George R.R. Martin's Blog, page 28

What’s it like to write in a shared world, like the Wild Cards universe?

Wild Carders Melinda M. Snodgrass, David D. Levine, Kevin Andrew Murphy, Paul Cornell, and Mary Anne Mohanraj will tell us, in a new (virtual) panel discussion sponsored by the Jean Cocteau Cinema.

Check it out at:

Wild Cards Series Presents: Writing In A Consortium

That one really hurt.

The Giants had the game won.   Five minutes left.

Then they choked.  Offense choked, defense choked, offense choked again.

It was as much fun as being kicked repeatedly in the balls.

Life is meaningless and full of pain.

I descended from my mountain holdfast for a few days this week, to make sure my vote was counted.

Early voting is open in many states.

If you want to vote by mail or with an absentee ballot, there are ways to do that as well.   But you have to ACT.

Or you can go to the polls on election day.   Masked, I hope.   Keeping correct social distance.

However you do it, please VOTE.  Covid makes it unusually challenging this year, but the future of our country, the future of democracy itself, is on the...

On sale 11/3 

Lavishly illustrated by the incredibly talented Gary Gianni and available now for pre-order.  

Here is a sneak peak at some of his work on this special edition of A STORM OF SWORDS, brought to you by Penguin Random House. 

And a pre-order link:

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/635347/a-storm-of-swords-the-illustrated-edition-by-george-r-r-martin/

This message has been brought to you by the minions of Fevre River.

Ohmigod.   The Giants WON one!!!

Yes indeed.   Big Blue is now 1-5, having just defeated the Washington Nameless Horrors 20-19.   So… there’s that.   Winning is always better than losing.

It was not what you call a crushing victory, however.  The Washington Football Team, which is now also 1-5, is not exactly a powerhouse.   And the Giants almost blew this one.   They had an early lead, then squandered it.  Then they had a late lead, thanks to a fumble return for a TD, and seemed to have the gam...

New Mexico truly is the Land of Enchantment.   And fall is my favorite time of year here.

(No, not because Winter Is Coming).

Our autumns are gloriously golden.   We don’t get the reds and oranges they have up in New England, but the aspens and cottonwoods all turn gold.  It does not last long, but then again, all beauty is fleeting.   Seeing entire forests and mountainsides glowing in gold always lifts my heart.

(And these days, with the world the way it is, my heart is often in need of lifting...

The Jets and the Giants both lost again this past weekend.   That seems to be the story of the season.  It feels as if I am writing the same post week after week.   There is no joy in Mudville… or in Gotham.

As ever, the Jets defeat was much worse.   They were crushed once again, this time by the Cardinals.   Sam Darnold was injured, so Joe Flacco got the start this week, but it did not make a dime’s worth of difference.   Gang Green continues to look inept and unprepared on both offense and def...

As promised, here is a picture of the wonderful wolf that Parris gave me for my birthday.

The wolf is the work of artist Jim Eppler, whose sculptures are offered through Manitou Galleries on Palace Avenue in Santa Fe.

I have several other pieces by Eppler as well, all of ravens.   He has a whole set of ravens.   Those were gifts from Parris as well.

Love them all.

One more week and two more losses.   What an NFL season this is turning into.

The big difference this week was that only the Giants lost on Sunday.   The Jets got it over with early and lost on Thursday night.

Both games were closer than last week’s blowouts, which I suppose is something to be thankful for.   (But not much).

Aside from that, the theme was more or less the same as the first couple of weeks.   The Jets were defeated by the Denver Broncos 37-28.  They actually scored first in this ...

I have seen every presidential debate ever held.

I began taking an interest in politics when I was still in grade school.    The first presidential election I followed was the race between John Fitzgerald Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon in 1960.   I was twelve years old.   It was an historic occasion.

Most of you are probably way younger than me.   JFK died before you were born.   You may not even remember the day he was shot, let alone the election that won him the presidency, or the debates that ...