Thank You

August 11, 2012 at 11:16 pm

The NEW YORK TIMES bestseller list for August 19 has been released. Here ’tis:

http://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/hardcover-fiction/list.html

A DANCE WITH DRAGONS is on the list, hanging in there at #10 in hardcover bestsellers. Which is not news by itself. DANCE has been on the list for a long time, moving down, moving up, but never quite falling off. For 52 weeks.

That’s the news. DANCE has been on the NYT list for one full year.

I never could have imagined this, not in my wildest dreams.

Copy of DWD5

This is a terrific moment for me, of course, but it is nothing I could ever have achieved without the help of others… so very many others…

I owe them thanks.

Thank you to me editors and publishers, past and present, to Anne Groell, Scott Shannon, Nita Taublib, Jennifer Hershey, Irwyn Applebaum, to my valiant and tireless publicists David Moench and Chris Artis, and to all the other great folks at Bantam Spectra and Random House.

Thank you to all the critics and reviewers, who gave the book such outstanding notices, not to mention all sorts of cool awards. I have never had a book better reviewed.

Thanks for all the journalists and feature writers and bloggers who conducted interviews, ran contests, and helped spread the word.

Thanks to Parris, who was with me through every page, and to Ty, my acerbic assistant, who helped crack the whip and spurred me on and kept the trolls at bay. One of these days he may even teach me to say, “no.”

Thanks to the Brotherhood Without Banners. Fans and friends, AND they throw the best party at worldcon.

Thanks for all the booksellers and librarians everywhere. You’re all heroes.

Thanks to Mike Lombardo and Sue Naegle and Richard Plepler and Mara Mikilian and all the rest of the great folks at HBO, and thanks especially to Brian Cogman, David Benioff, and Dan Weiss, to Peter Dinklage, Emilia Clarke, Sean Bean, Lena Headey, Mark Addy, Jack Gleeson, Nicholaj Coster-Waldau, Sophie Turner, Isaac Hempstead Wright, Kit Harrington, Maisie Williams, Conleth Hill, Michelle Fairley, and the rest of the greatest cast on television, and to our amazing cast and phenomenal directors. A DANCE WITH DRAGONS would likely have made the NYTimes list without the GAME OF THRONES series, but beyond doubt, it is the show that has kept the books riding high for so long. You’ve all done amazing work.

But most of all, thanks to you, my readers. You were the ones who bought the book a year ago when it first hit the shelves, and you are the ones who are still buying it today, and pressing copies on your lovers and kin, and telling your friends to buy their own copies. Luck can get a book on the list, even keep it there for a week or two… but only a long, sustained passion and great word of mouth can keep a title on the TIMES list for one solid year. So take a bow, readers. I owe it all to you.

All I can say is… keep reading. The best is yet to come.

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Tags: a dance with dragons, publishing

“Show Us Your Papers”

August 11, 2012 at 3:46 pm

I am way too busy these days for long political rants.

But I would be remiss if I do not at least make passing mention of how depressed, disgusted, and, yes, angry I’ve become as I watch the ongoing attempts at voter suppression in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, Iowa, and other states where Republicans and their Teabagger allies control key seats of power.

It is one thing to attempt to win elections. But trying to do so by denying the most basic and important right of any American citizen to hundreds and thousands of people, on entirely spurious grounds… that goes beyond reprehensible. That is despicable.

It would really be nice if there were still some Republicans of conscience out there who would stand up and loudly denounce these efforts, a few men of honor and integrity for whom “win the election” does not “win the election at any cost.” There were once many Republicans I admired, even I disagreed with them: men like Everett Dirksen, Clifford Case, Henry Cabot Lodge, William Scranton… yes, even Barry Goldwater, conservative as he is. I do not believe for a moment that Goldwater would have approved of this, any more than Robert A. Heinlein would have. They were conservatives, but they were not bigots, nor racists, nor corrupt. The Vote Suppressors have far more in common with Lester Maddox, George Wallace, John Stennis, and their ilk than they do with their distinguished GOP forebears.

The people behind these efforts at disenfranchising large groups of voters (the young, the old, the black, the brown) are not Republicans, since clearly they have scant regard for our republic or its values. They are oligarchs and racists clad in the skins of dead elephants.

And don’t tell me they are libertarians either. No true libertarians would ever support a culture where citizens must “show their papers” to vote or travel. That’s a hallmark of a police state, not a free country.

TUESDAY ADDENDUM: Okay, this has been running several days now, has been featured on HUFFINGTON POST and ABC news, referenced on Stephanie Miller, and no doubt countless other people. We have had four hundred messages, and I think everyone has had their say, and everything that needs to be said has been said. Generally eight or ten times. There are plenty of links and references in the comment threads for those who would like to know more about these voter suppression efforts. If you don’t want to dig through the links, start with the Brennan Center for Justice and get the facts.

There’s no sense in letting this spin on in circles forever. I am locking comments. Back to Westeros and worldcon and similar subjects, boys and girls.

Thanks for listening.

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Tags: politics

Inside the HBO Show

August 7, 2012 at 1:38 pm

Brian Cogman’s “making of” book, INSIDE HBO’S GAME OF THRONES, is scheduled for publication on September 25, and is now available for preorder from your favorite bookstore.

HBO has released a promotional video for the book. Cool stuff here. Enjoy.

<lj-embed id=”322″/>

Brian has been a part of the series since the very beginning — he was the first person David and Dan hired when they got the go-ahead from HBO — and he’s done a terrific job of telling all the “behind the scenes” stuff.

And there’s a preface by me too, if you’re into that.

Happy reading.

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Tags: game of thrones, hbo

Flying High with Wild Cards

August 5, 2012 at 12:41 pm

I’ve got all sorts of good news for the Wild Cards fans reading this.

LOWBALL, the twenty-second volume in the overall series, and the second part of the current triad that began with FORT FREAK, is almost complete, and should be going in to Tor very shortly. I will be sure and let you know when a publication date is announced. My thanks to my friend and co-editor Melinda Snodgrass for helping me bring this one home.

And the story continues. I’ve just signed contracts with Tor with the next Wild Cards book, a full-on mosaic to conclude the triad. This one will be titled HIGH STAKES.

Tor’s reprints of the first three volumes of the original series have also done very well (well, WILD CARDS and ACES HIGH have done well, JOKERS WILD is still forthcoming), so I am thrilled to announce that we will be continuing with those as well.

We’ve just signed for four more volumes. New Tor editions of ACES ABROAD, DOWN & DIRTY, ACE IN THE HOLE, and DEAD MAN’S HAND will be coming your way during the next few years, probably as trade paperbacks. And to make things even more interesting, we will be adding three brand new original stories to ACES ABROAD, just as we did for Tor’s reissue of WILD CARDS, volume one.

SFBC4

And Wild Cards readers outside the US are going to have plenty to read as well. After far too long, we finally have a new deal in the United Kingdom, where Gollancz/ Orion will be publishing British editions of WILD CARDS, ACES HIGH, JOKERS WILD, INSIDE STRAIGHT, BUSTED FLUSH, SUICIDE KINGS, FORT FREAK, and LOWBALL.

Wild Cards will be invading France as well. We’ve just closed a deal with J’ai Lu for French translations of the first six volumes in the original series: WILD CARDS, ACES HIGH, JOKERS WILD, ACES ABROAD, DOWN & DIRTY, and ACE IN THE HOLE. (More foreign deals are in the offing but I will hold off on those till the contracts are signed).

We’ve had a long strange run with Wild Cards… but from all appearances, we’re only getting started. If you haven’t tried the books yet, what are you waiting for?

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Tags: tor, wild cards

Home Again

August 1, 2012 at 10:58 am

A long, long day of travel yesterday, Barcelona to Atlanta to Albuquerque to Santa Fe. Followed by collapse.

But it’s a new day, and I am back at my desk in the land of green chile. Just finished getting caught up on my email. So much work to do.

Thanks for all my friends in Spain for making our visit so much fun.

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Tags: travels

Barcelona Bacchanal

July 29, 2012 at 6:44 pm

Great times in Barcelona, one of my favorite cities. We’ve gotten lost in the wynds and alleys of the old city a couple of times, but what does it matters? Ther are great tapas, beer, and sangria any way you turn. And I am getting recognized everywhere, which is cool and scary both. My hat’s off to the three girls who rescued Jo and me when we were hopelessly turned around in the Ramblas a couple of nights ago.

Still, starting to miss home. Two more days. I love tapas, but I need green chile.

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Tags: spain, travels

Madrid Madness

July 23, 2012 at 2:09 pm

Aviles was wonderful, Celsius sensational, spent my mornings signing endless copies of my books, and my evenings drinking in sidewalk cafes with Joe Abercrombie, Lisa Tuttle, Colin Murray, Diego Cruz,Ian Watson, Cristina Macias, Adam Nevill, Dimitri The Russian Guy, and many Asturian friends.

Now I’m in Madrid, doing endless interviews for Canal + and posing on their Iron Throne. It’s hot here, but life is cool.

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Tags: canal+, spain, travels

In the Vale

July 22, 2012 at 4:30 pm

The Vale of Arryn may have remained aloof from the War of the Five Kings in my novel, but it is still going to be a part of the series of GAME OF THRONES. In the recent fact sheet, HBO revealed the names of a number of the actors who will portraying characters from the Vale, so I thought I would introduce you to some of them here.

As Lysa Arryn, widow of Jon Arryn and Lady of the Eyrie and sister to Catelyn Stark, we were fortunate to get the services of the wonderful Scottish actress KATE DICKIE:

Dickie has been acting professionally since 1994, in theater, television, and film. And she’s no stranger to the middle ages. You can get a look at her right now in the Starz miniseries PILLARS OF THE EARTH (based on the Ken Follett novel, a great read), where she plays Agnes. Yes, it’s true, Lysa Arryn is, ah, big boned, and Kate Dickie is not. But I don’t think Lysa’s girth is critical here, and I expect Dickie to act the hell out of the part, just as she did in the auditions.

The part of Lysa’s son, Robin Arryn, will be played by LINO FACIOLI:

Casting children is always challenging, but Nina Gold and her people have done an incredible job so far, finding Maisie, Sophie, and Isaac for us. They’ve hit another home run… wait, this is the UK, maybe I should use a cricket metaphor… they’ve whacked a bloody good wicket, or whatever… anyway, they did well, and Lino should perform admirably in the very difficult role of the sickly and spoiled Lord of the Eyrie. Lino is an Austrian citizen who was born in Brazil, lives in London, and speaks fluent Portugese. You can catch him in the recent movie GET HIM TO THE GREEK. And yes, the character he is portraying was named Robert in the books, but will be Robin in the show. There was some concern that having two Roberts might be confusing. Whatever. In any case, he’s still Sweetrobin.

Lady Lysa and her son are protected by the knights of the Vale, chief among them Ser Vardis Egen, who will be played by BRENDAN MCCORMACK, whose credits include THE TUDORS, THE LITTLE FOXES, and I HATE MUSICALS: THE MUSICAL.

Finally, in the part of the Eyrie’s brutal gaoler Mord, we have Irish stage veteran CIARAN BERMINGHAM. Bermingham has done his share of television and film as well, but is best known for his work in theatre at venues all over Ireland.

Let me assure you that, when doing Mord, Bermingham does not come across at all like the jolly, friendly fellow he looks in his picture here.

A few last words about a part that has NOT been cast. Since the release of the HBO fact sheet last week, I’ve gotten several emails wanting to know about a role that was not listed — another knight of the Vale, Ser Brynden “Blackfish” Tully, uncle to both Lady Lysa and her sister Catelyn. Some of you wanted to know if he’d been dropped.

Not dropped, no. But, alas, his appearance has been postponed. Even with such a huge project as ours, there are budgetary constraints that require some characters to be cut, combined… or deferred to later seasons. That’s what is happening with the Blackfish. The plan, I am told, is to delay the introduction of the Tullys (Lord Hoster and Ser Edmure as well as Ser Brynden) until the second season. Brynden’s part in the events of A GAME OF THRONES will be filled in part by Ser Vardis Egen, and in part by Ser Rodrik Cassel.

This will upset the purists among you, I know. I regret that. But some changes of this sort are necessary whenever a book as big as mine is adapted to television or film. You will get your Blackfish eventually (assuming we get that second season). Just not now.

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Tags: game of thrones, hbo

Safe in Spain

July 16, 2012 at 9:55 pm

San Diego Comicon was great fun… but exhausting beyond belief. Somehow I survived, however. Spent all day Sunday on airplanes crossing the Atlantic, and today finds me, jetlagged and weary, in Madrid. I arrived in the morning and slept all day. Just ate some dinner, and am about to go to bed again. By tomorrow morning I should be well-rested for my trip to Aviles.

See you all at CELSIUS!!!

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Tags: conventions, spain, travel

Leaving on a Jet Plane…

July 11, 2012 at 10:36 am

… in a few hours. This time my destination is San Diego Comicon.

(I was the first registrant at the very first comicon, did I mention? Drew about thirty people to a seedy hotel in Greenwich Village. But I did get to meet Steve Ditko and Fabulous Flo Steinberg. Comicons have grown since).

I expect I will see some of you at the HBO panel. I’m the lucky one, I don’t have to stand in line for hours to get in.

From San Diego, I fly direct to Spain. Look for me in Aviles, Madrid, and Barcelona.

I will be scarce around here until I get back home at month’s end, but I leave the house, the office, and the blog in the hands of my trio of able assistants, Terrible Ty, Rambunctious Raya, and Perky Pat. You may hear from them from time to time while I’m gone.

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Tags: conventions, spain, television, travel

Not a Blog

Thank You

“Show Us Your Papers”

Inside the HBO Show

Flying High with Wild Cards

Home Again

Barcelona Bacchanal

Madrid Madness

In the Vale

Safe in Spain

Leaving on a Jet Plane…

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