For years now fans of my epic fantasy series A Song of Ice & Fire have been writing and emailing me to suggest... ask... beg for the books to be made into a videogame. I'm thrilled to be able to announce that, at long last, those requests are being answered. Cyanide Studios, an independent videogame developer based in Nanterre, France, has acquired an exclusive option to develop Ice & Fire as both an RTS (Real Time Strategy) and RPG videogame for next generation consoles and PC.

Cyanide will begin development immediately, with an eye toward rolling out the games for release in the summer of 2011. "We are all huge fans of 'A Song of Ice and Fire', so it is a true honour for our teams to be entrusted with creating the first video games inspired by this masterpiece" said Patrick Pligersdorffer, Managing Director of Cyanide. "The twists and turns of the plot will allow us to deliver an experience which can be enjoyed by both long-time fans as well as gamers new to the series. Its rich web of characters, set in a universe where nothing is just black and white, make it an ideal background for both an RTS and an RPG."

Cyanide first approached me about videogame rights five years ago. No agreement was reached at that time, but Patrick and his colleague Joe Ryan have maintained their interest in the series over the years, impressing me with their doggedness and determination. Since that first contact, Cyanide has opened a studio in Montreal and more than doubled its headcount, and now have the resources to produce both RTS and RPG games that will, we hope, satisfy all my fans and readers, and gamers unfamiliar with the books as well. I am pleased to be in business with the Cyanide, and look forward to working with them on the games.

Cyanide was founded in 2000, and has developed and produced games in numerous genres, including sports management, real time strategy, fantasy, and action RPGs. More information is available through the company website : cyanide-studio.com.

WILD CARDS is headed back to its roots.

The early volumes in our long-running shared-world anthology series largely centered around Manhattan, especially the parts of the Bowery and Lower East Side that became known as Jokertown. More recent entries, however, have been wider in scope, often international. But I've signed the contracts for another brand new, all-original Wild Cards mosaic novel, and I'm pleased to announce that with FORT FREAK the series is coming home again.

Manhattan's 5th precinct has seen it all. Its historic precinct house on Elizabeth Street is the oldest in the New York City, and the cops and detectives based there are charged with keeping the peace in Chinatown, Little Italy, the Bowery, and parts of the Lower East Side.

In our alternate universe, the jokers—deformed, twisted vicctims of the alien virus known as the wild card—began moving into tenementss of the Bowery and Lower East Side in the late 40s and early 50s, driving out the "nats" (naturals) and transforming the area into a colorful, dangerous, and often surreal slum district that soon became known as Jokertown. The 5th precinct became the Jokertown precinct. It did not take long before the city's police began calling the precinct house "Fort Freak."

Fort Freak and its cops and detectives have figured in many of our older Wild Cards stories, albeit usually in the background. But with this new volume, we're finally going to tell the stories of the brave men and women who walk the mean streets and strange alleys of Jokertown, and the unique and dangerous challenges that face.

FORT FREAK is the title, and Tor will once again be our publisher. The lineup of contributors for this one includes Cherie Priest, Melinda M. Snodgrass, David Anthony Durham, Stephen Leigh, Paul Cornell, Kevin Andrew Murphy, Mary Anne Mohanraj, Victor Milan, and John Jos. Miller. The featured characters will be a mix of old favorite and new creations.

This will be the twenty-first volume in the Wild Cards series, first launched in 1987.

Look for FORT FREAK in your favorite bookstore in late 2010 or early 2011. We've just started work on this one.

Valyrian Steel is now taking preorders for their full-size replica of Arya Stark's sword, Needle, forged at Winterfell by Mikken as a gift from Jon Snow. They expect to be shipping the sword in the fall, probably September or October.

Needle was especially made for Arya, as a child's version of a bravo's blade. Our replica will have a 24" inch long blade (30" overall) of high carbon steel with full tang. The hilt will be cast metal with antique nickel plate and leather wrap. A heraldic display plaque featuring the direwolf of House Stark is included, along with a certificate of authenticity signed by me. This is a limited edition of 2500 swords, and the back of each blade will be laser etched in fine print with the edition number.

To place an order or get more details, visit the Valyrian Steel website.

(And if you want the whole armory, the Longclaw replica is still available as well).

And remember—stick 'em with the pointy end.

Tor Books has scheduled its hardcover release of WARRIORS, the huge crossgenre anthology that I co-edited with Gardner Dozois, for March 16, 2010.

A gigantic "event" anthology in the tradition of such landmarks as Robert Silverberg's LEGENDS and Harlan Ellison's classic DANGEROUS VISIONS books, WARRIORS will feature an all-star lineup of award winners and bestsellers from half a dozen different genres. Fantasy, science fiction, historical fiction, suspense, western, mainstream, and romance will all be represented, along with a few tales impossible to classify. The lineup includes a new Dunk & Egg novella by yours truly, a FOREVER PEACE sequel from Joe Haldeman, a Lord John novella by Diana Gabaldon, an Emberverse story from S.M. Stirling, a new Roman tale from Steven Saylor, and all sorts of other goodies.

Our table of contents:
Introduction: "Stories from the Spinner Rack," by George R.R. Martin
"The King of Norway," by Cecilia Holland
"Forever Bound," by Joe Haldeman
"The Triumph," by Robin Hobb
"Clean Slate," by Lawrence Block
"And Ministers of Grace," by Tad Williams
"Soldierin'," by Joe Lansdale
"Dirae," by Peter S. Beagle
"The Eagle and the Rabbit," by Steven Saylor
"Seven Years from Home," by Naomi Novik
"The Custom of the Army," by Diana Gabaldon
"The Pit," by James Rollins
"Out of the Dark," by David Weber
"The Girls from Avenger," by Carrie Vaughn
"Ancient Ways," by S.M. Stirling
"Ninieslando" by Howard Waldrop
"Recidivist" by Gardner Dozois
"My Name is Legion," by David Morrell
"Defenders of the Frontier," by Robert Silverberg
"The Scroll," by David Ball
"The Mystery Knight," by George R.R. Martin

Vikings, doughboys, Roman legionaries and French Foreign Legionnaires, knights, Buffalo soldiers, cybernetic infantry, WASPs, Cossacks—you'll find them all in the pages of WARRIORS. So mark down next March on your calendars.