Game of Thrones has been infamous for killing off characters that the audience grows to love, on a regular basis. So, naturally when one hears that it could potentially save someone’s life for real, the change is refreshing. Sean Shepard, a fan of A Song of Ice And Fire, is suffering from an aggressive cancer called Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma. It appeared in his tongue and then spread to his neck lymph nodes. He has undergone treatment, both radiation and chemotherapy, but it hasn’t killed the cancer.
He made a friend at the San Diego Comic Con 2011 in Shawn Speakman, Publisher and Editorial Director at Grim Oak Press, who has suffered from two different types of cancer himself. Speakman was ironically going through treatment at the time he met Sean. As a cancer survivor, he is now helping Sean to raise money for his further treatment so as to save or at least extend his life.
Grim Oak Press is auctioning a George R.R. Martin signed ARC copy of A Game of Thrones (the first book in the series), owned by Sean Shepard, on eBay. The auction winner will also get an additional George R.R. Martin goodie from Speakman’s personal collection; and a signed Publisher’s Copy of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms donated by Subterranean Press.
An ARC is an Advanced Reading Copy given to booksellers, librarians, journalists, or as a contest prize before a book or novel is printed for mass distribution. This ARC of A Game of Thrones, signed by George R.R. Martin, was given away at the American Booksellers Association’s 1996 Expo, a month before its actual publish date.
The link below contains the details regarding the auction:
From our friends at Grim Oak Press. Authors helping authors helping others. All monies for this charitable auction are going to aid Sean Shepard, a fantasy fan diagnosed last year w/ Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma. https://t.co/GTIoQGm8Nphttps://t.co/qUPP2jQPZU pic.twitter.com/Lau8CSBGQf
— George RR Martin (@GRRMspeaking) August 29, 2018
Do you have some special item from your collection of Game of Thrones that you would want auctioned? Tell us in the comments section below. We might help you do it.
