Where does the time go? January went by in a flash. I had a lot of posts I wanted to make, a lot of things I wanted to say, I had writing to do, I had zooming to do, meetings to attend, I had scripts to read, notes to give. There was travel, some for business and some for fun. There were friends to mourn, books to blurb. I saw a few good movies and television shows, that gave me some pleasure. The NFL did not. I missed most of the games this season, but that was probably a good thing, sinceit relieved me of having to write any of those “life is meaningless and full of pain” posts… though it was, the Jets were wretched and the Giants were worse.
We returned from our summer travels on August 15, and I had a ton of things I wanted to talk about. Instead of one long post, I decided to break up my trip and make a series of shorter ones. I figured I’d have it all done by the end of August. Well, no… I still have a worldcon to cover, and the Alfies, and my visit to Tolkien’s grave. I DID cover some of that… not in my Not A Blog, but in a rambling speech I gave at Bubonicon… but my phone screwed up and the video we made was lost, so my Not A Blog ended up being Not A Speech. Sigh.
Well, I will try to get to that later… eventually… for now, let me touch briefly on better news.
A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS, for starts. It’s done. Ira and his team wrapped the first season months ago, and moved right on to post production. I’ve seen all six episodes now (the last two in rough cuts, admittedly), and I loved them. Dunk and Egg have always been favorites of mine, and the actors we found to portray them are just incredible. The rest of the cast are terrific as well. Wait until you guys meet the Laughing Storm. and Tanselle Too-Tall.
A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS is an adaptation of “The Hedge Knight,” the first of the novellas I wrote about them. It’s as faithful as adaptation as a reasonable man could hope for (and you all know how increedibly reasonable I am on that particular subject). Viewers who are looking for action, and more action, and only action… well, this one may not satisfy you. There’s a huge fight scene here, as exciting as anyone could ask for, but there are no dragons this time around, no huge battles, no white walkers… this is a character piece, and its focus is on duty and honor, on chivalry and all it means. “The Hedge Knight” was published between A GAME OF THRONES and A CLASH OF KINGS in Robert Silverberg’s epic anthology LEGENDS, and was so popular that it brought tens of thousands of new readers to Westeros. Sales of my novels were much higher after LEGENDS than before, and for that I credit Silverbob, and Anne Groell, and Dunk and Egg. This one ranks as one of the best stories I’ve ever written, and I am so so so pleased that Ira Parker, Ti Mikkel, Aziza Barnes (may they rest in peace), Owen Harris, and our astonishing cast and crew did right by them.
The series will make its debut late this year, I am now told. How late, I could not say. Maybe in the fall.
I hope you will love the show as much as I do.
Meanwhile, we’ll be moving on to “The Sworn Sword,” the second tale of Dunk & Egg. And once I finish THE WINDS OF WINTER, I will need to get hopping on “The Village Hero,” and all the other tales that await the lads. Don’t worry, I am sure you folks will remind me.
Current Mood: 
excited
