19 March 2004
Oh My Dear Goodness.
I have just had the most exciting night EVER.
How, you ask, on earth could you have a more exciting night than Kylie Minogue? Or the Love Actually premiere?
Well, I can and I did. Drumroll please...
I MET JASPER FFORDE!
For those of you who aren't cool enough to have read his books, Jasper writes these comedy/thriller/suspense/drama/anyothergenre books about a detective of sorts named Thursday Next. The first book in the series is The Eyre Affair, in which Thursday interferes with the plot of, you guessed it, Jane Eyre. Brilliant, simply brilliant. He uses all these classic characters, i.e. Mr. Rochester and Jane Eyre, in funny ways. If you ever read a book recommended by me, read his!
So I get to the bookstore an hour early--I didn't know how many people to expect, and I thought an hour was a good amount of time. Turned out I was right. I was able to snag a seat in the second row (I could've had my pick of the first row, but then I felt I would have been too close, you know?) and so I settled down with the book I'd brought along. All around me, people slowly started taking seats until they were all filled up. In the end, there were many people who stood in the back, so I was glad I'd gone early.
At 7ish, the man himself strides past. I was surprised, cause I thought he'd have come in through the back or something equally tricky as that. He begins by telling us about how the book, Well of Lost Plots, came to be ("horitcultural ineptitude"). Apparently he'd written in the first UK version of The Eyre Affair that daffodils bloom in summer, when they bloom in spring. So that brought about the whole idea of a book upgrade, etc. I knew most of this from his website. Then he told us about the special features section on his website that we could access if we used the correct password from the Well of Lost Plots (I also already knew about this). He read to us the section about how the Book came to be (you'll know what I mean after you read it) and told us all sorts of funny things. He has that British, dry sense of humor, which I adore. Oh gosh, I can't even remember what else.
He then answered questions, and I asked, "If there was no such thing as copyright, which character would you have loved to use?" I was somewhat disappointed when he gave the same answer as he did in the WLP special features section. I was hoping for something different. In any case, other people asked questions about his focus puller work, if there'd be a Thursday Next movie ("not unless I make it"), and which book he'd step into ("Alice in Wonderland would be fun").
Finally, the autograph session. I didn't know what to say to him, so I asked if I could get a picture and his girlfriend, Mari, took it for us. He said my flash was complicated looking, which it is, as it emits, like, 5 flashes. I made some small talk about Minnesota, cause I knew he'd made a tour stop there. He said he thought it was snowy and cold, but that he and Mari had liked the skyways, cause "you'd never have to go outside."
Afterwards, I considered hanging around to see if there'd be an afterparty or something, but decided I had had enough excitement for one day. So I headed home, and typed this.
I still can't believe it!!!!!!!!!!! I was shaking the entire way there and shaking the entire way back to my dorm. I can't wait for the 4th book to come out; it sounds really really good! And it's out in August!!!!!
Another interesting tidbit I just remembered: The Eyre Affair was meant to be a stand alone, and it is. Whereas his 2nd, 3rd, and 4th are a sort of trilogy. That's why the Well of Lost Plots felt to me somewhat like filler; after all, the 2nd book of a trilogy usually is, in the way of The Two Towers. Oh yes, and funny bits about his first books. First book was about Humpty Dumpty's death ("why would someone kill a 180 pound egg?"), second about Goldilocks and the Three Bears. I'm just trying to record bits and pieces for myself so future me will remember! Focus puller was fun job.. in tight knit community as well as prime spot on set. Erm.
I have just had the most exciting night EVER.
How, you ask, on earth could you have a more exciting night than Kylie Minogue? Or the Love Actually premiere?
Well, I can and I did. Drumroll please...
I MET JASPER FFORDE!
For those of you who aren't cool enough to have read his books, Jasper writes these comedy/thriller/suspense/drama/anyothergenre books about a detective of sorts named Thursday Next. The first book in the series is The Eyre Affair, in which Thursday interferes with the plot of, you guessed it, Jane Eyre. Brilliant, simply brilliant. He uses all these classic characters, i.e. Mr. Rochester and Jane Eyre, in funny ways. If you ever read a book recommended by me, read his!
So I get to the bookstore an hour early--I didn't know how many people to expect, and I thought an hour was a good amount of time. Turned out I was right. I was able to snag a seat in the second row (I could've had my pick of the first row, but then I felt I would have been too close, you know?) and so I settled down with the book I'd brought along. All around me, people slowly started taking seats until they were all filled up. In the end, there were many people who stood in the back, so I was glad I'd gone early.
At 7ish, the man himself strides past. I was surprised, cause I thought he'd have come in through the back or something equally tricky as that. He begins by telling us about how the book, Well of Lost Plots, came to be ("horitcultural ineptitude"). Apparently he'd written in the first UK version of The Eyre Affair that daffodils bloom in summer, when they bloom in spring. So that brought about the whole idea of a book upgrade, etc. I knew most of this from his website. Then he told us about the special features section on his website that we could access if we used the correct password from the Well of Lost Plots (I also already knew about this). He read to us the section about how the Book came to be (you'll know what I mean after you read it) and told us all sorts of funny things. He has that British, dry sense of humor, which I adore. Oh gosh, I can't even remember what else.
He then answered questions, and I asked, "If there was no such thing as copyright, which character would you have loved to use?" I was somewhat disappointed when he gave the same answer as he did in the WLP special features section. I was hoping for something different. In any case, other people asked questions about his focus puller work, if there'd be a Thursday Next movie ("not unless I make it"), and which book he'd step into ("Alice in Wonderland would be fun").
Finally, the autograph session. I didn't know what to say to him, so I asked if I could get a picture and his girlfriend, Mari, took it for us. He said my flash was complicated looking, which it is, as it emits, like, 5 flashes. I made some small talk about Minnesota, cause I knew he'd made a tour stop there. He said he thought it was snowy and cold, but that he and Mari had liked the skyways, cause "you'd never have to go outside."
Afterwards, I considered hanging around to see if there'd be an afterparty or something, but decided I had had enough excitement for one day. So I headed home, and typed this.
I still can't believe it!!!!!!!!!!! I was shaking the entire way there and shaking the entire way back to my dorm. I can't wait for the 4th book to come out; it sounds really really good! And it's out in August!!!!!
Another interesting tidbit I just remembered: The Eyre Affair was meant to be a stand alone, and it is. Whereas his 2nd, 3rd, and 4th are a sort of trilogy. That's why the Well of Lost Plots felt to me somewhat like filler; after all, the 2nd book of a trilogy usually is, in the way of The Two Towers. Oh yes, and funny bits about his first books. First book was about Humpty Dumpty's death ("why would someone kill a 180 pound egg?"), second about Goldilocks and the Three Bears. I'm just trying to record bits and pieces for myself so future me will remember! Focus puller was fun job.. in tight knit community as well as prime spot on set. Erm.