Neil Gaiman is the perfect gentleman celebrity. How he does it, how he can stand it, I don’t know, but he is truly caring and considerate of his fans. For example, yesterday I decided to go to the book launch for Blueberry Girl. Because there was a possibility of being introduced to Neil (by his editor with whom I’d been in touch) as I traveled down my congenital shyness started kicking in, but by the time I got to the bookstore and saw the crowd I figured it was pretty unlikely. And so I sat for a while with agent Barry Goldblatt watching the multitudes arrive and be directed to one line or another. Just as I was considering leaving, I met his editor and ended up seeing the presentation which was lovely — Neil giving the history of the book and reading the story, Charles doing a slide presentation about his illustrations, and even a brief Q & A . I had to leave, but he evidently signed for hours and hours and hours and hours. Not only that, he learned of a personal loss in the morning*, yet went on to do the event so as not to disappoint the fans. What a courtly and kind man he is.
*edited to add: It was his father. Having lost mine last year I can only feel profound sympathy and even more awe that Neil did what he did yesterday.
educating alice 