Last month, A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin spent a lot if his time hopping around the British Isles, attending conventions, getting awards, and visiting places — most notably Belfast, Northern Ireland — where he had a hand in pumping money into their economies. “I had not been to Belfast since we were shooting the GAME OF THRONES pilot,” he wrote on his Not a Blog,” and it was fascinating the extent to which the show has permeated the city. Castle Ward has its own Night’s Watch, the GOT Exhibit down by the Titanic Museum is just stunning… and everywhere I went, strangers came up to thank me for their jobs and tell me how the show has changed the city and their lives. That was very gratifying.”
And yes, it was also time spent not writing The Winds of Winter, which I’m sure is where some fans’ minds went. As Martin reminds us, he doesn’t travel with a computer, and he’s said before that he doesn’t write when he’s on the road, so we can assume that he didn’t complete the long-gestating sixth book in his series during this trip.
But now he’s back in his home of Santa Fe and presumably ready to get back into it. That also affords him some measure of privacy, which is something he doesn’t really have anymore when out and about in the world. “I do miss some of the pleasures that I used to take for granted at worldcons, like being able to walk the dealer’s room and browse new books, or sit in the bar for hours with friends coming and going and everyone buying rounds,” he writes. “[B]ut sadly, none of that seems possible for me any longer. Too many people wanting signatures or selfies. All very nice, most very polite, but I hate refusing anyone, and after a while it just wears me out.”
Much as I enjoyed mixing it up at Con of Thrones, I think my favorite part of the event was relaxing alone back at the hotel, so I don’t know what he’s talking about…I think that’s just me, though.
Now that Game of Thrones is over, I wonder if some of the public pressure on Martin will ease. At the very least, he has a lot coming his way when The Winds of Winter is finally released. I can see the articles about how it’s different from the show now…
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