I got myself a birthday present a while back and bought a digital ticket to an event with my local indie, Literati Bookstore. They had an amazing event where Jenny Lawson was going to be in conversation about her new book, Broken (in the best possible way). I adore Lawson and have read her other two books, Lets Pretend this Never Happened and Furiously Happy. My copy of Furiously is even personally signed, a very thoughtful gift from my brother who got to meet her at a store near his old apartment in Ohio. So hearing she had a new book was a delight. The event ticket came with a signed copy shipped to my house. It’s not personalized, but I’m still excited.
I was even more excited when I heard who was going to be conversing with her: NEIL GAIMAN! Yes, THE Neil Gaiman. Now, I’m not going to pretend to be the biggest Gaiman fan, but I’ve enjoyed a few of this books and recently watched the adaptation of Good Omens so he’s very top of mind for me. I read Good Omens in high school and since having this blog I’ve read The Ocean at the End of the Lane (and book club reflection). So the two together? This was well worth the price of admission.
A lot of the conversation focused on the relationship the two share. Gaiman was aware of Lawson when she was blogging heavily and was known as The Bloggess and the content she put there. This is the source of her first book, Let’s Pretend this Never Happened. Gaiman was blogging as well, using it as a ‘finger exercise’ before he got down to writing his fiction. He’s become aware of her because she’d blogged two lists, one a list of men you’re supposed to want to have sex with, and another of weird guys you’re not supposed to want to have sex with but do anyway. Gaiman appeared on the second list. He says it was the most flattering backhanded compliment he’s gotten. When Lawson was recording the audiobook for her first book, she was really nervous and texted Gaiman, asking for advice. He told her to ‘Pretend you’re good at it.’ If you’ve listened to her audiobooks, you know she kills it and this advise totally worked. She had the phrase written on her forearm for the virtual event and says she does this regularly for events. Often, someone in the signing line will cross out ‘Pretend.’ Gaiman is known well for this line and says often he’ll have someone ask him to write it on a part of their body at a signing which the person will then go get tattooed in his handwriting. One of the more mind-blowing things they talked about was that Neil will often email Jenny some writing in process and she was able to read a draft of The Ocean at the End of the Lane because he thought she’d like it (she did).
Lawson was asked about how she can write about her mental illness in such a lighthearted and funny way. She said that when something happens to her, she’ll begin to write about it, but she often has to wait until she’s away from a place of depression and anxiety before she can finish writing it.
Gaiman and Lawson’s favorite question was from an 11-year old fan who asked, “Who is your 2nd favorite Muppet?” Both agreed that Gonzo was their first favorite and that it was one of their favorite questions.
My husband could hear me laughing a floor away during this amazing event. Please consider checking out Literati no matter where you live. Their virtual events are open to all and they ship to all 50 US States.
Until next time, write on.
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Taking On a World of Words 