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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… 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)).

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Home again in New Mexico… for a few days, at least. Just enough time to catch my breath before flying off to the San Diego Comicon.

While I was gone, Ty moved all my internet functions to a nifty new computer (just the Windows side of things, however, my writing computer remains the same dependable DOS machine as always). The internet stuff seems to be working well, as witness my appearance here… but I do not seem to have any email yet. So if you’ve been emailing me and wondering at my silence, that’s why. I have not had any access to email since leaving on my book tour.

My book tour, by the way, was astonishing. More than a thousand people at every appearance. Close to two thousand in New York. And such great people too… unfailingly cheerful and friendly and enthusiastic, despite having had to wait in line, in some cases for many hours. I have the best fans in the world. I appreciate all your support.

The success of DANCE has exceeded my wildest expectations. We had the strongest first day sales of any work of fiction released this year, certainly the strongest sales of my career. Not to mention the best reviews of my career, and some amazing word of mouth. That all means a great deal to me. It is no secret how long and hard I struggled with this one. Knowing that tens of thousands… indeed, hundreds of thousands… of my readers feel it was well worth the wait heartens me more than I can possibly say.

I will be posting my full schedule for San Diego tomorrow or the day after. And after comicon, it will be on to LA, the Bay area, Seattle, Denver, and Lexington. I hope to meet many more of you there.

Thanks, all. You guys (and gals) rock.

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