Croatia Gets The Gold

September 30, 2011 at 11:55 am

Sorry, Portugal.

When I put up the post about my Portuguese publisher winning the gold medal for being the first to release a translation of A DANCE WITH DRAGONS (see below), a number of readers in Croatia wrote me to say, no, the Croatian edition was out first. I had not seen the Croatian edition, or even a jpeg of its cover… but now I have.

They were right. Croatia was first. Portugal was second. Croatia gets the gold, Portugal the silver. (The bronze remains to be determined, so far as I know). Both Croatia and Portugal split the book into two volumes, and have thusfar released only the first half.

Here’s the Croatian cover for volume one of DANCE:

And here’s their cover for the second part, which is not yet published, but is in the pipeline and should be out soon:

Meanwhile, filming of the second season of the HBO series in currently underway in Dubrovnik, so Croatia is doubly blessed. A lot of Croatians have been hired as extras and crew, and a few have speaking roles as well.

Portugal, on the other hand, gets a visit from me next spring.

So everybody wins. I hope.

Enjoy the read, whatever language you may be reading in.

Current Mood: null null

Tags: a dance with dragons, foreign editions

I’m Number One…

September 15, 2011 at 9:31 am

… in Portugal.

The first translation of A DANCE WITH DRAGONS is just out. And the gold medal for fastest translation goes to Portugal.

Mind you, my Portugese publisher splits each book into two volumes, so this is only the first half of DANCE… but even so, the first volume is in the bookshops, and I’m told it has vaulted to the top of the Portugese bestseller lists.

(cover art by Andreas Rocha)

So… which country will get the silver medal? Spain? Italy? Germany? Your guess is as good as mine, but I’ll keep you posted.

Meanwhile, back in the States, DANCE fell to #3 on the NYTimes list last week, and this week is down to #4. But still in the top ten, nine weeks after publication.

Current Mood: null null

Tags: a dance with dragons, foreign editions

SubPress Announces ADWD

September 4, 2011 at 4:43 pm

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.

Current Mood: null null

Tags: a dance with dragons, subterranean

Still Dancing

September 1, 2011 at 6:13 pm

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.

Current Mood: null null

Tags: a dance with dragons

I’m Number Two…

August 5, 2011 at 3:14 pm

… this week, anyway.

Talking NEW YORK TIMES bestseller list now. Other lists may differ.

Between my book tour and the madness that is San Diego Comicon, I was too busy to post the requisite squeal of glee, but hey, better late than never.

A DANCE WITH DRAGONS debuted at #1 on the NYTimes list the week it came out. A “very strong” number one, my publishers tell me. (Though no number #1 can truly be said to be weak).

It held on to to the top slot the following week, despite a strong challenge from a thriller author who normally debuts at #1.

And yesterday, in its third week of release, DANCE slipped to the second spot, shoved aside by the new Harry Dresden novel from Jim Butcher.

I am also told that DANCE sold 298,000 copies on its first day of release, the biggest first day sale for any work of fiction released in 2011.

((And all this is just in the US. DANCE has been doing awfully well in the UK as well)).

So… all is good.

My thanks go out to all of you, my fans and readers, for your enthusiasm and support. It’s in no small part thanks to you spreading the word that DANCE has achieved these record sales. There’s no substitute for good word of mouth. ((Though having a hit series on HBO does not hurt either. Thanks, guys)).

Current Mood: null null

Tags: a dance with dragons

Last Stop: Lexington

August 1, 2011 at 8:26 am

Done with Denver. Another great event. Thanks to the folks at Tattered Cover, and all the fans who turned out.

Now it’s off to the airport again, for the last stop on my DWD dance — JoeBeth Books in Lexington, Kentucky.

See you there!

Current Mood: null null

Tags: a dance with dragons, signings

Leaving Seattle

July 30, 2011 at 9:12 am

A thousand people turned up at Town Hall last night for my Seattle signing, sponsored by the University Bookstore.

Seattle also included visits to Bungie (I could tell you what they are doing, but then I’d have to kill you) and Amazon (where they are selling lots o’ books). Cool stuff, great people.

Comicon, LA, and Redwood City already seem to be receding into the distant past. The trip has become one long blur… but tiring as it is at times, it means a lot to me to meet so many of my readers. I appreciate all of you coming, in spite of the crowds and long lines.

This morning we’re off to Denver. Tomorrow I sign at Tattered Cover. See you there.

Current Mood: null null

Tags: a dance with dragons, signings

On the Road Again

July 25, 2011 at 6:15 pm

I survived Comicon… though I’m still not quite sure how.

San Diego was amazing, but damn, they kept me busy. I will try and write more about it when I get home, but right now it’s all a blur.

BUt now, I’m in LA. Big booksigning tomorrow night at the B&N at the Grove. Can LA top the 1800 who turned out for the Union Square signing in NYC? Turn in a ouple days from now and find out.

And for those of you who can’t make the Grove event, we stopped thrice along the way and I signed stock at Warwick Books in La Jolla and at Book Soup and Skyline Books in LA. Autographed copies are on their shelves now, waiting for you to pick ’em up. First come, first served.

Current Mood: null null

Tags: a dance with dragons, signed books

Coming to Comicon

July 19, 2011 at 4:19 pm

I’m off to San Diego tomorrow morning, for comicon.

Tickets have been sold out for months, alas. But for you lucky 150,000 who will be lucky enough to get in, here’s my current schedule of signings, panels, and other public events.

THURSDAY, JULY 21

10:00 am – 12 noon Daniel Abraham and I will be signing copies of the FEVRE DREAM graphic novel at the Avatar booth (#2701),

12 noon – 1:00 pm EPIC FANTASY panel, rm 6A

1:30pm – 2:30 pm The panelists from Epic Fantasy will be signing in autograph area AA1

3:00pm – 4:00 pm The GAME OF THRONES panel, an hour long discussion of the HB0 series with showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss and actors Lena Headey (Cersei), Peter Dinklage (Tyrion), Emilia Clarke (Daenerys), Jason Momoa (Khal Drogo), Kit Harington (Jon Snow), Nicolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime). I’ll be moderating.

4:30pm – 5:45pm The GAME OF THRONES cast and I will be signing posters at the Warner Brothers booth #4545.

FRIDAY JULY 22

10:00 am – 11:00 am I will be signing copies of the DOORWAYS graphic novel at the IDW
booth (#2643)

3:00 pm – 5:00 pm John Picacio and I will be signing copies of the 2012 Ice & Fire calendar in the autograph area, AA 21 I will also be signing A DANCE WITH DRAGONS and my other Ice & Fire books during this appearance.

SATURDAY JULY 23

1:00 pm – 3:00 pm I will be signing A DANCE WITH DRAGONS, the other Ice & Fire books, and anything else you care to bring in the autograph area, AA 18.

5:00pm – 6:00 pm Tor Books will be giving away complimentary copies of INSIDE STRAIGHT at their booth, and I’ll be on hand to sign them, along with Melinda Snodgrass, Daniel Abraham, Carrie Vaughn, and other members of the Wild Cards crew. We’ll also be glad to deface FORT FREAK and any other Wild Cards books you care to present to us.

SUNDAY JULY 24

10:30 am – 11:30 am WILD CARDS panel. Half a dozen of your favorite Wild Cards writers will assemble to talk about the past, present, and future of the long-running shared world series in the field.

12:00 noon – 1:00 pm The Wild Card panelists will adjourn to AA1 to sign your books.

Later that afternoon, I will heading over to Mysterious Galaxy for my signing there, but that’s offsite, and not an official part of the SDCC schedule.

A couple of notes about the signings:
1) as on my tour, I will be autographing your books, but I won’t be able to inscribe or personalize them (unless by some chance you catch me at a slow time when there’s no line),
2) many of these signings are keyed to particular books and projects. At Avatar, I’ll be signing FEVRE DREAM, at IDW it will be DOORWAYS, for Tor WILD CARDS. The place to get your DANCE WITH DRAGONS signed is at the big general signings on Friday and Saturday. We’ve scheduled me for four hours of signing between those two days… so please, respect my other publishers and DO NOT ask me to sign your Ice & Fire books at the booth signings. Those are meant to promote my other projects.

[[AFTER THE CUT IS NSFW. ]]

<lj-cut>

Of course, there are certain things I am always willing to sign.

<lj-cut>

Current Mood: null

Tags: a dance with dragons, appearances, avatar, calendar, conventions, game of thrones, hbo, idw, signings, tor, wild cards

Have Gel Pen, Will Travel (Part Two)

July 19, 2011 at 10:59 am

Had a great birthday party for Parris yesterday (thanks to Melinda for lending us her house). Today I try to catch up a bit on my email. Tomorrow morning I am back on the road again. First stop is the San Diego Comicon. I will post some more about SDCC a bit later. After that, it’s the second half of my DANCE WITH DRAGONS book tour.

The schedule:

SAN DIEGO
July 24, 4:00 p.m. Mysterious Galaxy, 7051 Clairemont Mesa Blvd

LOS ANGELES
July 26, 7:00 p.m. LOS ANGELES – Barnes & Noble, 189 The Grove Drive, Los Angeles

BAY AREA
July 27, 7:00 p.m. REDWOOD CITY – Fox Theatre, 2215 Broadway Street, Redwood City
event hosted by Kepler’s

SEATTLE
July 29, 7:30 p.m. SEATTLE – Town Hall, 1119 8th Ave, Seattle
event hosted by University Bookstore

DENVER
July 31, 2:00 pm DENVER – Tattered Cover LoDo, 1628 16th Street, Denver

LEXINGTON
August 2, 7:00 p.m. LEXINGTON – Joseph-Beth Booksellers, 161 Lexington Green Circle

For more information on these signings — including rules and procedures — check out the story on Suvudu at http://sf-fantasy.suvudu.com/2011/06/on-tour-george-r-r-martin.html?ref=twt_Suvudu_stream or contact the individual bookstores.

As for all those places I am NOT visiting (sorry, sorry, but I can’t tour forever, can’t go everywhere)… there are still ways you can get an autographed book. Try contacting some of the bookstores on the tour. Most of them would be glad to take your mailorder, I’m sure.

You can also try the Signed Page at http://signedpage.com/ They specialize in selling signed books via mailorder, and I will be swinging by their cavernous warehouse on my tour, to scrawl illegibly in all of their pre-orders.

(Sorry again, but no personalizations this tour, just signatures).

See you… somewhere or other, I hope. And if I look a little dazed and don’t seem to know what city I am in, well, do forgive…

Current Mood: null null

Tags: a dance with dragons, signings

Not a Blog

Croatia Gets The Gold

I’m Number One…

SubPress Announces ADWD

Still Dancing

I’m Number Two…

Last Stop: Lexington

Leaving Seattle

On the Road Again

Coming to Comicon

Have Gel Pen, Will Travel (Part Two)

Latest Month

Recent Posts

Syndicate