[GRRM is asked which Jack Vance books have influenced him most.]
I love everything that Jack Vance has written, although some of it I love more than others.
Some of his series projects are particular favorites - the Dying Earth, the Demon Princes, the Planet of Adventure. His mysteries are good as well, especially BAD RONALD, a truly creepy concept.
[GRRM is asked the same question concerning Stephen King.]
Well, I like a lot of King as well. I think THE SHINING is probably his masterpiece.
[Does GRRM read manga or watch anime?]
No, don't follow manga or anime.
[Does GRRM plan to write any stories concerning ancient Valyria?]
Not at present, but anything is possible in the future.
[How about young Robert, Eddard, and the War of the Usurper?]
Not at present, but I never say never.
[Will Roy Dotrice return to reading the audio books?]
I would love to have Roy back, and I know he'd love to do it. It all depends on the schedule, and whether or not he is available when Random House wants to record. Last time there was a scheduling conflict.
[GRRM is asked if the writers were aware of how much the setting of Beauty and the Beast affected viewer interest.]
Yes, we were aware that our viewers watched the show for many different reasons. Some loved the romance, some the action, some the fantasy, and some of you liked all of it. We tried to do many different types of shows, to keep the series fresh from week to week.
[How did you handle characters you did not create in your scripts?]
Well, most of the major characters were created either by Ron Koslow or one of his staff writers, which included me, and we were all right theire to help each other when those characters appeared again. For instance, I would sometimes tweak the dialogue of Mouse, who was one of "my" characters, to help capture his unique voice. Ron was the ultimate authority, of course.
[How is consistency of characterization handled in a show with many different writers?]
That was always Ron Koslow. He rewrote as necessary, and if the voices weren't right, the script never went into production.
[Were the Targaryens the only Valyrians who rode dragons?]
They were the only dragonriders to survive the Doom.
1) Is cyvasse inspired by any particular games?
A bit of chess, a bit of blitzkrieg, a bit of stratego. Mix well and add imagination.
2) In your "mind's ear", do accents from different parts of Westeros map to accents from real life, or are details like the Dornish drawl primarily a matter of background color?
Yes, Westeros has regional accents. I played with the idea of trying to depict them with phonetic misspellings (and indeed I do a little of that, with some less educated characters), but that way lies madness. I try to suggest the accents with syntax and taglines instead.
3) There are historical mysteries -- not just recent matter which might have a bearing on the current plot, but older things that are a part of the background -- which have interested a lot of readers. Do you know the answers to all these purposeful mysteries, or do you only decide such details when you actually have to do so?
Depends on the mystery, I suppose. I know the "answers" to many.
4) There seem to be hints in FEAST that Dornish commoners have a greater sense of nationalism (for lack of a better term) than we see in other areas. There are plenty of smallfolk yelling for war following Oberyn's death, for example, which I don't think we've ever seen before since the smallfolk tend to prefer peace and plenty. Timeon tells Brienne to send him to Dorne as she's killing him, as well. Is this intended, or am I reading too much into these examples?
Dorne was a nation apart from the other six kingdoms until a hundred years ago, so, yes, they have a stronger sense of nationality.
[Do the vampires from Fevre Dream really need to drink blood to survive?]
Unlike the undead of myth (and many other novels), my "people of the night" could actually eat normal food, and it was that which provided most of their sustenence. The red thirst was more of an overpowering sexual urge that an actual thirst or hunger. Failing to satisfy it might drive them mad, but would not kill them. (They were very hard to kill in any case).
[Could a combined A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons ever happen?]
I won't say no, but the resulting book would be a monster. You'd have to sew the binding together like a dictionary and sell it with its own special stand. Or else you could make the print really really small and include a magnifying glass.
[GRRM is asked if he reveals important information to Parris about the next books. He is also asked if she herself asks him for such information.]
No and no.
[GRRM is asked if Davos Seaworth really heard the Mother answer his prayer, or was it delirium? Was it meant to be ambiguous?]
It was. Which is why I won't answer the question. My readers are free to come to their own conclusions.
[Given the length of time the series is taking to write, is it possible that there'll be issues if the HBO series goes into production and catches up before he's finished?]
Well, I have a considerable head start.
[Does GRRM have a say in who reads the audio book, and will Roy Dotrice read for the next audiobook?]
I do have a say. Roy Dotrice was my selection. Unfortunately, he was busy doing a play when A FEAST FOR CROWS was recorded. It's our hope to have him back for the next book.
[GRRM is asked about Steven Erikson.]
I met Erikson last year in Saratoga at the World Fantasy Con. He seemed to be a nice fellow, but I haven't read any of his books yet, alas. No judgment there. There's too many books and too little time. A lot of my fans seem to like the Malazan series, though, and I imagine I will get to it eventually.
I do read other fantasists all the time. I've raved about Scott Lynch and Daniel Abraham on my website. Right now I'm reading the first novel by a guy named Patrick Rothfuss, and enjoying it hugely, though I have some quibbles with the structure.
[Does GRRM read any fan forums?]
I am aware of such forums, certainly, but I try to avoid them.
[If GRRM does read speculations on fan forums, is he tempted to change things in the story to make sure everyone remains surprised?]
And this is one of the big reasons WHY I avoid them.
[GRRM is asked about the pros and cons of writing a parallel book.]
I don't necessarily recommend the whole "parallel books" thing. I've done it before, with Wild Cards volumes 6 and 7, and to a lesser extent volumes 4 and 5, and there's some cool things you can do... but all in all, I would have preferred to do it all in one book. There were special circumstances behind the split of DANCE from FEAST, as previously related.
[Does GRRM prefer his readers to get very involved in the story or should they just read them as great stories and not think too much about them?]
I think every writer appreciates attentive reading of his work. We labor over these books for years, after all. Then they come out, and the readers gulp them down in days or even hours. Which is very gratifying, in one sense, but can also be frustrating, if we feel that they are missing all the grace notes and little subtleties and clever allusions and ironies and turns of phrase that we sweated blood over for so long. I try to write books that will stand up to rereading, so that every time you go through you will find more to appreciate... and therefore I'm thrilled when readers tell me that they do reread the books.
[Fan thanks GRRM for participating in the forum.]
Thanks. I have to admit, though, that the number of questions is getting to be overwhelming, especially in this topic. Good thing I'm only doing this for a week.
[GRRM is asked about the correct interpretation of Bran's vision concerning the stone giant.]
Sorry, but you'll have to interpret the dreams and visions yourself.
[What's it like trying to write sections from the point of view of the direwolves?]
Impossible, really. I keep staring at the drafts and saying, "a wolf wouldn't know that word." Of course, a wolf wouldn't know ANY words, really. And writing without any words is hard. All I can do is try to flavor those sections, to suggest that the wolf is perceiving the world much differently than a man would... but I'm always wondering if I have gone too far, or not far enough.
Yes, the wolf scenes are killers.
[How developed is Valyrian?]
"How little" have I developed Valyrian is the real question. I am not, alas, J.R.R. Tolkien, and I cannot imagine taking a decade to actually work up not one, but two, entire languages. I have something like eight words of Valyrian. When I need a ninth, I'll make one up.
Sorry if that disillusions any of you. It's all smoke and mirrors, kids.
[Will we learn more concerning Lyanna and Harrenhal?]
Yes, you'll hear more about Lyanna and Harrenhal.
[Any link between the giants in the series and the New York Giants?]
Absolutely no link. Clever notion, though. And go G-Men!
[A fan compliments Beauty and the Beast as being unique.]
I agree. It was a great show to work on as well. Oh, we had our ups and downs and disagreements, but there were a lot of talented people on that series, and I'm proud of the work we did.
[The friendliness of the Beauty and the Beast fandom is discussed.]
They always seemed like nice people, at least for the first two seasons. Then we got to season three, and that wasn't pretty. It's true what they say about love and hate being close cousins.
[Is GRRM aware that the Beauty and the Beast fans still carry out regular activities, and would he be willing to answer some questions for an upcoming event?]
I'm aware of it. How "few" questions? I can take a crack at it, sure, although B&B was twenty years ago, so I am not sure how much I'll remember.
[When shows have multiple writers, how is a single vision kept in focus?]
That's ultimately the responsibility of the showrunner and the staff of writers. In our case the showrunner was Ron Koslow, who created the characters, and he did a very good job of defending his vision and keeping us true to it.