You asked and he has the answers.
Martin was penning scripts for TV in the 1980s, long before he became a No.
1 best-selling fantasy author, he had to rewrite a lot.
Credit: Parris
I wanted to write a big novel, something epic in scale.
The book was supposed to be out by now, and some fans are griping online about the wait.
Im working on it as hard as I can!
In the meantime, disciples can content themselves with two new Martin doorstops,DreamsongsVols.
1 and 2, which collect the prolific authors short stories, teleplays, and juvenilia.
Why do you feel like you might blow off your fans like this?
MARTIN:Ive tried many different replies [to these types of questions].
Ive tried putting updates on my site, or addressing these things in my live journal.
But nothing seems to satisfy some people.
I certainly dont think Im being cavalier to my fans.
I think I go above and beyond the call of duty in terms of staying in contact.
And Im writing it!
What am I supposed to do, send it off unfinished, or bad?
Im working on it as hard as I can.
Writing it tough sometimes, and it doesnt always go as fast as you want it to.
[Sighs] One thing Ive learned is to stop trying to predict when its going to be done.
NEXT PAGE: Why isA Dance With Dragonstaking so long if its already been written?
Why isA Dance With Dragonstaking so long if its already been written?Melody AuvinenGEORGE R.R.
Its not like I had two complete books.
I had one complete book, and one that was partially written.
[Laughs] What can I say?
Its taken a lot longer.
This is completely unreal, and I dont like it.
If I was a soldier going to war, Id be pretty scared the night before a battle.
Its a scary thing.
And I want my readers to feel that fear as they turn the page.
That was the most violent and difficult.
But its supposed to be painful.
Thats what Im striving for.
NEXT PAGE: Whats going on with HBO turningSong of Ice and Fireinto a TV series?
Whats going on with HBO turningSong of Ice and Fireinto a TV series?NYC FanGEORGE R.R.
MARTIN:Well, the script has been written by David Benioff and D.B.
Weiss, and it was submitted a few months ago.
Of course, the writers strike has hit now, so theres no telling whats happening in Hollywood.
But HBO is what Ive wanted for this from the beginning.
HBO can do it the way it would have to be done.
Ive got my fingers crossed.
Its all in HBOs hands now.
I like to use the metaphor of a journey.
Those are the things I discover on the journey.
And that, for me, is the joy of writing.
[Laughs] I wouldnt use the phrase literary highbrows, which is sort of reverse-elitist.
But I do think fantasy and science fiction are a legitimate part of literature.
Most recently, thats happened with Cormac McCarthy andThe Road.
Well, its literatureandits science fiction.
Its a breath mint and a candy mint!
I knew Jim Jim Rigney was his real name and he was a very kind and generous man.
And his own work really made my series possible.
Jordan essentially broke the trilogy template that Tolkien helped set up.
He showed us how to do a book thats bigger than a trilogy.
I dont think my series wouldve been possible withoutThe Wheel of Timebeing as successful as it was.
NEXT PAGE: LovedFevre Dream.
Will you ever write a horror novel again?
Will you ever write a horror novel again?MarkGEORGE R.R.
MARTIN:Anything is possible, but I have to finishIce and Firefirst.
I love all of these genres.
I love horror, I love science fiction, and I even love historical fiction and mysteries.
But thats not likely to be for a number of years now, so who knows?
You have a significant number of early stories that take place in space.
What led you to move away from that and into a high fantasy realm?
My father used to call it all weird stuff.
I read Tolkien one week and then I read Robert A. Heinlein the next.
Then I read H.P.
Lovecraft the week after that.
And today, we have these genre barriers, as if these were completely different things.
But theyre all stories that have an element of the weird in them.
I might write a science fiction novel as my next major project after I finishIce and Fire.
I never left horror, Im not going to leave fantasy.
I attempt to do everything.
I enjoy murder mysteries maybe Ill write a murder mystery next.
That would be boring.
I dont know, I hadnt thought of that one!
Was that a typo or something?ValdoraIts not a typo.
[Laughs] Unreliable narrator is the key phrase there.
The second scene is from Sansas thoughts.
And what does that reveal about her psychologically?
I take a stab at be subtle about these things.
Will Arya get her wolf back?EYoull have to keep reading and find out!
