RE: The recent GRRM interview and some interesting news

[JMJ]

Apologies if someone has posted this info already, but I did try and do my due diligence, and I could not find any references to this by searching the forums.

As posted on Westeros.org, there was a recent interview with GRRM:

http://www.omnivoracious.com/2013/03/valar-dohaeris-an-interview-with-george-rr-martin.html

I found two interesting "reveals" he mentioned:

First:

" So, I think when I come to write about Osha again, which may be in this book that I'm writing now, (my bolding) Natalia Tena may be in the back of my mind and I may take it a little more in that direction. But that's really the only case."

Yeah, it's been mentioned many times how GRRM loves Natalia Tena's portrayal of Osha, and how it has spurred him to have more of her in the books. Well, in my mind this quote is the first time I'm aware of tacit implication that Osha will show up in TWOW. We all suspected it, but I think this is much closer to confirming it. You'd also assume that means Rickon comes back into the scene too, I suppose.

Second:

RE: GRRM's writing pace and concerns that the show will catch up to the novels, in referring to the TV show writers (Benioff/Weiss):

They're doing a terrific job with the show and the show is their baby and the books are my baby. So, I'm gonna keep writing the books and keep ahead of these guys before they catch up with me.

Sure, GRRM's projections about timelines for his novels have been way off, but this is more evidence that he is quite conscious of the pressure to keep ahead of the show. I'm hoping that keeps stoking the creative fires to get the last 2+ novels done sooner than later!

[The Bastard of Walton]

Apologies if someone has posted this info already, but I did try and do my due diligence, and I could not find any references to this by searching the forums.

As posted on Westeros.org, there was a recent interview with GRRM:

http://www.omnivorac...-rr-martin.html

I found two interesting "reveals" he mentioned:

First:

Yeah, it's been mentioned many times how GRRM loves Natalia Tena's portrayal of Osha, and how it has spurred him to have more of her in the books. Well, in my mind this quote is the first time I'm aware of tacit implication that Osha will show up in TWOW. We all suspected it, but I think this is much closer to confirming it. You'd also assume that means Rickon comes back into the scene too, I suppose.

Second:

RE: GRRM's writing pace and concerns that the show will catch up to the novels, in referring to the TV show writers (Benioff/Weiss):

Sure, GRRM's projections about timelines for his novels have been way off, but this is more evidence that he is quite conscious of the pressure to keep ahead of the show. I'm hoping that keeps stoking the creative fires to get the last 2+ novels done sooner than later!

I'm looking forward to the Davos chapters that will probably cover the Osha & Rickon story. Rickon is the only Stark left who can claim Winterfell & hopefully we'll see that happen.

GRRM will hopefully not keep us waiting to long for WOW. But i'd rather he doesnt rush it, if the show has to wait so be it.

[drayrock]

Sure, GRRM's projections about timelines for his novels have been way off, but this is more evidence that he is quite conscious of the pressure to keep ahead of the show. I'm hoping that keeps stoking the creative fires to get the last 2+ novels done sooner than later!

aren't we all

[JMJ]

I'm looking forward to the Davos chapters that will probably cover the Osha & Rickon story. Rickon is the only Stark left who can claim Winterfell & hopefully we'll see that happen.

GRRM will hopefully not keep us waiting to long for WOW. But i'd rather he doesnt rush it, if the show has to wait so be it.

A couple of interesting ideas that crossed my mind when I read about Osha showing up in TWOW are that first, the Rickon story line will come back into play sooner than later. I just wasn't sure he'd even show up in TWOW - it seemed possible GRRM might have left the Davos/Rickon/Osha/Skagos idea to ADOS prior to this. Second, given Rickon's age and how far along the time line TWOW is taking off from ADWD, is Rickon still going to be just a prop, in that he's just the youngest Stark being shuttled around, without a character development arc, or will he have stuff going on after spending time on Skagos? Second,

[The Bastard of Walton]

A couple of interesting ideas that crossed my mind when I read about Osha showing up in TWOW are that first, the Rickon story line will come back into play sooner than later. I just wasn't sure he'd even show up in TWOW - it seemed possible GRRM might have left the Davos/Rickon/Osha/Skagos idea to ADOS prior to this. Second, given Rickon's age and how far along the time line TWOW is taking off from ADWD, is Rickon still going to be just a prop, in that he's just the youngest Stark being shuttled around, without a character development arc, or will he have stuff going on after spending time on Skagos? Second,

Good point. Hopefully with the differance in time between the two we might get to see more character development with Rickon. I think last time he was in a chapter, he was acting wild & Shaggydog was the most viscious Direwolf. I like to see what being on Skagos has made of him. Possibly a boy who both the Northmen & wildlings can rally too.

[Crown]

Truth be told, I don't understand why he's so extremely positive about Tena's performance. I never considered it above average. :dunno:

[JMJ]

Truth be told, I don't understand why he's so extremely positive about Tena's performance. I never considered it above average. :dunno:

He's probably got a crush on her. Seriously tho, IMO she honestly just didn't have a big enough part in the show to get a full assessment of her acting performance.

[The Iron Suitor]

He's probably got a crush on her. Seriously tho, IMO she honestly just didn't have a big enough part in the show to get a full assessment of her acting performance.

I agree, I couldn't really say if she was that good in the show considering her minor role but I'm sure GRRM has seen each episode enough to judge even the characters who only have one scene.

[Erls]

Imo, I don't think that GRRM is going to be speeding up his writing process that much due to the show.

HBO is going to drag out the series longer.

"Though it's been only two years since A Dance With Dragons (Book 5 in the Song of Ice and Fire series) was released, A Feast For Crows (Book 4) came out in 2005 and A Storm of Swords (Book 3, the first half of which is the source for this season on TV) came out in 2000."

Thus, Book three will take HBO 2 years. Going by that, it will be 2019 before Winds of Winter is being made into the show, and 2021 until book 7 (A Dream of Spring?) is being adapted.

Even going by GRRMs slow writing process he would have 5 or 6 years to write book 7 if Winds of Winter is released in 2015 as expected.

[Montey14]

I agree, I couldn't really say if she was that good in the show considering her minor role but I'm sure GRRM has seen each episode enough to judge even the characters who only have one scene.

I don't think it was so much her performance.....it was just a perfect casting in my opinion....she has the perfect wilding look with the crazy hair and eyes.....I think they nailed that casting with her.....her dialougue isn't really so important in the book ....perhaps now her rool is in sheparding rickon to safety.....

[Lion of Judah]

Thanks for the link to the interview, I always go over his interviews for any hints about anything. It's quite pathetic really.

[Lion of Judah]

Anyone else noticed that he said, 'when it comes time to write for Osha, which may be in this book I'm writing now...' Now I have questions about her and Rickon appearing in TWOW.

[Lord Varys]

Perhaps he has not yet written any Davos chapters. Or Davos has not yet arrived on Skagos, or found Rickon and Osha on the island. I'd be surprised if Davos would find Rickon at once. If the Skaggs took him in, they won't tell any strangers where they hid him. And Davos alone won't have little chance to gain their trust. I'm convinced that Robett Glover has accompanied Davos - since he did not go to Barrowton and Winterfell with Manderly - but we don't know that yet.

The really interesting question still is how did Osha get to Skagos in the first place? Do any ships go there, and if that's the case, where did Osha catch such a ship?

And it's still a complete mystery why Osha would go to Skagos of all places. It seems to be very unlikely that she has relatives or friends there - else one would have expected she would have gone there instead south of Wall with other wildlings. The island would only be a (relatively) safe place for Rickon Stark if there were any known Stark loyalists living on Skagos. No idea if that's the case.

[Suzanna Stormborn]

Perhaps he has not yet written any Davos chapters. Or Davos has not yet arrived on Skagos, or found Rickon and Osha on the island. I'd be surprised if Davos would find Rickon at once. If the Skaggs took him in, they won't tell any strangers where they hid him. And Davos alone won't have little chance to gain their trust. I'm convinced that Robett Glover has accompanied Davos - since he did not go to Barrowton and Winterfell with Manderly - but we don't know that yet.

The really interesting question still is how did Osha get to Skagos in the first place? Do any ships go there, and if that's the case, where did Osha catch such a ship?

And it's still a complete mystery why Osha would go to Skagos of all places. It seems to be very unlikely that she has relatives or friends there - else one would have expected she would have gone there instead south of Wall with other wildlings. The island would only be a (relatively) safe place for Rickon Stark if there were any known Stark loyalists living on Skagos. No idea if that's the case.

OMG Skagos is going to be crazy!! i was reading up on it. Supposedly there are unicorns there. And the people who live there rule themselves, and Roose Bolton mentions that they have priori nocturnum or whatever from Braveheart where the Lords sleep with brides on their wedding nights. If Rickon and Osha are there with Shaggydog, I cannot even imagine what has been going on. The islands are supposedly Winterfell supporters, so I would think they would offer Rickon safe horbour, cuz lets face it, with his direwolf how could he really hide who he is? He must be staying in one of the Lord's castles there. He couldn't possibly have been hiding out in a cave or something the whole time. So that means several people probably know who he is. I wonder if Howland Reed is there with them?

[JMJ]

Thanks for the link to the interview, I always go over his interviews for any hints about anything. It's quite pathetic really.

I know, I know. How we all hang on every nuance of every sentence uttered by GRRM, hoping for a hint of things to come. I need to get a life...

[JMJ]

Anyone else noticed that he said, 'when it comes time to write for Osha, which may be in this book I'm writing now...' Now I have questions about her and Rickon appearing in TWOW.

Yes, definitely noticed that. I'm not certain, but my take is that he was trying to throw in a red herring about that. My reasoning is that clearly the concept of Osha is pretty much at the forefront of his mind. I think this means he's been thinking about her character a lot recently, ie., writing about her ...

[Sister Ray]

I don't like the uncertainty and vagueness with which he expresses his thoughts about Osha; like he was talking about something in the very distant future. I hope we get a lot of Davos chapters In TWOW, but i don't want him to just wander around for the entire book without getting anywhere near Rickon. Though I have to say that I enjoyed Brienne's hopeless search for Sansa in AFFC. Anyway, I think that he has not yet written any Davos chapters, as Lord Davos suggested.

[Quoth]

[snip]...

Yeah, it's been mentioned many times how GRRM loves Natalia Tena's portrayal of Osha, and how it has spurred him to have more of her in the books. Well, in my mind this quote is the first time I'm aware of tacit implication that Osha will show up in TWOW. We all suspected it, but I think this is much closer to confirming it. You'd also assume that means Rickon comes back into the scene too, I suppose.

...[snip]

Know what I found interesting about this? I immediately wondered whether this was the first instance of another media (TV show) based on a literary work actually effecting the (ongoing) literary work being written. OK, perhaps it's somewhat marginally effecting it. But, because of an actresses' portrayal, he "may take (the character) more in that direction". That's just so surreal for me. I'm not complaining, mind you. It's just... odd.

[JMJ]

Know what I found interesting about this? I immediately wondered whether this was the first instance of another media (TV show) based on a literary work actually effecting the (ongoing) literary work being written. OK, perhaps it's somewhat marginally effecting it. But, because of an actresses' portrayal, he "may take (the character) more in that direction". That's just so surreal for me. I'm not complaining, mind you. It's just... odd.

I can't think of any examples either. Harry Potter's books and movies overlapped by a few years, but AFAIK there is no definite evidence that the movies directly influenced the last few books. It may very well have, maybe even subconsciously, but who knows.

[Travex]

Imo, I don't think that GRRM is going to be speeding up his writing process that much due to the show.

HBO is going to drag out the series longer.

"Though it's been only two years since A Dance With Dragons (Book 5 in the Song of Ice and Fire series) was released, A Feast For Crows (Book 4) came out in 2005 and A Storm of Swords (Book 3, the first half of which is the source for this season on TV) came out in 2000."

Thus, Book three will take HBO 2 years. Going by that, it will be 2019 before Winds of Winter is being made into the show, and 2021 until book 7 (A Dream of Spring?) is being adapted.

Even going by GRRMs slow writing process he would have 5 or 6 years to write book 7 if Winds of Winter is released in 2015 as expected.

Are you assuming 2 seasons per book? I highly doubt it. AFFC and DWD will be 3 seasons max but 2 is more likely.