I miss football already. Looking forward to the draft. Not looking forward to months of fighting between the owners and players, and maybe a lockout/ strike.

Things are rolling along nicely on the Ice & Fire comic book. Check out the new interview with Daniel Abraham on Suvudu:

http://graphic-novels-manga.suvudu.com/2011/02/interview-daniel-abraham-on-grrm-comics.html

Suvudu also informs me of a new round of Cage Matches, wherein Jon Snow will be one of the contestants. Details here: http://sf-fantasy.suvudu.com/2011/02/cage-match-2011-its-coming.html

I never had the chance to talk about their “Villains” Cage Match (too busy), in which Ser Gregor Clegane emerged victorious over a murderer’s rows of nasties and narsties from screen and page. Congratulations to the Mountain That Rides, and thanks to all of you who voted!

There’s been lots of talk about ebooks and digital publishing swirling around me of late. It’s a brave new world for this old dinosaur. Kindles, Nooks, iPads, iPods, ebooks, PODs, all confusing as hell. But it is something that I am looking into for some of my backlist titles… some of the out of print Wild Cards books might be well received in such formats, I think. So expect news on that front eventually, though maybe not soon. I have this other book I’m writing, you know, and that comes first. I can deal with putting the old wine in new bottles when that’s done.

That being said, y’know, I DO have some stuff available as ebooks and downloads, for all of you who have been asking. Check out my listings on Fictionwise and Electric Story if you would like to sample some of it:

http://www.fictionwise.com/eBooks/GeorgeRRMartineBooks.htm

https://www.electricstory.com/authors/author.aspx?authorid=78

Meanwhile, over in miniature town, the good folks at Dark Sword are rolling out four great new Tom Meier sculpts in their Ice & Fire range: the Reed siblings, Meera and Jojen, and a double of Hodor (HODOR!) with Bran riding on his back. Have a look at the greens.

The new minis should be available soon from the Dark Sword website at http://darkswordminiatures.com/ Along with the rest of the range, of course.

Should also mention that Hugo nominations are now open, for members of the current worldcon (Reno) and the last one (Melbourne). I did not have a novel out last year (some of you might have noticed that), but I am eligible to be nominated in Best Editor/ Short Form for my anthology work with Gardner Dozois, and in the novella category for “The Mystery Knight” from WARRIORS. All the other stories in WARRIORS and SONGS OF LOVE AND DEATH are eligible as well. I hope you will consider some of them when filling out your ballot; I think there was some fine work in both books, worthy of recognition. And let me once again suggest that it is long past time that MICHAEL KOMARCK was nominated as Best Pro Artist. His cover art for Wild Cards has been extraordinary, and he’s done amazing work for other books as well.

Must run now. Kong is calling.

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… is the latest crossgenre anthology from Gardner Dozois and yours truly. This one is called DOWN THESE STRANGE STREETS, and in its pages you’ll find another all star roster of writers, with a mixture of urban fantasy, science fiction, hardboiled mystery, noir, paranormal romance, historicals, and fantasy PI stories.

The lineup includes a Lord John novella from Diana Gabaldon, a SPQR story by John Maddox Roberts, a True Blood story by Charlaine Harris, a Garrett tale from Glen Cook, an Edge story from Melinda Snodgrass, a Gordianus yarn from Steven Saylor, an incredible WWII mystery novella by Bradley Denton, a Joe Lansdale story than can only be described as Gonzo Lovecraft, and wonderful contributions from Carrie Vaughn, Conn Iggulden, Simon R. Green, Laurie R. King, Lisa Tuttle, M.L.N. Hanover, Patricia Briggs,and S.M. Stirling.

The complete table of contents:

– “The Bastard Stepchild” (introduction), by George R.R. Martin
– “Death by Dahlia,” by Charlaine Harris
– “The Bleeding Shadow,” by Joe R. Lansdale
– “Hungry Heart,” by Simon R. Green
– “Styx and Stones,” by Steven Saylor
– “Pain and Suffering,” by S.M. Stirling
– “It’s Still the Same Old Story,” by Carrie Vaughn
– “The Lady Is a Screamer,” by Conn Iggulden
– “Hellbender,”by Laurie R. King
– “Shadow Thieves,” by Glen Cook
– “No Mystery, No Miracle,” by Melinda Snodgrass
– “The Difference Between a Puzzle and a Mystery,” by M.L.N. Hanover
– “The Curious Affair of the Deodand,” by Lisa Tuttle
– “Lord John and the Plague of Zombies,” by Diana Gabaldon
– “Beware the Snake,” by John Maddox Roberts
– “In Red, With Pearls,” by Patricia Briggs
– “The Adakian Eagle,” by Bradley Denton

Look for DOWN THESE STRANGE STREETS at your favorite bookstore this fall.

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For my readers overseas…

The drumbeat for GAME OF THRONES has started on the other side of the pond.

Here’s a Spanish translation of “Inside Game of Thrones” from Canal+, who’ll be televising the series in Spain.

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And for my friends and fans in the UK and Ireland, we have the first trailer from Sky Atlantic:

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Enjoy.

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… but they play them on TV.

Maisie Williams, Isaac Hempstead-Wright, and Sophie Turner were strangers when they were cast, respectively, as Arya, Bran, and Sansa Stark, but the three have since become fast friends, which I think is cool. They even like to hang when they’re not working.

Anyway, Sophie Turner’s mum Sally sent me this picture of their latest get-together, and I wanted to share it with my readers.

The fourth member of the quartet is the newest member of the Turner family — Zunni, the dog who played Lady. Sophie and Sally adopted her after the show wrapped.

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Yes, of course I watched the Superbowl. I’m a football fan. Pro football, anyway. I always watch the Superbowl.

It wasn’t a blowout, as so many Superbowls have been in the past. Looked like it might turn into that early on, when the Packers opened up a big early lead, but the Steelers came back in the second half and for a while it looked as though they might snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

It wasn’t a thriller either. Not one of the great contests. Mediocre play, for the most part. The last few SBs have spoiled us. Kind of a yawner.

But maybe that’s because I had no strong rooting interest. It’s amazing how big a difference that can make. The games that involve me most are those featuring one of my teams, of course… but I can also get pretty worked up by a contest featuring one of the “bad guy” teams I love to hate, like the Cowboys or the Pats. In those, at least, I have someone to root against. The Steelers and the Pack, though… don’t love ’em, don’t hate ’em, so it’s hard to stay emotionally involved.

I do like good play, no matter who’s involved, but there weren’t many spectacular plays in this SB either. Nothing to compare to the Tyree catch or the Santonio Holmes reception.

Even the commercials seemed kind of boring this year. I’ve already forgotten most of ’em.

That being said, I’m sure you Terrible Towel Wavers out there are crushed right now, and all you Cheeseheads are telling each other this was the best SB even. So condolences to the former, and congrats to the latter.

Next year I want Jets v, Giants. Subway Superbowl!!!

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Whether you’re an Ice & Fire reader or a funny book fan or both, I have cool news for you. A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE is coming to comics. Random House/ Bantam Books has acquired the rights to do a graphic adaptation of the series, to be published as monthly comics (in partnership with Dynamite Entertainment) and as graphic novels in trade paperback format.

The comics will be scripted by DANIEL ABRAHAM, who should need no introduction to regular readers of this blog… but I’ll give him one anyway. Daniel is the author of ten books and more than thirty short stories, under his own name and the pseudonyms M.L.N. Hanover and James S.A. Corey (with Ty Franck). He has been nominated for the Hugo, the Nebula, and the World Fantasy awards, and won the International Horror Guild Award. Daniel’s previous comic work includes the adaptation of my historical horror novel FEVRE DREAM for Avatar, and the original Wild Cards series THE HARD CALL for Dynamite and DBPro. When not adapating my fantasy series, he’s presently writing his own, THE DAGGER AND THE COIN.

The series will be drawn by artist TOMMY PATTERSON, who won the gig over more than a dozen other artists from around the world who applied for the assignment and submitted samples. With so much top rank talent to pick from, it was a tough choice, but Daniel and I and our editors at Bantam and Dynamite were all knocked out by the character sketchs and sample pages that Tommy submitted.

JON SNOW

Tommy’s previous credits include FARSCAPE for Boom! Studios, the movie adaptation THE WARRIORS for Dynamite Entertainment, and TALES FROM WONDERLAND, THE WHITE KNIGHT, RED ROSE, and STINGERS from Zenescope Entertainment. He holds a BS in Studio Art and also works as a graphic designer. Patterson lives in Western Kentucky with his wife and daughter.

TYRION LANNISTER

The first issue of the monthly comic is scheduled to be published by Dynamite Entertainment in late spring 2011. The graphic novel compilations will be published by Bantam.

*** And yes, for those who were wondering, this was one of the infamous Two Big Announcements that I was originally hoping to make during my visit to Los Angeles in early January, before my holidays in the hospital knocked all my plans off the rails.

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… on the HBO site and YouTube.

The latest installment in the “Artisans” series.

Maisie is amazing. As are Sophie and Isaac, who play Sansa and Bran. The kids haven’t been featured in any of the teasers or trailers to date, but I think you’re going to love them once the show hits the air.

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For all you space opera fans out there, my occasionally loyal assistant Ty Franck and my sometime collaborator Daniel Abraham have a kickass book coming out from Orbit this year. It’s called LEVIATHAN WAKES (not to be confused with Daniel’s short story collection LEVIATHAN WEPT), and it’s the first of a trilogy.

You can see Daniel and Ty talking about it on the Orbit website at

http://www.youtube.com/orbitbooks#p/a/u/2/Yu0xJpCy95o

(Ty is the funny looking one).

Anyway, it’s the best damn book about vomit zombies that you’re ever likely to read. And Ty and Daniel are already halfway done with the second book, which they write on Ty’s day off. I have warned him that if they finish that before I finish DANCE, I’ll have to kill them.

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Over across the water in the fabled British Isles, Sky is getting ready to launch their new “Sky Atlantic” channel, scheduled to debut on February 1. Posters and billboards are going up all over the UK, and in Ireland as well. The ads promote three shows that Sky Atlantic will soon ber featuring: BOARDWALK EMPIRE, MAD MEN, and… GAME OF THRONES.

Billboards have been seen all over London, in Dublin, in Gloucester, Wakefield, Bath… and many more places, I don’t doubt.

One of them popped up ten minutes from where Maisie Williams lives, so Maisie came face to face with Arya, and her mum sent me the picture:

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Life is meaningless and full of pain.

Particularly if you’re a Jets fan.

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