My friend and sometime collaborator Gardner Dozois and I are pleased to announce that we have just signed contracts to co-edit an ambitious and innovative new original anthology for Tor Books. Our working title is WARRIORS. This will be one to watch for, a huge "event" anthology in the tradition of such landmarks as Robert Silverberg's LEGENDS and Harlan Ellison's classic DANGEROUS VISIONS books, with an all-star lineup of writers, almost all of them award winners and bestsellers in their own fields. The theme of the book will be war and the warrior ethos.

What makes WARRIORS new and different and (we hope) exciting is that this is a cross-genre anthology. People have been telling stories about warriors for as long as they have been telling stories, so the warrior seemed to be the perfect concept for the book that Gardner and I wanted to do. Fantasy swordsmen, space pirates, medieval knights, western cowboys, grunts in Vietnam, doughboys in the trenches, urban gangbangers, Mafia hitmen, women warriors, child warriors, warriors whose "strength is not to fight" (to quote Mr. Dylan) -- all of 'em will be fair game in this book. Fantasy, science fiction, horror, historical fiction, suspense, mainstream, romance, and every possible cross-combination of same will be included. We want to show the readers that it's the story that matters, not the label.

We've assembled a terrific cast of contributors to help us prove that point. Cecilia Holland has already delivered an exciting Viking yarn for the book, and Joe Haldeman has weighed in with a tale of the cynbernetic soldiers of the future, set in the world of his Hugo-winning novel FOREVER PEACE. We'll also be featuring work from Neil Gaiman, Lawrence Block, Robert Silverberg, David Morrell, Steven Saylor, Diana Gabaldon, David Weber, James Rollins, S.M. Stirling, Robin Hobb, Howard Waldrop, and more. SF, fantasy, historical fiction, romance, thrillers, westerns... WARRIORS will have it all, we hope.

And yes, I will writing a story for the book myself. Right now it looks as though it will be the much anticipated third Dunk & Egg novella (though I reserve the right to change my mind, as always). At the moment my working title is "The Mystery Knight," but that may change.

Work on the book has just begun and we have a long way to go, so don't look for WARRIORS until 2009 at the earliest, maybe not until 2010. Watch this space for updates. Whenever it comes out, however, I promise you, it will be worth the wait.

The wait is over. Get out your paints and brushes.

Dark Sword Miniatures has just released their first set of premium pewter miniatures based A Song of Ice and Fire. Here's a look at nine of the ten figures in "Wave 1," as painted by the award-winning brush of Matt Verzani. (The tenth, Melisandre, can be seen here, as painted by Alison Scheirman).
For more photos of the figures, both painted and unpainted, be sure and check out Dark Sword's own website. The miniatures are available for purchase now via the online store at Dark Sword's website. The figures retail for $9.99 apiece, or $99.99 for the complete set of ten:

All the figures were sculpted by the incomparable Tom Meier, who's simply The Best. They are cast in pewter in the popular "28mm" scale favored by many of today's wargamers and collectors, and go well with Dark Sword's other fine ranges, based on the artwork of Larry Elmore, Keith Parkinson, and other renowned fantasy artists. It should be noted that all these miniatures come unpainted, and will need to be cleaned, assembled, primed, and painted. The painted versions shown here are for purposes of display only. To help launch the new "George R.R. Martin Masterworks" line, Dark Sword is offering some special promotions. The first 99 people to order the complete set of 10 miniatures will receive receive a certificate of authenticity signed by Tom Meier, Jim Ludwig, and yours truly. This 8 1/2" x 11" certificate will come in a protective bag and backing board to protect it and is suitable for framing. Also, all those who purchase the complete set by December 15, 2007 will be entered into a random drawing for one or more of the following prizes:

Participants will receive one chance in the drawing for each set they purchase. So head on over to Dark Sword and place your order now, or you find that you're number 102 and out of the running for all the cool prizes. And while you guys are painting up these figures, Tom and Jim and I will be looking forward to the next set, and discussing which characters should be included. If you like to put in your own two cents, sound off on Dark Sword's message board and let them know which Ice & Fire character you'd most like to see in pewter.

We have lots of exciting plans for this range of miniatures, including more special promotions and raffles, painting contests, limited edition collector's figures, and the like, so check the Dark Sword website early and often for updates and announcements.

Subterranean Press has just informed me that their long-awaited deluxe illustrated edition of Fevre Dream has gone to the printers. Bill Schafer writes, "I expect we'll have finished books in early December, and the slipcases in early January. So early January looks like the shipping time."

First publised way back in 1982 by Poseidon Press, Fevre Dream remains my favroite of my older novels, a historical horror tale set on the Mississippi in the antebellum south, during the heydey of the great steam packets. The story of steamboat captain Abner Marsh and his mysterious partner Joshua York, it was my third novel, and by far my most successful... at least until A Game of Thrones came out in 1996. Abner, Joshua, and the fleet sidewheel steamer Fevre Dream will always have a special place in my heart... and I hope that some of my Ice & Fire readers will enjoy meeting them as well.

This new edition will be lavishly illustrated by the up-and-coming artist Justin Sweet (not to be confused with Darrell Sweet, who is no relation), a recent winner of NESFA's coveted Jack Gaughan Award. For a look at some of Justin's other art work, check out his website at http://www.justinsweet.com

Justin has brought the world of the antebellum Mississippi back to life with four paintings -- a haunting and evocative cover (above) and three gorgeous full-color plates -- and some beautiful pen-and-ink drawings, some samples of which are seen here.

Fevre Dream will be published in two states. The numbered edition will be limited to 448 copies, and will retail for $125. The lettered edition will be limited to 52 copies and will sell for $300. Both will be printed on acid-free paper, and autographed by both author and artist. The numbered edition will be slipcased, the lettered will come with a handcrafted traycase. To place your preorder, contact Subterranean.

You might want to do it soon. There's a good chance both lettered and the numbered will be sold out before publication.

My Italian readers have a unique treat in store.

Mondadori, my Italian publisher, has just released its own edition of my book for young adults, THE ICE DRAGON, based on my old short story of the same title. While the British and American editions of the book were illustrated by marvelous and talented Yvonne Gilbert, Mondadori decided to use Italian artists for its own version. The Italian ICE DRAGON sports a stunning cover painting from Paolo Barbieri, and lovely interior artwork by Luca Enoch, some samples of which are seen here.

It's a beautiful edition, and one that may well be of interest to GRRM completists and fans of fantasy art, even those who do not read Italian. It won't be for sale in the United States or the United Kingdom, of course... but thanks to the wonders of the internet, anyone who would like to add a copy to their collection can order over the net here or here.

I can't wait to get hold of my own copies. (And I'm looking forward to getting back to Italy and signing some of these one day as well).

Jack Vance has been one of my favorite writers since I first read Big Planet back in grade school. A master of both science fiction and fantasy (and mystery novels as well, as his Edgar Award will testify), multiple Hugo winner, and a SFWA Grandmaster, Vance is one of the great stylists of the field, a unique voice, wonderfully inventive. He has been a huge influence on modern fantasy, and deserves to rank with J.R.R. Tolkien, Robert E. Howard, Fritz Leiber, and the others who shaped the genre as it exists today.

My good friend and sometime collaborator Gardner Dozois is as big a Vance fan as I am, and of course Gardner is also one of the premiere editors and anthologists in the field... so the idea of putting together an original anthology to honor Vance was a natural for both of us. I'm thrilled to be able to announce that we have just sold Songs of the Dying Earth, a tribute anthology dedicated to the genius of Jack Vance featuring brand new stories from twenty-one of today's leading fantasists, set against the sinking lands and swollen red sun of Vance's Dying Earth, a universe that ranks with Tolkien's Middle Earth and Howard's Hyborian Age among fantasy aficionados.

We've assembled an all-star lineup of contributors for the book, we think. Songs of the Dying Earth will feature original stories from Dan Simmons, Robert Silverberg, Michael Moorcock, Tanith Lee, Elizabeth Hand, John C. Wright, Glen Cook, Jeff Vandermeer, Neil Gaiman, Paula Volsky, Tad Williams, Howard Waldrop, Michael Shea, Mike Resnick, and a host of other terrific writers and hardcore Jack Vance junkies, some of whom offered us their firstborn children for the chance to be a part of this project. And yes, I plan on doing a story for the book myself (after I finish A Dance With Dragons). Jack Vance and his representatives have been so kind as to give us permission to use Jack's characters as well, so longtime fans can expect to appearances from Cugel the Clever, Chun the Unavoidable, T'sain and T'sais, and other favorites.

Tor will be publishing the trade editions in the United States, and HarperCollins Voyager in the United Kingdom. In addition, Subterranean Press will produce two special editions for the collector's market -- a deluxe illustrated hardcover of 1500 copies, and an even-more-deluxe signed, numbered, limited, illustrated, slipcased edition of 500 copies. The numbered edition will be signed by both editors, all the participating writers, and Jack Vance himself. And I'm delighted to be able to announce that both Subterranean editions will include extensive interior illustration by the award-winning artist Charles Vess. A Dutch edition is also in the works, and we expect many more foreign editions; Jack Vance has fans and readers all over the world.

A project this big can't be put together overnight, of course. Look for Songs of the Dying Earth some time in 2009. Until then, do yourself a favor and try some of Jack's own work, the originals that inspired this project. The Dying Earth is the place to start, but don't neglect Eyes of the Overworld and Cugel's Saga (all available in the collection Tales of the Dying Earth).

This one should be a lot of fun, for readers, writers, and editors alike, and we look forward to it being one of the most talked-about anthologies of 2009.

Once upon a time, along about twenty years ago, the Wild Cards series grew out of a role-playing game... and now, many books and many stories later, we're thrilled and excited to announce that we're going home to that world once again. I have closed a deal with our good friends at Green Ronin Publishing to license the Wild Cards concepts, setting, and characters for a new line of RPGs.

Green Ronin will begin publishing the new Wild Cards titles next year as part of its popular and critically acclaimed Mutants & Masterminds RPG. The first of these books, the Wild Cards Campaign Setting, an overview of the universe and its history, will be written by John Jos. Miller and is scheduled to debut next August at Gen Con Indy 2008.

"The world of Wild Cards is a perfect match for our Mutants & Masterminds game," said Green Ronin President Chris Pramas. "With Inside Straight starting a new chapter in the Wild Cards saga, it seemed the perfect time to bring the property back to its roots in roleplaying games."

Green Ronin has already done successful RPG adaptations of literary properties like Thieves' World and the Black Company. Earlier this year they also announced plans to adapt A Song of Ice and Fire. They do beautiful books, extensively illustrated and often in full color, and their Mutants & Masterminds system should be a great fit for Wild Cards.

With John Jos. Miller -- creator of Carnifex, Yeoman, Wraith, Father Squid, Chrysalis, and many other popular WC characters -- writing the new campaign setting book, it's sure to be complete, accurate, and faithful to the mosaics, a must-have for every fan of the series, even those who do not game.

"I said then that 2008 would be a great year for fans of George R.R. Martin's work and I meant it," added Pramas.

The Wild Cards series made its debit in 1987, during thje heydey of the shared world anthology series. The original series featured characters and stories from Roger Zelazny, Melinda M. Snodgrass, Walter Jon Williams, Lewis Shiner, Howard Waldrop, John Jos. Miller, Chris Claremont, Stephen Leigh, Edward Bryant, Pat Cadigan, Victor Milan, William F. Wu, and a host of other terrific writers. Twelve volumes were published by Bantam from 1987 through 1993, and three by Baen Books from 1993 to 1995. After a seven-year hiatus, iBooks revived the series in 2002, reprinting six of the original Bantam titles and adding two new volumes before going into bankruptcy. But Wild Cards refuses to die, and come January, Tor Books will be releasing Inside Straight, the first volume in a new triad featuring the next generation of aces and jokers, and the eighteenth installment in the overall series. Wild Cards has outlasted all the other shared world anthologies of the 80s to become the longest-running such series in the history of SF and fantasy.

Sharp-eyed Ice & Fire fans at last week's mammoth San Diego Comicon may have spied a trio of familiar faces among the thousands of items on display. The good folks behind Haute Products, Jed Haigh and Justice Joseph, were there in San Diego, and they brought with them painted prototypes of the first three figures in their "Valyrian Resin" range of Ice & Fire minibusts. I'm told the figures were a huge hit with those who saw 'em.

If you weren't in San Diego -- and I couldn't make it myself this year -- don't fret, you're not forgotten. Here's your own look.

The first three releases will be:

--- Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell,
--- Daenerys Targaryen, the Stormborn, Mother of Dragons,
--- Sandor Clegane, the Hound.

More photos are available on Valyrian Resin's own website where you will also find information about scale, price, ordering, etc.

The figures are not yet in production, and these are only painted prototypes, so be aware that the final versions will differ from what you see here in various ways. The colors of Ned's arms will be corrected, Dany's crown will be of three different metals as described in the books, a dragon or two will be added, and various other adjustments will be made... but these should give you the flavor of the the boys from Valyria have in mind. Their website is up and running up now, so give them a visit and let them know what you think of these... and what figures you'd like them to do next.

Cool news for wargamers, miniatures collectors, figure painters, toy soldier guys, and Ice & Fire readers -- Dark Sword Miniatures has officially unveiled its plans for a brand new line of premium pewter miniatures based on the world of A Song of Ice & Fire.

I've been impressed with Dark Sword Miniatures since the first time I stumbled across their website, and saw the ranges based on the artwork of Larry Elmore and the late, great Keith Parkinson -- superb figures, beautifully sculpted, cast with care, and painstakingly faithful to the vision of those two outstanding fantasy artists. When I got in touch with Dark Sword's president and swapped some of my books for some of his miniatures, my first impression was confirmed -- this was the kind of quality I wanted for any figures based on my books. Dark Sword's commitment to customer service is also second to none, and that was very important to me after my last foray into this area, which left so many of my fans frustrated and disappointed.

The new range will be in the same scale as Dark Sword's other critically acclaimed lines and many other popular "28mm" miniature ranges on the market today. The legendary Tom Meier will be the primary sculptor.

The best part of my experience with Testor's and that short-lived range of miniatures was the chance it gave me to work with Tom Meier, and to see him bring a few (too few) of my characters to life in pewter. I was adamant in wanting Tom to continue to be a part of any new endeavor, and I'm thrilled to say that he will be. Tom has been one of Dark Sword's main men since the start. He's already been hard at work.

The first set of figures released from Dark Sword will include:
-- Jon Snow,
-- Lady Melisandre, the red priestess,
-- Sandor Clegane, the Hound,
-- an archer of the Night's Watch,
-- the Shadow Tower's raven keeper.

Here's a glimpse of Jon Snow and Melisandre. For more pictures of these and the other new miniatures, please visit Dark Sword's website. Those folks attending Gen Con Indy from August 16-19 should be sure to swing by the Dark Sword Miniatures Booth to say hi and check out the miniatures in person.

More figures will follow shortly. Dark Sword's president and I plan to keep Tom busy for years to come, sculpting all of your favorite characters from Westeros, along with "troop types" including wildlings, men of the Night's Watch, Wildlings, the Unsullied, and other background types to add flavor to the world and fill out the ranks of your miniature armies.

Dark Sword's president writes, "When George personally approached me as an admirer of the realistically proportioned and scaled Dark Sword ranges, I thought it was some sort of odd coincidence at first, but as it sunk in that this was indeed the creator of the Westeros world, it was flattering to say the least. I am a huge fan of A Song of Ice and Fire and thrilled to be working with George and Tom on this new line. We are all on the same page with what we want this range to look like and where we want this range to go over the years ahead. We have been hard at work dialing things in on our first batch of miniatures over the past few months."

Dark Sword Miniatures is known for their award winning miniature ranges based on the fantasy artwork of Larry Elmore, Keith Parkinson (RIP), Clyde Caldwell and Jeff Easley.

Dark Sword was founded with the single purpose of creating extremely detailed fantasy miniatures for both miniature collectors and gamers alike. Their award winning pewter fantasy miniatures are in the newer 28mm to 30mm scale which has become the industry standard. I'm thrilled and excited to be in business with them.

Wild Cards fans -- be sure and visit the Tor booth at this year's San Diego Comicon, to register for their special convention drawing. Tor will have half a dozen glossy 11 x 17 inch posters of the gorgeous Michael Komarck cover for INSIDE STRAIGHT on display, autographed by me and five of my contributors (Melinda Snodgrass, John Jos. Miller, Daniel Abraham, Ian Tregillis, and Carrie Vaughn), and will be handing out the posters to the lucky winners. Flyers and other information about the new triad will also be available at the Tor booth, and Wild Cards authors Carrie Vaughn and Kevin Andrew Murphy will be attending the con, and will be glad to answer your questions about their characters and stories (though I've made them swear blood oaths not to give too much away). I won't be able to attend myself this year, but I will be there in spirit...

INSIDE STRAIGHT is scheduled for a January, 2008 release in hardcover. It's the eighteenth volume in the Wild Cards series, which we originally launched with Bantam way back in 1987, but it's not necessary to have read the preceding seventeen books to be able to understand and enjoy this one. INSIDE STRAIGHT is the opening salvo of a brand-new triad. This is "Wild Cards - the New Generation." A few of the older, established characters will appear in INSIDE STRAIGHT, some in major roles and some just as cameos, but mostly this book will belong to the new kids on the block -- Bugsy, Lohengrin, Curveball, Earth Witch, Bubbles, Rustbelt, Lilith, Drummer Boy, and a whole bunch more. I can't wait for you to meet them. I think our old Wild Cards readers will find them worthy successors to Tachyon and the Turtle and Fortunato and Yeoman and the rest of our first generation stars... and I hope our new readers will like them enough to go out and hunt up some of the old books on ABE.

The lineup:

• "Who the Fuck was Jetboy?" Daniel Abraham
• "Dark of the Moon" Melinda M. Snodgrass
• "Jonathan Hive Sells Out" Daniel Abraham
• "Chosen Ones: Part One" Carrie Vaughn
• "First Among Losers" Daniel Abraham
• "Chosen Ones: Part Two" Carrie Vaughn
• "Better Than Television" Daniel Abraham
• "Looking for Jetboy" Michael Cassutt
• "Metagames" Caroline Spector
• "All the Best Stories Start, 'This One Time, We Were Really Drunk... " Daniel Abraham
• "Star Power" Melinda M. Snodgrass
• "Wakes the Lion" John Jos. Miller
• "A Bad Day in Cairo" Daniel Abraham
• "Crusader" George R.R. Martin
• "Real People, Really Dying" Daniel Abraham
• "The Tin Man's Lament" Ian Tregillis
• "Hey, Guys. My Dad's Got a Warehouse! Let's Put on a War!" Daniel Abraham
• "Incidental Music for Heroes" S.L. Farrell
• "Blood on the Sun" Melinda M. Snodgrass
• "Looking for Jetboy: Epilogue" Michael Cassutt
• "Give the Wookie a Medal" Daniel Abraham

For a taste of things come, be sure to check out the Wild Cards Sample on this website.

Video of GRRM's appearance in Second Life is now live on the Bantam Dell site.

Watch the video at:

     Random House
     YouTube

Circle September 3 on your calendars. That's when HarperCollins will be publishing the British hardcover edition of my latest novel. A three-way collaboration with my good friends Gardner Dozois and Daniel Abraham, HUNTER'S RUN tells the tale of Ramon Espejo, a prospector searching for a big strike on a distant world who finds rather more than he bargained for... and along the way must wrestle with what it means to be human.

If that sounds a bit familiar, it should. Yes, HUNTER'S RUN is a novel length expansion of "Shadow Twin," the novella that Gardner began in the 70s, I continued in the 80s, and Daniel completed in the 00s. For much of the past twenty years, I have been telling Gardner that it needed to be a novel. I said the same thing to Daniel when he came aboard. And what do you know? I was right all along...

(Well, I think so, anyway. Read the book, and you can judge for yourself).

An American hardback of HUNTER'S RUN is also in the works, with a stunning cover by Stephen Martiniere (Daniel Abraham has great cover karma). That edition will be released by HarperCollins US in January, 2008, but for those who can't wait, copies of the British first edition can be secured from Amazon UK and other online bookshops.

George R. R. Martin will appear live in Second Life on Thursday, May 31 at 6pm SLT (PDT) at The Bantam Dell Book Shop & Cafe. George will read a tale from the forthcoming compendium, Dreamsongs, on sale in Fall 2007, and take questions from readers throughout Second Life. George will appear as one of the characters from his A Song of Ice and Fire novels--and readers get to vote on which one! Choose one of three characters NO LATER THAN 5/15 and George's avatar will be that character! Details here.

Role-playing will soon return to Westeros.

I'm pleased to announce that I have signed an agreement with industry leader Green Ronin Publishing to produce a new role-playing game based on A Song of Ice and Fire. The license was officially announced today at the GAMA trade show.

I've had a lot of interest in the role-playing rights to A Song of Ice and Fire since they became available after the demise of Guardians of Order. There were days I felt like Scarlett O'Hara at the Twelve Oaks barbeque. In the end, though, the enthusiasm and pro- fessionalism of the folks at Green Ronin convinced me that was the place to go. The quality of the games that Green Ronin puts out is second to none, and I'm eager to see what they do with the world of Westeros and A Song of Ice and Fire.

Green Ronin plans to first publish their version of the roleplaying game in 2008 . It will be a new design, and not a continuation of the Guardians of Order RPG. Subsequent books will continue to explore the world and characters of A Song of Ice and Fire.

"A Song of Ice and Fire is the most exciting thing to happen in fantasy fiction in decades," said Green Ronin President Chris Pramas, "and we are thrilled to be able to bring it back to the gaming world."

Green Ronin has already done successful RPG adaptations of fantasy classics like Thieves' World and the Black Company. "Creating a great RPG for A Song of Ice and Fire seemed like the perfect next step," added Pramas. "2008 is going to be a great year for fans of George R.R. Martin's work."

Bantam Spectra has announced that it will be releasing its new American hardcover edition of my collection DREAMSONGS in two matching volumes late this year. Volume I will be released in November, Volume II a month later in December. Both volumes should be available in time for Christmas.

DREAMSONGS was originally published in 2003 by Subterranean Press as GRRM: A RRetrospective. The collection features half a million words of short fiction, teleplays, essays, and autobiography, along with an introduction by Gardner Dozois and a bibliographical checklist by Leslie Kay Swigart. SF, fantasy, and horror, a Twilight Zone script and my famous busted pilot Doorways, Haviland Tuf and Wild Cards, Hugo winners, Nebula winners, a Bram Stoker winner and a World Fantasy Award winner, and lots of losers too... DREAMSONGS has it all.

The Bantam Spectra edition will include brand new interior illustrations by the world-famous SF and comics artist Michael Kaluta (for a taste of Kaluta's gorgeous artwork, visit his own website at http://www.kaluta.com). In addition, Leslie Kay Swigart has updated the bibliographical checklist through the end of 2006.

Here's a look at Bantam's handsome new covers for the set (sad to say, the scans don't really do justice to the foil on the shield and dragons). The jacket design is by James Wang, the illustration by Dominic Harman.

I regret to announce that my licensing agreement with the Testor Corporation has expired, and that all the Ice & Fire product lines previously under development there have been cancelled.

Testor's had originally announced plans to release prepainted resin figures in 1/18 scale, 54mm kits and finished dioramas in pewter and white metal, and a wargame to be accompanied by 28-32mm pewter gaming figures. Although the company engaged the incomparable Tom Meier and several other leading miniature sculptors, and developed and playtested a set of rules for a skirmish game featuring the wildlings and the Night's Watch, only one product -- the Ruby Ford mini-diorama previously featured on this news page -- ever actually made it to market. Regrettably, problems with packaging, shipping, and breakage plagued even that release, as lovely as it was.

Not all marriages or licenses work out as happily as we would hope. The original term of our agreement having run its course, changes in the personnel and priorities at Testor's and its parent corporation led me to conclude that the future of the miniatures program there was too uncertain to warrant a continuation of the license.

I hope to announce some new plans for miniatures based on A Song of Ice & Fire in the near future, and wish the Testor Corporation only the best with their own future efforts.

The weird and wacky world of the Wild Cards will be returning to funny books soon.

(Sorry, couldn't resist the alliteration).

Our friends at DBPro and Marvel Comics have an- nounced plans for a new, all-original Wild Cards comic, to be published as a six issue mini-series, and later reissued in trade paperback format as a graphic novel. Titled "Hard Call," the comic will be plotted and scripted by Daniel Abraham.

The artist has not been announced, but there are several exciting possibilities, and we hope to have some news on that front soon. Meanwhile, as a teaser, here's the "cover" of the proposal that sold the series, another great piece by the talented Mike S. Miller.

The new miniseries will not be an adaptation of any existing Wild Cards story, old or new. Set in the present day, "Hard Call" is an original story, never before published in any form, and will feature a cast of brand new characters... but with at least one old favorite appearing in a major supporting role. Daniel writes of it in his blog, and says, "It's taking the rules of the Wild Card universe and talking about something that I think has always been a potential story, but not one that's been told. In the books, we keep going for big action pieces and superpowers and making it a critique of the genre... Wild Cards was the punk cutting edge of comic books once. I think it can be again, as long as we pay attention to the fact that punk is context. If you go to the symphony in old fatigues and a mohawk, sure that's punk. If you go to a Screaming Mimi's concert in a tux and white shirt *that's* punk too. So what is the new punk for comic books?"

You'll have to read Daniel's "Hard Call" to find out.

What's a knight without his sword? (A dead knight, frequently). Well, my readers won't have to worry about that for much longer. I'm pleased and excited to announce that I've signed a deal with Jalic, Inc of East Lansing, Michigan, granting them a license to manufacture and sell full-sized high-quality replicas of the arms and armor from A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE.

Jalic is a new company, but its owner and proprietor, Chris Beasley, has long been involved with making and selling swords, knives, and fighting steel and brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the project. "This is a new business for us and this line of swords will be our first," Chris writes, "however, we are dedicated to delivering to collectors a top of the line display sword in both quality and aesthetics. To this end we have obtained the services of industry veterans who have worked for other manufacturers and on other reproductions from books or movies The lead designer for our sword line is a 20 year veteran of sword & knife design. He has worked on reproductions from the Lord of the Rings movies, has his own line of fantasy swords, and has had his works featured in dozens of other movies and TV shows."

Each sword will be a limited edition run of 2500 pieces and will include a signed certificate of authenticity. These swords will be high quality display pieces and will come with plaques bearing the crest of the house which holds the sword. "Depending on the success of the line we will expand into other arms or armor from the series or possibly produce an even more limited line of battle-ready reproductions," Chris tells me.

Jalic's line of Westerosi weaponry will be sold under the name Valyrian Steel... but let me hasten to add that we won't be restricting ourselves to just the Valyrian blades mentioned in the books. Any of the various weapons featured in the novels are fair game, and we've already been kicking around ideas for King Robert's warhammer, the golden blade of the Kingslayer, and of course Arya's Needle. That's for later, though.

The first Valyrian Steel blade that Jalic will be offering is Jon Snow's LONGCLAW, pictured here. Chris and I have been trading emails for months, fine tuning the design, and we finally have one we love. We hope you will share our enthusiam.

You can find more information at Valyrian Steel's own website at

http://www.valyriansteel.com

Your comments and suggestions are all welcome there. I know that Chris Beasley and the rest of his crew at Jalic are eager to hear what my readers have to say.

And remember... always stick 'em with the pointy end!

"The Sworn Sword" is coming to a comics shop near you.

After several delays, the graphic version of my second Dunk & Egg novella, the sequel to "The Hedge Knight," is finally taking form. The same great creative team who brought you the adaptation of "The Hedge Knight" has reassembled for the sequel -- Ben Avery on the scripts, and Mike S. Miller on the artwork.

The six issue miniseries will be published by DBPro and Marvel Comics, and will begin its run later this year. Trade paperback and hardcover collections will follow.

As with "The Hedge Knight," each issue will be released with two variant covers -- an "A" cover by Mike S. Miller, and a "B" cover by a guest artist. We're lining up some wonderful guest artists for those "B" covers, but if I told you who they were, Dunk would have to kill you. Here's a taste of the treats in store, however: the "B" cover for the first issue (can you name the artist?) and Mike's "A" cover for issue #3.

Now it can be told. VARIETY broke the story yesterday morning, and it's all over the web. I have received hundreds of emails since the announcement went public, many of them asking, "Is it true?" Other readers have posted comments and congratulations in reply to my confirmation on my Live Journal.

Yes, it's true. Winter is coming to HBO.

Home Box Office has acquired an option on the television and film rights to my fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire, in hopes of bringing the story to television as an original, ongoing HBO series. We have been working out the details for months, but the deal is finally done and the pieces are in place, so it's official.

I won't rehash the details of the announcement in VARIETY. Go HERE and you can read the story for yourself.

The executive producers and showrunners on the project will be David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. Benioff and Weiss will also be writing the pilot script, and -- assuming that HBO eventually greenlights the series -- most of the episodes as well. This will be the first television project for them, but both have experience in novels as well as feature films. David Benioff is the author of the novel The 25th Hour and the collection When the Nines Roll Over: and Other Stories. His screenwriting credits include Troy, Stay, and The 25th Hour, and the forthcoming film versions of Wolverine and The Kite Runner. Dan Weiss has written the novel Lucky Wander Boy and the screen adaptations for the forthcoming films Halo, based on the videogame, and Pattern Recognition, from the William Gibson story. He and Benioff also worked together on the screenplay for Ender's Game, adapting the novel by Orson Scott Card.

I met David and Dan in California last fall, when I was out for LACon, and we discussed the show over a long lunch (the restaurant was packed when we arrived, and completely empty when we left, and the waiters had started setting up for dinner). They impressed the hell out of me, and I'm really looking forward to working with them. They're both bright, passionate, enthusiastic. They know the books inside and out, they get the books, and they're committed to bringing my story to your television screens... not a vaguely similar story with the same title (ala Earthsea, or what passed for same on the Sci-Fi Channel). A Song of Ice and Fire should be in very good hands.

As for my own involvement, I'll be scripting one episode per season. I'll also serve as co-executive producer on the show, along with Vince Gerardis and Ralph Vicinanza of Created By, and Guymon Casady of Management 360. I have already had a number of emails asking why I am not writing more of the scripts myself. Three big reasons: A Dance With Dragons, The Winds of Winter, A Dream of Spring. As much as I'd like to be a part of the show on a daily basis, as I once was on The Twilight Zone and Beauty and the Beast, the novels take priority. David Benioff and Dan Weiss are very talented writers, but even they can't adapt a book that hasn't been written.

I am thrilled to be in business with HBO as well. For years now, the very best drama on television has been found on Sunday nights, in HBO's original series. TV does not get much better than The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, Big Love, Carnivale, The Wire, Deadwood... and my current favorite addiction, Rome. (If you're not watching the second season right now, you're missing the best show on television). Writing, directing, acting, set design, production values... everything on an HBO show is quality, and that's what I have dreamed of for A Song of Ice and Fire.

It was only a month or two after A Game of Thrones was first published in 1996 that I received the first query about film and television rights. Nothing ever came of it. Over the years, as the series grew more popular with every subsequent book, I received a steady stream of such queries from producers, directors, screenwriters, studios, and others in the industry. Nothing ever came of them either. Meanwhile, my readers kept asking if A Song of Ice and Fire would ever be filmed. My answer was always the same. While I was always willing to listen to offers, I did not see how the books could be made into a feature film, or even a trilogy of such films, like Lord of the Rings. The novels were simply too big and too complex, and to make the sort of deep cuts that would be necessary to get them down to feature length would have required losing nine-tenths of the characters and three-quarters of the plot. The only way to dramatize a story that size, I felt, was as a television miniseries (like Roots or Shogun) or, better still, a series of series, with each novel providing a full season's worth of episodes.

That is precisely what HBO intends to do, starting with A Game of Thrones. With twelve hours to devote to each of the novels, rather than the two to three that a feature film would allow, we should be able to present a faithful dramatization of the story that will please both my own readers, and HBO subscribers who have never read a fantasy novel in their lives.

A television series does not spring up full blown overnight, of course. You won't be watching A Game of Thrones on HBO next week, or telling TIVO to record it next month. There's a long and winding road ahead of us, and many pitfalls along the way... but every journey begins with a first step, and who knows? Maybe next year time you'll be seeing Tyrion and Dany and Jon Snow in those HBO promo spots, mixing and mingling with Tony Soprano, Al Swearengen, and Titus Pullo.

Inside Straight, the latest installment in our long-running WILD CARDS series of mosaic novels, has been delivered to editor Patrick Nielsen Hayden at Tor.

Originally launched in 1987, WILD CARDS has outlasted all the other shared worlds of the 80s to become the longest-running series in the history of our genre. Inside Straight will be the eighteenth volume in the overall series... but it also represents a new beginnning, introducing a whole new storyline that features the next generation of aces and jokers. Contributors this time around include Wild Card veterans Melinda M. Snodgrass, John Jos. Miller (formerly John J. Miller), Michael Cassutt, and Daniel Abraham, newcomers Carrie Vaughn, Caroline Spector, Ian Tregillis, and the mysterious S.L. Farrell.

The lineup:

For a taste of the treats to come, be sure to check out the Wild Cards Sample on this website. Just click on the blue and white shield on the home page.

Watch this space for further details about Tor's publication plans for Inside Straight. For the writers, meanwhile, it's on to the second volume of the triad, Busted Flush.

Subterranean Press is now taking preorders for its deluxe signed limited edition of A Feast for Crows, scheduled for publication later this year.

The SubPress edition will be published as a two-volume set in slipcase, with a limitation of 448 numbered copies and 52 lettered copies. All of the copies will be autographed by both the author and the artist; the lettered edition will also include remarques by Tom Canty. The limited will retail at $260 for the numbered edition and $395 for the lettered.

For those unfamiliar with Tom Canty's gorgeous and evocative artwork, we're including a couple of his pieces for Feast here to give you a taste. Bill Schafer of Subterranean tells me that Tom has "nearly completed" the art. The book will include:

Bill writes, "For A Storm of Swords, we created a special set of bookmarks for those who preordered early. In the case of A Feast for Crows, the bonus item for ordering prior to January 31, 2007 will be an original chapbook of some of Tom Canty's rough sketches (and some of the finished art that grew out of the roughs). In addition, we have made arrangements to secure ten of the original pieces of art, and will raffle them off to those who place their orders during the month of January or February."

He goes on to say, "In order to lock in your number of Feast, we need to receive your order no later than the end of February, 2007. After that point, all numbers or letters not yet prepaid will be opened to the general public. Please mention your copy number or letter in the comments section of the order form when placing your order."

Subterranean is also offering, for a short time, a matching numbered set of A Storm of Swords and A Feast for Crows at a special one-time combined price of $520. However, Bill Schafer warns me that the remaining stock of Storm is "very limited," so only 15 of these sets will be sold, on a first come, first served basis.

To find out more about the limited edition or place an order, please go to the Subterranean website.