My Night With Sibel

March 26, 2015 at 2:23 pm

The lovely and talented SIBEL KEKILLI — best known to all you GAME OF THRONES fans out there for her amazing portrayal of Shae — came to Santa Fe last December. We celebrated her visit by screening HEAD ON, the breakthrough German film that gave Sibel her first starring role and won her the Lola (the German Oscar) for Best Actress, but that was not the main purpose of her visit. She was here to film a segment of a popular German travel show DURCH DIE NACHT (roughly, INTO THE NIGHT), for the French/ German TV network ARTE.

The premise is the show is that each week, a celebrity visits some place they have never been before, and a local shows them the town, with an emphasis on the nightlfife. Sibel asked me to show her Santa Fe, and I was delighted to say yes ( though I did warn her that Santa Fe, for all its charms, does tend to roll up the sidewalks at 9:00 pm or so). So after a rather adventurous series of flight, and a six-hour drive through the night with a stranger in a car full of fish, Sibel made it to the Land of Enchantment, and I had the honor of playing her host. We took in my own lair, a local gallery, a comic book shop, two restaurants, two bars, and of course the Jean Cocteau. (With a film crew trailing us everywhere we went).

I had a great time. Got to introduce Sibel to margaritas and chile con queso, two of my favorite things. All in all, she seemed to enjoy the experience. And driving around through the night, we talked about all manner of things, which was fun as well.

The segment has now been edited and broadcast. For those of you not in France and Germany who did not get to see it, here you go:

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I've met some wonderful people through GAME OF THRONES, and Sibel is one of them. What an amazing, talented, courageous young woman. And yes, I confess it: her Shae was better than my Shae.

Oh, and by the way, here's that song I had them sing for Sibel — Istanbul, Not Constantinople, by the Four Lads.

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Tags: game of thrones, santa fe, television, travel

36 Hours in Santa Fe

December 6, 2014 at 1:42 pm

If you have the chance to visit Santa Fe, but have only thirty-six hours to spend here, what should you see and do?

The NEW YORK TIMES has some suggestions for you.

(And of course a visit to the Jean Cocteau is a MUST).

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/30/travel/things-to-do-in-36-hours-in-santa-fe.html

Go check it out.

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Tags: jean cocteau, travel

Home Again

August 28, 2014 at 5:50 pm

Parris and I returned last night from LA, courtesy of Southwest Airlines Cattlecar in the Sky.

It is nice to be back. We left August 7. Scotland and the Edinburgh Book Festival, London and worldcon, the big Robin Hobb event at Freemason's Hall, a long (but very comfortable) flight direct from Heathrow to LAX on British Airlines, Hollywood, meetings, the Emmys, more meetings, parties and more parties. Oh, and an Ice Bucket Challenge. (Brrrrr).

Much of it was great. All of it was tiring.

And this comes right on the heels of my trips to France and Switzerland (for the Dijon signing and the NIFFF film festival) and to San Diego (for comicon), with only brief visits home in between.

Way back when, it seemed like a good idea to concentrate most of my travel for the year into a single two-month period, leaving me the other ten months to stay at home and write. Well, maybe not. The trips, individually, were great, and I met some terrific people and had some amazing adventures, some of which I hope to tell you about here. But taken as a whole, it was too much. I need to face facts. I am not thirty years old any more. Airports, long flights, six-hour long signing sessions, and endless interviews take it out of me, in ways they never did before. The spirit is willing, sometimes even eager, but…

I do have one more trip this year: a brief visit to NYC in late October to promote THE WORLD OF ICE AND FIRE and see editors, agents, and family. Elsewise, I am home for the rest of the year… and well into next year, I hope. Most of that time I plan to spend in Westeros.

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Tags: travel

Happy Halloween

October 28, 2013 at 2:40 pm

Speaking of things that go bump in the night….

If a creature who looks like this shows up at your door trick or treating, don't be fooled. It's not me. That's my friend and associate and co-editor Gardner Dozois dressed up in his GRRM costume for Halloween.

You can give him candy if you want, but not cheese doodles or, god forbid, jellybeans. He puts those up his nose.

Actually, though, Gardner looks so good as me that I am thinking of sending him to Australia next month in my place, to make all my public appearances while I stay home and write. (Don't everyone agree at once, please). So if you run into "me" in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, or Adelaide… well, you better take care that it's really me. (If he rips open his shirt to expose his breast, it's Gardner).

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Tags: everyday life, friends, travel

Safe in Spain

July 16, 2012 at 9:55 pm

San Diego Comicon was great fun… but exhausting beyond belief. Somehow I survived, however. Spent all day Sunday on airplanes crossing the Atlantic, and today finds me, jetlagged and weary, in Madrid. I arrived in the morning and slept all day. Just ate some dinner, and am about to go to bed again. By tomorrow morning I should be well-rested for my trip to Aviles.

See you all at CELSIUS!!!

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Tags: conventions, spain, travel

Leaving on a Jet Plane…

July 11, 2012 at 10:36 am

… in a few hours. This time my destination is San Diego Comicon.

(I was the first registrant at the very first comicon, did I mention? Drew about thirty people to a seedy hotel in Greenwich Village. But I did get to meet Steve Ditko and Fabulous Flo Steinberg. Comicons have grown since).

I expect I will see some of you at the HBO panel. I’m the lucky one, I don’t have to stand in line for hours to get in.

From San Diego, I fly direct to Spain. Look for me in Aviles, Madrid, and Barcelona.

I will be scarce around here until I get back home at month’s end, but I leave the house, the office, and the blog in the hands of my trio of able assistants, Terrible Ty, Rambunctious Raya, and Perky Pat. You may hear from them from time to time while I’m gone.

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Tags: conventions, spain, television, travel

Back from Montana

May 30, 2012 at 11:09 am

Back home again from Missoula, Montana, where I spent the weekend as GOH at Miscon 26.

’twas my first trip to Montana, and I can’t say I really saw much of it, but Missoula was a pleasant little city, and the con itself was great. They drew 1300 people, I’m told, a record for Miscon, and I think all of them had a great time. I know I did. Miscon fen party like we did in the old days, and the hotel — Ruby’s, a small indy with local ownership — was really great. None of the nonsense with noise complaints and shutting down parties and elevators that has plagued so many cons of late. In fact, some of the hotel management partied with us.

So a tip of the hat to Justin, Cthulhu Bob, Clay, and the rest of the Miscon Miscreants, and to Tim, Dustan, and Vicky from Ruby’s. You were great.

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Tags: conventions, travel

London Towne

April 10, 2012 at 1:38 pm

Busy, busy… still in England, now in the heart of London… we had a smashing visit to Bath, with a great event at Toppings and tourist visits to the Roman Baths, the spa, the Assembly Rooms, and the Royal Crescent… then it was back to Heathrow for the (sold out) Eastercon. Biggest and best Eastercon ever, by all reports. It was great to see so many old friends, and to make some new ones.

Meanwhile, back at home, GAME OF THRONES won the prestigious Peabody Award.

This evening is the big London signing and interview at the Bloomsbury Theatre. See (some of) you there!

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Tags: signings, travel

In the Land of Fish and Chips

March 29, 2012 at 10:17 am

Made it across the pond safely. Parris got her first platter of fish ‘n chips last night, and pronounced it ghood. Today we’re recovering from jet lag.

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Tags: travel

Talking to Canadians

March 17, 2012 at 1:30 pm

And for those of you for whom that long interview on Strombo’s show was not enough, here’s even more footage of me talking (and talking, and talking, an even reading a bit) on my recent visit to Toronto.

These are from my appearance at the TIFF Lightbox, where I was interviewed by the delightful Terry Hart. I yakked so much we had to break this down into three parts.

Part, the First
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Part, the Second
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The final third also contains a taste of what’s to come in the form of a short (very short) reading from THE WINDS OF WINTER. However, if you have not read up through A DANCE WITH DRAGONS, you may want to skip this. Spoilers lurk ahead.

Part, the Third
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Enjoy.

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Tags: a song of ice and fire, game of thrones, interviews, travel

Not a Blog

My Night With Sibel

36 Hours in Santa Fe

Home Again

Happy Halloween

Safe in Spain

Leaving on a Jet Plane…

Back from Montana

London Towne

In the Land of Fish and Chips

Talking to Canadians

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