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NFL Draft, Round One

April 27, 2012 at 9:18 am
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Obviously, I should never go on long trips just before the NFL draft. I was woefully unprepared this year, having barely glanced at the stack of pre-draft magazines I always buy, and I’d hardly seen any mock drafts at all.

And I fear, without the help of my telepathic advice from Santa Fe, that Rex Ryan and Mike Tannenbaum may have made a terrible mistake. I am not at all happy with their choice of Quinton Coples. Yes, we needed a pass rusher, sure… but there were a lot of them on the board when the Jets turn arrived at 16, so I cannot understand why they chose a kid that all the draftniks seem to agree is a physically gifted underachiever who gives minimum effort and does not really love the game. Coples has Vernon Gholston II written all over him.

And I fear that Evil Little Bill, picking later, got a much better prospect at a lower slot. Actually Evil Little Bill and the despised Pats got TWO terrific players, who will vastly improve the Pats D (of course, bad as it was, there was no place to go but up). How does he DO that, year after year? A Satanic pact, methinks…

The Giants, picking last in the round, had fewer great options, and ended up choosing a running back. Well, okay… with Big Brandon gone, we need a new RB to spell Ahmad. This Wilson guy has blazing speed and is very elusive, they say. That’s good. Maybe he can return punts and kickoffs. The G-Men have sucked at both for the past couple of years. On the other hand, they also say he fumbles a lot. That’s less good. I have to hope Tom Coughlin can fix his fumbling, the same way he once fixed Tiki Barber’s.

Cleveland had a good first round, I think. Miami picked their latest QB bust, by all reports. And reached for him as well. From everything I read about this Tannehill kid, they will do better sticking with Matt Moore.

Based on this single round, though, looks as though Belichick tightened the Pats grip on the AFC East for years to come. The Jets, Bills, and Dolphins did nothing to improve their teams, while the Pats got significently better on D. mutter mutter mutter

The Panthers got the player the Giants really needed.

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Home Again

April 26, 2012 at 10:44 am
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Got home last night, and slept and slept and slept.

This morning I feel almost human.

It was a great trip, but a long one. I am glad to be home.

Tons and tons of stuff to catch up on, of course. So much email… so much mail mail…

Best get to it.

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Signed Books for Britain

April 23, 2012 at 7:24 pm
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Back in London again, doing more interviews and signing more books.

if you didn’t get to any of my previous events, I did a couple of drop-in stock signings today at two London bookshops, Foyle’s in Soho and Forbidden Planet on Shaftesbury. While the supply lasts, both of them should have plenty of autographed copies of my novels.

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Last Day in Lisbon

April 22, 2012 at 9:33 am
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Portugal was grey and rainy, but the fans here could not have been warmer. We had amazing turnouts in both Lisbon and Porto, I did a hundred interviews and defaced thousands of books, stocked up on port and ginja, and now it’s back to London for a few more days. Come Wednesday I will be flying home… just in time for the NFL Draft!

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Off to Portugal

April 17, 2012 at 7:36 am
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See you in Lisbon.

And/or Porto.

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Last Day in London

April 16, 2012 at 9:13 am
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Today’s my last day in London (for this part of the trip). I’ll be turning up at the London Book Fair and taping some interviews there for HBO, then heading back to the hotel to pack for Portugal. Off to Lisbon in the a.m.

Was down on Oxford Street yesterday afternoon, and I popped into the Waterstone’s there and signed all their stock. So if any of my UK readers want a signed copy or three, that’s where you’ll find ’em… while the supplies last.

The day before, we caught WAR HORSE on stage. AMAZING show. More impressive than the film, I think. The puppetry is magical. We also got to meet several of the actors. My thanks to my friends at HBO for getting us the tickets, and to John Bradley West for helping set up the backstage visit.

ANd before THAT was our after-hours HarperCollins party at the Tower of London, else wise known as The Publishing Event of the Year. Turns out I have readers amongst the Beefeaters.

So, yes, you can say, this has been a swell trip.

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Season Three

April 11, 2012 at 12:21 am
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Yes, it’s official.

HBO has ordered a third season of GAME OF THRONES.

Like the first two seasons, it will be ten episodes long. This one will cover (roughly) the first half or thereabouts of A STORM OF SWORDS, the third novel in the series.

I’ll be writing the seventh episode, with the working title “Autumn Storms.”

Full details can be found at a dozen other places on the web, so I won’t rehash ’em here. Just wanted to pass along the news to my faithful readers.

We had a grab event tonight at the Bloomsbury Theatre. Now I’m tired. Night, all.

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London Towne

April 10, 2012 at 1:38 pm
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Busy, busy… still in England, now in the heart of London… we had a smashing visit to Bath, with a great event at Toppings and tourist visits to the Roman Baths, the spa, the Assembly Rooms, and the Royal Crescent… then it was back to Heathrow for the (sold out) Eastercon. Biggest and best Eastercon ever, by all reports. It was great to see so many old friends, and to make some new ones.

Meanwhile, back at home, GAME OF THRONES won the prestigious Peabody Award.

This evening is the big London signing and interview at the Bloomsbury Theatre. See (some of) you there!

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