It seems I need to clarify once more.
I am NOT on Twitter. I am NOT on Facebook. The only place I post myself, in my own words, is here on Live Journal.
I do have an official Twitter account, and an official Facebook account. I established these in self-defense, because there were fake accounts out there, where people pretending to be me were making various spurious pronouncements... pronouncements that would then get picked up all over the internet and repeated as if they were gospel.
The official Twitter and Facebook accounts are maintained for me by my minions and my publishers. I don't post there myself. I don't even read them or check comments. I have other stuff to do. LOTS of other stuff.
Anyway, a few weeks ago, Raya came to me and said the folks at Random House wanted to do a special promotion on Twitter, a "Twelve Days of Christmas" with a Westerosi twist. Did they have the green light? It sounded fun, and funny, so I said sure, and thought no more of it. It was just a little Christmas celebration.
But then, somehow, from somewhere, the rumor arose that the "12 Days" were actually a countdown... not to Xmas, but to the publication of THE WINDS OF WINTER, or the announcement of its completion and/ or pub date.
Sorry. Not true. Look, I've said before, and I will say again, I don't play games with news about the books. I know how many people are waiting, how long they have been waiting, how anxious they are. I am still working on WINDS. When it's done, I will announce it here. There won't be any clues to decipher, any codes or hidden meanings, the announcement will be straightforward and to the point. I won't time it to coincide with Xmas or Valentine's Day or Lincoln's Birthday, the book will not rise from the dead with Jesus on Easter Sunday. When it is done, I will say that's it is done, on whatever day I happen to finish.
I don't know how I can make it any clearer.
And while I am debunking rumors, let me also say that this story about me being inspired to finsh WINDS by STAR WARS is also utter bullshit, and I have NO idea where that one came from. (I liked the first two STAR WARS movies, the third not so much, the prequels not at all, and the trailer for the new one had no impact on me one way or the other, and let's face it, even the best of 'em is no FORBIDDEN PLANET. Robby is my robot ideal, not C3PO or R2D2). Made up out of whole cloth, so far as I know.
It really stuns me how widely the STAR WARS thing has been disseminated. Truly, internet journalism is an oxymoron.
As Mark Twain once said, "A lie can travel halfway around the world while truth is putting on its shoes."
I am NOT on Twitter. I am NOT on Facebook. The only place I post myself, in my own words, is here on Live Journal.
I do have an official Twitter account, and an official Facebook account. I established these in self-defense, because there were fake accounts out there, where people pretending to be me were making various spurious pronouncements... pronouncements that would then get picked up all over the internet and repeated as if they were gospel.
The official Twitter and Facebook accounts are maintained for me by my minions and my publishers. I don't post there myself. I don't even read them or check comments. I have other stuff to do. LOTS of other stuff.
Anyway, a few weeks ago, Raya came to me and said the folks at Random House wanted to do a special promotion on Twitter, a "Twelve Days of Christmas" with a Westerosi twist. Did they have the green light? It sounded fun, and funny, so I said sure, and thought no more of it. It was just a little Christmas celebration.
But then, somehow, from somewhere, the rumor arose that the "12 Days" were actually a countdown... not to Xmas, but to the publication of THE WINDS OF WINTER, or the announcement of its completion and/ or pub date.
Sorry. Not true. Look, I've said before, and I will say again, I don't play games with news about the books. I know how many people are waiting, how long they have been waiting, how anxious they are. I am still working on WINDS. When it's done, I will announce it here. There won't be any clues to decipher, any codes or hidden meanings, the announcement will be straightforward and to the point. I won't time it to coincide with Xmas or Valentine's Day or Lincoln's Birthday, the book will not rise from the dead with Jesus on Easter Sunday. When it is done, I will say that's it is done, on whatever day I happen to finish.
I don't know how I can make it any clearer.
And while I am debunking rumors, let me also say that this story about me being inspired to finsh WINDS by STAR WARS is also utter bullshit, and I have NO idea where that one came from. (I liked the first two STAR WARS movies, the third not so much, the prequels not at all, and the trailer for the new one had no impact on me one way or the other, and let's face it, even the best of 'em is no FORBIDDEN PLANET. Robby is my robot ideal, not C3PO or R2D2). Made up out of whole cloth, so far as I know.
It really stuns me how widely the STAR WARS thing has been disseminated. Truly, internet journalism is an oxymoron.
As Mark Twain once said, "A lie can travel halfway around the world while truth is putting on its shoes."
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Joan Mackian : 12 days [+1] - bighdog : Independence day [+0]
- Kells O'Connor : eh [+0]
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- GeekFurious : "the book will not rise from the dead with Jesus on Easter Sunday" [+0]
- goldenbuddy : Can't rush quality [+8]
- johnfish4 : Clarification [+2]
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- harryman850 : Thank You [+0]
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Comments
I can't help but think there's another resurrection you could have used here, but there's no use in getting -hung- up on it. (I'll see myself out.)
I was one of the people that bought into that self-generated hype, so thanks for writing this, Mr. Martin. Best of luck with finishing WINDS.
Edited at 2014-12-14 12:00 am (UTC)
Also, I hope the book is coming well for you. I've crossed my 100 manuscript page count - a milestone! 100 pages total that I am happy with!
Finally, looking forward to what your thoughts are once you've seen The Hobbit: Part 3, and the trilogy as a whole.
Edited at 2014-12-14 12:05 am (UTC)
Now I sort of wish your minions would go and announce all the long awaited things out there except Winds -- the publication of the secret JFK assassination files, the release of Half-Life 3, world peace! -- just because a crooked sense of humor is still the best way to deal with people doing... peopleish things, all told.
Go Giants.
While I'm looking forward to TWoW, there is no shortage of great fantasy books out there in the meantime.
How is it a "crazy coincidence" or an "oversight" if a twelve days of Christmas thing ends on Christmas?
Also, I'd rather wait a bit longer for a high-quality book than read something half-finished right now.
Edited at 2014-12-14 02:36 pm (UTC)
Hey Mr.Martin,
I just want to say thank you for writing the Song of Ice and Fire series and bringing so much joy to people's lives because of it. I'm really sorry for all the rude idiots out there, and all the terrible things they say. I understand the amount of work and detail you put into these books, and why it takes so long and that's why I'm willing to wait as long as it takes for The Winds of Winter. It's like these idiots think you can just sit down start typing and -bam- you have a chapter done in an hour. So I guess I'm just trying to let you know that you still have fans who aren't complete idiots, and who really appreciate the amount of work you put into your books. Have a merry Christmas!!!
Sincerely,
Harrison
Edited at 2014-12-14 12:31 am (UTC)
I know people are chomping at the bit to know what happens next in the storyline(s); this is perfectly understandable. But jumping to conclusions, and making wholly unfounded assumptions that emotionally affect the author is flat-out ridiculous. The fans who truly appreciate the process, as well as the final work, will wait as long as necessary. As much as I would love to have The Winds of Winter in my lap at this moment, I sure as hell am not going to pester anyone about it, or complain. Especially not to the point where it practically ruins a fun Holiday-themed promotion we all could have enjoyed without any frustrations. People must think being a world-class, world-famous author consists on sitting on your ass and pumping out pages in order to get a book out as fast as possible. Even if you wanted to do that(which no sane writer would want to do), do people not understand you have obligations? Successful people who enjoy what they do are usually pretty damn busy. At least some of us understand this.
I hope everyone has a safe Holiday Season and a wonderful New Year! Now I'm going to go continue to re-read all the amazing work that has been released. That's good enough for me until The Winds of Winter is ready to be shared with the world; whenever that may be.
Anyway, we know that you're working as hard as you can. When TWoW comes out, it's going to be a great book, and it will only be that good because you made it a great book.
If you have to take your time writing your book, it's because you care about it, and you want the book to be the best it can be.
So don't worry about the fans that keep begging you for more. We know that you're a great writer, and a great storyteller, and you're going to tell a great story.
-Firestone
Edited at 2014-12-14 01:29 am (UTC)
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Or, these days, "A lie can be retweeted around the world before truth has logged onto Facebook."
Best of luck with the whole thing...