Sorry about that.

 The upload of the new sample chapter from THE WINDS OF WINTER created so much traffic to my website and blog that the servers crashed.  This is the first time I've been able to get up myself all day.

 Anyway, it seems to be easing off some.  And we are looking at ways to increase capacity.

 The "reviews" of the chapter have been amazingly enthusiastic as well.  Thanks.   I am pleased that so many of you — thousands and maybe tens of thousands, it would seem — enjoyed "Mercy" so much.

 I mentioned that this chapter had quite a history.  It's true.  The first draft was written more than a decade ago.  Originally, it was intended to be the opening Arya chapter after the infamous "five year gap," her first appearance in A DANCE WITH DRAGONS as initially conceived.   Then it was supposed to be a part of A FEAST FOR CROWS, after I abandoned the five year gap and split the books.  Then it was going to be the concluding Arya chapter in A DANCE WITH DRAGONS.  But it seemed more like an opening chapter than a closing one, so shortly before ADWD was published my editor and I agreed to remove it from DANCE and shift it over into WINDS.  Of course, it has been revised, tightened, polished, and tweaked at every step of the way, so the version on my website has some significant differences from the "five year gap" version.

Some of you who enjoyed meeting Mercy may not have found the other sample we've put out there of late, a new Tyrion chapter.  That one is live and available with the ICE & FIRE app, and can be found at

iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/george-r.-r.-martins-world/id570015223?mt=8

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.randomhouse.woiaf

Enjoy the read.

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Hiya kids, hiya hiya hiya.

With season 4 of HBO's GAME OF THRONES almost upon us, I thought the time was ripe for me to give my readers another taste of WINDS OF WINTER.  So I will shortly be posting a new sample chapter there.  (If you have not read the Arianne chapter that has been up there lo these many months, better do so soon, because Arianne will be coming down when the new sample goes up).

The new chapter is actually an old chapter.  But no, it's not one I've published or posted before, and I don't even think I've read it at a con (could be wrong there, I've done readings at so many cons, it all tends to blur together).  So it's new in that it is material that no one but my editors (well, and Parris, and David and Dan, and a few others) have ever seen before, but it's old in that it was written a long time ago, predating any of the samples that you have seen.  The first draft was, at any rate.  I've rewritten it a dozen times since then.

Anyway, I've blathered on about it long enough, I will let the text speak for itself.

Chapter title is "Mercy."

(And as with past samples, please don't talk about it here.  There are dozens of great places to talk about the books on the web, but this is not one of them.  If you want to talk about the chapter after you've read it, check out Westeros or Tower of the Hand or one of the many other great Ice & Fire sites).

Watch my website.  Coming soon.

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