Day Whateveritis: Waterstones – Manchester, UK
Another hurried post – I’m out the door to make the reading here in Manchester in about twenty minutes. Been lotsa laffs, having fun, wish you was here, and now how about those promised photos? First, from yesterday:
Look who turned up at the signing in Milton Keynes! Although he became quite disgruntled when I misspelled his name (I thought he was Dale Ick, but apparently that wasn’t right), and began shouting EX-TERM-IN-ATE over and over, and waving a toilet plunger in my face. I had heard the British tended to be reserved, but obviously that’s just not true.
More after the leap.
Novelist Sarah Pinborough also turned up at the Milton Keynes event and was much friendlier than Mr. Ick or whatever it was.
I’d show you the pictures from the event in Birmingham but we kept losing the lights and so most of the reading was conducted in the dark.
And today, horror writer Ramsey Campbell and his wife Jenny appeared out of the Liverpudlian sunshine to drop in on my afternoon signing. Here they are:
Pro’ly no exaggeration to say if you don’t know the ghost stories of Ramsey Campbell, you don’t know ghost stories.
And a moptop like me can’t go to Liverpool without a stop in The Cavern:
It should’ve been a cheesy, embarrassing little tourist rattrap, but it wasn’t at all – it was beautiful and small and authentic.
And I’m out of time. More tomorrow, and possibly other pictures.
March 17th, 2010 at 1:46 pm
Hi Mr Hill. That was an honour to meet you. I really enjoyed what I have read of yours so far. I met you in Liverpool today I was the guy just in front of Ramsey Campbell (cant believe I didnt recognise him as I have read so much of his work) OH well..meeting one writer a day is good I suppose. I hope you keep up what your doing. I was going to try and chat and mentioneN.E as I made my first trip there last year on my honeymoon (York, Boston and Kennebunkport with a brief interlude at Hampton Beach) hopefully going to take my folks in 2012 for a New England Tour! so if you have any recommendations feel free to throw them my way. Also are you a fan of AC/DC like your dad? I am off to see them at Donnigton in June cant wait. We always want to chat to people we admire and I think it would have been fun talking to one another Horror fan…Take Care Adam
March 17th, 2010 at 2:06 pm
Joe, When you sign my book at Forbidden Planet can you include a set of devil horns. Thanks, Steve from upstate New York.
March 17th, 2010 at 4:56 pm
Ramsey Campbell!! Anyone who has ever worked in a bookstore really should read THE OVERNIGHT.
I hope you’re having a good time Joe. I heard they serve beans for breakfast over there. True?
March 17th, 2010 at 5:12 pm
BB…i heard that the curry over there is to die for.
March 17th, 2010 at 5:13 pm
OK, green beer for me tonight…
March 17th, 2010 at 5:17 pm
When is PS shipping out HORNS?
March 17th, 2010 at 8:30 pm
That’s no fair. (whine) You get to meet Ramsey Campbell and I don’t.
Actually, I never get to meet any of the people I like. Which is why I’m not REALLY whining. Or, as Andrew calls it, whinging. And he pronounces that Win-jing. I’ve always wondered if they pronounce Little Whinging that way in the Harry Potter books. IDK if she made up the town or not, but it would seem unusual to name a town after whinging, meaning ‘to whine.’
I hope Ramsey Campbell didn’t know you were coming, and it just happened by accident. Yes. That would be easier to handle. (hehe)
All this is making me miss talking to Andrew. He’s always so pleasant. A genuinely decent person.
Speaking of meeting people, I’d like to become acquainted w/ John Cusack. I watched that movie ’1408′ again, b/c I think he’s so hot in it. Only I don’t recall your dad ever writing 1408, much less can I remember when. I hope it’s a relatively recent movie, b/c that would mean John Cusack is that hot in 2010.
What can I say? I like looking at hot guys.
I like those sunglasses he wears in the movie. He looks Italian, but the name Cusack isn’t anywhere close to Italian.
You should also meet Graham Masterton. He’s a British horror writer too, and I was scared by his book ‘House Of Bones.’ It had the same theory of people melting into walls that Stephen Laws, another British horror writer, wrote in his 2003 book, Darkfall.
The reasons were different though.
My final word about your stay in Manchester is that J.K. Rowling’s boyfriend lived there. Back when she came up with the idea for Harry Potter, she was taking the train to visit her boyfriend in Manchester.
March 17th, 2010 at 8:36 pm
Mr Scratch Jr-
just finished Horns- we are all going to hell- but maybe thats ok? LOL
- i am too dumb to figure out the subtext- so please tell me what the heck (hell) was going on?-
Great characters – you know you are living in a wonderful novel when you want to follow the characters right out of the book-
-t
March 17th, 2010 at 9:56 pm
hey Joe! was great meeting you today in Liverpool,I was the girl who came in on her own in the purple coat if you remember, haha. Anyway hope you enjoy the rest of your tour!
x
March 18th, 2010 at 1:40 am
Dear Joe,
Wonderful to meet you at Milton Keynes, hope you enjoy your time in the UK, Best,
Glyn
March 18th, 2010 at 7:05 am
Blimey, I didn’t know that was Sarah Pinborough standing in the queue in front of me. Oh well, it was great to meet, chat for a micro second and of course get your signature(s). All the best
March 18th, 2010 at 10:39 am
Hi Joe…Really good to meet you in Liverpool (pink hair ha)
Cant wait to make a start on Horns!
Hope you enjoyed the city.
Lisa x
March 18th, 2010 at 11:28 am
Sarah Pinborough: rowr!
Ramsey Campbell: the best of the best. The Doll Who Ate His Mother! The Influence!
March 18th, 2010 at 12:37 pm
Daleks (or Dale-Hicks) are a national institution here
March 19th, 2010 at 9:08 am
I wish I could show that picture of you next to the Dalek to my friend. He’s always doing videos with those things in them.
He did a very adult video of one looking at the video ‘Two girls, one cup’ and being disgusted by what it saw.
Don’t look up ‘Two girls, one cup’ unless you want to be disgusted.
My friend says so anyway, and it takes a lot to disgust him.
Before that video, I didn’t even know he COULD be revolted.
March 19th, 2010 at 5:18 pm
Hey Joe, was great meeting you in Liverpool, I hope you enjoyed the city!
Thanks for my Dumb/Perturbed devil too, was a nice touch.
Keep doing what you’re doing, and hopefully I’ll see you again over here sometime real soon!
May 14th, 2010 at 11:14 am
Found you via Twitter!
“Dr Who” material caught my eye!
Visit at ‘Dr Who Revisited’
(Facebook)
May 15th, 2010 at 12:11 pm
I read Heart Shaped Box and was an instant fan. Just finished Horns. I have been a life-long fan of your Dad’s and don’t tell him but I think I like your style of writing better because though I love him he has a tendency to ramble sometimes. Something I haven’t noticed in your writing. I am looking forward to reading all of your books as they come out and want to thank you for giving me another wonderful author to fill my time. I am disabled and spend a great deal of time reading so I am very greatful for a wonderful new author. Thank you for brightening my day. I wish you a long and very wonderful career. God Bless.