Hehehe :)
This is all SO exciting..! Have fun there!

I've always considered your willingness to do horrible things to your own characters to be the best thing about A Song of Ice and Fire.

Awesome!

Jennifer Ehle's on set! I wonder if either of the young girls went through a moment of star-struck.

(What, it can happen; I met Pau Gasol at the U2 concert in Pasadena last night and had NO IDEA what to say to a 7' Spaniard other than "Guh.")

Is it wrong for me to hope that yes, the young ladies will have to go through those horrors? *keeps fingers and toes crossed*

But what about Bran? He should get a rewrite too.

But seriously, morbid as it sounds, I do wish we get the series as far as that.

I am trying so hard not to leap into the air, shrieking with excitement (that sort of behaviour tends to get funny looks from colleagues :P ). I might have to go and find a cushion to scream into. :D

I am sure this is going to be an amazing experience for all involved, especially the children!

Just remember that the characters need to endure more than the actresses. At least they can stop at the end of the day whereas Arya and Sansa have been going through the horrors since the mid nineties.

I'm assuming you're mostly joking about wanting to make only nice things happen to the kids. One thing I've always admired about your writing is that you have never been afraid to kill and/or traumatize/maim characters. I mean, by the end of the first book, you killed off a character who had been one of the primary plot focuses.

Heh. Yeah, I managed to say that without spoiling anything for anyone else. Not that I expect many people who read your blog haven't read A Game of Thrones. Still, I'd hate to ruin such a great book for anyone.

I'm glad to hear that you're making progress with Dance, and I'm glad to hear you're excited about the TV series. So often these things get pulled away from what the author would intend, and it seems like you're happy with it so far. I am hopeful.

Must be worth it. You didn't even mention the Giants. :)

I'm fine with you rewriting the books. So long as you write both abusive and childhappy versions.
:)

It appears to me that you seem more and more confident that there actually will be more than just a pilot, considering your third sentence. Or is this just wishful thinking (mine or yours)? Anyway, glad shooting is starting well :-)

I was just thinking about this today. I wondered if you meeting the actors that are going to play some of the characters in your books will cause any change in your writing.

Does it make it easier / harder to write for the characters now? Or no different? Do you still picture the characters visually as you always have - or do you now picture their actors?

Inquiring minds want to know (ok - only I do).

I will say nothing about football, except that the Dolphins snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. Boo.

This is too late to be of any use, but have you looked into Slingbox? It basically patches into your television inputs to turn signals into compressed video that it can them stream over your computer to any remote location with internet access. It includes an infrared cable thing to be able to control a cable/satellite box, and I believe it's compatible with TIVO. Might be a great solution for catching games when you're on the road.

I know Neil Gaiman has praised it before, under similar circumstances.

Pleease don't rewrite those characters!, I guess it will be really good for their career to play that enriching characters.

Have fun in Europe!

*laughs out loud* But if you do that, Arya won't get to stick 'em with the pointy end, and that would be a terrible shame. :)

Might change the story some.

Ha.

yay filming!

Yay blog posts about filming!

I would not feel too guilty about them having characters with a bit of character.. it will give them something to get their professional teeth into. Which I am very sure they will be able to cope with:D.

Could you please write us an alternate history where only good things happen to ALL the Starks? Then I'd have a version I could read without having to steel myself for the Bran falling/Ned execution/RED WEDDING! Kthnxbye.

Seriously, can't believe it's actually happening. Tell the cast we're all rooting hugely for them, and can't wait to see them bring your characters to life. I'm itching to see Jennifer Ehle's Catelyn and Sean Bean's Ned and Peter Dinklage's Tyrion, and all the rest.

Here's to hoping you'll also rewrite Eddard's story after meeting Sean Bean.

Man, I lived in Edunburgh for 6 years and just when I leave, you decide to visit... Stavanger is just down the road from Edinburgh (well, there might be some water in between, but it is litterally just across the lill' pond), any chances you'll turn up for a wee visit, signings, reading, and all that jazz?. There is a great viking site just an hour on a boat away :)

I would love to come down an visit but have little time to come up with a excuse for the job to send me to Edinburgh again :( Great city, terrific pubs and great beer. Anyway, will you come to Norway? pleeeeease?

how exciting - hope you're enjoying Ireland!

Yay you found the Internet! Yay you arrived safely!! Yay you ran into cast members, so they ARE indeed filming and all!
Yes, do good things for Arya, but not-so-good things for Sansa. She needs to have a few more bad things happen to her so that she KNOWS how bad she's been.

...finish last. Or not. As long as you don't kill either of them off, I'm completely satisfied ;)

I can't wait to hear more from the filming - or at least as much as you're allowed to tell us. More teasers/riddles, perhaps? :)