It was Matthew Arnold who first dubbed Oxford as “the city of dreaming spires.”
It really is a magical place. A place with strong ties to fantasy. To Philip Pullman, Alan Garner, William Morris, Diana Wynne Jones, Neil Gaiman, and of course the Inklings, among them C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. A grand company. Understandably, I was honored when I was invited to return there in November, to address the Oxford Union, and sign a few books.
I spoke on November 4, to a full house.
It was a daunting assignment, given the speakers who had gone before me over the years. Writers, actors, politicians, poets, comedians, scholars, celebrities of all sorts. Some gave long serious speeches on the issues of the day, others focused on literature, war and peace, love and sex… everything was fair game. For me, I knew it was my writing… A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE in particular… that had inspired the Union to invite me. So I decided to talk about my life, and my beginnings as a writer.
It was a lovely evening. I understand why Tolkien… and all the rest… loved Oxford so much. My hosts were warm, bright, so hospitable, students and scholars both.
Alas, my hopes of enjoying g a pint or two at the Eagle and Child, where JRRT and the Inklings drank and talked and argued, were dashed. The pub is still closed for renovations. Maybe next time. (Oxford did boast a truly outstanding Indian restaurant, where I had the best Indian food I’d ever tasted).
Maybe the Bird and Baby will be open the next time I make it to Oxford. I do want to come back one day. Those dreaming spires cast a spell.
It’s been a long time since we plucked my magic twanger, I know.
No, I have not forgotten how to blog. I just haven’t had the time, or the energy. Too much else to do, too many projects, too many deadlines, and I was behind on everything. Too much death as well; we lost some close friends during the last few months, along with artists, writers, and other celebrities whose work meant a lot to us, even if we did not know them personally. I wanted to talk about all of that.
Oh, and politics… I have refrained from making any comment on the things going down in the real world this last year, but that does not mean I have nothing to say.
Had I found time back in the fall, I might have made some football posts too, as I have in past years, but given the seasons the Jets and the Giants had, it was just as well I didn’t. I am not that masochistic.
I’ve been on the road a lot as well, more than I’ve been for the past several years; with A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS set to debut in January there was a lot of promotion to do. There was worldcon in Seattle, Bubonicon in Albuquerque, the New York City Comicon, two weeks in the United Kingdom to speak at Oxford, visit my British publishers in London, check out Stratford-upon-Avon, and return to Belfast where Ira, Peter, Dexter, and the rest of their merry company were filming the second season of Dunk and Egg, based on my novella “The Sworn Sword.” Most recently, I was in Berlin for the world premiere HBO’s adaptation of “The Hedge Knight,” the first season of A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS.
The last time I visited Germany was a quarter century ago… it came as a real shock when I realized that, it did not seem nearly so long. The years do go by quickly.
I hoped to blog about all of this… but there was just so much, and every day it seemed there was more. I prefer not to lug a computer along with me when I travel. (I tried it, decades ago, and it never worked). I do have a staff of loyal minions who take care of my Not A Blog for me when I cannot, and they filled in for me a bit, at the start at least. The blog posts that went up on November 10, December 12, and December 15, which you’ll find below, were all Minion Posts. The last one I posted myself was “Dunk & Egg Take the Big Apple,” which went up on October 7, after I got home from the NYC Comicon, before travel, deadlines, deaths, and the like left me overwhelmed.
I am back at home in Santa Fe at last, I am pleased to say, settling back in at my computer in the Land of Enhantment. Trying to cover everything that’s happened since October in one gulp would require a blog post as long as one of my novels, I fear, so I am not going to do that. I do want to catch up some, however, so I instead I hope to do a series of short mini-posts here, to touch on matters both large and small… though not in the detail I might have had I not fallen so far behind. We’ll see how that goes. Watch this space. (I expect the posts to be all over the place. So much to cover).
It has been an exciting half year. “Interesting times,” as the infamous proverb says.
Sometimes you CAN go home again, no matter what Tom Wolfe said. At least for a visit.
For me, home was Bayonne, New Jersey, just south of Jersey City, on a peninsula sandwiched between New York and Newark. I was born in Bayonne in 1948, and spent my childhood there, most of it in the federal housing projects on First Street, with the lights of Staten Island across the waters of the Kill Von Kull. Bayonne was my world until 1966, when I went off to college at Northwestern, the first time I ever went beyond the borders of Jersey and NYC (except in books and comics, of course, where I could oft be found wandering Middle Earth, on Barsoom, Trantor, or Venusport, or slinking down the mean streets of Gotham City).
After college, I remained in Chicago for two years of alternative service with VISTA, and a couple of additional years directing chess tournaments throughout the midwest. My years in Dubuque, Iowa came after that, until I finally settled down in the Land of Enchantment (Santa Fe) come 1979. I spent time in Hollywood as well.
I still had family in Jersey, though, so I returned to Bayonne once or twice a year, most years. It was always nice to come back, see my sisters and their kids and grandkids… and remember. Bayonne has changed some over the years…the city has lost all its movie houses, along with Uncle Milty’s Amusement Park where I had my first job… but the projects are still there, and Brady’s Dock, and Mary Jane Donohoe School on 5th Street… the candy store on Kelly Parkway where I bought my comic books and Ace Doubles is still there, and so is the Fifth Street Deli-Ette… oh, and Hendrickson’s Corner, and Judicke’s sprinkle Donuts…
And the public library remains… changed some, yes… but better than ever.
I remember the library. I always will.
And it would seem that the library remembers me. They have just completed some renovations, and did me the honor of naming one of the new rooms after me: the George R.R. Martin Room for Popular Fiction. To mark the occasion, they declared October 15 to be George R.R. Martin Day.
That is… so cool, so, so, so… well, words fail me. I have won a lot of awards over the course of my career: Emmys and Golden Globes, Hugo Awards and Nebulas, Lovecrafts and Stokers and Dragons. (I have lost a lot more, to be sure, but then that’s only fitting for a guy who helped found the Hugo Losers Club)… but I have never had a daybefore. Few have. After all, there are only 365 of them.
James (Jimmy) Davis, Bayonne’s mayor, presided over the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Old friends and new attended.
Of course, we had a great turnout from the library staff.
The library also added a wonderful mosaic dragon to its decor.
I was asked to say a few words, and was thrilled to do so. Given the circumstance I could probably have talked for hours. So many memories, so much to say. But I resisted the impulse. We shook a few hands, and then went down to Hendrickson’s Corner.
This was a very special day for me. One I will longer remember.
London was the third stop on our summer travels, as July turned to August.
The first time I visited London was way back in 1981. That was also the first time I left the USA, except for the time I went to Canada for the Toronto worldcon in 1993; I was over in the UK for six weeks on that first trip, traveling everywhere from Scotland to Cornwall, on the theory that if I was going to cross that great big ocean, I might as well see everything there was to see. I did not even come close, needless to say, but I loved what I did see… museums and castles, battlefields and bookshops, Hadrian’s Wall and Cecil Court and so much more. I have lost track of how many times I’ve been there since, and yet there’s still so much to see and do. London remains one of my favorite cities.
As usual, we combined business and pleasure, starting with a delightful lunch with my British editor, Jane Johnson, and her team from Harper Collins Voyager.
Across the street from our restaurant a chess game was in progress. Love it.
When I was not doing writer stuff, I did tourist stuff, including a ride in the London Eye. First time I’ve gotten up in it; on previous visits the lines were always too long.
We also took advantage of the West End, and checked out five plays, among them PEOPLE, PLACES, AND THINGS, scripted by Duncan Macmillan, the playwright who is adapting the tourney at Harrenhal for the stage. I think we’re in good hands. Duncan’s play was dark, powerful, and intense. We grabbed a lunch at our hotel a few days before seeing the play, and talked about THE IRON THRONE.
I am told that the show is coming along splendidly. Our team did a run-through for the managers of a score of West End theatres (before we arrrived, alas, so we did not get to see it), and the excitement we palpable, we hear. We have not nailed down our opening day yet (next year, most likely), but it looks as though we will have our choice of theatres.
We also got together with Maisie Williams for pizza and pasta, and talked about… well, no, better not get into that, do not want to jinx it. But it could be so much fun. And we swung by Locke & Co, Hatters, the oldest hat shop in the UK, where Winston Churchill used to get his headware, and we bought some hats. (What else?)
A splendid few days, all in all, but of course the time went by too fast, and it was time to move on.
A lot of my readers think that Braavos was inspired by Venice. Because of the canals, of course. Thing is, though I’ve read a lot about Venice, histories and travel books and the like, I have never actually beenthere. I have always wanted to visit, Venice is plainly a magical place, and if I had a bucket list it would be right up near the top… but so far I have never found the time. One day, I hope. When the novel’s done, perhaps. Yes, certainly, there’s some of Venice in Braavos.. the Sealord, and the manner of his choosing, was certainly inspired in part by the Doge… but there’s some of Prague in Braavos too, and bits of other places, along with some things that were purely imaginary. The Titan of Braavos, of course, was my twist on the Colossus of Rhodes. As for those canals…
Did you know that Amsterdam has more canals than Venice?
That startled me as well, the first time I heard it. That was back in 1990, when I visited Amsterdam for the first time, after attending the first (and so far, only) Dutch worldcon in the Hague. That was a good worldcon. I liked what I saw of the Netherlands before the con, the windmills, the countryside, the castles, and the magnificent fireworks display we happened to run into at the Hague… but it was Amsterdam that I fell in love with. There was so much to see and do. Great art in world class museums (the Rijkmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum among them), all the history on display in the Maritime Museum, Indonesian rijsttafels, the coffee houses and “coffee” houses of the old red light district, the beer in the medieval taverns and sidewalk cafes, the tall narrow houses with their pointed roofs, the houseboats along the canals… Day or night, Amsterdam is a gorgeous city.
One of the museums that I had missed on my previous visits to Amsterdam was the Anne Frank House, which should need no introduction. I made certain that we did not miss it this time. I had read Anne Frank’s diary many decades ago, when I was not much older than she had been when she died, and of course I knew the broad outlines of World War II and the Holocaust… but standing in that house, climbing those steps, slipping through the bookcase into the secret rooms where Anne and her family hid during the last years of their lives… there was something profound and moving about that. It is one thing to read of camps and trains, of millions shipped off and millions starved and gassed and killed… but the story of Anne Frank and her family, of the Dutch who helped protect them, of their ultimate capture and betrayal, a story full of hope that ends in death… there’s a power to it that goes beyond all the statistics, that brings home the humanity of Anne and all the others who died in a way no history book can match. There’s often a long line in front of the Anne Frank House, and the wait can sometimes be lengthy… but it is worth it. You will leave there sadder than when you entered… but wiser too, as you contemplate all the horror and heroism of which the human race is capable.
My visit to Amsterdam was not all about museums and sightseeing and Indonesian food; our summer trip combined business and pleasure, as almost all my travel has for the past couple of decades. It had been a decade or more since I last met with my Dutch editors and publishers, and my agents and I agreed that it was past time. So my first stop was at the offices of Luitingh-Sijthoff, to meet the team.
(Megan Ellis, my newest minion, is there in the middle in the black dress, next to me).
And of course, they had a few books for me to sign.
I believe I scribbled in 600 books. Dutch editions, of course.
Afterward, my editors took us out for a lovely dinner at an outdoor cafe, where we were joined by a Dutch filmmaker, a book reviewer… and Melisandre of Asshai, the Red Lady herself, in the person of Carice Van Houten.
Our lodgings in Amsterdam were at the Hotel De L’Europe, a glorious old luxury hotel in the heart of the city, with big rooms, a grand lobby, some fine restaurants… and balconies on many of the suites. Despite the glories of Amsterdam, many a night I found myself unable to sleep after my minions had headed off to bed. Instead I wandered out to my balcony, and sat looking out on the moonlit city while I mulled life and art and the woes of the world. It was a welcome respite from all the conflict that I had been dealing with for the past half year.
The best thing about the hotel was its location, though; right on one of the canals. The canals of Braavos are its glory, and the same is true of Amsterdam. Sid booked us a cruise on a canal boat one afternoon. I had cruised the canals before, on previous visits to Amsterdam, but this was different. We got a private boat just big enough for the three of us, rather than one of the long glassed-in supper boats crowded with tourists, and for close to three hours we wound our way through the waterways of the city.
It was lovely, and peaceful, and ended too soon. Bayonne, New Jersey, where I was born and raised, is nothing at all like Amsterdam… but for my most of my childhood we lived in the projects on First Street, right across from Brady’s Dock and the deep waters of the Kill Von Kull, where the big freighters made their way from New York to Newark. As much as I love Santa Fe, I miss the water.
One of these days I need to write that story about Braavos we were developing for HBO. They shelved that one a couple of years back, alas, but that does not mean I won’t go back to it… after WINDS OF WINTER is done, of course.
Maybe then I will have enough free time to visit Amsterdam again.
The last time I visited Northern Ireland was in 2019. Worldcon was in Dublin that year, and a week later there was Titancon up in Belfast, a small regional that a number of the members of the Brotherhood Without Banners helped put on. There was no way we were going to miss that. So we hopped in a car and headed north, from Dublin to Belfast.
We enjoyed ourselves at Titancon, but Belfast had other attractions as well… one of them being the Paint Hall, where the big ships were painted in the heydey of the old Harland & Wolff shipyards, where the Titanic was built (along with hundreds of ships that did not sink, as our Irish friends like to point out). The shipyards were long closed, but the Paint Hall was such a huge space that HBO was able to convert it into one of the largest sound stages in Europe (actually, four stages, if I recall correctly). Most of the interiors of GAME OF THRONES were shot there. That was where our throne room was, and the Iron Throne. Those sets had been struck when GOT wrapped, of course, but new sets had gone up in their places, interiors for Casterly Rock and Winterfell designed for BLOODMOON, the Jane Goldman pilot that had just wrapped. Interiors for Winterfell and Casterly Rock, as they might have looked thousands of years before The War of the Five Kings , occupied much of the Paint Hall, and we were able to wander though them. That was pretty cool.. but even cooler, there was a GOT museum nearby, not far from the Titanic museum, and we visited that too. Just a few rooms, with a display of costumes and armor, some great dragon skull, an Iron Throne, and a wall of faces straight from the House of Black and White (well, kinda sorta).
That was 2019, though. There have been a lot of changes since then, and none more than the GAME OF THRONES display. It’s not small any longer, and it’s not in the Titanic Quarter. There’s a whole new GOT Studio Tour outside of Belfast in a own called Banbridge, inside an old Irish linen mill. A big, big, building, maybe larger than the Paint Hall itself, filled with room after room of props, costumes, dioramas, an Iron Throne, another wall of faces even bigger than the first one. And dragon skulls, of course. Cannot forget the dragons. There’s a restaurant as well, and a big parking lot where the tourist buses come and go, and… oh, a gift shop with all sorts of GOT merc, a lot of which even I had never seen before.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9Caq728rnE
We spent half the day there, wandering from room to room while oohing and aahing, and talking with the staff, some of whom seemed to know more about Westeros than I do. A warm and friendly crew, they were so welcoming to all the visitors, Starks, Lannisters, and White Walkers alike. We could easily have stayed longer, but we had other places to go and people to see. But if your own travels take you to Ireland, don’t make the same mistake; there’s a lot to see, so leave yourself time to see it all.
Here are a few more glimpses, the pix we shot ourselves.
It is one thing to watch a television series at home and admire the look of it… but the studio tour really brings home the incredible amount of care that went into making it… the blood and sweat and craft, the hours and days of dedication, labor, and love that brought Westeros to life. GAME OF THRONES filmed all over the world, in Scotland, Iceland, Malta, Morocco, Spain, and Croatia… and in Northern Ireland most of all… but I live in New Mexico, and while I did visit the shoots a number of times during the show’s run, it was not nearly enough. I am so pleased that we now have such a magnificent museum, so GOT fans from all over the world can experience a taste of what was.
I was traveling in Europe from July 15 to August 15. I do not travel with a computer (never have), so I had hoped to catch up before I left… but it was hard, hard. The first half of my year was pretty miserable, dominated as it was by the death of Howard Waldrop on January 14. Howard was my oldest friend in science fiction community; we had been corresponding since 1963, when we were both in high school. His passing came suddenly, only six days after our last conversation, and there’s a part of me that still cannot accept it, that wants to pick up the phone and ring him up and hear his voice again.
Nor did I find much solace in my work. Writing came hard, and though I did produce some new pages on both THE WINDS OF WINTER (yes) and BLOOD & FIRE (the sequel to FIRE & BLOOD, the second part of my Targaryen history), I would have liked to turn out a lot more. My various television projects ate up most of those months. Some of that was pleasant (DARK WINDS, and THE HEDGE KNIGHT), most of it was not. The stress kept mounting, the news went from bad to worse to worst, my mood seemed to swing between fury and despair, and at night I tossed and turned when I should have been sleeping. When I did sleep, well, my dreams were none too pleasant either.
I had been planning our European trip for some time. The Dunk & Egg show would start filming in July and I wanted to visit the shoot in Northern Ireland, and a month later there would be a worldcon in Glasgow. I had not been to a worldcon since the Dublin convention in 2019 (we won’t count Covid Con, the New Zealand worldcon in 2020 that went all virtual) and I wanted to return. Fandom had been my second family since 1971, and worldcon our family reunion. Even so, I had so much on my plate that I seriously debated whether I should cancel the whole trip so I could stay home and fight on. I am glad I decided against that. I was so stressed out that I doubt I would have accomplished much anyway… and the trip turned out to be a blessing, balm for my bruised soul.
We had a great time on the trip, and I meant to tell you all about our adventures and experiences when we returned. Those will be happy posts, made of happy memories, and I still mean to write them… soon…
But when we finally got back to the Land of Enchantment I had a thousand emails waiting for me. I also managed to bring covid back home with me, after picking it up at worldcon. It was a mild case, thankfully, but even so, it put me out of action for a week or so, with the worst sore throat of my life. (I am fully recovered and testing negative once again, thank you. Don’t get covid, boys and girls, it is no fun at all). And, alas, the moment I opened my computer again, the stress came rushing back. I managed to put my problems aside for a month, but they were still waiting for me.
So… I have a lot to blog about. Big things, small things, glad news and sad news. I do want to talk about the trip while it is still fresh in my mind, but there is so much else…
We will be headed across the Atlantic in a week or so for the longest trip we’ve taken in a while, part business and part pleasure.
First stop will be Belfast, where I am planning to visit Ashford Meadow, catch a little jousting and maybe a puppet show, meet a certain hedge knight and his squire, and the rest of the cast of the Dunk & Egg show. And of course we’ll be having a meal or three with Ira Parker, Owen Harris, and their team. Really looking forward to that.
We have a few more stops planned after Belfast, including one in London, where I will be getting together with my British publishers from Harper Collins Voyager.
Let me say a few words about that, though. Last year, when I mentioned seeing my Voyager editor in London, the internet went nuts, throwing up all sorts of theories about how this meant that WINDS OF WINTER was done and a huge announcement was at hand. Uhhhh… sorry guys, but no. That’s not how it works. Making contacts… which often turn into friendships… is a huge part of publishing. Most of my communication with my editors and publishers is conducted via emails, phone calls, zooms, and texts (in the old days, we had letters written on paper too). There’s not a lot of face to face, especially when we’re talking about people who live across an ocean… so when I travel, if I have a day or two to catch up with one of my editors or agents, I jump on it. Every time I travel to NYC, I get together with my literary agents, and my editors at Bantam and Tor.. along with old friends, family, and the like. That’s true everywhere I go. If I fly to Germany for a con or book fair, I will see my German agents, publishers, and translators. If it’s Italy or Spain or Finland, same thing. If I ever find myself in Brazil or Japan or Egypt, I’d try and connect with my Brazilian or Japanese or Egyptian publishers. This is just the standard way of doing business, guys. It does NOT signify that some momentous announcement is at hand. It doesn’t signify anything, actually… except a desire to touch base, catch up, renew old contacts or make some new ones… and enjoy a nice meal. So calm down, please. When WINDS OF WINTER is done, the word will not trickle out, there WILL be a big announcement… where and when I cannot say.
But back to our road trip…
We will have a week or so in London. Besides the visit with Harper Collins Voyage, I also hope to get together with the scriptwriter and director on our stage play… HARRENHAL was our first title, since it is set during the fateful Harrenhal tourney, but now we are leaning toward THE IRON THRONE. It’s coming along well, I am told. Young Ned, Young Robert, Lyanna, Rhaegar, Howland Reed… should be fun. And jousting. On stage. The dream is to open somewhere on London’s West End in 2025… but there’s still a lot of work to do.
The writers’ room for HOUSE OF THE DRAGON season 3 is also meeting in London, but I have no plans to attend.
I will he going to Oxford on August 2, for an appearance at Oxford Writer’s House. The topic will be “Writing Fantasy,” and I will be sharing the stage with Philip Pullman. I am really looking forward to that. I have never met Pullman, but I’m a huge fan of HIS DARK MATERIALS, so that will be a treat. I have never been to Oxford either. (I was especially eager to have a pint in the Eagle and Child, where Tolkien and the Inklings once drank, but alas, I read that it’s closed to renovations. Guess I will need to come back again). Was going to post a link to the event, but, alas, I see that it is already sold out. Sorry about that.
The last stop on my tour will be Glasgow, for the World Science Fiction Convention. This will be the first worldcon I’ve attended in a number of years, since the ill-fated New Zealand con in 2020. I was toastmaster at that one, but covid descended on the world and the con was forced to go all virtual and… well, let’s just say things did not work out well. (No more virtual panels for me, thanks). Glasgow has hosted worldcons twice before, and we were at both of those and had a great time. We are hoping this will be as good.
Anyway… I will be in Glasgow, attending the con, but whether you’ll see me, I don’t know. I am not on any programming. It is not for lack of trying, though. I wrote the con’s programming chair back in January, and again in February, asking for his phone number so we could discuss the details. No phone number was forthcoming, alas, just a form letter with a link to an application and a warning that while I was welcome to apply, I could not be guaranteed a place on the programme.
I did not give up there, however. Several months later, when I learned how many of my Wild Cards writers would be at the con (about a dozen, all told), I wrote again and offered to organize a Wild Cards event for them. (We have done Wild Cards events at a dozen past worldcons, everything from traditional panels to trivia contests to cage matches and the like), and they have always drawn a big crowd. I got no reply to that one. A month or so after that, I tried again. Howard Waldrop died in January, and I thought it would be nice to do a memorial panel honoring the man and his work. Several other friends of Howard will also be at Glasgow, and said they would be delighted to be part of such a panel. Alas, no reply to that one either.
As regular readers of my Not A Blog know, I have also been producing a series of short films based on some of Howard’s classic short stories. NIGHT OF THE COOTERS was the first done, and won prizes in half a dozen film fests. MARY-MARGARET ROAD GRADER is hitting the festival circuit this year, and has already won its first prize. THE UGLY CHICKENS, adapted by Michael Cassutt from Howard’s Nebula-winning short, and starring fan favorite Felicia Day, will follow this year. Just saw the final cut, directed by Mark Raso, and it’s just lovely. The films are not in theatres yet, but I offered to screen them in Glasgow, as part of the film programme (if there is one) or that proposed Waldrop Memorial Panel. No response to that offer either.
So… yes, I will be at Glasgow. I will check out the art show, as I always do, maybe attend some bid parties, and I will be wandering the dealer’s room (the huckster’s room, as us old timers call it). The rest of the time I guess I may hang out in the bar, drinking with friends both old and new, toasting Howard and Gardner and all the other friends we lost.
So… a friend of a friend was in Spain recently, and visited Barcelona.
One of my favorite cities. In Spain, in Europe, or, well… anywhere. It has been way too long since I was there. Many cool things to see in Barcelona. Including, it would seem, a Chocolate Museum. I’ve never been there myself, but… well… my friend’s friend DID go to the Chocolate Museum, where they found..
…A chocolate me.
I find myself at a loss for words, but full of questions.
Am I made of dark chocolate or milk chocolate? No idea. Am I solid chocolate, or do I have a filling? Nougat? Peanut butter? Nuts? Does the museum have a display of chocolate writers, where I am to be found between chocolate Tolkien and chocolate Cervantes? Or other sorts of chocolate celebrities? Singers, actors, politicians? (Avoid the chocolate Trump, he’s poisonous).
Or is this item to be found in the gift shop, available for purchase? That fills me with dread. So many people are cross with me because of how long it is taking me to finish THE WINDS OF WINTER? Will they be buying chocolate me by the thousands and biting off my chocolate head in their wroth?
But maybe it’s not me after all. The guy in the picture is using an Apple laptop. I use a DOS desktop, so…
I have been busy catching up these past couple of weeks, dealing with the thousand-odd emails that accumulated while I was over the Pond in London Towne for two-and-a-half weeks. (Most of that was spam, though, and quickly dealt with).
It was a busy trip. I have not been to London since before the Dublin Worldcon a few years ago. That trip was largely for fun, this one was mostly work… though we did find time to see a few plays on the West End. CABARET was amazing, but oh, so dark. I love love love the film version with Liza Minelli, one of my favorite films of all time, but the stage production has a whole different feel. Brilliant, but gut wrenching, especially considering the times we are living through right now. We also caught the adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s novel THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE. A wonderful book, but so much of it depends on internal monologue and Neil’s rich, evocative prose that I wondered how they could possibly bring it to the stage. I need not have worried. They did a masterful job. I hear they may be bringing it to Broadway soon. If so, don’t miss it. Finally, we went to see THE MOUSE TRAP, the Agatha Christie whodunit that has been playing on the West End since 1952. That was a fun evening as well.
And since we are talking theatre… one of the meetings I had in London was with Dominick and Duncan, the director and scriptwriter of our own stage play, the one we have been working on for the past few years. Originally we were calling it HARRENHAL, but we have now settled on THE IRON THRONE as a title… until we think of something better. Regardless, things are coming well, I think, and we are hopeful of being able to open in late 2024. Maybe. But you never know. There’s still a lot of work to be done.
I also found time to meet with my British publisher, and my other British publisher, to talk WILD CARDS and A SONG OF ICE & FIRE and (of course) THE WINDS OF WINTER.
And… of course, of course… I also spent three days with HOUSE OF THE DRAGON. Starting with a visit to the studio where HOT D is being shot. (I had originally planned to visit there months ago, but the WGA strike put an end to that, and instead I stayed here in Santa Fe, working on WINDS OF WINTER and walking a picket line). All I have to say about that is… ohmigod! I am no stranger to film sets. I have worked off and on in television and film since 1986, where I joined the staff of the TWILIGHT ZONE revival at CBS. I still recall the rush where I saw them building Stonehenge on the sound stage behind my office, for an episode I’d written. And of course I visited the GAME OF THRONES shoots in Belfast, Scotland, Morocco, and Malta. Those were incredible too. But nothing I have ever seen can compare with the Red Keep and Dragonstone sets they have built at Leavesden Studios in London. HUGE, stunning, and so damned real that I felt as if I had gone through a time portal to medieval Westeros. I love castles and have visited dozens of actual medieval castles, keeps, and towers in my time, and none of the real castles I’ve ever seen can hold a candle… or a torch… to our Red Keep.
It was not all tromping through sets, though. I also spent two days locked in a room with Ryan Condal and his writing staff (Sara Hess, Ti Mikkel, David Hancock, and Philippa Goslett) talking about the third and fourth seasons of HOUSE OF THE DRAGON. They were lively, fun discussions, and we got some good work done… though two days was not nearly enough. There is so much ground to cover that I am not sure twenty days would have been enough.
The highlight of the trip, though, had to be the sneak preview that Ryan gave me of the first two episodes of HOUSE OF THE DRAGON, season two. (Rough cuts, of course). Of course, I am hardly objective when talking about anything based on my own work… but I have to say, I thought both episodes were just great. (And they are not even finished yet). Dark, mind you. Very dark. They may make you cry. (I did not cry myself, but one of my friends did). Powerful, emotional, gut-wrenching, heart rending. Just the sort of thing I like. (What can I say? I was weaned on Shakespeare, and love the tragedies and history plays best of all).
We also got to spent Halloween in London. My minions made me dress up. They are very bossy minions.
Also got to spend some time over there with friends old and new: Lisa Tuttle, Paul Cornell, Meredith Glynn, Jane Johnson, Mark Lawrence, Maisie Williams.
A lovely trip, all in all. We even got to see some fireworks on the Fifth of November.
But now I am back, and there is so much work to be done.
stressed
loved
happy
contemplative
pleased
restless
amused
tired
