Specifically For Neil Gaiman

As an avid fan of Mr. Gaiman, a far more talented storyteller than myself, I'd like to offer this brief commentary to him or anyone following him.

Today, my fiance Kate informed me that a couple of years ago, the Star-Tribune wrote about a stink that had been risen over the fee Mr. Gaiman charged for a speaking engagement at a library.  $45,000 is what was paid out.  As a result, people got uppity, because he'd done several free talks and speaking engagements at other library events.

However, he'd already made arrangements for that, and as the man has said himself, he charges that sort of fee to discourage people from hounding him in droves. 

That's not my point, though.  My point is this; as a storyteller, Mr. Gaiman is undoubtedly one of the most talented I've had the pleasure of reading from.  Conversely, people don't seem to bat an eye anymore when one of the Palin family brood charges hundreds of thousands of dollars for a single one-to-two hour engagement. 

Frankly, those numbers should be switched.  Both Sarah and Bristol Palin are bigoted, self-righteous ninnies who espouse ignorant right-wing nonsense lacking in entertainment value.  Mr. Gaiman's fiction offers more magic, mystique, and insight into the human condition than any number of speeches or reality shows from those two ever could.

In short; $45,000 is small change for Mr. Gaiman's time.  However, Mr. Gaiman, if you could ever find it in your heart to convince someone to invest half that much money in a small-press author like myself, you wouldn't hear me complain.  Being a fellow author in the Minneapolis area, that'd make it even easier!  (just kidding, I'll get there eventually by my own efforts and skill).

Cheers.