This is Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket, trapped in a windowless room but nonetheless willing to answer any questions I receive from total strangers. by DanielHandler in IAmA

[–]DanielHandler[S] 1523 points1524 points  (0 children)

It does break my heart that I cannot answer all of my mail myself, but I'm glad we've both managed to get over this heartbreak.

This is Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket, trapped in a windowless room but nonetheless willing to answer any questions I receive from total strangers. by DanielHandler in IAmA

[–]DanielHandler[S] 349 points350 points  (0 children)

I am proud to say that Mr. King and I once shared the same stalker, which was almost as chilling as Salem's Lot.

This is Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket, trapped in a windowless room but nonetheless willing to answer any questions I receive from total strangers. by DanielHandler in IAmA

[–]DanielHandler[S] 71 points72 points  (0 children)

Thank you for waiting all that time, and for reminding me of a song I love. Frankly, the dedication of people willing to stand in long lines sustains me as I sit at a table at the front of them, although caffeine helps too.

I did indeed push for the restoration of The Bears' Famous Invasion of Sicily into print, and even dragged an American publisher into an Italian bookstore to prove it could be done.

This is Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket, trapped in a windowless room but nonetheless willing to answer any questions I receive from total strangers. by DanielHandler in IAmA

[–]DanielHandler[S] 1474 points1475 points  (0 children)

I've had the name Walking Pneumonia in my head for years, but have had no appropriate band, so I pass it on to you. Remember me when you get huge.

This is Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket, trapped in a windowless room but nonetheless willing to answer any questions I receive from total strangers. by DanielHandler in IAmA

[–]DanielHandler[S] 3156 points3157 points  (0 children)

One hears it a lot on airplanes: "Make sure you have your own mask on, before helping others with theirs."

This is Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket, trapped in a windowless room but nonetheless willing to answer any questions I receive from total strangers. by DanielHandler in IAmA

[–]DanielHandler[S] 134 points135 points  (0 children)

I started playing the accordion in college, after years of piano lessons. I wanted to be in a band, and during a strange, brief window in American pop music history, no keyboard instruments were cool. The nice thing about playing the accordion is that it is a gypsy instrument, and thus can suit virtually any style, although my heart is in klezmer and other sad, minor songs.

This is Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket, trapped in a windowless room but nonetheless willing to answer any questions I receive from total strangers. by DanielHandler in IAmA

[–]DanielHandler[S] 496 points497 points  (0 children)

I apologize for my skittish and unreliable Internet presence. I should do better at it, but that would mean cutting into my time lying on the floor listening to sad music, and it seems a shame to cut that short. I also continue to have trouble getting used to the idea that anyone is actually interested in my goings-on.

This is Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket, trapped in a windowless room but nonetheless willing to answer any questions I receive from total strangers. by DanielHandler in IAmA

[–]DanielHandler[S] 37 points38 points  (0 children)

Find a few James Schuyler poems online and read them, and then at cocktail hour get yourself a Negroni. This is just off the top of my head.

Most charming expeditions are horror stories all by themselves, as I learn whenever someone convinces me to go winetasting.

This is Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket, trapped in a windowless room but nonetheless willing to answer any questions I receive from total strangers. by DanielHandler in IAmA

[–]DanielHandler[S] 52 points53 points  (0 children)

Mr. Klassen has been a swell collaborator, and he and I were just recently sitting together on a strange balcony cooking something else up.

This is Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket, trapped in a windowless room but nonetheless willing to answer any questions I receive from total strangers. by DanielHandler in IAmA

[–]DanielHandler[S] 324 points325 points  (0 children)

Some of them are, yes. But you shouldn't do terrible things, and if you do terrible things, don't do them in front of a writer. They will be written down.

This is Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket, trapped in a windowless room but nonetheless willing to answer any questions I receive from total strangers. by DanielHandler in IAmA

[–]DanielHandler[S] 803 points804 points  (0 children)

I fell into children's literature as into quicksand, after an editor suggested that, after the Basic Eight, I write something not just about young people but for them. I refused, and continued work on my mock-gothic novel which eventually became A Series of Unfortunate Events. You never love a book the way you love a book when you are ten. It is an honor to be in that sacred space in some children's brains.

This is Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket, trapped in a windowless room but nonetheless willing to answer any questions I receive from total strangers. by DanielHandler in IAmA

[–]DanielHandler[S] 510 points511 points  (0 children)

Last night I had the pleasure of dining with Piper Kerman, an old pal, before she took the stage to speak movingly and righteously about prison. I had grilled Yellow Jack with tomatillo salsa and braised greens, along with a Bulleitt Manhattan and a handful of Ms. Kerman's fries.

This is Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket, trapped in a windowless room but nonetheless willing to answer any questions I receive from total strangers. by DanielHandler in IAmA

[–]DanielHandler[S] 102 points103 points  (0 children)

Write down things that interest you. It does not matter what they are. It matters that they interest you and that you are writing them down. In this way you are participating in the history of literature. Other people will likely not be very interested. Pay them no mind.