This week author Neil Gaiman released The Graveyard Book. Fans who flocked to see Gaiman at the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C. were treated to a sneak peek of this new book. With days before it hit stores, Gaiman read from The Graveyard Book and talked about how he found the idea for this book--and all his books.

"There's something in the swirl of existence when you stop and say 'That's a story.'" he said.

For The Graveyard Book, this moment of inspiration came for Gaiman about 23 years ago. He and his family had lived in a tall skinny house in England that had no yard for his young son to play in. So every day, Gaiman would carry his little son and a tricycle down long flights of stairs to the graveyard next door. His son would ride among the graves as Gaiman would let his imagination run wild. And this where he landed upon the idea to set a story in a graveyard where an orphan would learn secrets from the dead.

What seemed like an instant success, actually developed over years as Gaiman stopped and started the project many times.

"Every five or six years, I'd write a page of The Graveyard Book, look at it and think 'That's rubbish.'" Gaiman recalled.

Lucky for fans, Gaiman picked up his idea again six years ago and was determined to finish it.

"I decided I wasn't getting any better and decided it was time," he said.  

So now that The Graveyard Book is done and on bookstore shelves, Gaiman is touring across the country to promote it. Instead of the usual readings and signings, Gaiman has decided to take a different tact. Starting with chapter 1, on each stop of the tour Gaiman will be reading a complete chapter, city by city, until he has read the complete book aloud to fans. 

Maybe you can catch Neil Gaiman in your neighborhood. If not, you can settle with The Graveyard Book and read one very ghoulish story.