Just a quick note from the Nashville book signing on November 8, 2005. The Q and A didn't really cover anything that I hadn't already seen the answer to, so I'll skip it - except to say that George was a remarkably nice guy. When it came our turn in line, I presented, among other things, my copy of The Armageddon Rag for signing. I explained that I had no dust jacket for it because, shamefully, I had bought it used - not shamefully for me (it was out of print, I had to find it someway), but shamefully that somebody had sold such a wonderful book. George responded that it was the book that had almost killed his career. He went on to say that he's been trying to get it reprinted for ages, but the big hangup is getting the rights to all the rock lyrics he quoted. He emphatically told us he was NEVER going to quote rock music again. Just thought I'd pass along that tidbit for those, like me, who are fans of some of his older works.
There was an impressive crowd there for the first stop on the American leg of Martin's A Feast for Crows tour. Based on the group size (25 per group, and I was in the 8th out of 9 groups), there were slightly over 200 people who had bought the books at the store that day or prior. The entire front half of the lower level of Davis-Kidd was packed with people and I ended up standing behind a shorter bookcase and leaning against it for the entire 45 minutes or so that Martin spoke.
As I expected based on previous reports, Martin himself was a humorous, polite, and charming person. He gave a funny introduction to his SOIAF booksigning experiences, narrating a story from the A Game of Thrones signing in St. Louis in 1996. He had been booked for a signing at a coffee shop/Leftist store called Left Bank Books on the same date that Ray Bradbury was the guest of honor at a nearby SF convention. He said there were only four people there in the store/café when he arrived, but when it was announced that he was going to talk and sign for a fantasy book, all four of those people left! He said he might just hold the mark for worst attendance for a signing, driving away customers rather than attracting even a single one!
He answered quite a few questions from the crowd, often with wry humor. He said that when he decided to write A Song of Ice and Fire, he did not want to write a story with an Indiana Jones-esque character, full of dashing and heroism, that the audience/readers would know would most certainly survive to the end, even when fighting a whole platoon of Nazi-type bad guys. He doesn't kill a character just to kill them, but only when the story calls for it. He said emotionally that the Red Wedding was the single hardest bit of writing he's done so far in the series and that he had to write around it before being able to write that at the end of his work on A Storm of Swords.
When asked about his favorite/least favorite characters were, he quickly said Tyrion was his favorite character to write and that Bran's chapters were the most difficult and usually the ones left for last in the books released so far. But there aren't any characters that he dislikes per say, as he maintained that he had to be able to 'get into their heads' and 'understand them' in order to be able to tell the story as he wanted. He said the multiple PoV perspective was essential for understanding SOIAF, as he believed it offered a way for not just him, but for the readers to gain multiple perspective on the same events.
In regards to the genesis of A Feast for Crows, he detailed again what was written on his website, about how he started writing it with the infamous five-year gap in mind (in order to let the children grow up), only to learn that it was hampering the story. He said that his publisher told him that 1600 manuscript pages were the maximum that they could put in a book and have it hold together, so once he reached 1650 and still had a bit to go in order to close the narrative cycle appropriately, he called and they agreed to split it. Since there was no convenient dividing spot and having all the storylines advance only halfway would just only be a recipe for criticism, that was when Martin divided it into the North and South. Since the South chapters are finished, that's what became AFfC, while the remaining North chapters to be written, along with Dany's adventures to the East, will be published in the near future (no timetable set) in A Dance with Dragons.
For those interested in the non-SOIAF aspects of Martin's writing, he not only confirmed that he's about finished with the third Dunk and Egg story, but that he hopes to write 8-9 of them in all and have them bound together into a single volume edition. He also confirmed that he's interested in exploring again writing a sequel to Fevre Dream as well as something to add to Tuff Voyaging and Wild Cards, but there's only so much time he can devote toward anything, considering he wants to get SOIAF complete.
As for his writing days, some days, the coffee grows cold before sipped, other days, he finishes off a few cups and ends up checking and rechecking his email in hopes for inspiration, after staring at a half-written sentence that 'sucks,' according to him. And speaking of the fans, he did say quite a few words about the wonderful people that run Westeros and said that fans such as the ones that visit there have helped him remember quite a bit of the "small stuff" that often goes into telling a story.
It was a very pleasant signing (my third in the past year and a half) and Martin seemed genuinely happy to be there, even when it got to be my group's turn to be called to line and I had to go up there and whisper my name to his publicist for my copy to be signed. I would highly recommend people interested at all in the series or even thinking about learning what the fuss is about to attend a booksigning near them if at all possible.
[Note: This interview is provided through the Internet Archive]
http://web.archive.org/web/20051126224128/http://www.scifi.com/sfw/advance/31_interview.html
[Note: The following information was sent to Amok for his contribution to the Fantasy Flight Games artbook.]
These are all Targaryens, of course, so there should be a strong family resemblence from portrait to portrait. All of them (except as noted) will have the purple eyes and silver-gold hair for which House Targaryen is noted. All of them should be wearing crowns... the same crown in many of the pix, though it will change once or twice along the way, as noted.
The hard part will be making each of the kings an individual, despite the similarities, and evoking each one's character through facial features, pose, clothing, background, and other elements in the portrait.
Here's the lineup:
AEGON I. Aegon the Conquerer. The prototypical Targaryen. A warrior, tall, powerful, broad shouldered. Very charismatic and commanding. Should be shown in his battle armor, perhaps a shirt of black scales, greaves, gauntlets, a flowing cloak. His sword in hand (Blackfyre, a Valyrian steel blade). His hair cut short, no longer than the bottom of his ears. His crown is a simple circle of Valyrian steel set with big square-cut rubies.
AENYS I. A weakling. As tall as his father Aegon, but softer looking. Slender, weedy, dreamy. Paler eyes than Aegon, more lilac than purple. His hair curled and perfumed, all in ringlets, falling to his shoulders. A silky beard and mustache, sort of a "Three Musketeers" look, coming to a point. Dressed in velvet robes, the same lilac as his eyes, with cloth-of-gold lining and an ermine collar. Gold rings and gemstones on long, slim fingers. A different crown; this one is all gold, much larger and more elaborate. No armor. Instead of a sword, he holds a wine cup in the portrait: gold, encrusted with gems. His smile should be somehow tenuous, nervous, anxious to please.
MAEGOR I. Maegor the Cruel. Another warrior. A big man, even taller than his father Aegon, bull-like, heavy shoulders, thick neck, huge arms. On the heavy side, but more massive and square than fat. Nothing soft about him. Short hair, short beard that follows the jawline. Angry, suspicious eyes, scowling mouth. Just looking at him, you know this man is hard and brutal. No wine cup here; it's the sword again. His armor is more elaborate than Aegon's. Instead of a shirt of scale, he wears a breastplate, covered by a surcoat that displays the Targaryen three-headed dragon, red on black. He looks as though he has just come from battle, and his armor and cloak show dints, tears, bloodstains. He wears Aegon's steel-and-ruby crown, not Aenys's elaborate one.
JAEHAERYS I. The Old King. The Conciliator. Jaehaerys reigned for fifty-five years. Let's show him late in his reign as an old man, as that is how he is best remembered. Wise and dignified. Despite his years, still unstooped, but his face and hands are wrinkled, and his long white beard reaches to his waist. Dressed in flowing robes of black and gold. His crown is a simple gold band set with seven gemstones of different colors. In his hands, instead of sword or wine cup, he holds a quill pen for writing.
VISERYS I. A plump and pleasant king, raised during a time of peace and plenty. Round-faced, smiling, jolly. In his forties. No beard, but a bushy silver-gold mustache. Wearing the Jaehaerys crown, with the seven stones. Looks as though he would be great fun at a party, always telling jokes. Clad in silk brocade, dark purple.
AEGON II. A strong resemblence to his father, Viserys, but in him the playful look has been replaced by a certain petulance. A sullen look to the eyes, a pouty mouth. Holds a dagger in his hand, testing the point against his finger. Clad in armor, but he does not look like a warrior. No beard, and only a faint wispy hint of a mustache. Wears the steel-and-ruby crown of Aegon the Conquerer.
AEGON III. The Dragonbane. Clad all in black, even to his gloves. A three-headed dragon on a golden chain around his neck. Pale, lean, unsmiling. A very somber look. He looks sad, marked by the grief he carries with him. It is hard to picture him smiling. A short beard, but no mustache. His crown is a slender gold band, no ornament.
DAERON I. The Young Dragon. Only fourteen when he ascended to the throne. A warrior and conquerer. Young, clean-shaved, very handsome, long hair. Clad in an elaborate suit of gold-and-black plate, with his sword in his hand. Smiling, self-confident, very charismatic. The Alexander the Great of Westeros. He should probably be shown outdoors, with the red mountains of Dorne in the background, and his army, horses, tents, etc. Wears the Aegon crown, the steel and rubies.
BAELOR I. Baelor the Blessed. Baelor the Beloved. The septon king. No sword or armor here, only a septon's white robes tied off with a rope belt. A young man, in his early twenties, but very thin (from repeated fasts) and frail looking, with a gentle, almost beatific smile (think Jesus). One hand raised in blessing, the other holding a holy book (black leather, with a seven-pointed star stamped on the cover in gold leaf). His long hair and beard remind one of Jesus too, although Baelor's are the typical Targaryen silver-gold color. Wears a crown of flowers and vines.
VISERYS II. Came to the throne quite late, when he was in his fifties. Clean-shaved, with long hair, a prominent nose, bushy eyebrows, a shrewd and calculating look about his mouth and eyes. Coins in his hand. He wears the simple crown of Aegon III Dragonbane.
AEGON IV. Aegon the Unworthy. He began his realm when he was young and handsome, and ended it old and corrupt. To provide some variety in the portraits, let us go with the older Aegon. By the end he was bloated, fat, corrupt. His eyes almost lost in the fat of his face, his legs too weak to support his belly, his mouth small and mean. His clothing should be silk and satin, bright and rich, and he would have lots of gold and gemstones about him; a chain, rings, etc. A big beard, meant to help hide his round cheeks and double chin (it doesn't). The Henry VIII of Westeros. His crown is a new one, huge and heavy, red gold, each of its points a dragon's head with gemstone eyes.
DAERON II. Daeron the Good. A thoughtful face, pale, dignified, kindly Not a warrior by any means; round-shouldered, with thin legs and a small pot belly. His face has a certain quiet strength, though, and his eyes are clear and full of resolve. In his forties. In his hands is a parchment treaty. Wears his father's elaborate dragon crown.
AERYS I. Bookish. Spindly and stooped, his robes rich and elaborate but soiled, as if he has forgotten to change them. Long straight hair, long thin face, long thin mustache, long pointed beard. In his hand is an old scroll, and other books and scrolls are visible in the portrait. His eyes red-rimmed from reading. The dragon crown is atop a pile of books, as if he has forgotten to put it on.
MAEKAR I. There's an excellent depiction of a younger Maekar in THE HEDGE KNIGHT graphic novel. As king, Maekar would look much the same, only older. A certain weariness about him, but strength as well. Armored, with a spiked mace in his hand (blood on one of the spikes). His crown is black iron and red gold, sharply pointed. His surcoat shows his personal arms; the Targaryen three-headed dragon, four times (two above, two below).
AEGON V. Aegon the Unlikely. Egg of THE HEDGE KNIGHT, grown up. Show him as a man in his thirties, with his hair falling to his collar. Tall, slender, a slight smile. Large, thoughtful eyes, very deep purple. His hand resting on a map of Westeros. Wears the simple crown of the Dragonbane. Handsome, strong yet somehow kindly, approachable.
JAEHAERYS II. Amiable, clever, sickly (he died young). Pale and frail, with very large purple eyes. Shoulder-length hair, a silky beard, a tired smile. One arm concealed by the drape of his cape. Wears Maekar's crown.
AERYS II. The Mad King. Only in his forties when he died, but he looked much older. Very thin (he was afraid of being poisoned) and gaunt, with wild, tangled hair past his shoulders, and fingernails almost a foot long (he would not allow blades in his presence, even to cut his hair and trim his beard). Wears the big, elaborate crown of Aegon the Unworthy.
VISERYS III. The Beggar King. No crown. Perhaps he should be shown in tattered beggar's robes and cloak.
DAENERYS I. Daenerys Stormborn. No description necessary, I assume. Show her wearing the three-headed dragon crown she was given in Qarth, as described in A CLASH OF KING. Might be good to include the three dragons in the picture. Show them very young, as hatchings, one in her lap, one wrapped around her arm and shoulder, one flying just above her.
And that's it.
I managed to make it to this signing, so a quick report.
It was interesting to meet GRRM in the flesh and hear him talk. He looks just like his photos and is obviously smart and very widely read (no surprise there). There were about 40 - 50 people present, with a wide mixture of types, though mostly male.
GRRM talked for about 30 minutes and answered questions for another 15 before the signing started. A lot of people had questions, and I didn't get a chance to ask mine. He didn't say anything new, but I gleaned a few titbits:
- He wasted a lot of time trying to make the 5 year gap work, mostly because he had told so many people there was going to be one, and felt that he had to deliver. Otherwise AFfC would have come out significantly earlier.
- He spent some time talking about his theory that, in most fantasy, the fantasy world itself is a major character.
- He quoted Kipling, which amused me for some reason.
- When saying he would not answer questions about the plot he said "So don't ask me who Jon's [slight pause] mother is." I definitely picked up a little subtext "Yes I know there are theories that Ned is not Jon's father, but I am not going to put the idea into the head of anyone who has not already heard of them."
- When dealing with the "who is your favourite character" question he said "Tyrion has a personality most similar to my own. [Slight pause and then quickly] But I haven't killed my father though". It felt like he was saying that as a sudden afterthought, so unless he was being very devious indeed, it seems that Tyrion is indeed Tywin's son. (I may be biased though, as I have always disliked the idea of A+J=Tyrion.)
The Kipling quote was the one that goes something like:
There are nine and ninety ways
Of writing tribal lays
And every single one of them is right
Just a quick note. Nice turn out for George. Quite a few BwB people, and a few new-ish "members", people who knew about the boards and the BwB even if they haven't posted here much. It was just a signing, but after George was finished we went for dinner at Mr Singh's with the man himself and Rebecca (his minder on the tour). Got a chance to ask a couple of questions and take some pictures.
Q: Why were the older maps used for the UK editions?
A: The UK editions follow the US editions in this regard, and the decision was made to go with the older maps for the US editions. Not sure why.
Q: Are the clutch of eggs Illyrio gave to Dany the same as the clutch Quickfinger tried to steal (ref: Sworn Sword). i.e. Are they originally Targaryen eggs?
Q: Can the Faceless Men absorb the memories and personalitites of the peole they impersonate, or are they reliant on observation and mimicry?
A: The same to both questions.....keep reading :p
... Oh, one thing to mention, it was confirmed that GRRM expects ADwD to extend some time beyond the end of AFfC.
...
On the timeframe for ADwD, I believe the exact quote was that it may well extend to a few months beyond the end of AFFC, depending on how the writing pans out.
When I saw George yesterday at the Colchester signing, he said that the third Dunk and Egg story is nearly finished. He didn't say how/when it is going to be published though...
Someone asked him what if he died. We're all "shit outta luck" if that happens, apparently. I think he said the next one will hopefully be done by the end of next year, after splitting it there was half of it written with half of it left to do. He says it should be seven books now, but jokes that it might be eight or even more depending on what happens, he's not sure now, but seven is what he hopes. He has the whole storyline done already in "broad strokes", but compares writing them out as being like going on a long road journey. You have the map and know where you're going, but don't know what'll pop up behind each turn or if there'll be a nice place to eat or diverting attraction on the way. Most of all, he states firmly that he writes the books he wants to write, and if that means he has to shunt back the release dates or write more of them, well, that's what's going to happen.
He now says he can't imagine why he ever thought the five-year story gap would have ever worked, most of the problems it caused were with the adult characters who wouldn't have just stopped everything for those years meaning there'd have to be lots of "Hey, remember that thing we did four and a half years ago?" style flashbacks. While discussing how he writes his female characters, he also mentioned that splitting the books as he did this time meant we didn't get the parallel between how Danaerys and Cersei both approach the task of leadership, which is a bit of a shame.
He has another Dunk and Egg story done (yaaay) and continues to stick to writing one between each book, with them all being collected into another book someday once Ice and Fire is done. Someone asked him if he had a meticulous filing system for all the background info and he replied he wished he had. He thought it'd be easy to just keep everything in his head like with his other books to begin with, but these days he refers to [url=http://www.westeros.org]http://www.westeros.org[/url] when he needs to check something.
When I got my book done, I complimented him on the Lovecraftiness of certain bits of Feast, and we had a little "Man, Lovecraft eh?" exchange. So yeah, I shot the shit with George R. R. Martin about Lovecraft. I forgot to ask him if he's played Thief or Mount & Blade, but someone I was chatting to there mentioned that he's a fan of gaming and computer games, and has to be careful he doesn't spend too much time playing them when he's writing his books.
Anyway, awesome to hear him speak, he's got a really humourous, wry style and he has a great awareness of things like how he's viewed, being a fantasy series fan and whatnot. Like, he has a rule that he'll sign any number of books you bring him (some people had bags with them with their collections, for instance), but only 3 at a time before you have to join the back of the queue again to get the next ones done, so you don't hold everyone up but can still get everything you want signed, which is very fair and even-handed all round. Very warm, witty and humble to listen to, and a damn nice guy. It was awesome to meet him, I really can't say enough good things about him.
There must have been up to 120 people there. GRRM said that it was always a worry of his when visiting a place for the first time that there might not be many people who turn up for the signing. He then recounted a story about the smallest crowd he had for a signing. Ray Bradbury was signing at a major sci-fi con in one town and in a nearby town GRRM was signing AGOT at a bookstore. The bookstore had a caf and when he arrived there were two couples drinking coffee. No-one else had arrived for the allotted start time and they waited a bit longer. When still no-one else had arrived the bookstore manager announced that the signing would start and the two couples left the caf and bookstore. So the smallest crowd he has signed for is -4.
e talked about the series, how it originated and the delay with Feast. The next book should be published next year and the series should run to 7 books although there are no guarantees.
The talk lasted about 20 mins and was followed by a Q&A which lasted for at least 45 mins. There were several questions asked (must have been approx 20). The first one was about the possibility of a 3rd Dunk & Egg story. GRRM said he liked to write the stories in between writing the books and that he had started the 3rd one.
When asked about how he writes the series, GRRM responded by comparing it to a journey. He knew the start, knew the landmarks, and had a good idea of the destination. However, he often notices interesting places and buildings while on the journey and feels obliged to explore them. Another questioner furthered the analogy by asking if he had come across any dead ends. GRRM replied that the now well-known 5 year character gap between the 3rd and 4th books had caused many problems. He spent about 6 months trying to make it work.
Asked if he knew the ending, he replied that it would be bitter-sweet. He expanded on this by talking about the scouring of the Shire. When he first read LOTR at the age of 12, he didn't understand the ending. However, as a more mature reader he came to appreciate that triumph is always bought at a cost.
He was asked to comment about his different writing styles between aSoIaF and Fevre Dream. For the latter, he read several novels, such as those by Mark Twain, from the period to understand the syntax and words. For aSoIaF, he replied that it is a fine line to draw between writing in modern, understandable prose and using archaic words. The best way is to compromise by using modern prose, but omitting all pop culture references, and occasionally using archaic words/phrases. He compared it to adding a bit of salt to soup to enhance the flavour. When writing AGOT he had a lot of characters who used the word "mayhaps". His editor did not like the use of the word because he feared a "forsooth" would follow shortly. GRRM compromised by keeping the use of quot;mayhapsquot; for older characters, such as Aemon, but replaced it with "perhaps" and "maybe" for younger ones like Bran.
GRRM was complimented on how well he had captured family dynamics and the questioner wished to know if GRRM had any siblings. GRRM replied that he has 2 sisters and has slept with neither of them. The reply garnered a lot of laughter and some applause.
Incidentally, it must have been bell-ringing practice night as the bells were being rung for the majority of the talk and Q&A. At one point, GRRM paused, looked out the window and wondered for whom the bells tolls and that hopefully it wasnt for him.
So this evening I headed up to Norwich for George R.R. Martin's Q&A and book signing for A Feast for Crows. Arrived about 2 hours before the signing, grabbed the book and a curry in the local pub then headed back to the shop. I was exceptionally annoyed that they had copies of The Art of Ice and Fire book on sale and I lacked the funds to purchase it.
Martin came on about 7pm GMT and spoke for a good 40 minutes before answering questions for about 20 minutes or so.
The main point of discussion was the reason for the five-year wait since A Storm of Swords. I'm sure most of you know this already but, briefly, he wanted a 5-year gap between ASOS and ADWD to allow the kids to grow up. Some characters, mainly the children and Daenerys, really benefited from this, but most of the other characters suffered and the book was degenerating into a flashback-fest. After about a year he decided that wasn't working, ditched everything, and started again. He also admitted that the sudden boom in the on-line community hasn't helped and he spends more time than he should answering fan mail, but he remembers when even after the success of Fevre Dream he only got a dozen or so fan letters a year and now doesn't want to appear ungratfeful by neglecting his fan letters. He also pointed out that at least two major successes - the Brotherhood Without Banners and the Hedge Knight comic adaption - came out of answering random fan emails. He also said that he'd considered appointing Parris official email-answerer, but felt that that was passing the buck. He's currently got over 1,200 emails in his inbox unread!
A new piece of information that slipped through was that he and his publishers had pretty much settled on simply splitting the book in half and publishing the two halves a month or so apart when a friend of his suggested splitting the book by POV. Martin admitted he should have seen this earlier as his editorial team did the same thing on Wild Cards VI when it overran, moving two stories set in New York away from the other six (set in Atlanta) and making them Wild Cards VII (actually it may have been the other way round). The other major advantage of this was that it allowed him to publish AFFC immediately, otherwise we'd have had to wait another year to get both books (he also said he couldn't find a good break point between the two halves). As it stands he's got 500 manuscript pages of ADWD written and plans to write another 500-600. He had a good wind of steam in finishing AFFC and hopes that with the same wind he can finish ADWD in a few months for late 2006 publication. He said he'll try not to write another 1500-page behemoth but promises nothing.
Lots of standard questions followed ("Where do you get your ideas from?" etc) with lots of answers we've had before (write short stories before you try novels, don't immediately try to write a 10-book series). A couple of nuggets slipped though: someone else asked the same question that Segovia on Wotmania asked me to ask about the level of character demise in the series to date and Martin replied that the rest of the series would unfold in a manner consistent with what would come before, i.e. no-one is safe and he'll kill anyone if the story demands it. He refused to comment on specifically if there'll be any more shocks on a par with the Red Wedding and Eddard's death. I asked about Dunk & Egg III and he confirmed most of it is written. It just needs some more polishing and the ending to be added on, which he plans to do when gets back from tour in December before leaping back into ADWD. He's still unsure about where to publish it. Someone else asked about the RPG and he confirmed that he checked and provided background information for the concordanance, encyclopedia, geography, family and history sections, but had no say in the rules. The RPG is "canon" for the moment but he reserves the right to change any details in future novels. He did unreservedly approve of the artwork for the book. I also asked about a film version of Fevre Dream and he replied that it's been optioned several times, but nothing has happened with it because no major director has taken an interest. I suggested M. Night Shymalan but he replied that the book lacks his trademark twist ending.
He confirmed that the 5-year-gap is now deader than the dodo and has fallen back on his excuse that in the Middle Ages kids had to grow up FAST, so that a 12 or 13-year-old would be much more mature than today. He wanted the books to cover a much longer span of time and blames himself for setting the first Catelyn chapter in A Game of Thrones on the same day that Robb and Jon find the direwolves in the snow. In retrospect he should have set the next chapter six months later. He likes all his characters, even 'assholes' like Theon, but admitted that Tyrion was his favourite. Sometimes he felt like showering after writing a chapter about Cersei, though, as her world-view is quite unsympathetic. He said he felt baffled about people complaining more about the "gratuitous" sex than the gratuitous feasting, gratuitous dialogue and even 'gratuitous characters going for a pee in the woods'.
...
Then it was off to enjoy AFFC on the train home. Needless to say, GRRM was charasmatic, friendly, courteous and answered all questions with good humour (and some of these he has to be asked every other day). He also wanted to put paid to rumours that AFFC was late because he'd spent all his time in his hot-tub with hot babes!
And he gave a special shout out to Lodengarl and all the Brotherhood Without Banners. He said it was a shame I missed Worldcon (yeah, cheers for that, it was before I joined up) as he'd thoroughly enjoyed it and looked forward to meeting up with you all next time.
...
No he definitely said he had most of it [the third Dunk & Egg story] done, he just needs to finish it off in December when he gets home after the signing tour, before he leaps into the second half of ADWD.
George talked for about 30-40 minutes on writing with advice to any literary hopefuls in the 100+ strong audience. He led us through his early writing experiences, sending in short stories for sci-fi mags, rejections, the beauty of having his name knows as a short story writer before his first novel, and his advice "not to start too big" to aspiring novelists.
Two interesting strands that register in my mind was that many people write to him offering stories about characters set in the Westeros world, to which he replies, "that's my world- find your own".
Secondly that in his opinion you know you are a writer if you have stories pouring out of your head which you have to get down. Related to this, he talked about his early college days writing and selling short stories to friends and college mags etc.
I asked if he kept a filing or reference system for this ever widening and complicated world. He replied that he has a few charts and tables but if he gets stuck he accesses the Icelandic website (I think I have this right) of the chap who has completed all the chapter synopsis/details).....to which gales of laughter ensued.
I also asked if he purposefully set out to write about characters whom society may brand or label as different -Jon Snow as a bastard, a cripple, Hodor, etc to which I received an "it's more interesting to write for different types of people"
Other questions as far as a hazy memory, no notebook and 3 days normal living have eroded, were how does he write women so well unlike Jordan (gales of laughter) to which one lady wit replied to the questioner, "how do you know he does?" Martin acknowledge he was not a woman, or a dwarf, and therefore had to write with empathy for a character. He said he had struggled with Sansa's first period chapter/scene and had shown others, sorry I mean other people who had read it/advised him accordingly.
When asked about the easiest character to write for, he replied Tyrion ( Yes he pronounced it the same way I do in my mind ***) and the hardest...Bran!!
(ASIDE: Somehow you can tell he enjoys Tyrion- his chapters for me seem more fluid than others. But then again I'm only 5 foot 3 so perhaps I enjoy these because I am nearer his ground level than most)
The usual 5 year gap reared its head. He joked that at a signing 5 years ago he predicted then that he had to sort the fiction 5 year gap out but nobody expected a real 5 year gap between books.
Some asked if he enjoyed killing off characters- yes and no and mentioned about the rainy scene near a certain castle (trying not to give a spoiler) being difficult to write..he often had to leave it because he found it so upsetting. Damn - no one asked him why? I personally would love to know - after all he seems to kill off characters a lot. He continued along this theme talking about how much sci-fi/fiction does not ring true as one hero kills 20 odd Nazis likening some superficial fiction heroes akin to Indiana Jones. He said he would find it difficult to combat one Nazi and that writers must be real to the characters and the situations the author puts them in.
One chap asked about the Others, and George said there was more to come but would not expand upon this.
To summarise, a good evening. Hardly any females. Age range quite well spread. Quite humerous friendly bloke is Mr George. He talked a lot about Tolkein and related how in his maturity he could understand the genius of Tolkein ending with a bitter sweet "Scouring of the Shire" to which he thinks he will probably aspire (bittersweet, not scouring you understand). Yes he has made mistakes or made literary decisions in the series which on hindsight he would have corrected or re-written.
[Note: The following link is a archive of all back issues of Deep Magic, made available following its closure (see here for more information, and includes issue #41 (October 2005 in the archive). The precise date, beyond October 2005, is unknown.]