Farewell to the Iron Islands

March 8, 2014 at 6:55 pm

Fans of fake history rejoice. I am finally done with the Iron Islands.

And why does that make me so pleased? Well, because it was the last little bit I had to write for our long-awaited and much-postponed concordance, THE WORLD OF ICE & FIRE. Which we've been working on (along with many other things) lo, these many years. ((And yes, yes, it's late, what else is new? Please do not blame my faithful collaborators, Elio Garcia and Linda Antonsson. They finished their part ages ago, and tossed the ball to me. What can I say? I remain as slow as ever. And I added a lot.))

Anyway, it's done at last. At least the writing part. Now it is all in the hands of the artists, and our valiant editor Anne Groell. (This will be a coffee table book, heavily and lavishly illustrated, so there's LOTS of art)).

Assuming we don't run into any problems with the art, THE WORLD OF ICE AND FIRE will be released this fall. October, I think, but don't quote me on that.

And HEY, this means another monkey is off my back. Only a couple left gibbering up there now. That little joker monkey, HIGH STAKES. And… gulp…

SON OF KONG.

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Tags: bantam spectra, world of ice and fire, writing

Report from Santa Fe

February 15, 2014 at 1:17 pm

Last month I did a local television interview with Lorene Mills, of REPORT FROM SANTA FE.

For those of you who cannot get enough of me talking, here's the link:

http://reportfromsantafe.com/episodes/view/211/george-r-r-martin-author-game-of-thrones/

Lorene has had a very eclectic guest list over the years. A lot of New Mexico politicians, to be sure, but also artists, writers, and even stranger types.

She's a big Peter S. Beagle fan as well, and interviewed him when he was here a few weeks back with THE LAST UNICORN.

Speaking of which:

george-rr-martin-peter-s-beagle-direwolf-unicorn-530x397

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Tags: interviews, song of ice and fire, writing

Michael Chabon Visits Santa Fe

September 9, 2013 at 1:52 pm

[Michael Chabon, the only writer ever to win both a Pulitzer Prize and a Hugo Award, will be visiting Santa Fe next weekend, and we have the honor of hosting him at the Jean Cocteau Cinema.

He'll be here this Saturday, September 14. The event starts at 7:00 pm. He'll be reading from TELEGRAPH AVENUE, his latest novel. I'll be interviewing Michael as well, talking books and writing and life & times and such. Followed, of course, by a booksigning.

Admission is free with the purchase of a hardcover book, $5 with the purchase of a paperback.

chabon3

We have a goodly stock of Chabon titles in stock at the theatre — not only TELEGRAPH AVENUE (in both hardcover and paperback), but also his Hugo-winning YIDDISH POLICEMAN'S UNION, his Pulitzer Prize-winning THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER AND CLAY, the marvelous swashbuckler GENTLEMAN OF THE ROAD (echoes of Fritz Leiber and Harold Lamb, illustrated by the incomparable Gary Gianni), his book of essays MAPS AND LEGENDS: READING AND WRITING ALONG THE BORDERLANDS, and other titles.

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The Cocteau only seats 120, and we're getting a lot of interest in this event, so if you'd like to come join us for an evening with Michael Chabon, phone the theatre at 505-466-5528 ASAP to order a book… and thereby reserve a seat.

You can also order a book, and a seat, through the Cocteau website at
http://www.jeancocteaucinema.com/

See you at the show!

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Tags: interviews, jean cocteau, signings, writing

Lone Star GRRM

April 4, 2013 at 1:05 pm

For those of you who couldn’t make it to Texas for Aggiecon and Deeper Than Swords last month, the good folks at Texas A&M and the Cushing Memorial Library have thoughtfully videotaped my speech and uploaded it to YouTube.

So if you’d like to hear more about how a Jersey boy came to deposit his papers and manuscripts in College Station, you can hear all about my strange connection to Texas here:

<lj-embed id=”351″/>

Enjoy.

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Tags: comic books, fandom, friends, writing

The Beast

March 16, 2013 at 10:34 pm

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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Tags: game of thrones, hbo, writing

Power Out

March 9, 2013 at 1:23 pm

Snowstorm last night, and this morning a power outage. No big thing, power is back on now, but I lost a whole morning of work, and that’s not good. I am stressed out enough as is with all the stuff on my plate, and every lost hour hurts. If only I did not need to sleep…

POSTSCRIPT. This post is being misunderstood. I lost hours, not words. With the power out, I could not turn on my computer. (Well, actually, I had a backup power source, so I ran off that for a while, but the outage was long enough so that eventually that shut down as well).

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Tags: everyday life, writing

A Taste of Winter

January 8, 2013 at 4:55 pm

For all of you who have been clamoring, I have a somewhat belated Xmas/ New Year’s gift, a new sample chapter from THE WINDS OF WINTER. You can find it on my website.

This one features Arianne Martell, Princess of Dorne.

(And here she is, couresty of Fantasy Flight Games and Magali Villeneuve)

Read, enjoy, discuss, and speculate to your heart’s content… but not here, please, there are better places for that, like the forums at Westeros and Tower of the Hand.

Me, I have a lot more writing to do. On WINDS, and half a dozen other projects.

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Tags: the winds of winter, website, writing

Still Writing

September 15, 2012 at 10:36 pm

There must be something about the words “dance” and “dragons.”

We all know how long the last novel took. And now I am writing the “sidebar” (hoo hah) about the first Dance of the Dragons, the fratricidal civil war between King Aegon II and his half-sister Rhaenyra, for THE WORLD OF ICE AND FIRE, and it’s turned into a monster too.

As of today, I have a hundred and three bloody manuscript pages (some VERY bloody) and still no end at hand. I had hoped to finish this one today, but… no, not even close. Lots more to write.

I think there’s some good stuff here, and judging by the reception my reading got at Chicon, most of you seem to like the fake history too. But DAMN, there a lot of it.

Nothing to do but keep doing.

Dance, you dragons, dance, dance…

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Tags: song of ice and fire, world of ice and fire, writing

Writing

August 19, 2012 at 3:19 pm

These worldbook “sidebars” are all threatening to turn into novellas.

Sure hope you guys and gals like fake history.

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Tags: song of ice and fire, writing

RIP, Harry Harrison

August 15, 2012 at 11:20 am

We have lost another Grand Master, I fear. I’ve just learned that Harry Harrison has died.

I did not know Harry well, but I always liked him, and enjoyed his writing. BILL THE GALACTIC HERO, THE TECHNICOLOR TIME MACHINE, DEATHWORLD (the first one is the best), THE STAINLESS STEEL RAT (ditto)…

He was a hard-drinking, fun-loving guy. I remember him tending bar at the SFWA suite. When you asked Harry for a gin and tonic, you got a tumbler of gin with a splash of tonic. He kept his money on the Isle of Man, and would tell anyone who would listen that they should move their money there as well. And back before the Brits reformed their currency, he was famous for insisting that all his UK contracts be paid in guineas rather than pounds.

Farewell, Harry. It was good reading you.

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Tags: writing

Not a Blog

Farewell to the Iron Islands

Report from Santa Fe

Michael Chabon Visits Santa Fe

Lone Star GRRM

The Beast

Power Out

A Taste of Winter

Still Writing

Writing

RIP, Harry Harrison

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