Not a Blog

Somewhat Surreal Department

September 8, 2013 at 1:12 am
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Given the popularity of HBO's GAME OF THRONES, it is only to be expected that various costume companies would be offering GOT-themed costumes for Halloween this year.  So, unsurprisingly, you can go trick-or-treating as Arya, Daenerys, Melisandre, Jon Snow, and sundry other characters from the show.

Rather more unusual, however, is the outfit selling grisly Red Wedding costimes, complete with buckets o' blood:

http://www.halloweencostumes.com/blog/p-420-diy-game-of-thrones-red-wedding-costumes-spoiler-alert-.aspx

Even those outfits are not the most surreal offering for All Hallow's, however.  Stranger still, you can also attend your favorite Halloween party as…

… me.

http://carboncostume.com/george-r-r-martin/

I am not entirely sure how I feel about being a Halloween costume.  It does suggest a plan, however.  Perhaps I should buy several of these outfits, and send forth my minions, appropriated costumed, to all my public appearances and booksignings for the next couple of years, while I stay home and write.

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Amazon Exclusive

August 15, 2013 at 3:20 pm
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Looks like the folks at Amazon are planning something rather special for the Blu-Ray/ DVD of Season 3 of GAME OF THRONES.

Take a look at this spectacular packaging for the boxed set:

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Do note: this is a LIMITED edition, and exclusive to Amazon.  Not sure how many they are making, but they are limiting sales to two per customer.

So if you'd like one, pre-order now at:

http://www.amazon.com/Game-Thrones-Complete-Limited-Exclusive/dp/B00DY9GSAU/ref=sr_1_3?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1376601653&sr=1-3&keywords=game+of+thrones+season+3

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The Wedding Guest

July 29, 2013 at 2:17 pm
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He's a father, he's a son.  He's been a bishop, a cardinal, a prior, a friar, a vicar, a knight, a lord, a mayor, a director.  There's one born every minute, but by any other name he'd smell as sweet.

Later:
I see the long delay between visits from Froggy the Gremlin hasn't dulled your skill at deciphering clues any.

Yes, it's the fine British character actor Roger Ashton-Griffiths, who has been cast in the role of Mace Tyrell, son to the Queen of Thorns, and father of Loras and Margaery.

Thanks for playing, and congrats to those who got it right.

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Swords for Sale

June 2, 2013 at 11:23 am
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The intrepid armorers and brawny blacksmiths at Valyrian Steel have been busy of late. Valyrian has just rolled out two weapons in their new HBO-licensed line of replicas — the Catspaw Dagger used by the rogue sent to kill Bran in his bed, and the Sword of Robb Stark.

(For those of you who have been collecting Valyrian’s replicas of the weapons from the novels, yes, that line is continuing as well, but Jalic has also entered into this deal with HBO to produce limited edition replicas of the blades from the show. So it is entirely possible that eventually there will be two variant ‘editions’ of the same blade, though it has not happened yet).

Here’s the Catspaw Dagger:

Catspaw 2

A handsome blade, I think. Though rather completely different from the dagger in the books, which was far plainer (though made of Valryian steel, with a dragonbone grip). It can be ordered here:

http://www.valyriansteel.com/shop/swords/catspaw-blade/prod_20.html

The Sword of Robb Stark is never described in any detail in my novels… but if I ever had paid it any mind, it probably would have looked quite a lot like the one seen in the show, which Valyrian Steel has replicated. So this one can almost be considered “novel authentic” as well as “show authentic.” Here ’tis:

Robbs sword on Plaque

You can order Robb’s sword at http://www.valyriansteel.com/shop/swords/robb-stark/prod_21.html

Both weapons come with a Certification of Authenticity — though, please note, not a SIGNED CoA, since these derive from the TV show, not the books. The weapons from the ICE & FIRE range, as opposed to the GAME OF THRONES range, are the only ones that include my illegible scrawl.

Speaking of which, I should also note that Valyrian Steel’s replica of Needle, the sword of Arya Stark, is now SOLD OUT, like Longclaw and Ice before it (a second version of Ice, based on the HBO version, is forthcoming, but the novel version is all gone). These blades are all limited editions; when they are gone, they are gone, and the price on ebay and other collector sites tends to skyrocket. Robert’s Warhammer and the Night’s Watch dragonglass dagger set remain available from Valyrian Steel, but stocks are dwindling, so if you want one, don’t wait too long.

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GOT Takes BAFTA

May 12, 2013 at 2:11 pm
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Hot damn.

GAME OF THRONES has just won the Radio Times BAFTA Award:

http://bafta-television.tumblr.com/post/50282069146/bafta-television-radio-times-audience-award-winner

The BAFTAs, for those unfamiliar with them, are the British Emmys. Despite the fact that we shoot in Belfast, Northern Ireland (and Morocco, Iceland, Croatia, and Malta) and that half of our cast is British (most of the rest being Irish, with here and there a Dane, a Norwegian, a German, and even a token American), we are considered to be an American show, I guess because HBO is an American company, and therefore ineligible for the BAFTAs.

However, this one category, the Radio Times award, is for the best international show, and unlike the other BAFTAs, it is chosen by popular vote.

Which I guess just proves that a lot of Brits are watching, even if we are an “American” show.

Congrats to all!!

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Breaking Records

May 7, 2013 at 1:38 pm
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HBO’s GAME OF THRONES continues to build.

Sunday’s episode recorded our strongest ratings to date, breaking the record set the previous week, which broke the record set the week before that, which…

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/tv-ratings-game-thrones-momentum-516711

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Let us hope the trend continues this Sunday with my own episode, AUTUMN STORMS… er, CHAINS… no, THE BEAR AND THE MAIDEN FAIR. Yeah, that’s the ticket!

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ASCENT Ascending

April 30, 2013 at 11:14 am
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For you Facebookers out there…

HBO and Disruptor Beam have entered into a partnership with Zynga to distribute and promote the new GAME OF THRONES social media game, ASCENT.

Details can be found at

http://blog.zynga.com/2013/04/30/zynga-partners-with-hbo-and-disruptor-beam-to-bring-game-of-thrones-ascent-to-zynga-players/

Go ye forth and play.

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Season Four!!!

April 3, 2013 at 11:09 am
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HBO has officially renewed GAME OF THRONES for a fourth season. (And I’m almost finished with the first draft of my script. No, sorry, not going to tell you which one it is).

http://tv.broadwayworld.com/article/HBO-Renews-GAME-OF-THRONES-for-Fourth-Season-20130402

Record ratings for our season three premiere, “Valar Dohaeris.”

http://insidetv.ew.com/2013/04/01/game-of-thrones-premiere-ratings-3/

Also (sigh) record levels of piracy.

http://www.thewrap.com/tv/column-post/game-thrones-premiere-breaks-piracy-record-83526

On other topics… no, no, Peter Dinklage is NOT being replaced by Warwick Davis in the role of Tyrion. That was just HBO’s little April Fools joke. (I was so busy I forgot to make my own April Fools joke). So calm down, boys and girls. Peter is still with us.

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Season Three!!!

March 31, 2013 at 11:50 am
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Tonight’s the night!

The wait is over.

Season Three is at hand.

Be sure to tune in. Even those of you who “don’t have HBO.” HBO is doing a big promotion this weekend, so it’s free on many cable systems and satellite services right now.

I have seen episode one three times now, at various premieres, and I think it kicks ass. I hope you all agree. Season Three bids fair to be the strongest to date.

For those new to the Not A Blog, let me add my annual disclaimer. I hope you watch the show, and I hope you talk about, all the things you liked and hated… but not here. This is not the place for critiques, discussions, theories, whatever. There are dozens of other places on the internet better suited for that, so post your thoughts on Westeros, Tower of the Hand, Winter Is Coming, Television Without Pity, or any one of the myriad other sites that welcome such.

Time to buy the beer and order that pizza for the premiere.

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The Beast

March 16, 2013 at 10:34 pm
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Here’s another taste of Season 3, courtesy of HBO.

Enjoy.

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Me, I am off tomorrow for the Hollywood premiere on Monday night. Should be cool.

Maybe it will help me forget all the stress I have been under of late… too many damn deadlines, all of them urgent… sigh… someday I will have time to stop and smell the roses, kick the severed heads… but not now…

Starting tomorrow it is LA LA LA SF TX TX TX TX and then home… where all the work and all the deadlines will be waiting for me, along with a pile of mail three feet high and maybe a thousand new emails…

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