George R.R. Martin's Blog, page 230

... is an experienced master at arms,

... has been a colonel, a doctor, a friar, a nazi, a sergeant, a superintendant, a corporal, and a minister,

... knows Cersei, Eddard, Ser Jorah, and Pussy Galore.

Just sayin'

... was the great betrayer.

... worked at a tobacco factory.

... is a novel by Cory Doctorow that was nominated for the Hugo, but that doesn't count.

... was the great betrayed.

... never went to space, but has been in freefall.

Just sayin'

Major roles, that is.

Still waiting for deals to make (or not) on some of the supporting roles.

No, HBO will not be using those Norwegian wolves everyone has been emailing me about. They look like very nice wolves, but UK laws make it impossible.

... yes, it's Rory McCann, a wonderful Scots actor.

Most of you figured that out weeks ago, of course. Mea culpa. My clues were much too obvious this time around, especially the spelling of "porage," which yielded up the secret to anyone who googled the word. If I had gone with "porridge," that might have created a few more hours of mystery at least.

Here's the Scotts Porage Oats commercial from which the clue was taken:


As for my second clue, "the dog is green," well, that one was pretty eas...

Here are the two latest additions to Dark Sword's range of Ice and Fire miniatures.

Victarion Greyjoy, admiral of the Iron Fleet.



And here's his little brother, the priest Aeron "Damphair" Greyjoy.



Both sculpts are from the talented hands of Jeff Grace. Jeff has previously done figures of Theon Greyjoy and his sister Asha. Be the first kid on your block to collect all the krakens.

For more pictures, visit the Dark Sword website at http://darkswordminiatures.com/

Next up will be Tom Meier, with ...

Arrangements are still being worked out, but I have some tentative dates and times for my appearances in Ireland in November.

On Tuesday, November 3, I will be speaking and signing at Eason's Bookstore in Belfast. The event begins at 1:00 pm. Or 1300 for you European types.

On Thursday, November 5, I will be at Eason's on O'Connell Street in Dublin. This event begins at 5:00 pm, or 1700.

More details when I have 'em.

There's a chance that David and/or Dan will drop by for the Belfast signing, ...

Today is my birthday. Yes. Today I am eleventy-one years old.

(Well, no, not actually, though some days it feels like that).

I got some wonderful gifts to mark the day... from the New York Jets, the New York Giants, and Tony Romo of the Dallas Cowboys.

In the morning game, the Jets defeated the New England Patriots, long the bullies of the AFC East, who had been pushing Gang Green around on their own field for more games than I care to remember. But not today. A win is always swell, but a wi...

WARRIORS, the huge new all-original crossgenre anthology I edited with Gardner Dozois, will be published by Tor in hardcover next March.

We've got an all-star lineup of bestsellers and award winners from half a dozen different genres for this one. And here's a first look at the cover:



The table of contents looks like this:

Stories from the Spinner Rack," by George R.R. Martin
"The King of Norway," by Cecilia Holland
"Forever Bound," by Joe Haldeman
"The Triumph," by Robin Hobb
"Clean Slate," by...

Casting on the HBO pilot of A GAME OF THRONES continues, but there's not much I can say about it, except in generalities. Another of the supporting roles has been filled, I am told, and offers have been made on several more. Now we're waiting to see if those deals will close, which of course depends on things like schedule, terms, money, and such. If all the pieces fall into place, we'll have some exciting and talented additions to the cast.

No, I have no idea when HBO will make their next ...

For the miniature collectors out there, Dark Sword has four more figures in the pipeline for our Ice & Fire range -- gorgeous greens of Aeron Damphair and his brother Victarion from Jeff Grace, and spectacular sculpts of the Mountain That Rides and the Red Viper of Dorne in their famous duel, from Tom Meier. Watch this space for pictures, coming soon.

Meanwhile, to hold you for a while, here's the latest wonder painted for me by Jen Haley: a crossbowman's pavise in 54mm scale.