La Garde de Nuit at Worldcon, and sat down for an interview with them. But they managed to have a contingent at the London Waterstones event, and arranged a brief sit down with George afterward. Not only is their event report the most detailed they've seen, they also had some fun moments with George afterwards.]
https://www.lagardedenuit.com/an-evening-with-george-r-r-martin-in-london/
I was at the talk, and the whole question was that the interviewer asked him which dragon he would ride and which sword he would want to wield. He actually paused for quite a while before answering the question (probably the longest of any of the questions he was asked). For the dragon answer, his tone was kinda jokey and he went with Balerion the Black Dread, saying if he could ride a dragon he'd go with the biggest one who remembered Valyria. For the sword question, he definitely used a more serious tone, and at the "who knows what magical properties a falling star has" point, it definitely sounded like he was dropping a hint.
I just saw George speak at an event in London, and at the very end the interviewer asked him what sword he would have, if he could have any. His response was that he would have dawn, because it was made from a falling star and "who knows what magical properties a falling star has."
I attended GRRM's talk in London last night and tweeted about some of the things he said, which, as is Twitter's wont, some people misinterpreted or misunderstood, so I thought it might be useful to clarify and expand on these points here.
The evening started with George being surprised by bigwigs from Nielsen, who gave him two special awards for sales of A Song of Ice and Fire in the UK, confirming that A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings have individually sold over 1 million copies each in the UK since the UK Nielsen Bookscan started in 2001. Given the UK's much smaller market than the US, that's a huge sales achievement.
Most of the interview (with historian Dan Jones) was standard stuff we've heard many times before: George's early career in short stories, working in television (bearing in mind we were in a church, it was surprising that George got so wound up by reminiscing over producers messing with his scripts that he dropped a couple of f-bombs), writing Avalon and getting the inspiration for Bran's first chapter etc.
George did expand on the writing of "The Hedge Knight". Robert Silverberg got a ton of money to do Legends, an all-star anthology of the biggest names in fantasy. He'd recruited people like Terry Pratchett, Stephen King and Robert Jordan. Initially GRRM thought that he wasn't established enough in epic fantasy to contribute (as only AGoT had come out and he was deep in the writing of ACoK) but the money on offer was large and it was pointed out he'd get a good cross-pollination from other authors' fanbases reading his story and deciding to check out AGoT. George realised he couldn't write anything set during the series so did a prequel. When it was nearly done, George got a message from Silverberg telling him he'd heard that ACoK was going to be late and Legends couldn't be late for the marketing push it had been allocated, so Silverberg was going to drop George's story and had already commissioned a replacement. George ended up delivering his story on deadline, before several of the other authors had delivered theirs. That's why Legends has 11 stories rather than a more logical 10. George credits "The Hedge Knight" with helping massively boost the popularity of ASoIaF as a whole, as there was a very sharp increase in sales for ACoK compared to AGoT.
George noted that he had identified 12 possible stories/episodes from Dunk & Egg's life that could be expanded into short stories, including the 3 already published, so that's 9 potential further stories for the duo. From previous interviews we know that the next two - "The She-Wolves" and "The Village Hero" (both working titles) - are planned in some depth and "The She-Wolves" is partially or even mostly written, but GRRM wasn't sure what order to publish them in. Both are on hold until TWoW is done.
The first GoT spin-off is still officially unnamed: Bloodmoon sounds like a codename (or - my supposition - the name of the pilot episode) and George still wants The Long Night (or, from another interview, The Longest Night). The pilot has finished filming and HBO will mull it over before pulling the trigger (or not) on a season order in a few months.
GRRM also repeated that the inspiration for the Red Wedding was the Black Dinner of Scottish history, in particular the more "colourful" account that the doomed clan leaders were serenaded with a death march song and had a black boar's head (the symbol of death) served to them at dinner before their execution, which most historians now seem to believe was a total fabrication ("But it sounded better"). His Red Wedding was the Black Dinner "turned up to 11" but the TV version was "turned up to 14."
Also a reiteration that Fire and Blood wasn't supposed to exist, it was supposed to be his contribution to The World of Ice and Fire in the form of sidebars that he wrote shortly after finishing ADWD, but instead of 3,000 words he ended up submitting over 170,000 words (in earlier interviews he said closer to 300,000, but I wonder if the 170,000 is specifically the information on the Targaryens and the 300,000 includes all the info he contributed on the Empire of the Dawn, Iron Island history, etc, i.e. everything else in the book), as it had just all poured out of him in a few weeks (way back in the day he said it was around 2-3 months). His publishers were horrified, as it made WoIaF too big to be publishable. Elio and Linda compressed almost all of it down and summarised it to fit into the book, leaving George with this big manuscript which he then chopped up to produce the three anthology stories ("The Princess and the Queen", "The Rogue Prince" and "Sons of the Dragon"). The motivation to publish Fire and Blood came when HBO started talking about prequel spin-offs and George realised the manuscript could be a potential source of new stories and information, although ironically the one HBO decided to proceed with had nothing to do with the Fire and Blood material.
Fire and Blood II is planned out - GRRM is relishing the chance to tell the story of Aegon IV and his mistresses - but not yet written, and can't be published until after ASoIaF as a whole is completed.
George did talk about his schedule in terms of the order of things he wants to publish things in. No dates were mentioned and the order sounded aspirational rather than set in stone:
We’re in the Emmanuel Centre which looks a lot like the Sept of Baelor. Let’s hope the night doesn’t end the same way...
— HarperVoyagerUK (@HarperVoyagerUK) August 8, 2019
GRRM advice to young writers: it’s an uncertain profession. If you need security don’t be a writer. It’s a profession for gamblers. All you can do is write the best book you can and hope that the audience finds and likes it. #GRRMLive
— HarperVoyagerUK (@HarperVoyagerUK) August 8, 2019
George started writing a science fiction novel called Avalon which was going well, but a chapter suddenly came to him so vividly. The chapter was Bran finding the Direwolves. By the time he had finished the chapter he knew what the next would be. Third was the summer of 1991.
— HarperVoyagerUK (@HarperVoyagerUK) August 8, 2019
#GRRMLive In the case of #AGoT it started with a scene, but he knew the protagonist had to be a young boy and he knew he was part of a large family. He knew he wanted them found in the summer snows.
— HarperVoyagerUK (@HarperVoyagerUK) August 8, 2019
There are two types of writers: architects and gardeners. The architect knows the plans before even a word is set down. A gardener knows broadly what he has planted but anything might come up in the garden. George is 90% gardener.
— HarperVoyagerUK (@HarperVoyagerUK) August 8, 2019
#GRRMLive how much of the history did you have to map in order to fill out the world?
— HarperVoyagerUK (@HarperVoyagerUK) August 8, 2019
GRRM knew nothing when he started out. At some point in the process he said ‘I better have a map’. Initially he had a map of Ireland and turned it upside down.
He realised that wouldn’t do and it went on from there.
— HarperVoyagerUK (@HarperVoyagerUK) August 8, 2019
He then thought he needed to fill in some of the past and background characters who then achieved more reality in his head.
The world then grew from there. #GRRMLive
What does your physical workspace look like?
— HarperVoyagerUK (@HarperVoyagerUK) August 8, 2019
He had several maps from #ALandofIceandFire. He does have files with timelines on. It’s sometimes a daunting task more now than when he started. In many ways he followed the template of Tolkien.
Starting in the Shire, broadening out at then splitting. Just like the Starks initially etc.
— HarperVoyagerUK (@HarperVoyagerUK) August 8, 2019
Every time a character goes off they meet new supporting characters. At this point it’s like he’s writing 12 novels.#GRRMLive
Plus fans always help with consistency!
— HarperVoyagerUK (@HarperVoyagerUK) August 8, 2019
Like the sex of a horse changing. Difficult to find that on search and replace though. #GRRMLive
#GRRMLive are there any scenes in #ASoIaF that you look back on and smile.
— HarperVoyagerUK (@HarperVoyagerUK) August 8, 2019
GRRM says he remembers the painful ones. Like the Red Wedding. He skipped over it and wrote the scenes that followed because it was too painful to write. He left it until last to write it.
At what point did you decide to write outside of #ASoIaF? For example the #AKnightoftheSevenKingdoms? @dgjones
— HarperVoyagerUK (@HarperVoyagerUK) August 8, 2019
That started with an anthology that Robert Silverberg asked me to be in. Which is a story of a tournament and like many other things it grew.
At what point did you decide to write outside of #ASoIaF? For example the #AKnightoftheSevenKingdoms? @dgjones
— HarperVoyagerUK (@HarperVoyagerUK) August 8, 2019
That started with an anthology that Robert Silverberg asked me to be in. Which is a story of a tournament and like many other things it grew.
#GRRMLive Do you plan to do more #DunkandEgg books?
— HarperVoyagerUK (@HarperVoyagerUK) August 8, 2019
First I have a few things to finish, but at some point I’ll come back to it. There are a few things to do first!
#GRRMLive Tell me a little about #WildCards. @dgjones
— HarperVoyagerUK (@HarperVoyagerUK) August 8, 2019
I always loved the mythos of super characters. In the 80s shared world was a thing. We came up with Wild Cards, me and a group of friends. I’m the Editor. There are 27 in print right now and two more originals on the way.
We have some some amazing writers involved and we just published the first British set Wild Cards called #KnavesOverQueens
— HarperVoyagerUK (@HarperVoyagerUK) August 8, 2019
Is the collaboration with writers the same with TV and sharing the world of Westeros? @dgjones
— HarperVoyagerUK (@HarperVoyagerUK) August 8, 2019
Writing is a very lonely existence. It’s you and blank screen or before computers it was a blank page and a typewriter. He loved the idea of Hollywood and working with many people.
It’s a high working with actors and writers with that collaboration. The social aspect is great.
— HarperVoyagerUK (@HarperVoyagerUK) August 8, 2019
It’s a different world to the lonely world of the writing.
But the other side is all these people telling you what to do or giving feedback. There are two sides to everything.
#GRRMLive How has real world history influenced your world? @dgjones
— HarperVoyagerUK (@HarperVoyagerUK) August 8, 2019
GRRM has always loved history, but the problem with writing historical fiction is all the damn research. I like the freedom of modelling my books on history but in Fantasy I can make it turn out differently.
I model things on history and turn it up to 11.#GRRMLive
— HarperVoyagerUK (@HarperVoyagerUK) August 8, 2019
#GRRMLive visiting Hadrian’s Wall had a huge influence on me, but I made mine out of ice and added dragons.
— HarperVoyagerUK (@HarperVoyagerUK) August 8, 2019
#GRRMLive the War of the Roses was of course a large influence, but so were the crusades and Scottish history. The Red Wedding was loosely based on the Black Dinner, but I turned it up to 11 again.
— HarperVoyagerUK (@HarperVoyagerUK) August 8, 2019
The history I love is popular history, not academic history. #GRRMLive
— HarperVoyagerUK (@HarperVoyagerUK) August 8, 2019
Which female characters did you draw inspiration from? @dgjones Eleanor of Aquitaine was an amazing woman. Also there were some amazing women in Italian history during the Renaissance. #GRRMLive
— HarperVoyagerUK (@HarperVoyagerUK) August 8, 2019
Why put #FireandBlood together now? @dgjones
— HarperVoyagerUK (@HarperVoyagerUK) August 8, 2019
In the novels there are a lot of historical references. My publishers said they wanted to do a history. I wanted to put some incredible illustrations in it. There are pieces of history I haven’t had a chance to put in the books yet.
#GRRMLive The prequels have just finished filming up in Belfast. It’s set 5,000 years in the last of Westeros, way before the events of #GoT.
— HarperVoyagerUK (@HarperVoyagerUK) August 8, 2019
#GRRMLive we have two other pilots in active development. We may yet get more Westeros shows in the future.
— HarperVoyagerUK (@HarperVoyagerUK) August 8, 2019
#GRRMLive I have great affection for Mushroom who is a dwarf, but he’s not a well-worn one like Tyrion. He is the fool in the court leading up to the dance with dragons in #FireandBlood.
— HarperVoyagerUK (@HarperVoyagerUK) August 8, 2019
#GRRMLive as #FireandBlood is a fake history I loved the idea of telling it as a historian uncovering a history via first-hand accounts that are often contradictory.
— HarperVoyagerUK (@HarperVoyagerUK) August 8, 2019
The best phrase we always come back to in #FireandBlood is ‘I guess we’ll never know’ #GRRMLive
— HarperVoyagerUK (@HarperVoyagerUK) August 8, 2019
In #FireandBlood we have many dragons and many swords. If you could ride one and wield one which would it be?
— HarperVoyagerUK (@HarperVoyagerUK) August 8, 2019
I would ride Balerion The Black Dread. If I could wield one sword it would be The Dawn, made from the metal from a fallen star.