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Jets Crash

December 20, 2012 at 1:35 pm
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As bad as that blowout the Giants suffered at Atlanta was, the Jets’ loss to the Titans was worse.

As horrible as that Jets’ 7-6 win over Arizona was, the loss to the Titans was worse.

A hideous game. Too hideous to write about.

And the aftermath is even worse. Sanchez to be traded? (Who would want him? He leads the league in turnovers, and his salary and cap figure are through the roof. What would they offer, a bag of used jockstraps?) Tebow wants out. (Who could blame him?) And next season, the rumor mill insists, Gang Green may start over again with…

…. Michael Vick.

Michael Fucking Vick.

No, thank you. I don’t want Michael Vick on my team. If he comes here, I guess I root only for the Giants until the Dogkiller departs.

I guess I have only one shred of hope left to cling to. Maybe this Greg McElroy kid is the new Tom Brady. Yeah, he’s a seventh round pick, but Brady was a sixth rounder. Maybe McElroy is the real deal…

Or maybe the horse will talk.

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Giants

December 16, 2012 at 1:58 pm
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Life is meaningless and full of pain.

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Late Night Khaleesi

December 11, 2012 at 1:14 pm
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For those who missed it, Emilia Clarke was on Jimmy Kimmel last night.

Have a look.

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She gets lovelier every year.

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Time for a New Calendar – Redux

December 10, 2012 at 6:20 pm
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We’re well into December now, and time is running out on the year, and your 2012 calendar. So I thought I’d update my plug about all the nifty 2013 calendars out there.

First off, there’s an astonishing SONG OF ICE AND FIRE calendar for 2013, with art by Marc Simonetti.

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You can get that one via Amazon at

http://www.amazon.com/Song-Ice-Fire-2013-Calendar/dp/034553154X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354065445&sr=1-1

or from your favorite local or online bookseller (no, alas, it is not likely to show up at one of those calendar kiosks that pop up in malls around Xmas, they prefer to feature only their own calendars).

Maybe you loved the 2012 calendar so much that you’re slavering for more John Picacio art, however. That’s cool too, and as it happens, John is going into the calendar business on his own through his new company, Lone Boy. He’s doing a “greatest hits” compilation of some of his favorite cover paintings, launching it through KickStarter.

See here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1143812835/the-2013-john-picacio-calendar

Now, for something completely different, there’s the Literary Pin-Up Calendar put together by Patrick Rothfuss and friends.

The art is by Lee Moyer, and all of the proceeds will go to Worldbuilders on behalf of Heifer International. The art is by Lee Moyer, featuring sexy (but tasteful! tasteful!!) pin-ups of characters created by Peter S. Beagle, Ray Bradbury, Patricia Briggs, Jim Butcher, Jacqueline Carey, Neil Gaiman, Charlaine Harris, Robin Hobb, N.K. Jemisin, Terry Pratchett, and Patrick Rothfuss… and me. All guaranteed saucy. So if you’re a lover of fantasy, of “good girl” art, literature, the female form, or feeding the world’s poor… actually, helping them feed themselves… or just want to ogle Nekkid Cersei, this is a calendar you need to have.

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Best of all, you can order NOW. Just go to:

http://thetinkerspacks.bigcartel.com/product/pre-order-2013-pin-up-calendar

So… that gives you three great choices for 2013. Picacio, Simonetti, or Moyer. Hey, why not get all three? Everyone should have a calendar in every room.

Oh, but what about 2014, you ask? The new year will be done with in no time. And it always pays to plan ahead. So right you are. But as it happens, we have you covered. I’ve just gotten a look at the cover for the 2014 SONG OF ICE AND FIRE calendar, with art with the amazing Gary Gianni, and I couldn’t wait to share, so:

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That one you can’t buy just yet. You will need to wait till July, I fear. But I think the calendar will be worth the wait. Gary has finished nine of the twelve paintings as I write, and they’re all more spectacular than the last.

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Done for the year

December 10, 2012 at 11:48 am
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We aren’t shipping any more books this year, so our office admin will be turning down any further requests for signatures. Sorry if you didn’t get yours in on time, maybe next year.

Have a good holiday season, everyone, and see you next year.

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Two Victories

December 9, 2012 at 8:20 pm
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You win some, you win some.

So… Jets and Giants both won today. That was good.

Admittedly, the Jets victory proved very well. They defeated Jacksonville, one of the NFL’s worst team, presently contending with the Kansas City Chefs for next year #1 draft pick, and they did not defeat them in an entirely convincing manner. Rex went back to Marc Sanchez. Who played… well, adequately. But after last week, anything would have been an improvement. There was a Quinton Coples sighting. Shonn Green ran… well, adequately. Gang Green is 6-7 now, and while it is true that the remainder of their schedule is weak, I am not sanguine. The Jets are weak too. I think this season was lost when Darrelle Revis went down. But we still need to play out the string.

Big Blue’s victory over the Saints was more impressive. Not that my heart did not stop a couple of time. The G-Men got way ahead, then let New Orleans get back into it… then, thankfully, pulled away again. Eli had four TDs but also two INTs. If he had avoided the INTs, the game would have been over much sooner. The real stars tonight were our rookie RB David Wilson on offense, who finally had his coming out party with three great kickoffs returns (one for a TD) and two rushing TDs (one a long, darting scamper from midfield) that showed why the Giants took him #1, and safety Stevie Brown on defense, who intercepted Drew Brees twice. Brown, an unheralded late round draft back who has kicked around with a couple of other teams, has really excelled since coming to the Giants and filling in for the injured Kenny Phillips. He is proving himself a real ballhawk, with 7 INTs on the season.

The Giants really needed the win, since the Redskins and Cowboys, right behind them in the NFL East standings, had both won earlier in the day. All the while I was watching the Jets game, I was watching those scores too. With 29 seconds left in the game, Baltimore was beating Washington by eight points, and Cincinnati was leading Dallas by two points with two minutes left to play. And both of them still pulled it out! Mutter mutter mutter. The Skins beat my G-Men by a point last Monday, and their remaining schedule is soft as whipped butter, while the G-Men need to face Atlanta and Baltimore in the next two weeks… I think the Skins are a real threat (RGIII is the real deal, and it looks as though they got a good one in Kirk Cousins too). And Dallas… well, who the hell knows with the Cowboys? But at least the Giants control their own destiny. All they have to do is win out.

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WGA Nominates HBO’s GOT

December 6, 2012 at 2:33 pm
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The writing staff of HBO’s series GAME OF THRONES, season two, has been nominated by the members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) for the 2013 WGA Awards, Best Drama.

Second year in a row. The finalists are MAD MEN, HOMELAND, BREAKING BAD, BOARDWALK EMPIRE, and us. “Us” this year being David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, Vanessa Taylor, Bryan Cogman, and yours truly.

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For a full list of all categories and nominees, go to:

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-wga-awards-tv-nominations-20121206,0,181371.story

Congratulations to David, Dan, Bryan, and Vanessa. And to the writers on the other shows, all of whom did some kickass work this year.

It is always nice to be recognized by your fellow writers.

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All Quiet

December 6, 2012 at 12:05 pm
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Sorry for the silence. Very busy this week. House guests, home construction, long hours writing. No time to post.

I will be back, probably sooner rather than later. But not today.

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More on the App

December 3, 2012 at 10:53 am
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Since announcing the official Ice & Fire App (see below), we’ve gotten a lot of questions, most of them concerning when and if the app will be made available for Android, and when and if it will be offering for sale in countries other than the US and UK.

I ran these questions past my people at Random House.

There are, alas, no plans at present to produce the app for Android. That is Random House’s call, not mine. (I seldom use a cellphone myself, and don’t know one from the other, so all such calls are made by folks more conversant with the issues involved). It is possible that may change in the future if there is sufficient demand, but please email Random House, not me. If an Android app is made available, you can get the update on www.suvudu.com”

As for availability in other countries, Barnes and Noble only sells apps in the US and UK, so the Nook version is only available in the US and UK.

Below is a list of the countries where the app is available for iOS devices (iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch).

. United States
. Canada
. United Kingdom
. Australia
. Austria
. Belgium
. Bulgaria
. Cyprus
. Czech Republic
. Denmark
. Estonia
. Finland
. France
. Germany
. Greece
. Hungary
. Ireland
. Italy
. Japan
. Latvia
. Lithuania
. Luxembourg
. Malta
. Netherlands
. Poland
. Portugal
. Romania
. Slovakia
. Slovenia
. Spain
. Sweden
. Switzerland

The Random House subrights team is currently looking into translation deals for non-English-speaking readers. But there is nothing to announce yet on the translation front. Sorry.

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In Production: Season 3

December 2, 2012 at 10:20 pm
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For all those of you who do not [[YET]] have HBO, here’s the promo video that aired earlier tonight, just before the BOARDWALK EMPIRE finale.

Enjoy.

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