Once again, Twitter gives me a great contact!
Neil Gaiman, author of AMERICAN GODS: A NOVEL
,CORALINE
, and THE SANDMAN
, is on Twitter and, unlike a lot of the famous celebrities on Twitter, he does take the time to try and respond to those who Tweet him. I say try because he’s got over half a million followers and to respond to EVERY SINGLE ONE would take him forever and a day and we definitely want him to take lots of his time to write those novels that we all love so dearly.
At the end of May, I Tweeted him and asked if he would give me an interview. His response:
@kippras good blog! Not for a while. @fabulouslorrain is my assistant and is the person to talk to for things like interviews.
I’ve been kinda wondering if that means I can put somewhere on my blog that Neil Gaiman thinks my blog is good and if that will draw attention/followers/readers to it? ;) You guys know I’m kidding, right? But it did make my day
As you may or may not know, one of my favorite questions to ask an author is whether or not they use a thesaurus. My reasoning behind this is that, well, I use one, and it’s always nice to know if the authors that you admire has just a naturally large vocabulary or whether they use thesaurus’ (thesaurii?) the way you and I do
One of my Twitterpals, @kacsaful asked Neil that question and got the response:
@kacsaful I don’t use thesauruses much any longer. But I used to read them for pleasure as a boy.
And now the world can rest easy 

So I Tweeted Fabulous Lorraine and the Princess of NO kindly said NO for the interview with Neil, but that she would be happy to answer some questions for me if I would send them and be patient as to her responses.
I’m kicking myself now that I didn’t ask her about what five things she would want to have with her for the upcoming zombie apocalypse, but I’m hoping that maybe she’ll leave us a comment when she reads this post? Who knows? Neil, if YOU read this post, would you also be kind enough to leave us a comment as well? We can only hope
Hi Lorraine and thanks for the opportunity to interview you
I find it extremely interesting that you have been working with Neil for 17 years as his assistant. You’ve seen his climb to success from an interesting perspective. On Twitter, you told me that he needed help and you provided it. Can you elaborate on how you got the position? Did you know him beforehand or apply for the job? Is there anything in particular that you have learned from the past 17 years that you would like to share for posterity?
I started working for Neil when he moved to America 17 years ago, he had a new library and needed someone to put the books in order, and after that, there were more things to do, so I thought I would stay until things were done. I didn’t know him well, tho we had met, music types and writer types were all pretty connected in Minneapolis at the time, so I knew a lot of writers, and we met thru them.
What have I learned…. ???? The better I am doing my job, the more time he has free to write. Which is the most important thing.
I really, really liked AMERICAN GODS. It’s probably one of my all-time favorite books. Do you read all of Neil’s work? Do you have a favorite? I guess the big question I should have asked is: do you have TIME to read with all that you do and who is your favorite author, if you do? Yeah, the “favorite author” question is a bit funny, but it’s ok if you have a favorite author OTHER than Neil ;) We won’t tell him. Honest.
I do read all of his work. Sometimes I transcribe it, as he writes. (He writes with a fountain pen in a blank notebook) , like with the Graveyard Book. I think the Graveyard book is my favorite, but it’s a really hard call.
Time, yes, very hard to come by these days, but I do manage to read. OTHER than Neil, hard to pick, but I would have to say Martin Millar. I’ve read everything he has written many times over. His “The Lonely Werewolf Girl was the best book to come out since Robin McKinnley’s “Sunshine”

As a writer’s assistant, I know you probably get some really strange requests - in fact, I’d like to link your list of “What not to send to your favorite author” if you don’t mind. What are some of the weirdest things that you’ve ever been asked to do by a fan?
Link away! That was a fun essay. The coolest thing with Neil’s fans is that they are not what you would expect. They are extremely respectful , and even protective, of him. I do get requests, but the letters are really lovely, and phrased in the nicest terms possible, generally asking for things we can do, and then not wanting to be a bother. And if we can’t, I invariably get a note back thanking me anyway and saying they understand.
The stranger requests come from people in the business, not the ones we are currently working with, but in the past.
And one more question about your relationship with Neil: what’s the STRANGEST, oddest thing that he has either asked you to do or that you have had to do as his assistant?
Oh my. Well, there have been a few odd ones. One of the things I love most about my job is that it does really go all over the place. It’s 24/7 and whatever he needs, I need to be there and be really good at it. The bees are a good example, he had wanted them for years, and I told him fine, but NOT ME I have a Bee Phobia, and can’t DO it…
Long story short, we did send the Birdchick to bee school, but when the bees arrived, Neil was out of town, and I could not let my friend install the hives alone, and so got covered in Bees!
Which turned out to be one of the most life changing events of my life. Facing a fear like that changes you.
On your website, you talk about your love for Bengal cats and the adoption agency that you’re working with, Great Lakes Bengal Rescue. I’m familiar with Savannah cats and, when my two loving cats pass on, I am seriously thinking about getting a Bengal or a Savannah as they are absolutely some of the more beautiful cats I have ever seen. What started you down this path? What advice would you give to someone looking to adopt a Bengal? I travel cross country a couple times a year. Do they travel well?
I do love Bengals, I have two of my own, and another early generation rescue who is staying. And of course whatever fosters I have room for.
The best advice I can give anyone thinking about adopting a Bengal is DO YOUR HOMEWORK. There are a lot of myths out there. They are dommestic cats, but they are a lot of cat. They are bred from the Asian Leopard Cat, NOT a Leopard, (Lion, tiger, Scottish wildcat..) The ALC is an animial that can live with humans, and quite nicely, unlike the true wild cats.
But that said, a lot of people get them, and find out they are not cute little kitties with spots. They need a lot of time, and attention. Especially the early generation Bengals. You need to get one that is at least 4 generations away from the ALC. Early gen kitties need to be with people who know what they are doing, and they do have special needs.
The later gen kitties are wonderful, if you are REALLY a cat person, and want a really smart kitty who will love and bond with you like nothing you have ever had in a cat.
There are so very many in rescue right now, I have two that need to be in the just exactly perfect home right now. Bengals are expensive, pet kittens start at $600, but there are many in rescue that so need homes.
If your Bengal loves you, sure, depending on the kitty, they can travel. Mostly I would just say READ everything you can find on the breed, and then talk to people who have them. Write me, I’ll be happy to talk.
Also, what are these “Fiends” that you speak of? Can I join? Do I want to join?
The Fiends are what the people who post on my blog call themselves. No need to Join, just hop on in and have some fun. All you have to do is comment, say hi, they love everyone if their heart is good. They are gathering in MN at the end of June, from all over the US, Canada, France and the UK, believe it or not, for a weekend of , well, who knows? <g> All I know is my band will play.

You seem like a really fun person to know (and not just because you’re Neil’s assistant). I only know one other person who is a beekeeper and he’s a West Virginia circuit court judge. How long have you and Neil been beekeeping? What do you do with the honey?
We eat it. We are going to be doing a few auctions of the honey, for charity, but there may be less than you might think, chancy business, Bees are. We do share it.
-00-
After reading that, now tell me how fabulous she is! Thank you, Fabulous Lorraine!! Please feel free in the comments to let me know what you thought of the interview!
Pictures used by permission of Lorraine Garland