin it wrong.

[notadoor.livejournal.com]

Personally, I don't find her blurb terribly arrogant or Laurell-centric. I interpreted it as "the highest praise a book can get is a reader demanding more of the story. As a reader of this book, I want more." And that's something I totally empathize with.

Neil Gaiman can get blurbs from pretty much anyone he wants. I would assume that if a blurb from LKH showed up on his book, it's because he chose it.

[ephemeralthings.livejournal.com]

That is possible. I'm not sure how the blurb thing works - if the publisher chooses it or if the author does. (Although I bet the publisher chooses it. I don't think most authors get a lot of input.) And like I said in my comment to dwg, the quality of the quote isn't in question, at least it isn't for me, but I just don't see LKH as a part of Gaiman's literary circle. (Unless, of course, he writes porn under a pseudonym, which would be hysterical now that I think about it.

You're right though. The wanting more thing is a sign of a good book, and it is something we all can relate to.

[manekikoneko.livejournal.com]

The blurbs on the cover, besides LKH (who's at the bottom) are from Holly Black (Spiderwick Chronicles), Joe Hill (Stephen King's son, who published last year), Audrey Niffenegger (who also apparently does graveyard tours in her hometown, and is mentioned for such in the acknowledgments), and Peter Beagle (The Last Unicorn). If I had to guess, I'd say the quotes were chosen by the publisher to appeal to a range of potential new readers through children's lit across adult horror. LKH is probably just a demographic.

I just looked at Amazon, and it's all the same blurbs, but in a different order. On the book they're in the order I listed them, ending with LKH. When you put them all together, the most glaring thing is that however she meant her praise, Laurell can't even write a very good blurb. Hers is a bit bland compared with everyone else.

[easol.livejournal.com]

It might be because of the Coraline movie coming out soon. They might be trying to snare lots of new readers, both for the movie's success and for Gaiman's literary success.

[cheeky-duckie.livejournal.com]

Ditto. I can see how maybe new readers might go, "LKH? Ick," but only if they were familiar with her writing and didn't like it.

[pith]

Neil had mentioned this on his blog back in July (see our post).

I still want to know why an LKH quotation is on there. Like I said before, I know Gaiman's fans span the age spectrum, but this is a book geared to YA. LKH does not write YA, and the tweens and teens who read her stuff would probably not appreciate a Gaiman book anyway.

[red-rose-remix.livejournal.com]

If I had to guess, it's because Neil doesn't write to cater to a specific audience -- and LKH's endorsement may guarantee a book that could be quantified as YA isn't just written off as such.

...Though really, I'm pretty sure they could've found someone better for that. Robin McKinley, maybe.

Then again, after thinking about it a little more, I remembered that one of my friends got into LKH when she was in her teens and omgLOVES the books, so maybe it's targeting the darkity-dark kids in a subversive effort to encourage them to read good books.

[easol.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm reading it and I don't see anything TOO darkity-dark. Spooky in patches, but with a sense of humour LKH can only dream of.

And Robin McKinley could still have worked! She wrote "Sunshine," so they could have credited her as the author of that darkity-dark novel...

[red-rose-remix.livejournal.com]

Yes! Precisely! *Just read Sunshine a couple weeks ago* Exactly what I was thinking.

I haven't read the Graveyard Book yet, so I can't exactly speak for its darkness. I'm just hazarding guesses as to what marketing genius decided LKH ought to give glowing praise of a book that is potentially full of dark material (judging strictly by titles).

I'm still hoping for the subversive "Look kids! Good writing!" tack.

[cathellisen.livejournal.com]

They have the same agent. So there is a connection there.

[othellia.livejournal.com]

Like Pith said, I remember this quote from awhile back. On a different but slightly related note...

Laurell K. Hamilton, author of the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter novels

I was like... "Vampire Hunter? She hunts vampires? Wha... OH. Oh yeah. Forgot." The phrase just looks... foreign to me now.

[easol.livejournal.com]

I put a strategically placed MP in there.

[othellia.livejournal.com]

MP?

[easol.livejournal.com]

HuMPer.

[easol.livejournal.com]

I saw it too, but I wouldn't get too worked up about it. I think the publishers handle that sort of thing, not the author.

Perhaps the publishers decided on her because of all her burblepraise of Gaiman, ensuring that she would give a favorable comment.

"and there is no higher praise for a book."

Because she is an Arteeste, and her literary taste is impeccable!

[scarbie.livejournal.com]

*lmao* It's been a long time since I've checked in on what LKH was up to. I didn't know she was on Neil Gaiman's nuts like that.

I'm going to play Devil's Advocate and say that LKH meant that wanting to see more stories featuring a character is the highest praise for a book. We already know she has problems with writing.