…done.
About 1100 people turned up this afternoon in Carmel, Indiana. Another great event. Thanks to my hosts at b and n , you were all great.
Oh, almost forgot. New Yorkers looking for signed copies should check out the HBO store. I signed a ton for them as well.
Tomorrow I head home for Parris’s birthday, and to catch my breath for comicon.
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On the road… just arrived in Indianapolis. I have a signing tomorrow at the B&N in Carmel. Hope to meet some of you there.
This is the first chance I’ve had to sit down at a computer since leaving home. The tour has been a blur. We started out in Baltimore, where I signed thousands of copies of DANCE at the Random House warehouse. Those copies will be going to bookstoress all over the country. Maybe one near you. Then on to Boston and NYC.
The Boston signing, at the B&N in Burlington, drew 1500 fans. I also signed several hundred extras copies for them, so if you missed the event, you still may be able to find an autographed copy there. Also signed a mess o’ copies at Harvard Books in Cambridge.
In between Boston and NYC, we made a brief stop at New Haven, where I sampled Frank Pepe’s famous pizza (excellent) and signed some stock for Yale Books and Atticus Books.
Then it was on to NYC, and the signing at Union Square last night. The B&B folks estimate that we drew 1800 people to that one, and the ache in my shoulder confirms it. An amazing night. Everyone seemed to have a good time, though. SIgned plenty of stock at that one too, some of which will remain at Union Suare, some of which will go to the B&N on 5th Avenue, so NYC should be awash in autographed copies for a few days.
And yesterday morning we learned that DANCE had the highest first day sales totals of any work of fiction released this year. Not just SF and fantasy, but all categories of fiction.
The reviews have been amazing as well.
And then, cherry on the sundae, the Emmy nominations came out. Thirteen nominations for GAME OF THRONES, including the coveted Best Dramatic Series nomination, the “Big One.” (Which no one thought we’d get).
It’s been quite a ride. When I flew to Indy this morning, I didn’t even need a plane!
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I’m heading off to the airport in about an hour…
Before I go, though, an advance peek at the cover for the FEVRE DREAM graphic novel, which will be released at the San Diego Comicon in a couple of weeks.
And we have a special offer from Avatar: if anyone pre-orders a copy of the FEVRE DREAM hardcover from them, at the normal cover price, they will be guaranteed a ticket to my signing at the Avatar booth (#2701) on Thursday at 10:00 am. Daniel Abraham, who scripted the adaptation, will be there signing with me. The ticket will allow each holder to get this item plus three of their own signed. (But again, JUST SIGNATURES, no personalizations).
To preorder and get your ticket, go to:
http://www.comcav.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=179_250&products_id=12036
See you in San Diego, true believers. Keep your steam up.
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… and counting.
Tomorrow I set off on the first leg of my signing tour. My first stop will be… well, I shouldn’t say, since I won’t be doing any public appearances there, just swinging by the Random House warehouse on Monday and signing as many copies of A DANCE WITH DRAGONS as I can manage to sign before catching the Acela to Boston that afternoon. Those copies will go out all over the country, to bookstores that are not on the tour, but have placed substantial orders.
The first public signing is in Boston. Well, Burlington, actually. Look for me at the Barnes & Noble, 98 Middlesex Turnpike, starting at 7pm and going to… well, to when they close the store presumably. I’ll say a few words, take a few questions, and then deface your books.
After Boston, I’ll be at the Union Square B&N in New York City, and then the Carmel B&N in Indianapolis. (Full details on the Appearances page of my website). Then it’s home for a brief respite before I depart for San Diego Comicon and the second leg of the tour.
Please take a look at the post my publisher put up on Suvudu:
http://sf-fantasy.suvudu.com/2011/06/on-tour-george-r-r-martin.html?ref=twt_Suvudu_stream
I don’t want to disappoint anyone, so let me stress again that, because of the size of the crowds that we’re anticipating, I cannot do personalizations or inscriptions at these events. Just straight autographs. I wish that wasn’t so, but it is. And I won’t be able to pose for photographs either, though you’re certainly free to have your friend take a snapshot when I’m signing your book.
The number of items I can sign at each event will depend on the store, the crowd, and other variables.
Be aware, if you head out to one of these, that (1) you may need to wait in line for a very long time, and (2) when you finally reach the front of that line, we’ll only have a few second together, at best. ((The BEST place to actually meet me, or any of your favorite SF or fantasy writers, is not at a booksigning, but at a con. But booksignings are good places to meet other fans. You’ll definitely meet the people in line with you. You’ll be spending hours with ’em, so be friendly. Romances have been known to start waiting in line at booksignings.))
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For the New Mexicans out there… I will be signing copies of the new Wild Cards mosaic novel, FORT FREAK, tomorrow at Page One Bookstore. The signing starts at 2:30 pm and will run till about 5:00 pm, depending…
Also on hand to deface your copies of FORT FREAK will be my assistant editor Melinda M. Snodgrass (Franny Black), John Jos. Miller (Father Squid), and Victor Milan (Ratboy and Flipper). Other Wild Cards contributors may also drop by… and if they do, Page One will have copies of the earlier books in the series for them to scrawl in.
There will also be a brief presentation about Wild Cards, and a Q&A session.
For more details about the signing, check out the Page One website at
http://www.page1book.com/
I should stress that this is a Wild Cards signing. NO COPIES OF DANCE WITH DRAGONS WILL BE ON SALE! I may be able to autograph some of your Ice & Fire books, if time permits, but probably not more than one, and only with a purchase of FORT FREAK. And in the talk and the Q&A session, we’ll be talking about Wild Cards, not the new Ice & Fire book or the HBO show. Sorry, but to let GAME OF THRONES take over the session would not be fair to the other writers.
So drop on in to Page One, and pay a visit to Fort Freak.
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I see you guys are just as sharp as ever. The long layoff between first and second season casting hasn’t made you rusty. Once again, you nailed my obscure hints within minutes.
Well, okay, I did fool a few of you. For a couple minutes, anyway. But others correctly puzzled out the casting. The part of Brienne, Maid of Tarth, will be played by British actress GWENDOLINE CHRISTIE.
This was another one of those cases where there was hardly any debate. The day the first batch of auditions went up for the role, we looked at a dozen actresses who were reading for Brienne and one actress who WAS Brienne. Gwendoline gave a great reading, and her look was just perfect. No, when she auditioned, she did not look she does in the photo above. She came in looking… well, like Brienne.
As for my clues… Christie played in a music video called DAMARIS, which includes a song about Isabelle, the She-Wolf of France (wife of King Edward II, for the history nerds out there), and played in Shakespeare’s CYMBELINE at the Barbican theatre. She also posed for Australian photographed Polly Borland for a show called “Bunny.”
She also appears in the recent IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSAS, though I did not use that one in my clues.
Gwendoline will be a great Brienne. It’s a thrill to have her join the cast.
Congratulations to everyone who figured it out… and for those who guessed wrong, well, better luck next time.
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The she-wolf of France has stormed the barbican. The Aussie turned her into a bunny.
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… till Kong is loosed upon the world.
Feels strange, after so many years. I know that some of you thought I would never finish. Believe me, there were dark nights of the soul where I had my doubts as well. But now the day is almost at hand, and the dragons will fly.
In fact, they are already taking wing. Bantam informs me that DANCE has just gone back for its 6th hardcover printing, and it isn’t even on sale yet. The first reviews are breaking today, and so far (knock wood) they have all been great. And in the UK, Waterstone’s in Glasgow has put up a brilliant window display:
Exciting times.
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One more monkey down.
Today I delivered the first draft of “Blackwater” to Dan and David. (Finally) A bit overdue, as always. And probably too long and long expensive, as my scripts always are. (I got to write the Battle of the Blackwater. I tried to be good and restrain myself, but you know how things go. Oh, well. I knew the job was dangerous when I took it).
This is television… (no, it’s not TV, it’s HBO)… so there will undoubtedly be many further drafts and revisions. But the first draft is the hard one.
And it’s a good thing it’s done. On Sunday I leave for the first leg of my US book tour.
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((Sad to say, this parody is hardly exaggerated at all. A few of the answers are almost verbatim to the actual answers of the Miss USA contestants to “Should Evolution Be Taught in Schools.” Go watch that video on YouTube and see for yourself)).
(((There are days I think I am living in the world of Kornbluth’s “Marching Morons.” Just look at reality TV, and remember the hit show in his story)))
(((I am vastly pleased that the eventual Miss USA winner, and GAME OF THRONES fan, does “believe in evolution.” And presuambly in math as well))).
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