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A Taste of Cyanide

September 11, 2011 at 12:18 pm
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Two of the game designers from Cyanide’s studio in Montreal flew down to New Mexico on Friday to give me a look at their GAME OF THRONES RTS game (that’s Real Time Strategy, for those of you who don’t speak Gaming), which is now done and will be rolling out Real Soon Now.

Now, I have to admit, I am far from being an expert on videogames. In fact, I’ve never played any of the current RTS games. My experience with videogaming was almost entirely with older, turn-based DOS strategy games like ROMANCE OF THE THREE KINGDOMS, PIRATES, MASTER OF ORION, RAILROAD TYCOON, and the like. And as you can probably tell from those titles, I stopped videogaming some years ago (not because I did not like it — truth to tell, I liked it too much, and found that I was spending way too much time playing games on my computer when I should have been writing).

That being said… I thought what I saw looked really cool. And Ty, who DOES play a lot of videogames, seemed impressed as well. The gang at Cyanide (Montreal) have come up with some innovative features for this one, that should help make A GAME OF THRONES: GENESIS unlike any other RTS on the market at present. And fun to play as well, we hope… but that’s a verdict that will need to come from the gamers out there.

Focus, our publisher, has opened an official website for GENESIS. Check it out:

http://www.agot-genesis.com/

(Just to be clear. This is the RTS game, designed and developed by Cyanide’s studio in Montreal. A second videogame, an RPG, is also under development at Cyanide’s studio in France, but that one won’t be along for a while yet. The two games are very different, so please don’t get them confused).

Anyway, I enjoyed having the crew from Cyanide down here, and liked what they had to show me. I hope you will as well.

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Awards, Awards!

September 8, 2011 at 1:16 am
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Hey, cool. GAME OF THRONES has just been nominated in eight categories for this year’s SCREAM Awards. We’re a finalist for:

BEST TV SHOW

BEST FANTASY ACTOR- Sean Bean

BEST FANTASY ACTRESS- Lena Heady

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR- Peter Dinklage

BREAKOUT PERFORMANCE: FEMALE- Emilia Clarke

BEST ENSEMBLE

MOST MEMORABLE MUTILATION – Head Covered in Molten Gold

and finally, the “big one,” the category called THE ULTIMATE SCREAM.

The nominees were chosen by a distinguished panel of judges whose numbers included Tim Burton, Darren Aronofsky, Edgar Wright, George Romero, Matthew Vaughn, Damon Lindelof, Neil Gaiman, Wes Craven, Robert Rodriguez, and others.

Winners will be announced at the awards ceremony in LA on October 15, to be telecast on SPIKE.
And while the judges picked the nominees, it’s the fans, viewers, and public who decide the victors. To cast your vote, check out the Scream website at http://www.spike.com/events/scream-awards-2011/

Congratulations to HBO, to David and Dan, and to all our nominees. It’s not every day you can contend for “Most Memorable Mutilation.”

Meanwhile, over at Airlock Alpha, GAME OF THRONES took home three PORTAL AWARDS:

BEST ACTOR: Sean Bean
BEST SERIES
BEST EPISODE: Winter Is Coming

For the rest of the winners, go to http://www.spoilertv.com/2011/08/2011-portal-award-winners-game-of.html

Congratulations to the Portal winners as well. And to the “differently victorious.” It’s an honor just to be nominated….

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Don’t, Don’t, Don’t

September 5, 2011 at 6:05 pm
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Elmo is a fibber and a drubber and a jock. He’s whispered to horses and conversed with dogs. A diamond in the rough, he is, but no pinhead.

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SubPress Announces ADWD

September 4, 2011 at 4:43 pm
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Just got word from Bill Schafer at Subterranean Press — Marc Fishman has delivered the last of his artwork for their limited, illustrated edition of A DANCE WITH DRAGONS. Some 90 interior illustrations as well as the two covers and the other full-color plates.

Here’s a look at one of the covers:

The text is now being proofed, the artwork is all in the hands of Subterranean’s book designer, and Bill hopes to go to press in about six weeks. Accordingly, he has announced the edition and made it available for purchase (for those with “rights”) on the SubPress website, here:

http://www.subterraneanpress.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=martin09&Category_Code=PRE&Product_Count=18

Those who purchased the limited (numbered or lettered) of A FEAST FOR CROWS have first right of purchase for DANCE, and will have until the end of September to place their orders.

After that date, any unsold copies will be made available on a first-come, first-served basis to readers new to the series. Subterranean does NOT maintain a waiting list, so you can’t order now unless you are already one of the subscribers to the series. But there are always dropouts, so some copies should be available to newcomers. Not many, no, but some. If you hope to snag one of those, your best bet is to subscribe to Subterranean’s online newsletter, since that’s where their availability will be announced, come October. (And if and when you see such an announcement, ACT AT ONCE, or you’ll be shut out by those who do).

As with previous volumes in the series, the Subterranean edition of A DANCE WITH DRAGONS will be limited to 448 numbered and 52 lettered copies, slipcased, and signed by me and by artist Marc Fishman. The lettered copies will also include remarques by Fishman.

I have only seen a small portion of the art myself at this point, but I’m eager to have a look at the rest. Fishman is a major talent, and I don’t doubt that his vision of Westeros will stand right up there with the work of Jeff Jones, John Howe, Tom Canty, and Charles Vess on the first four books.

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Still Dancing

September 1, 2011 at 6:13 pm
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My dragons continue to dance… around the top of the NY TIMES bestseller list.

The latest list (for 9/11) will have A DANCE WITH DRAGONS still at #2 for hardcover fiction, one slot below the latest big debut, Kathy Reichs’ FLASH AND BONES.

The week before (the 9/4) list also had DANCE at #2, this time behind the new Terry Goodkind fantasy, which debuted that week.

And the week before that (the list for 8/28) saw DANCE back at #1, after falling to #2 the previous week/

So… seven weeks and counting, all at #1 or #2. Not half bad.

Of course, Stieg Larson’s THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST has been on the list for 66 weeks as of the September 11 list, and THE HELP for 106 weeks, so we need to keep this all in perspective.

But I’m a happy writer. Seven gods, seven kingdoms, seven books, seven weeks near the top… I’ll take it, and hope for more.

Thanks again to all of you, my readers. You are the ones who made this all possible.

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Cage Match Pairings

September 1, 2011 at 11:56 am
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Pirate and Bully.

Dead Man and Barman.

Corporal and Potato.

Gash and Nark.

And let’s all be grateful, the big dog didn’t get bitten.

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Buried Alive

August 31, 2011 at 11:45 am
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Home again from all my cons and travels… and, as usual, up to my neck in mails and emails.

More soon, on all sorts of fronts.

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Bubonicon

August 25, 2011 at 7:37 pm
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Great worldcon. Best in several years.

Great wedding. Best ever.

Great road trip. DEath Valley, Grand Canyon, WInslow, Pie Town.

But now I’m back in the Land o’ Enchantment, and just in time for Bubonicon.

See you at the Sheraton!

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Worldcon Looms

August 14, 2011 at 8:46 pm
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Tomorrow morning it’s off to Reno for worldcon.

Worldcon is my favorite con, and Reno promises to be an especially good one. They have a very experienced committee and, by all reports, a great facility. If the fannish ghods are good (and I sure hope they are), we will not be vexed by any of the hotel problems that troubled the recent worldcons in Melbourne and Montreal.

All that being said… I sure wish Renovation was being held on Labor Day weekend.

Two reasons:
(1) Labor Day weekend is the perfect worldcon weekend, hallowed by decades of tradition (yes, I know the con originally started on July 4th weekend, but that was before I was born, and not relevant), and worldcon (and worldcon alone) belongs on that weekend,
(2) it would give me more time to rest. It seems as though I just got back from San Diego Comicon and my nine-city book tour (maybe because I DID) and now I’m on the road again. It’s too damn soon. San Diego has become an increasingly important part of the annual con circuit for any professional writer; worldcon needs more distance from it, to give us poor pros a chance to catch our breath, unpack our suitcases, maybe do a laundry.

But Renovation is when it is, and I’m not about to miss it.

So off I go, weary or no. See you there.

The road goes ever on and on…

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The WINDs Will Blow

August 14, 2011 at 10:32 am
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Readers, faithful fans, accept no substitutes!

http://www.foxtrot.com/2011/08/08142011/

That guy in SHOE is probably doing the same thing. Not to mention Snoopy. If WINDS OF WINTER begins, “It was a dark and stormy night,” you’ll know it’s not me.

Although… hmmm… that’s not a bad first line…

(Snoopy stole it from Bulwer-Lytton, actually)

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