Melville House Books

Photo: Sam Weller, Ray Bradbury, and Black Francis. Photo by Nathan Kirkman.

Below, Sam Weller reports back from his recent appearance with Ray Bradbury and Black Francis at Glendale’s Mystery & Imagination Bookshop. Weller is the author of Listen to the Echos: The Ray Bradbury Interviews, which is out today from Stop Smiling/Melville House. More posts, and some great photos from the Bradbury archives, are available here.

Well. That was insane. I’m going on two hours sleep. Just got back to Chicago. I’m writing this on my iphone, something I find myself doing with increasingly alarming regularity.  Point in fact, I wrote much of the introduction to Listen to the Echoes on said mobile device, while in Western Kansas.

Anyway, I’ve done a lot of book signings in the last five years, but I’ve never seen anything quite like that!

The book launch at Mystery & Imagination in Glendale, California is now behind me. I’m not even sure where or how to describe this weekend.

Two rock concerts courtesy of Black Francis of the Pixies. Cute kids running wild everywhere. The undaunted Ray Bradbury leaving his home for the first time in three months. Copious wine. Copious books signed, sold, and delivered. Copious new memories made.

I was joined on my west coast pilgrimage by Stop Smiling Books co-publisher JC Gabel, the man with more energy than a nuclear reactor, as well as by uber-talented photographer and man of high-hilarity, Nathan Kirkman. These gents kept me laughing for 72 hours straight.

The legendary Black Francis of Pixies renown drove down from his home in Eugene, Oregon with his wife and kids to sign books at the event. The day before the bookshop bedlam, I toured them around Ray Bradbury’s home and then we sat with Ray and chatted. Ray told tales of old Hollywood, and treated us all to the ever-magical tale of Mr. Electrico, the carnival performer who so changed his life back in September, 1932.

Black Francis (aka Charles Thompson) and his lovely wife Violet are such generous, creative, fun, giving people. I can’t thank them enough for coming to L.A. and doing the book event.

As for the guest of honor, Ray Bradbury was in fine form as he nears the 90-year marker. He was hilarious, profound, ever-giving, and he even dictated two new essays to me so that I can type them up. I will post one this week on this blog—Ray Bradbury, guest blogger! The man started writing as a child, first on brown butcher paper, then on a toy typewriter, now he is blogging.

Finally, the event itself in Glendale. The little shop of horror novels (and other fantastic fables and ephemera) was jamming! We sold out of the limited edition hardcovers. Former students showed up. People brought guitars for Black Francis to sign. Ray Bradbury, much to my amazement, just kept on autographing books and books and more books. We drank wine and had a grand time. Thank you to Malcolm and Christine Bell and the staff at Mystery & Imagination for hosting this rock and roll extravaganza. Thanks to all around great guy, John King Tarpinian, for helping promote this event, and for helping get Ray safely to and fro!

Thanks to everyone who came out yesterday and contributed to the chaos and the carnival.

Sam Weller is the author of Listen to the Echos and The Bradbury Chronicles. He has lectured across the United States on the life and work of Bradbury. Weller is the former Midwest Correspondent for Publishers Weekly magazine. He has written for The Paris Review and NPR’s All Things Considered, and was a host for the Chicago Public Radio program Hello Beautiful! A frequent literary critic for the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times and Playboy.com, Weller is also a professor in the Fiction Writing Department at Columbia College Chicago.