07/29/2008: "Odd things in my Mailbox"

Hi All,

Two posts in two days! What the hell's happening here?

Anyway, I get stuff in my mailbox. As most people do. Like, the other day I got an application to be a school bus driver. Just stuffed in the ole letterbox. I don't know who'd apply to random applications stuffed into mailboxes. Me, potentially. The other day I got this letter from France. I reprint it, with syntactical and grammar errors intact:

Dear Sir Craig,

I am a grandmother of 86 years, confined to my home by old age, and to make myself useful and leave a memory to my great-grandchildren, I thought to built for them a small collection of autographs which will testify to the era in which I lived. I would be very grateful if you could help me by sending me a document/letter, photo, book, signed or autographed by your hand. Thanking you in advance for your kindness of which I am now very grateful, and I send you, my very respectful greetings.

... It's all very nicely written, in a very neat and precise and untrembling hand. It seems so odd, not least of all because I've never made my mailing address public. Now I do appreciate being called Sir, I'm a real stickler for being called it, in fact, but why would an 86-year-old grandmother call me so? Plus why would an 86-year-old French woman read my book? And write in such wonderful English? She would most likely be the oldest person to have done so. Additionally, why would a middlingly-successful, violent, bizarre writer like me testify to the era in which an 86-year-old woman lived? I could only testify to, if anything, the perversion of her era.

Needless to say, I'm still sending her something. But it's weird, what you'll get in your mailbox.

More French news, this time on the movie end of things: After some back and forth, the film option to RUST AND BONE was picked up by Jacques Audiard, a French filmmaker:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002191/

So, that's very nice indeed. I've had most of my work looked at by filmmakers and my first book, THE PRESERVE, is now on a third-draft of its script, but as yet lacking financiers. So this is the first time I've, y'know, been paid for my work by a filmmaker. Mr. Audiard, as longtime readers of this blog may recall, was the fellow who's very nice brushed felt hat I spilled water all over at La Ronde, in Paris, when we met last year. So, my stumbling clumsiness aside, he's decided to press forward on the option. My thanks to him, and to Francis and Marie at Albin Michel. There's no saying a film will be made, but still, I think it's great the ball's rolling forward. I will keep everyone abreast of events as they unfold.

All best, Craig.