[Are the children of the forest like elves, and are there other races besides them?]
No, no elves. The children are... well, the children.
Westeros has its giants too, so there are other races in my world. But no elves. Elves have been done to death.
[Does GRRM know there's still an active Beauty and the Beast fandom?]
It doesn't surprise me that there is still a B&B fandom, no.
In fact, I think there's two. The ones who embrace the entire series, and the ones who insist on "44 and No More." Are they still at war, after almost twenty years? I hope not.
I don't think either one is as large as it once was, but maybe I'm wrong.
[Willl we have a complete map of the world at the end of the series?]
The whole WORLD? No, definitely not. No European map of the middle ages could possibly have included the Americas or Australia, and even their ideas of China (Cathay) and India were rather... ah, inaccurate.
The regions where the action takes place, through which the characters move? Yes.
[GRRM is asked about the section numbering scheme for his novella, "The Meathouse Man"
That's a good question, and a hard one. It's been a couple of decades since I wrote that story. I had a profound and artistic reason for the numerbering, I recall, but just what it was...
One obvious difference, however, is that all the Arabic numerals reference song titles, and the content of those sections were in part inspired by those songs, or alluded to said content. The Roman numeral section titles are simply descriptive.
[Willl Hot Pie, Gendry, Nymeria, Rickon and Shaggy be seen again or mentioned in A Dance with Dragons, or later in the series?]
Later in the series? Yes, to all of them.
In DANCE? Yes to some, no to others.
[Will GRRM write stories for the next two Wild Cards books?]
Sadly, no, but I will be heavily involved as editor.
[GRRM is asked who comes up with titles for the Wild Cards series, and whether titles for future Wild Cards books will be difficult to come up with, as they are all drawn from card game terminology.]
I come up with the titles.
Yes, we will eventually run out of "card" titles. There's a scene in CITIZEN KANE when Kane is informed that his paper lost a million dollars last year. "Yes," he says, "and I expect to lose a million dollars next year, and the year after that. If that keeps up, I'm going to have to close the paper... in thirty-seven years." (paraphrase)
Which is a long-winded way of saying that I already have enough titles for another twenty or thirty wild card books, if need be. Some are better than others, mind you, but we won't run out soon.
Wild Cards grew from a roleplaying game you ran. Did you and your fellow writer-participants stop gaming in the setting when you started turning it into a book?
Yes. It was too confusing to do both at once.
And speaking of gaming, I know you still take part in regular gaming sessions. Is there a main campaign/setting that's played primarily, or are you guys sticking to shorter campaigns these days?
Well, we played in Walter Jon Williams' Rome game (GURPS) for a decade or more, but Walter hasn't been running that lately. More recently we're playing a space game run by Ty Franck, which uses a D20 system. Ty's game is great fun, but frankly I don't like D20 nearly as much as GURPS. (Old GURPS, 3rd edition, at least)
[Would polygamous marriages be accepted in Westeros today, especially if Targaryens were involved?]
If you have some huge fire-breathing dragons, you can get people to accept a lot of things that they might otherwise have problems with.
[A reader asks about the future deaths of Jaime and Cersei.]
Sorry, but while I'm glad to tackle questions, I'm not going reveal anything of importance that will happen in future books, and certainly not the ultimate fate of major characters. You'll just need to keep reading.
[Growing size of the series and editorial concerns?]
No hard and fast rules here. It's all book by book. I have plenty of editors to give me input and suggestions. I don't think the success of the books impacts one way or the other. The artistic challenges would remain the same even if the books were being published by a small press for an audience of hundreds.
[Intentions behind making Cersei a POV, whether to make her sympathetic or not?]
I don't concern myself over whether my characters are "likeable" or "sympathetic." (I had my fill of that in television). My interest is in trying to make them real and human. If I can create a fully-fleshed three-dimensional character, some of my readers will like him/ her, or some won't, and that's fine with me. That's the way real people react to real people in the real world, after all. Look at the range of opinions we get on politicans and movie stars. If EVERYONE likes a certain character, or hates him, that probably means he's made of cardboard. So I will let my readers decide who they like, admire, hate, pity, sympathize with, etc. The fact that characters like Sansa, Catelyn, Jaime, and Theon provoke such a wide range of reactions suggests to me that I hav
[Did the unrest during the transition between Arab and Berber rule inspire Dany's storyline?]
No. Sounds fascinating, but I'm afraid I don't have enough experience with the Berbers or their history to draw on them for inspiration.
[Faith Militant based on the crusading orders?]
Yes, albeit loosely.
[Ice and Fire dream cast?]
I had a few actors in mind for particular parts when I was finishing up A GAME OF THRONES, along about 1995. Unfortunately, all those actors are twelve years older now, and the characters aren't. My original dream cast are likely all too old for the roles for which I first envisioned them.
[Will Sandor and Sansa meet?]
Why, the Hound is dead, and Sansa may be dead as well. There's only Alayne Stone.
[More POVs?]
Sigh. Yes. More in DANCE than I intended.
[Arya's future role in the series?]
No comment.
[Will POVs see any of the places to the east like Yi Ti, Asshai, etc.?]
Some, perhaps. I do not subscribe to the theory put forth in THE ROUGH GUIDE TO FANTASYLAND (a swell book, by the way) that eventually the characters must visit every place shown on The Map.
[Where are Bayasabhad, Shamyriana, and Kayakayanaya located? Will the warrior maids play a role?]
North and east of Vaes Dothrak. I don't anticipate their inhabitants playing a major role in this story.
[Are the Faceless Men and Sorrowful Men associated in any way?]
No. Very different views of what they do.
[Future meeting between Daenerys and Jon Snow?]
Keep reading
[Were there any bastards of Tywin Lannister?]
He'd have you flogged for the mere suggestion.
[Where was Oberyn Martell during the rebellion?]
Good question. Offhand, I don't recall the answer. Maybe in Dorne, maybe across the narrow sea with a sellsword company. I'd have to check my notes to be certain.
[Was Gregor Clegane knighted at Harrenhal?]
Don't think so, but again, I'd need to check my notes. I think Gregor was already a knight.
[Have there ever been a ruling Lady of Winterfell or Queen of Winter?]
No. Although I do hope to someday write the Dunk & Egg story where they travel to Winterfell and meet the She-Wolves.
[Are highborn ladies trained to a lot of practical things, like serving guests, making cheese, and so on?]H
Sansa is more than just a young lady. She's the daughter, not just of a noble, but of one of the most powerful nobles in Westeros. The great houses stand far above the lesser nobles, as the lesser nobles do above the smallfolk.
She would not make cheese, no. But Arya might think it would be fun.