Here’s a shout out to all my friends and readers in Spain.

I should really write this post in Spanish. Unfortunately, I don’t speak Spanish. Alas, I have always been crap with languages other than English (yes, even Dothraki and High Valyrian, and those are simple compared to Ghiscari). I blush to admit that after living in New Mexico for more than thirty years, all the Spanish I have picked up consists of words like “burrito” and “sopapilla” and “chimichanga.” Oh, and “farolito,” but only around Christmas.

But never mind about my personal failings. I may suck at Spanish, but I love Spain. Parris and I have visited twice, and always had such a wonderful time. The Semana Negra, held every summer in Gijon, is one of our favorite conventions/ festivals/ fairs/ carnivals/ literary gatherings in the whole world, and we hope to go back again. And the Spanish fans are amazing.

So… here’s various bits of news just for my Spanish readers.

The HBO series will be shown in Spain on Canal +. We do have an official premiere date from them, I’m pleased to say. They will be airing the first episode on May 9.

Canal + has set up a Spanish website for the series. You can find it at http://www.canalplus.es/juegodetronos.

They’re also been translating many of the HBO teasers and trailers, and adding some original content of their own, including introducing and commentary by the noted Spanish filmmaker Alex de la Iglesia. You can check out some of the Canal + videos at http://www.canalplus.es/juego-tronos/videos .

Finally, I wanted to give a shout-out to our friends at the Generacion X bookshop in Madrid, who hosted a wonderful signing for us the last time I visited Spain. ((My fingers are still cramped from that one.)) If you’re looking for an Ice & Fire t-shirt, Generacion X is the place to go. They are now carrying a full line of tees featuring the heraldry of some of the major houses of the Seven Kingdoms : Stark, Lannister, Targaryen, Greyjoy, and Baratheon.

These are NOT the HBO designs, I should add. Those are available through HBO’s On-Line store athttp://store.hbo.com/ No, these are Generacion X’s own versions of the original line of t-shirts offered by Mystic Spiral Traders ( http://www.georgerrmartin.com/t-shirts.html ). The Mystic Spiral designs have been unavailable for some time (Parris lost her silk screener, is what happened, but does plan to reopen if she can ever find a new one half as good as the one she lost), but now, thanks to Generacion X, those great designs from Moria Peters and Raya Golden will once again be available.

Of course, the Generacion X shirts will not be exactly like Mystic Spiral’s versions. The text is all in Spanish, for a start, and our friends in Madrid have played with the colors some, and used their own inks, fabrics, etc. But they’ve sent us a big box of the shirts, and we think they’re nifty… so if you’d like a tee with a Spanish flair, give them a ring.

You can email the shop at gestion@generacionx.es or phone them in Madrid at 91-447-07-46. They have a website too, I believe, but just now I can’t seem to find it.

So… that’s the latest from Spain. Parris and I both hope to return for another Semana Negra soon. Until then, we send all our best to our friends at Generacion X, Canal +, Gigamesh, and of course the wild and wonderful fans of Asshai. Let’s have another chorus of “Un Oso…”

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Does anybody ever really know what day it is? Does anybody really care?

Well, you would… if you had an official SONG OF ICE AND FIRE CALENDAR.

Reports are in on the 2011 calendar, with Ted Nasmith’s gorgeous castle paintings. Looks like it did quite nicely, thank you. If you missed the chance to pick up one of these… well, hey, you can still pick up one on Amazon, I think. And it’s only March! Still lots of months left!

Meanwhile, John Picacio continues to paint up a storm on the 2012 calendar. At last report he had completed eight of the twelve paintings, with two more very close to completion and the last two roughed out. John’s approach is very different from Ted’s — characters rather than castles — but just as spectacular, I think.

The 2012 calendar should debut at the San Diego Comicon in July, but it is already available for preorder on Amazon. Check it out.

Random House and I share the same hope for these calendars: we want to make them an annual event, like the long-running Tolkien calendar, with each year featuring a new take on Westeros and its peoples by one of the world’s leading fantasy artists.

And with that in mind, we’re pleased to announce that we’re signed the artist for the 2013 calendar — the wonderful MARC SIMONETTI. Marc first came to our attention when he painted four stunning covers for the recent French reissues of the series from J’ai Lu, covers that have also been seen on the Brazilian editions. Here’s a look:

I hope you are all as excited as I am to see Marc return to the Seven Kingdoms with twelve new and original paintings. He’s already sent us his first color sketch, and it’s a stunner.

For more information about our amazing artists, I encourage you to visit their respective websites… and don’t forget Michael Komarck, who did the FIRST Ice & Fire calendar, the ill-fated 2009 calendar, which was (through no fault of Michael’s) gorgeous but cursed.

TED NASMITH: http://www.tednasmith.com/
JOHN PICACIO: http://www.johnpicacio.com/
MARC SIMONETTI: http://marcsimonetti.artworkfolio.com/
MICHAEL KOMARCK: http://www.komarckart.com/

I feel privileged to have my world brought to life by all these guys… and I hope we can keep doing calendars for twenty more years, since there’s a lot of other artists I’d love to turn loose on Westeros. (Yes, in case you haven’t guessed, I love great SF and fantasy art)

Oh… and I should also mention that there is a possibility that HBO may put out their own calendar as well. Nothing definite on that front yet, but it’s being talked about. If it does happen, of course, it will feature photographs of the actors, characters, and scenes from the television series, quite different from the “art” calendars Random House is doing.

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… I’d hammer some more on Kong, actually.

Hey, but I CAN have a hammer. And so can you, thanks to the good folks at Valyrian Steel, who have just unveiled their design for King Robert’s warhammer.

Alas, you can’t order the hammer just yet. We’re still in the design stage, but I have approved these drawings, so the next step is the prototype, which is now being made. Once I approve that, production can begin. And along about there somewhere, Valyrian Steel will begin taking orders.

For more details, check out their website at http://www.valyriansteel.com/

Yes, it is a big hammer. A very big hammer. Going to be heavy as well. I insisted on that. After all, it says right in the book that Robert’s warhammer was so huge and heavy that only someone with his own freakish strength could wield it. So I kept telling them, “bigger, bigger.”

Valyrian Steel has done some lovely versions of Longclaw, Needle, and Ice (all of which remain available from their store), but I think the hammer is my favorite to date.

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It’s a helluva town. The Bronx is up and the Battery’s down. The people all ride in a hole in the ground. Also, it’s the headquarters for all your GAME OF THRONES merchandising needs.

Just check out the HBO store at 1100 Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue, for you out of towners). The shop was transformed last night into the official GAME OF THRONESD headquarters — the first and only one of its kind the world.

All of the merchandise from HBO’s on-line shop will be offered at the store. The shop has also gas props straight from the set on display, and GAME OF THRONES content running on the multimedia components. So it’s museum as well as a shop.

HBO plays to update continually over the next several months with rotating displays, official merchandiing and promotions.

So New Yorkers… get down into that hole in the ground. Visit early! Visit often! OOOOHHH and AAAHHHHH.

And while you’re in town, have a pizza for me at one of the many great NYC pizza places.

This is the best thing to happen to NYC since the Giants won the SuperBowl.

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Comcast has announced that they’re partnering with HBO to promote GAME OF THRONES:

http://blog.comcast.com/2011/03/get-ready-for-game-of-thrones.html

Be sure to check out the videos at Xfinitytv.com. New stuff there, and expanded versions of trailers seen before. I’d embed them here, but there are so many.

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And of course no primer for the Seven Kingdoms would be complete without House Targaryen.

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There’s lots, lots more to come.

April 17 creeps ever closer.

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And herewith everyone’s favorite lions, the Lannisters of Casterly Rock.

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Once more, thanks to HBO and TV.com.

A Lannister ALWAYS pays his debts…

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HBO is rolling out so many goodies these days that I can hardly keep up.

The latest: new “House” videos for the Houses Lannister, Baratheon, and Targaryen.

Herewith House Baratheon. Meet the stags.

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I’ll embed the other two in separate posts.

Enjoy.

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If the talk I hear is true, you guys ain’t seen nothing yet.

HBO is really pedaling the show.

Especially in the New York area. Lucky New Yorkers. They get the good pizza, and this…

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The HBO is having a sale on GAME OF THRONES merchandise.

Twenty per cent ( 20 %) off… but today only!

http://store.hbo.com/

Just sayin’

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