Not a Blog

The Three Kings Return

October 29, 2020 at 8:54 am
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THREE KINGS is the twenty-ninth volume in the Wild Cards series, and the second to be set entirely in the British Isles, featuring a cast of English, Irish, and Scottish aces, jokers, and knaves.   It is a follow-up to KNAVES OVER QUEENS, but it is not necessary to have read KNAVES… or any of the preceding Wild Cards books… to enjoy it.   This one is a full mosaic, written by Peadar O Guilin, Peter Newman, Caroline Spector, Melinda M. Snodgrass, and Mary Anne Moharaj, and edited by Melinda, with me assisting.  The featured characters are Badh, the Green Man, the Seamstress, Double Helix, and Enigma.

Our British publisher, Harper Collins Voyager, released the hardcover edition in May.   Now the trade paperback edition is being released… TODAY.   Wild Cards fans in the UK should find it at their local bookstore.   Readers in the rest of the world can order it from their favorite online bookseller.

 

There’s a nice review of the book on LOCUS for those who would like to know more:

Paula Guran Reviews Three Kings, Edited by George R.R. Martin & Melinda M. Snodgrass

Current Mood: busy busy

Another Ugly Loss

October 28, 2020 at 3:06 pm
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Need I even mention that the Jets lost another one on Sunday?

It was actually the best game they played all season.   They had the lead for almost three full quarters.   Unfortunately, the game was four quarters long.

After a promising first half, Gang Green managed four yards of offense in the entire second half.

And this weekend they have to play the world champion KC Chiefs.   That could be very ugly indeed.

Writing these weekly football posts has gotten to be a very wearisome task.   I think I may pause for a while.  There is just not much to say.  At least nothing that I have not said before.

The Jets are just awful and they need to fire Adam Gase, the sooner the better.

Current Mood: gloomy gloomy

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The Wedding Guest

October 26, 2020 at 8:26 am
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Here’s another peek at the past, and the original pilot for GAME OF THRONES.

We shot the wedding of Daenerys Targaryen and Khal Drogo in Morocco.   Ian McNeice played Illyrio Mopatis, a magister of Pentos, and I played one of the wedding guests, presumably another magister.

Both of us, alas, were left on the cutting room floor when Dany was recast and the wedding was reshot.   Ian McNeice was terrific as Illyrio, by the way, but a scheduling conflict made him unavailable for the reshoot.

I never did find time to do another cameo, but I suspect the show was better for it.

If you really want to see me do a cameo, I did two for BEAUTY AND THE BEAST in the 80s, and more recently had my brilliant turns in SHARKNADO 3 and Z NATION.  I made a swell zombie…

Current Mood: silly silly

Writing in a Shared World

October 24, 2020 at 11:25 am
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What’s it like to write in a shared world, like the Wild Cards universe?

Wild Carders Melinda M. Snodgrass, David D. Levine, Kevin Andrew Murphy, Paul Cornell, and Mary Anne Mohanraj will tell us, in a new (virtual) panel discussion sponsored by the Jean Cocteau Cinema.

Check it out at:

Wild Cards Series Presents: Writing In A Consortium

Current Mood: thoughtful thoughtful

Shudder

October 23, 2020 at 10:54 am
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That one really hurt.

The Giants had the game won.   Five minutes left.

Then they choked.  Offense choked, defense choked, offense choked again.

It was as much fun as being kicked repeatedly in the balls.

Life is meaningless and full of pain.

 

Current Mood: morose morose

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Time to Vote

October 21, 2020 at 11:35 am
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I descended from my mountain holdfast for a few days this week, to make sure my vote was counted.

Early voting is open in many states.

If you want to vote by mail or with an absentee ballot, there are ways to do that as well.   But you have to ACT.

Or you can go to the polls on election day.   Masked, I hope.   Keeping correct social distance.

However you do it, please VOTE.  Covid makes it unusually challenging this year, but the future of our country, the future of democracy itself, is on the line this time around.

 

Current Mood: determined determined

A STORM OF SWORDS: THE ILLUSTRATED EDITION  

October 19, 2020 at 8:19 am
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On sale 11/3 

Lavishly illustrated by the incredibly talented Gary Gianni and available now for pre-order.  

Here is a sneak peak at some of his work on this special edition of A STORM OF SWORDS, brought to you by Penguin Random House. 

And a pre-order link:

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/635347/a-storm-of-swords-the-illustrated-edition-by-george-r-r-martin/

This message has been brought to you by the minions of Fevre River.

Current Mood: artistic artistic

The Thrill of Victory

October 18, 2020 at 7:33 pm
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Ohmigod.   The Giants WON one!!!

Yes indeed.   Big Blue is now 1-5, having just defeated the Washington Nameless Horrors 20-19.   So… there’s that.   Winning is always better than losing.

It was not what you call a crushing victory, however.  The Washington Football Team, which is now also 1-5, is not exactly a powerhouse.   And the Giants almost blew this one.   They had an early lead, then squandered it.  Then they had a late lead, thanks to a fumble return for a TD, and seemed to have the game in hand… only to let DC score a touchdown with only seconds left.   A routine extra point would have sent the game into overtime, but the Washington coach Ron Rivera decided to go for two and try to win instead.   The attempt failed, so the G-Men got the win.  I don’t really blame Rivera.   It was a gutsy call, but why not?  Washington is not going anywhere this season anyway, any more than the Giants are, so might as well roll the dice and give it a shot.

A win is a win and I will take it, but there were several discouraging things about the game.  I really thought our defense, which has looked pretty good in some of the losses, would shut down the Nameless Horrors offense, playing with their second string QB.   But no.   They let Washington come back when a solid stop would have iced the win.   And while Danny Dimes looked pretty good most of the game, his biggest plays came from running, not throwing the ball.   And on the goal line, once again he threw a horrendous interception.   He still turns the ball over too much, usually at the MOST horrendous times.

Ah well.  At 1-5 the Giants are no longer at the bottom of the NFL.

That honor is reserved for the Jets, who were shut out by the Miami Dolphins 24-0.   I would love to find a silver lining there, but really, there is nothing to say.  It was the first time the Fins have shut out Gang Green since the AFC Championship “Mud Bowl” in… what was it, 1982?  A long time.   Joe Flacco started for Darnold again, and looked lost.  On the other side, the Dolphins had Ryan Fitzpatrick, a veteran of eight NFL teams, including the Jets.   The Jets let him walk years ago… but even now, he is better than any QB that Gang Green has fielded since.   Miami even got to put in Tua, their QB of the future, for a few plays in garbage time, and he looked good as well.   The Jets O looked inept, the Jets D looked disinterested.

Losing 24-0 in the late third quarter, Adam Gase tried for a long field goal.  (And missed, of course).   I guess he was trying to avoid the shutout rather than going for a win.  The team was unprepared and disinterested.

Oh, wait, Marcus Maye did have a really nice juggling behind-your-back interception at one point.  A play for the highlight reels.   Maye is the best player remaining on the Jets.  I wonder who we will trade him to…

On the bright side, since the Giants and the Falcons both won, the Jets at 0-6 are now the only remaining winless team in the whole NFL.   Number one overall draft choice, here we come!

((Comments allowed, but only on NFL football.   Off topic comments will be deleted)).

Current Mood: grumpy grumpy

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Golden Glory

October 18, 2020 at 8:50 am
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New Mexico truly is the Land of Enchantment.   And fall is my favorite time of year here.

(No, not because Winter Is Coming).

Our autumns are gloriously golden.   We don’t get the reds and oranges they have up in New England, but the aspens and cottonwoods all turn gold.  It does not last long, but then again, all beauty is fleeting.   Seeing entire forests and mountainsides glowing in gold always lifts my heart.

(And these days, with the world the way it is, my heart is often in need of lifting).

Current Mood: contemplative contemplative

Two More Defeats

October 16, 2020 at 2:48 pm
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The Jets and the Giants both lost again this past weekend.   That seems to be the story of the season.  It feels as if I am writing the same post week after week.   There is no joy in Mudville… or in Gotham.

As ever, the Jets defeat was much worse.   They were crushed once again, this time by the Cardinals.   Sam Darnold was injured, so Joe Flacco got the start this week, but it did not make a dime’s worth of difference.   Gang Green continues to look inept and unprepared on both offense and defense.  The Texans and the Falcons both fired their head coaches this past week, and yet Adam Gase continues to have a job.   It passes all understanding.   I have no idea how the Johnsons can continue to think of him as a good coach.

Instead of firing Gase after the latest loss, the Jets instead released Le’veon Bell, the star running back they paid a bloody fortune for when he was a free agent.   It is said that Gase never wanted Bell.   He certainly had no idea how to use him.  To me, that’s another argument for dumping Gase, not Bell.  Bell has now signed with the Kansas City Chiefs, where I expect he will excell.   We shall see.   In the offseason, the Jets traded their best defensive player, Jamal Adams, to the Seahawks for a bag o’ magic beans.   They also let their best wideout, Robbie Anderson, walk.   Got nothing for him.   Got nothing for Le’Veon Bell.   Others teams build around their best players, but the Jets seems intent on getting rid of them all.   It is the coach and the GM that they should be getting rid of.   At this point, I think 0-16 is a very real possibility.

The Giants are a different story.   Yes, they are 0-5 as well… but they keep almost winning, whereas the Jets just get blown out.   That was certainly true this past weekend against the Cowboys.   The G-Men outplayed Dallas for most of the game and should have gotten the W… but they were up against the zebras too, and you can never beat the zebras.   The refs overturned not one but two Giants touchdowns on bullshit ticky-tacky penalties, and then, on the Cowboys game-winning drive, overlooked an absolutely flagrant hold by Dallas.   Give the G-Men those two TDs and they win going away.  And believe me, they needed that win.   Joe Judge has yet to win a game as head coach, but I have a lot more faith in him than I do in Gase.   At least the Giants make it close.  I think Big Blue will find a few wins sometime this season.

But this is not a good year to be a fan of NYC football.

 

Current Mood: embarrassed embarrassed

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