George RR Martin posts an update

[Bateluer]

Text

Kinda stinks, I'm almost done with A Feast for the Crows.

"No, sorry, it's not done yet.

There's good news and bad news on A DANCE WITH DRAGONS.

The bad news is that I have not gotten nearly as much work done these past few months as I had hoped to back in July. The summer and fall have both been insanely busy. Several of my publishers wanted me to add the San Diego Comicon to my schedule, so I did. All on my own, I also attended Bubonicon in Albuquerque and the World Science Fiction Convention in Anaheim, where A FEAST FOR CROWS lost the Hugo. More recently, I've been on the road again, doing a series of readings and signings in the midwest to promote my new YA book THE ICE DRAGON and the paperback release of A FEAST FOR CROWS. That was followed by a visit to New York, where I met with Bantam about the forthcoming WORLD OF ICE AND FIRE, with Tor about THE ICE DRAGON and the WILD CARDS revival, with Marvel about the new hardcover editions of THE HEDGE KNIGHT, and with DC Comics and Random House / Del Rey about... well, that would be telling. I also put on a tux and went to the American Museum of Natural History for the second annual Quill Awards, where Parris and I dined beneath a giant blue whale and A FEAST FOR CROWS lost a Quill.

All of which was great, but left me little or no time for writing. I know, there are lots of writers who write every day, no matter where they are or what they are doing. Alas, I am not one of them. My efforts to write in hotel rooms and on airplanes have never produced much. I need to be here at my desk, on my own computer, with all my reference materials around me, and ideally I need to be left undisturbed for a good chunk of time if I'm to have any hope of getting real work done. That hasn't been easily accomplished of late.

The good news, however, is that my travels are over for the rest of the year. There are no more conventions, readings, or promotional tours on my schedule until 2007, so for the next six weeks it will be just me and my PC. I am still hoping to be able to complete A DANCE WITH DRAGONS by the end of the year... although that will depend in large part on how well and how quickly the writing goes from here. Home

Wish me luck. I'm headed back to Westeros.

Look for another update in early January."

 

[oog]

"...where A FEAST FOR CROWS lost the Hugo."

That's kind of a strange statement. Didn't every book that didn't win also lose the Hugo? It seems a little self-centered. Anyway, I didn't think that A Feast for Crows was as good as the earlier books. I debating whether I'll drop the series.

 

[Bateluer]

Originally posted by: oog
"...where A FEAST FOR CROWS lost the Hugo."

That's kind of a strange statement. Didn't every book that didn't win also lose the Hugo? It seems a little self-centered. Anyway, I didn't think that A Feast for Crows was as good as the earlier books. I debating whether I'll drop the series.

To be fair, A Dance With Dragons and A Feast for the Crows were intended to be one book. The publisher split it because it grew too long. This is why Feast feels like the first half of a novel.

At the point I'm at, a lot of interesting things have happened that I know will come into play later.

Although, I will be irritated if Ser Osney succeeds in killing Jon Snow. Jon is one of my favorite characters.

 

[GarlicBreath]

I wish Martin would spend less time going to those goofy conventions and more time finishing his series. Its darned annoying.

 

[Jinru]

Awww, well I still love the book and plan on staying faithful to the series in hopes of it being released within the next 4monthes. Does anyone know what the World of Ice and Fire and the Ice Dragon are?? Is it related to ASFIAF.

 

[Whitecloak]

tyrion rules!

and a feast for crows is the weakest in the series.

 

[probzy]

Go tyrion.

 

[Babbles]

I enjoyed the first three books, but after the massive delays for the most recent one I just lost total interest in it. I can appreciate the art of writing taking some degree of time to put out a good work, however I think he milked it for far too long.

 

[LuNoTiCK]

I read the first three and waited for feast for years. I got tired of waiting and pretty much lost interest, and now I hear that feast is the weakest in the series.