George R.R. Martin's Blog, page 217

That Time of Year

It's that time of year. I have an appointment with my accountant on Wednesday, so I am doing my taxes. Or more precisely, preparing my taxes so my accountant can do them.

Whatever you call it, I am drowning in little bits of paper.

I don't actually mind paying taxes. I recognize that taxes are the price of civilization, that they pay for many things I value and would be loathe to do without.

But I hate DOING taxes. I hate receipts, and 1099s, and W-2s and W-3s, and adding up everything six t...

Jaime's Challenge

The good news: Jaime Lannister pulled it out and defeated Kvothe. Came from 700 votes behind in the final hours to win handily... all thanks to you guys, of course. Thanks to all of you who voted for him... and all of you who voted for his opponent (misguided though you are). And to Patrick Rothfuss, a fine writer and a good sport, who made this round a lot of fun. RIP, Kvothe.

The bad news: Jaime is in the final, and his opponent is Rand al'Thor.

Let me see. Rand is a master swordsman....

Suvudu Final Four

The good news: the Kingslayer has survived another match, defeating the dragon Temeraire to advance into the final four of Suvudu's cage matches.



The bad news: he's now going up against Patrick Rothfuss's singing innkeeper Kvothe, which wouldn't be so bad if Kvothe would just stick to stews and sheets, but he also happens to be a fair swordsman and a crackerjack wizard, so... as it happens, he's now leading Jaime, and today is the last day in the match.

http...

No Foolin'

Another tradition bites the dust. (In fandom, anything you do twice is a tradition).

I know, I know, it's April 1st. For the past two years I've made a bogus April Fool's post on this day, but not this year. The day came rushing up on me too fast, I fear. I had a vague notion of announcing that HBO had recast the part of Tyrion, replacing Peter Dinklage with Gary Coleman, but somehow I don't think that would have fooled anyone. Then I thought maybe I could post that William Shatner had be...

Love. Death. Sex. Heartbreak.

What more could you want?

Coming in November, the latest original anthology from me and my sometime-partner, Gardner Dozois (former editor of ASIMOV's and winner of umpty-ump Hugo Awards as our field's best editor): SONGS OF LOVE AND DEATH.

The good folks at Pocket Books have just send us the cover. Have a look.



The lineup:
-Jim Butcher, "Love Hurts" (a Harry Dresden story)
-Jo Beverly, "The Marrying Maid"
-Carrie Vaughn, "Rooftops"
-M.L.N. Hanover, "Hurt Me"
-Cecelia Holland, "Demon Lover"
-Meli...

Ice & Fire Calendar Announced for Comicon

The official Song of Ice and Fire calendar for 2011 has just moved into production, and will be available this summer, publisher Bantam Spectra has informed me. This year's calendar is illustrated by the acclaimed fantasy artist Ted Nasmith, featuring a dozen gorgeous paintings of the great castles of Westeros. A thirteenth castle (not shown here) will be included as a double-page centerfold.

Here's a sneak peak at what the calendar will look like. Feast your eyes. The cover features th...

For You Wild Cards Fans...

... hey, the aliens are amongst us.



Every bag infused with xenovirus Takis-A. Will YOU be an ace? Crunch a few and find out.

C2E2 schedule

I've received my schedule for the Chicago Comics Expo next month (see my Appearances page for a link with further details as to date, place, etc.)

I'm coming in to promote the release of the first issue of the FEVRE DREAM comic, scripted by Daniel Abraham (of Albuquerque) and illustrated by Rafa Lopez (of Spain).



Here are the scheduled public functions:

FRIDAY

12 noon - 2pm signing at Avatar booth

4 pm - 6 pm signing at Avatar booth

8pm - 10pm Avatar Friday Night Event - reading from ...

Scary Stuff

I know that there are a lot of people out there who opposed health care reform, for a variety of reasons (witness the 400 + responses to my health care post)... but the stuff that's going on right now across the country is scary. Congressmen who voted for the bill are receiving anyonymous death threats to them and their families, bricks are being thrown through their offices, right wing blogs are publishing their home addresses and urging people to "visit" them. And more... it's all over th...

The Hard Call

The long-delayed Wild Cards comic book miniseries, Daniel Abraham's THE HARD CALL, is finally back on track, thanks to Dynamite Comics and their new partnership with DBPro.

There's an interview about the project just up on the comic website Newsarama:

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/Wild-Cards-Martin-Comic-100324.html



Check it out for the latest news about this project.