NYC GRRM BOOK SIGNING July 14th Union Square B&N

[fitheach]

Woops, lost my post...

[Lady Blackfish]

I hadn't thought to check on the board about meeting up with people. I was there, and it was lovely. I got there before noon and so had pretty good seats, didn't have to wait long for my signing, and flatteringly enough Martin remembered me from, like, seven years ago. Most of the brief Q&A (10 questions?) covered things that are pretty much well covered already (favorite character, advice to writers, cameo in the HBO show, etc), but it was a friendly and enthusiastic crowd, so all around a nice time, B&N's overpriced frappuccinos notwithstanding.

[Xray the Enforcer]

To my BwB People New and Old: It was great to meet you guys at Prof. Thom's. I tried to find you guys at B&N, but I got there so late (thanks, work!) that they wouldn't even let me up to the 4th floor. My friend Urban Viking (he lurks, but maybe he'll come out of the woodworks?) yelled at me from the 4th floor, but otherwise I was cut off. So I went outside and wandered around for a couple of hours, occasionally getting updates on Mr. X's progress through the line via text.

At about 9:15, met up with Mr. X and Frisco and we walked over to Prof. Thom's. There was already a group of BwB there, including fiftheach, Urban Viking, kungtotte, Woodbyrne (I think that's right...) + Lady Woodbyrne and Cousin Woodbyrne, Greyjoy Rebellion and friend who's a big ASOIAF fan but is not on the boards, and probably some others. Mr. fiftheach showed up. There was another crowd of fans I never even got to meet -- if you were there, holla! At least I can try to place faces with names and next time even get to meet you guys.

Sometime later in the evening (no idea when), people around me start clapping and yelling...I turned around and there was George! He had verified with Mr. X during the signing that we were still going to Prof. Thom's, and I guess the siren call of ASOIAF-themed cocktails was too much to resist. So he rolled in with two of his colleagues (IIRC, publicist and foreign rights) and we all got down to the drinking.

Blu-Ray showed up right around then as well. And the night went as so many nights before have: sitting on the couch, hanging out, chatting, drinking cocktails. Some shitty zombie film on the TV occasionally distracted us. I was chatting with kungtotte and asked what time it was: 23:52. Holy shit! Since most of us either have to work today or travel, we settled up our bills and went back. And thus ends another BWB outing where I stayed up way past when I intended and I'm a zombie today.

[Lany Freelove Cassandra]

Sorry I didn't make it to Professor Thom's. :( I did see a few people from the board and Mr. X as I was headed down an escalator. I got there about 1:30 and there were about 150 people ahead of me (maybe more).

I would have had to leave by 9:15 to get my train, and since it was after 8:30 already when I got out, I just went straight to Penn Station.

While it wasn't the day I had planned, it was still a good time and I am glad I went.

[Xray the Enforcer]

That's a bummer Lany. I was actually looking for you to come out of the store (Mr. X texted me that you were headed down), but I missed you completely although I'm not entirely sure how I managed that. Were you dressed in your ninja costume yesterday? :ninja:

[meglaurel]

I told him, haha. He said, "oh dear, I'm in trouble now." Well worth the wait. There was a good turnout, but I don't think it was anywhere near 1500.

I told him as well (didn't see the board before going up for signatures but I saw Ran's tweet) and got a similar reaction. It was quite funny. At Professor Thom's, George said the crowd was 1800, but it was a very long day and I may have misheard.

Thanks for setting everything up! It was great to see some people I have met previously and new people (Javier - I apologize for teasing you about not starting ADWD yet, your restraint amazes me.)

[Mr. X]

I hadn't thought to check on the board about meeting up with people. I was there, and it was lovely.

:( Bummed we missed you.

From Twitter: seated crowd, George.

The back of Frisco's head is in that first picture. You and Linda were namechecked a couple times (and drew applause from the crowd) in reference to the world book and George factchecking character info with you.

Sorry I didn't make it to Professor Thom's. :(

I was wondering where you had disappeared to. Bummer. By the way, I liked the WWRTD? shirt.

Haha, I'll try to tell him. George was just served by the Inn at the Crossroads blog girls. He said there may be a ASOIAF cook book published.

George brought the rest of the basket of food to Prof. Thom's and set it out on the bar for all to sample. The beef and bacon pies were mighty tasty.

[Xray the Enforcer]

I told him as well (didn't see the board before going up for signatures but I saw Ran's tweet) and got a similar reaction. It was quite funny. At Professor Thom's, George said the crowd was 1800, but it was a very long day and I may have misheard.

Thanks for setting everything up! It was great to see some people I have met previously and new people (Javier - I apologize for teasing you about not starting ADWD yet, your restraint amazes me.)

1,800 is what I heard as well. Were you guys the group over around the corner of the bar? Bah! I wasn't sure if you guys were part of the crowd and I didn't want to be a creeper. One of these days we'll meet...

[Mr. X]

I showed up to B&N a little before 4 and the seats had already filled up, so I took a seat on the floor in the standing room line. I was early enough that I was about 60 or 70 people back in line, which meant I still got through pretty quickly once the signing began and was out a little before 9. Big props to the B&N staff for keeping things organized and moving quickly.

George got a standing ovation when he came up the escalator and his first words on the microphone were, "Wow. See, I really was working on it!" He talked about how much bigger the crowds are now than when he was on the book tour for AGOT and told the story of how the four people at a signing in St. Louis got up and left as he was about to start ("Some writers talk about having no one show up to their signings, but I think I'm the only one who can claim a turnout of negative 4!").

George said he'd talk about the three questions he gets most often. Most people here know the answer to "What took you so long?" The second question was "When will the next one be out?", and he said "It will be done when it's done. I've learned my lesson not to make promises." He also said he hoped to have the ASOIAF World Book out next year. The third question was "What do you think of the TV show?", and his answer was "I love the TV show, I think it's amazing." He talked about the Emmy nominations (Peter Dinklage's nomination drew the biggest applause), mentioned that ADWD had the biggest first-day sales of any new novel published in 2011, and then opened the floor up for questions.

Quick summary of audience questions and GRRM's answers (the quoted parts are my notes filled out to the best of my memory):

1 - Q: Is it possible the tale will grow in the telling again and we will see eight book?

A: "I would like to do it in 7," but he didn't want to make any promises.

2 - Q: Do the many gods serve any other purpose?

A: George answered this by talking about what he sees as the two schools of readers: those interested mainly in plot and those who are interested in the entire experience. "My philosophy of fiction is not necessarily all about advancing the plot... I want to give my readers a vicarious experience. Ten years later, I don't want you to remember you read a book, I want you to remember you lived an experience."

3 - Q: What new advice for young writers did you learn by writing Dance?

A: "Don't try to write something so gigantic! When I finish the series I'm never going to do it again," adding that he would write more short stories and standalones. His summary of advice to young writers is "write everyday," "read voraciously" in multiple genres, and "start with short stories."

4 - Q: What is the last book you read that you thought was great?

A: "Leviathan Wakes" by James S. A. Corey. George admitted he was a bit biased as Corey is really his assistant Ty and his friend Daniel Abraham, but he did love the book.(Right after he said this, a B&N employee walked down the aisle I was standing in, grabbed a big stack of copies of "Leviathan Wakes," and brought them out to a table by the top of the down escalator. I heard later that they sold all of them by the end of the night.)

5 - Q: Is a certain POV character in ADWD gay?

A: "I can't answer without spoiling, but if you're talking about what I think you're talking about, then yes." George mentioned that there are gay characters in ASOIAF. He mentioned Loras & Renly, saying that he included "what I thought were subtle but clear hints. HBO was not subtle about it."

6 - Q: Will you make a cameo in the HBO series?

A: "Probably, though you'll have to watch very carefully." He told the story of his cameo in the original pilot and the crazy hat he wore as a Tyroshi.

7 - Q: How do you stay plugged into the story and keep track of the details?

A: "Most of the stuff is kepts in my head. I do have notes and charts, but not as many as I should." And he emails Ran with questions about character details. :) He said he gets upset with himself when he makes a mistake, because there are already intentional mistakes in what characters say. "Some inconsistencies are deliberate. There are unreliable narrators, especially when they are remembering things."

8 - Q: Did you have to fight with your publisher to keep that huge thing that happens in the first book? (There was a no spoiler policy in effect for the Q&A.)

A: "No."

9 - Q: How long should an aspiring writer stick with one idea?

A: "If an idea comes to you and demands to be written, you need to write it." (My apologies for not taking better notes on the answer.)

10 - Q: Hodor hodor hodor, hodor hodor, hodor hodor hodor hodor?

A: "Definitely hodor."

And then he started signing books, and then we all ended up at Professor Thom's where the bar had made a sign for the "Game of Thrones Fan Party" on the second floor, and it was a good time.

[Lyanna's_Blue_Rose]

Hi everyone!

Long time lurker, only 3rd or 4th time poster.

Got to B&N around 5:45. My spot in the standing line was actually quite good, from the perspective of being able to see George while he was talking before the signing commenced. About 20 minutes after I arrived, they cut off the line on the 4th floor and started lining people up on the 3rd floor. Glad I was able to escape the office when I did. :)

When I got up to have my books signed, I asked George what work he was most proud of, aside from ASoIaF. He said Fevre Dream. :)

I wish I could have made it to Prof Thom's last night after the signing, but alas it was not to be. I was hoping to make it my first NYC BwB event, too. Oh well. Next time! I am looking forward to meeting everyone. :cheers:

[The Evil Hat]

George was at Thom's? Damn, I really should have tried to go, then. About what time did he show up?

Mr X's version of the Q&A is far, far more concise and detailed than mine, but if anyone's interested, what I remember of them (written a few hours later) is as follows, copied over from my blog:

When rumors of Martin's arrival spread through the crowd, a standing ovation began. This one stopped quickly, as the rumors turned out to be rather exaggerated, but after another false alarm or two we greeted the man himself with applause, hooting, and shouts of KING IN THE NORTH. Martin talked for about forty minutes, answering questions for half of it and opened with "See, I really was working on it" while holding Dance up. I'll admit I took no notes, so I'm representing the questions in the order that I remember them, and everything's paraphrased unless explicitly quoted.

Throughout, you could tell that Martin was proud of his work, and deservedly so, but he was never arrogant or pretentious and mentioned the familiar but endearing story of the signing he held after the release of A Game of Thrones were the only four people in the store left as he began to speak, earning him an attendance of negative four.

Of course, the first two things he tackled were the delay on this book and the feared wait for the next. He discussed the split, which most readers here no doubt know most of the details of, and mentioned that a part of the reason he split the characters up as he'd did was that he'd written far more for some perspectives than others. After that, he thought Dance would be fast, having already had enough finished manuscript pages to equal Feast. Alas, many of those were either discarded and revised, and the book proved a third longer (in manuscript form) than Feast.

As for the next book, and the length of the series, Martin would give no promises. He hopes soon, and he hopes no more than seven volumes, but we'll have to wait and see on both accounts. "It will be done when it's done," he said, to a fair bit of applause. Before Winds of Winter, he'll write – and revise and revise and revise – the fourth Dunk and Egg novella and work on the world book, which should likely be coming out next year and might help salve the long wait for the sixth volume. There's also a potential Cookbook of Ice and Fire on the way as well, courtesy of the female duo who're preparing the various meals described in the series here http://innatthecrossroads.com/. George, "more an eater than a cook," was presented with a dinner that sounded rather scrumptious at the start of the event.

Martin said that the fans in attendance could be divided into three categories: those with him since the beginning, those who read after watching the show, and those who watched but never read. (I suppose that I, having come to the series at the tail end of '08, am in group 1.5.) About the show, he had nothing but praise and said that he "loved" it and the experience of seeing his work adapted. That being said, he cautioned us, particularly about season's two Battle of the Blackwater, to remember that TV shows have budgets to consider, and that no budget can stand against a reader's imagination. As for a cameo, he had one in the pilot, but those scenes – for reasons unrelated – ended up on the cutting room floor, both for actors that were recast and for the overly humongous hats the nobility of Pentos, of which George was one, were decked out in. He has, however, done a few cameos in Beauty and the Beast, back when his hair was darker and he was skinnier, and fans are free to seek those out. A Game of Thrones attracted no less than 13 Emmys, he told us, and then said that Dance was the biggest seller of 2011 so far.

A fan asked about gay characters in the series, and Martin confirmed their existence and touched on the rather explicit nature of HBO's showing of Renly and Loras. He tries to show people from all groups – "gay, women, and people of color" were, I believe, his words – and that he believes that we're "all human" and all have some good and some bad. He has villains, heroes, cravens, selfish, and selfless from each group and each walk of life.

He responded to a question about the purpose of the gods in the series by discussing the two kinds of readers, one which reads solely for the plot (to whom he suggest the cliff notes) and the other that reads to experience. He's firmly in the latter school, as any of his readers could no doubt guess, and mentions living along with the characters in Lord of the Rings. He's heard claims that his works have gratuitous sex, gratuitous feasting, and gratuitous heraldry, but never of gratuitous violence. To the first of those, he said (and I am, I should mention again, writing from memory, here): "I show an axe entering a skull, and it's fine. But when I show a penis entering a vagina, then the letters will come."

To "Hodor, Hodor, Hodor, Hodor, Hodor, Hodor," Martin responded "Hodor." As I'm sure most are aware, Tyrion is (still) his favorite character. When asked if his advice for writing has changed in the process of Dance, he said that it hasn't. He advocates writing every day and beginning with short stories, comparing starting with an epic series (one perhaps involving fire or at least some sort of ice) as equivalent to beginning one's life as a rock climber on Everest. "Start on Bear Mountain," he urged us New Yorkers.

Another writing related question followed, where a fan mentioned Howard's sudden and vivid inspiration for Conan, and George's on mention of seeing the direwolf pups out of the blue, and asked how long should fans work towards such visions. Martin's response was to always try and make something out of them, and to keep working at it, though he did caution that it doesn't do to be too romantic about these things. One chapter in Dance came to him perfectly clearly, and demanded to be written, but it led nowhere, and – after attempting it half a hundred ways and even in dream form – he had to leave it on the cutting room floor. He also took a few stabs about the idea of a muse or writing via telepathic communication with another dimension; believe it or not, it's all one rather imaginative bearded man.

Segueing from there (though it was an entirely different question likely asked at the opposite end of the event), Martin said that he keeps almost everything in his head, though he does keep notes. He praised Elio, a certain Westerosi King , and Linda for knowing more about the series than he does and always having an answer (within five minutes) to any question he might ask. He's not totally sure how he remembers all the details and heraldry that he does, as all his prior works were stand alones (which he plans to go back to, after the series).

Despite notes and Ran, he does occasionally make mistakes – the two he cited being a character's magically changing eyes and a horse's sex change – which he hates, because they obfuscate the intentional mistakes of character memory, such as Ned's and Jaime's different descriptions of everyone's favorite kingslayer's finest moment. He hates when "George the Author" detracts from the work of "George the Brilliant Artist."

The last book that he read that made him go wow was James S.A. Corey's Leviathan Wakes, written by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, which he said had a war between Earth and Mars, tough Belters from the asteroid belt, and space zombies – exactly the kind of space opera he likes to read. It's received great reviews, so now Martin's got no choice but to keep Ty's head down by showing him the reviews that Dance has gotten. The last question was whether he got protests from his editor about that big thing in A Game of Thrones, to which he only answered "No."

While waiting in line, I agonized the whole while about how to act in my two seconds of fame with him – overly heartfelt? Misery-esque devotion? glib? – and ended up asking if any one scene in Dance was as difficult to write as "a certain wedding in book three" (attempting to avoid spoilers for the A Game of Thrones reading fellow two places back, just in case). He said that Dance was hard in a different way – chronologically, lining all the perspectives up in Meereen – but no one scene was nearly as troubling as the Red Wedding.

Oh, finally – to the fan I sat next to – hello, Zach, if you're reading this. Nice to meet you and talk to you for a few hours. Perhaps we'll meet again, come the winds of winter.

[Axon]

Hi everyone!

Long time lurker, only 3rd or 4th time poster.

Got to B&N around 5:45. My spot in the standing line was actually quite good, from the perspective of being able to see George while he was talking before the signing commenced. About 20 minutes after I arrived, they cut off the line on the 4th floor and started lining people up on the 3rd floor. Glad I was able to escape the office when I did. :)

When I got up to have my books signed, I asked George what work he was most proud of, aside from ASoIaF. He said Fevre Dream. :)

I wish I could have made it to Prof Thom's last night after the signing, but alas it was not to be. I was hoping to make it my first NYC BwB event, too. Oh well. Next time! I am looking forward to meeting everyone. :cheers:

Also got there around 5:45. My perspective was also really good, as I was in the short stack book area where the line was curving around the stacks and was able to see right up to the stage. Where were you at? I was the tall, professionally dressed guy. Might have seen me, might not have.

As to the bar: damn, I knew I should have gone! I was exhausted and starving, however. Went to McDonald's right after and promptly fell asleep once I was home.

[Inn at the Crossroads]

Haha, I'll try to tell him. George was just served by the Inn at the Crossroads blog girls. He said there may be a ASOIAF cook book published.

That was actually our NYC field agent, @Oshidori, one of many who are helping with Operation Keep George Fed during the book signing tour. We delivered our personal basket to George at the Burlington signing last Tuesday.

Keep an eye out at the next venue for more of our little birds... ;)

[inkasrain]

Really great, if long, experience. I got to B&N around 1:30 and got a seat in the one of the last rows of the "black chairs." I had to lean around some people to really be able to see George during the talk, but I used my copy of ADWD as a booster-seat, and that helped! It was really great to see how many people not only came to what was just supposed to be a signing, but went out of their way to sit or stand for hours just for the chance to see the man in person. (I also have to say that the staff at B&N handled the whole crazy-overwhelming-turnout thing very well. I've been at events where the organizers have been snappish or rude to waiting fans, especially if the numbers get larger than expected, but pretty much all of the staff yesterday were cheerful, polite and organized. It made for a nicer experience for everyone, I'm sure.)

I only had one book for George to sign, so I had about four seconds to blurt out "Thank you for Sansa!" (I think he was surprised at that.) It would have been great to have more time, but honestly, shleping one copy of "Kong" was labor enough. Anne the Amazing Editor was also super sweet, signing a bunch of people's books as they came down from George's platform and chatting with fans.

I also bumped into Ser Lany Cassandra outside as I was leaving (and reveling in the fact that there was still an outside world beyond that Barnes & Nobel) and it was really great to meet someone from the board in person! I had a feeling that if I didn't go to Thom's, GRRM would totally show up, but I was kind of zonked and don't do bars too often anyway, so I decided to pass. I'm glad it worked out for everyone, though, and I hope there's a 'next time' in the not-too-distant future!

[Axon]

My pics from the event, sorry some are blurry: http://s117.photobucket.com/albums/o68/Cardizzle2/GRRM%20signing/

[The Evil Hat]

Inkasrain, were sitting in the rightmost row of chairs? If so, I think you were in the row behind me.

[Mr. X]

George was at Thom's? Damn, I really should have tried to go, then. About what time did he show up?

Roughly 10:30. They were carding everyone at the door, so you might have had trouble getting in.

I had to lean around some people to really be able to see George during the talk, but I used my copy of ADWD as a booster-seat, and that helped!

Brilliant!

ETA: Oh yeah, they instructed everyone to turn to the full title page, as that was the only page George would sign. I turned mine to the dedication page instead, and the guy collecting books at the end of the table asked why I had that page open and I told him I was listed on the page. He said, "Really? Which one are you?" I said, "Mr. X," and pointed to where I showed up in the list of BWB peeps. He said I might want to mention that to George in case he didn't look up before signing.

[Relic]

Roughly 10:30.

Fuck me. I didn't want to add to George's signing duties but i should have made it out to Prof Thoms. I ALWAYS miss out on hanging with GRRM. :crying:

[Parris]

I told him, haha. He said, "oh dear, I'm in trouble now." Well worth the wait. There was a good turnout, but I don't think it was anywhere near 1500.

Thanks for being bold enough to pass on the message - I can assure you that it was well worth it -and I'm delighted you did so. It's the tag line from an old family joke, you know, the sort that sticks around between people who know and love one another for a long time, and becomes shorthand for many purposes over the years.

I owe you a beer, or other thank you gift when we meet, and hope that event won't be too long in happening.

Meanwhile, I have to order the hay and water tank, and place them in the back yard, which measures 20'x50'.... :cheers:

[inkasrain]

Inkasrain, were sitting in the rightmost row of chairs? If so, I think you were in the row behind me.

Depends which side is right ;-) Looking from the back of the store to the podium at the front, I was sitting at the left column (but on the right side) near a bunch of political books. I was wearing a black shirt that said "NERD" in red.

Brilliant!

Thanks! I admit, I thought it was rather inspired myself, if somewhat unyielding ;-)