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Happy Halloween

October 31, 2014 at 11:22 am
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My life just keeps getting more and more surreal.

I thought it was pretty odd last year, when the GAME OF THRONES – inspired Halloween costumes offered for sale on the internet included not only Jon Snow, Dany, Melisandre, and other characters from the show, but also one based on me.  Whoever heard of dressing up as a writer for trick or treating?  I've never seen a Stephen King costume, a Scott Fitzgerald costume, a Herman Melville costume.  But there it was, a George R.R. Martin.  "It can't get any weirder than this," I thought.

Hoo boy, was I wrong about that.

This year, believe it or not, PLAYBOY has unveiled a "Sexy George R.R. Martin" costume.

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I can't say that I've ever had a thing for bearded women, but I have to confess, Sexy George R.R. Martin is… er… sexy.  But there is something deeply disturbing about being turned on by yourself.  Stranger than incest.  Or even twincest.

There's a video too.  Check it out, along with some of the other strange 'sexy' costumes PLAYBOY has come up with, at

http://www.playboy.com/articles/halloween-costumes-2014

I am frightened to think what next Halloween may bring…

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Home From the Apple

October 31, 2014 at 12:22 am
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Amazing week back east.

Thanks to our friends at HBO, we got to see Alan Cummings in CABARET.  Incredible.  The movie is an all time favorite of mine, but this was the first time I've seen it live on stage.  Hard to believe anyone could equal the performance of Joel Grey as the emcee, but Cummings does it… thought his take is very different.  We had great seats too.  A night to remember.

Next day I took off to Providence with Tom Doherty, for an evening at Brown University, where both of us were honored with their new literary award.  I have passed through Providence dozens of times on the Acela, travelling from Boston to NYC, but this was the first time I got off the train.  It's a beautiful city, though, and the Brown campus is gorgeous.  For those of you were not able to attend, here's a video:

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 My thanks to the good folks at Brown, and all the students who attended the event and the reception afterwards (which was great fun, albeit too short).  While in Providence, I also got to visit the grave of H.P. Lovecraft… who, sadly, failed to rise from the dead to greet us.

Then it was back to New York, with a brief stop in New Haven for pizza.  This trip we tried Modern Apizza, which has its fans.  Pretty good, I thought, but not as good as Frank Pepe's.

Come the weekend, I spent Saturday with my family in Bayonne.  On Sunday, we had tickets to the Jets game.  The horror, the horror.  What can I possibly say about the Jets game?  The Jets turned over the ball six times.  Could have been eight, but they recovered two of their own fumbles. Geno Smith threw three interceptions in the first quarter alone.  Geno is hopeless.  Rex finally went with Michael Vick, who was better… but Vick is not the answer either.  He's on the downside of his career.  Rex should give Matt Simms a shot.   I miss Sanchez.  I miss Chad Pennington.  I miss Joe Willie Namath.  Anyway, it was a painful morning, made worse by the fact that we seemed to be sitting among the Buffalo fans, all of them cheering wildly every time the Jets screwed up.  (That being said, two of the Buffalo fans were fans of mine.  They said hello when I finally gave up and got up to flee… and refrained from pouring salt in my wounds, which was very kind of them).

Sunday night was much better.  That was the big event at the 92nd Street Y to launch THE WORLD OF ICE AND FIRE.  A full house, and all of them went home with a copy of the book.  Here's the video for that one:

http://new.livestream.com/92Y/GeorgeRRMartinLive

On our last day, I appeared on LATE NIGHT with Seth Meyers, which was a hoot and a half, especially since Amy Poehler was there as well.

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Of course, I also signed a thousand books, did interviews with New York magazine, the Wall Street Journal, Al-Jazeera America, and George Stephanopoulos, had dinner with my editors and publishers at Bantam, lunch with HBO, some Papaya King dogs with X-Ray and Mr X, breakfasts with friends from DC Comic, Barnes & Noble, and Simon & Schuster…

And while I was there, I had not one but TWO new books come out, and immediately hit the bestseller lists.

Weeks like that don't come very often.

(Nonetheless, as always, it is great to be back in Santa Fe.  Coming back to New Mexico is always a joy).

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Does anyone want to win a free copy of The World of Ice and Fire?

October 30, 2014 at 1:13 pm
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Follow the link below to enter and win an exclusive HIGHLY RARE boxed edition of TWOIAF today

http://atrandom.com/WOIAFsweepstakes/?attribution=grrm_notablog

Sorry USA contestents only 🙁

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This Message was brought to you by the Minions of Fevre River

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A WORLD OF ICE AND FIRE Releasing TODAY!

October 28, 2014 at 8:30 am
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The long anticipated release of the official untold history of Westeros happens TODAY.

It boasts 300 pages of back story and original artwork by the some of the world's top fantasy illustrators.  This one-of-a-kind coffee table book contains maps, folk lore, detailed family histories, and endless insider information dealing with the world of Westeros.  Providing vividly constructed accounts of epic battles tackled by famous heroes, and their journies before becoming important figures in the Song of Ice and Fire series.

Co written by the illustrious Elio Garcia and Linda Antonsson masters of Westeros.org, the World of Ice and Fire is a true insiders perspective on all things Westeros and a little bit of Essos too.

Here is a quick video:
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This message was brought to you by the Minions of Fevre River-

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The Ice Dragon coming out today with New Art

October 21, 2014 at 8:00 am
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Today Tor is releasing THE ICE DRAGON back out into the wide world with brand new art by LUIS ROYO.

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This message was brought to you by the Minions of Fevre River.

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No Fun

October 20, 2014 at 10:29 am
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The NFL was certainly the No Fun League for me this week.

The Jets lost on Thursday to the despised New England Patriots.  The Giants lost yesterday to the hated Dallas Cowboys.  So not only did both of my teams go down, but they went down to their most bitter rivals, two teams I loathe.  Gak.

The Jets played a much better game than most expected, it must be said.  Rex Ryan is a terrific coach, but I fear he is going to be fired at the end of this season.  He shouldn't be.  The fault is not his.  The GM has simply not given him enough to work with.  Starting at the QB position.   The Jets are not going anywhere with Geno Smith or Michael Vick behind center.  Bring back Mark Sanchez.  Bring back Chad Pennington.  Bring back Vinnie Testaverde.  Hell, bring back Joe Willie Namath.  Or maybe give Matt Simms a chance…

The Giants… well, losing Victor Cruz was a crippling blow.  Though I do have high hopes for our new WR, Odell Beckham.

But I don't think this is playoff year for either of my teams.

The Jets did make big news over the weekend by trading for Percy Harvin.   He's an explosive player, and they only gave up a 6th round draft choice to get them, so that may help some.   Will it help enough to save Rex Ryan's job?  I fear not, but one can hope.

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More Interviews

October 11, 2014 at 12:19 am
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Here are some more interviews, from my summer travels.

First, one more from San Diego Comicon, this one mainly about the Avengers and their profound iuence on my work:

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From the Edinburgh Book Festival:

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Here's one from London, before worldcon.

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More London, after worldcon:

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And here's a big one, my post-con event with Jane Johnson and Robin Hobb at London's Freemason Hall:

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Last, but definitely not least, is a radio interview I did with Mahvesh Murad, a charming young journalist / dj/ talk show host from Pakistan. What made this one fresh and different was that Mahvesh invited me to select ten favorite songs to play during the program. That was a lot of fun, and surprisingly hard: I could easily have come up with fifty songs. Anyway, check this one out, and you will also get to hear some great bands and singers, and some songs that, for one reason or another, have inspired and influenced me.

https://soundcloud.com/cityfm89/georgerrmartin-on-89-chapters-with-mahvesh

Happy listening.

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Wheels

October 4, 2014 at 8:27 pm
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Had a great time last weekend at the Santa Fe Concorso, the biggest auto show in the southwest. I love old cars (our family never had enough money to own a car when I was a kid, so I walked and rode the bus and assembled plastic models of cars when other kids were building fighter planes), and there were some amazing ones on display.

The best of show can be seen on the Concorso's website, here:

http://santafeconcorso.com/about.html

Beautiful cars, no doubt, though there were so many on display that I would have been hard pressed to pick if I had been a judge.

I did take pictures of some of my own personal favorites.

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Those were all cool — especially that 300SL Gullwing, a car I loved when it was only a plastic model on my desk in 1962. Got to love that Tucker too. I mean, hell, a Tucker.

The BEST part of the weekend, though, was the Concorso invited me to exhibit my own new wheels, a custom-painted Tesla Model S.

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I am pleased to say that my Tesla was the hit of the electric car division (not that the Volt and the Leaf that flanked me provided much competition), and always seemed to have a curious crowd around it.

FWIW, I bought the Tesla a couple of months ago, but with my recent trips to France, Switzerland, San Diego, Scotland, England, and LA, I have hardly had time to drive her. Something I am looking forward to doing over the next few months. But, yes, she's gorgeous, she's comfortable, and she goes like a bat out of hell.

(And yes, I still have my old Mazda RX-7 too. What can I say? I hang on to things. And it won't be long until that RX-7 is old enough to count as an antique too).

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New York, New York… and Providence Too

October 1, 2014 at 6:33 pm
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October has arrived, the leaves are turning, and I am headed east.

The U.S. hardcover of THE WORLD OF ICE & F IRE is scheduled for release on October 28, and Bantam is bringing me to New York to help launch it.

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I will be making an appearance on the Seth Meyers show on Tuesday, October 28 and doing an event at the 92nd street Y with Laura Miller on Sunday,October 26.

http://www.92y.org/Event/George-R-R-Martin.aspx

Tickets for the latter are still available, but they are going fast, so if you want one, move quickly. I will be signing a thousand copies of THE WORLD OF ICE & FIRE for the Y, and the ticket price will include the autographed book.

((Sorry, no plans for other signings while in the city)).

I will also be turning up in Providence, Rhode Island on this trip. Brown University is honoring me with the Harris Literary Collection Award, and I'll be attending a dinner there on October 23 to accept. My friend Tom Doherty, esteemed publisher of Tor Books, is also being honored. It will be a real delight to share the journey, and the moment, with Tom. Brown students will have first dibs on tickets to that one, I am told… I'll add a link here as soon as I have one.

((Never been to Providence before, aside from speeding through it on the Acela. If I have time, I will try to make a pilgrimage to H.P. Lovecraft's grave, which I believe is required of anyone who has ever written horror)).

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