{"id":409194,"date":"2026-01-15T17:41:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T17:41:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/409194\/"},"modified":"2026-01-15T17:41:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T17:41:09","slug":"george-r-r-martin-isnt-finished","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/409194\/","title":{"rendered":"George R.R. Martin Isn’t Finished"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tIn 2015, George R.R. Martin<\/a> confessed to having two worries that would define his future and forever change the world of fantasy entertainment.<\/p>\n

\n\tWe were having breakfast in San Francisco before HBO\u2019s premiere event for Game of Thrones<\/a> season five. Martin had been professionally writing sci-fi and fantasy fiction since his acclaimed debut novel, 1977\u2019s Dying of the Light, and had attempted a stint as a staff writer on TV shows in Los Angeles in the 1980s before launching his bestselling A Song of Ice and Fire novels, which served as the basis for Thrones. His books<\/a> took high fantasy tropes and combined them with a tale inspired by the brutal, R-rated history of politics and warfare in medieval Europe.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhotographed by Daniel Prakopcyk<\/p>\n

\n\tAlong the way, Martin had become a celebrity figure with a distinctive look, with his bushy white beard, fisherman\u2019s cap, glasses and suspenders \u2014 like some 1920s steampunk Santa. Between bites of eggs Benedict, Martin said he couldn\u2019t believe he was being parodied on South Park and Saturday Night Live. In just a few short years, Martin had become the country\u2019s most recognizable author aside from Stephen King. It was an extraordinary accomplishment for the son of a New Jersey longshoreman who got his start by selling monster stories to schoolmates for a dime apiece.<\/p>\n

\n\tMartin told me his first concern was that HBO might never make another series based on the world of Thrones. He had \u201cmaterial for 100 other shows,\u201d he said, but HBO executives weren\u2019t yet interested in doing spinoffs. Martin didn\u2019t want to be a one-hit wonder in Hollywood. He hoped his fantasy creation would evolve into a franchise that kept it alive for generations.<\/p>\n

\n\tMartin\u2019s second worry was one he\u2019d had since 2011, when Thrones premiered and his last Ice and Fire novel, A Dance With Dragons, was published. He still needed to write two more books, The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring, to finish his saga, and the clock was ticking. The HBO show\u2019s storylines were about to surpass the narrative in his books.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI have to finish the next book,\u201d Martin fretted. \u201cThe actual writing [is getting] harder. I\u2019m rewriting. I\u2019m struggling. Maybe I\u2019m overoptimistic about how quickly I can write these things. I\u2019m trying to cut back on anything that I can to clear my decks and get this done \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tMartin takes a seat in his bar in Santa Fe. The tavern is called Milk of the Poppy, a nod to the opiate tonic in Thrones, yet it\u2019s not officially based on the show. \u201cI sold Westeros to Warner Bros. in 2007,\u201d he points out.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe bar is located next to his Beastly Books bookstore, which is next to his Jean Cocteau Cinema movie theater, which is a stone\u2019s throw away from a train painted to look like a dragon offering day-trip adventures. Locals regularly stop Martin and thank him for all that he\u2019s done for the city (the author is estimated to be worth around $120 million, though he lives a rather humble lifestyle).<\/p>\n

\n\tIn many ways, Martin looks the same as ever. He\u2019s sharp and engaging. His voice is vibrant. Yet his beard has thinned and he has a tougher time walking. He\u2019s also lost weight, but contrary to morbid online speculation, this isn\u2019t due to any health issues.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI never thought I\u2019d live to be 77,\u201d Martin says. \u201cI\u2019m old, so I have some old-people stuff. My lower back hurts sometimes. I don\u2019t like to stand around. But I feel OK. Maybe you should make that your headline: \u2018George R.R. Martin Is Not Dying.’\u201d<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tMartin aboard his day-trip travel venture Sky Railway.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhotographed by Daniel Prakopcyk<\/p>\n

\n\tMartin\u2019s concern about the survival of his Westeros kingdom has proved groundless. The first Thrones spinoff \u2014 the prequel House of the Dragon<\/a>, based on Martin\u2019s book Fire & Blood \u2014 has been a hit for HBO and will debut its third season this year. Another prequel about to premiere, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, is based on Martin\u2019s Dunk and Egg novellas. There are multiple other Westeros-based tales in development at HBO, while a London West End stage play, The Iron Throne, will soon dramatize the story of King Robert\u2019s Rebellion.<\/p>\n

\n\tMartin\u2019s also launched popular ventures beyond his best-known franchise. He\u2019s an executive producer on AMC\u2019s acclaimed Navajo Tribal Police drama Dark Winds<\/a> and collaborated on the hit fantasy game Elden Ring. He\u2019s a founding investor in Meow Wolf, the innovative immersive art experience that launched in Santa Fe in 2016 and has since expanded to four other cities.<\/p>\n

\n\tMartin wanted to build an empire \u2014 and did. Yet \u201cproductive\u201d is the last word any Thrones fan would use to describe him. The author\u2019s worry that he wouldn\u2019t be able to finish Winter has borne out to a staggering degree. His tortured inability to \u201cfinish the book, George!\u201d \u2014 as online hordes regularly chide \u2014 is almost as impressive, in its way, as his success at doing everything else.<\/p>\n

\n\tBut first, we discuss the new show, which has a scrappy, low-key vibe compared to GoT or Dragon. The action is almost entirely set at a jousting tournament in a rural backwater of Westeros and follows the penniless knight Ser Duncan the Tall (Peter Claffey) and his diminutive 10-year-old squire (Dexter Sol Ansell) as they enter the tourney to improve their fortunes. Across six episodes, the likable duo tangle with an array of powerful rival lords. \u201cDunk and Egg both face great Shakespearean jeopardy in Westeros, but there\u2019s a lot of humor and heart along the way, too,\u201d says HBO drama programming head Francesca Orsi. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe show is meant to be a very different type,\u201d says Martin, who serves as co-creator and exec producer. \u201cIt turned out very well, and I\u2019m very happy with season one. The casting was a home run. [Showrunner Ira Parker] is terrific and seems to have the same priorities I do \u2014 he\u2019s trying to do something that\u2019s very true to the characters.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe show came about, Martin says, because HBO was looking for a project \u201cwhere we could get the budget a little under control.\u201d (Dragon costs about $20 million an episode, and the network previously shortened Dragon\u2018s second season to push an expensive battle sequence into season three.)<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThis doesn\u2019t have any dragons or big battles,\u201d says Martin. \u201cIt has a field and a lot of tents and some horses.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen the project was announced two years ago, HBO\u2019s press release suggested the series would serve as Martin\u2019s return to screenwriting. But he still hasn\u2019t written an episode of TV since season four of Thrones. \u201cThere has always been the possibility of me writing on the show,\u201d he says. \u201cBut then things happen and suddenly I have other priorities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tMartin is nonetheless highly creatively involved. On Knight and Dragon, Martin initially convened a writing summit in Santa Fe to help figure out the series. \u201cI bring the showrunner together with four or five writers that I know \u2014 some are TV writers, some are fantasy novelists \u2014 who really know the world and we assemble for a week,\u201d he says. Parker called the summit \u201cone of the most fun, creative weeks I\u2019ve ever had in my whole career\u201d and notes that while writing episodes, \u201cGeorge was there every step of the way. He\u2019s been lovely. I think of him as a friend now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWith a production and scope that\u2019s quite modest compared to\u00a0Thrones\u00a0and\u00a0Dragon, Parker admits to worrying about whether fans will embrace it (early <\/a>reviews, at least, are quite positive, with our critic calling the show<\/a> \u201csmaller, smarter, funnier\u201d than its predecessors.). <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAt the end of the day, we are\u00a0Game of Thrones\u00a0without all the stuff,\u201d Parker says. \u201cWe have one of the ingredients \u2014 two unusual characters like Arya and the Hound, or Brienne and Podrick \u2014 who are paired together and having conversions. I hope that\u2019s what [made\u00a0Thrones\u00a0work]. It\u2019s a big part of what it was for me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tSeason one is faithful to Martin\u2019s debut Dunk and Egg tale, The Hedge Knight, and season two, which already has been greenlit, will be based on his novella The Sworn Sword.<\/p>\n

\n\tThere is, however, one potential problem for the show\u2019s future. \u201cThe big issue is that I have only written three novellas, and I have a lot more stories about Dunk and Egg in my fucking head,\u201d Martin says, looking a bit shamefaced. \u201cI\u2019ve got to get them down on paper. I began writing two at various points in the past year. One is set in Winterfell and one set in the Riverlands \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tOh, George, I say. Not again \u2026<\/p>\n

\n\tAll of Martin\u2019s books, shows, events and businesses come with their own set of distractions, which get added to a pile and compete for his attention. Some involve working with writers on not-yet-announced potential Thrones projects.<\/p>\n

\n\tOne previously reported idea is based on Dragon\u2018s seafaring character the Sea Snake. This development has quietly shifted from a live-action project to animated to keep costs down. Another is based on King Aegon Targaryen\u2019s conquest of Westeros and is being developed by HBO as a possible drama series and by the Warner Bros. film team as a mammoth Dune-sized feature film.<\/p>\n

\n\tBut one idea is an offspring of the most intriguing of all the post-Thrones pitches \u2014 the scrapped Jon Snow sequel. Martin long has resisted sequels to Thrones because the ending of his Ice and Fire books is not going to align with the show and he wants to avoid further canonizing Thrones\u2018 controversial ending \u2014 even though he hasn\u2019t written his own yet. \u201c[The book\u2019s ending is] going to be significantly different,\u201d Martin says. \u201cSome characters who are alive in my book are going to be dead in the show, and vice versa.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tPeter Claffey (left) and Dexter Sol Ansell in \u2018A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms<\/a>.\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSteffan Hill\/HBO<\/p>\n

\n\tMartin figured Jon (played by Kit Harington in Thrones) would be the safest character for a sequel since he was exiled to north of the Wall in the series finale, and picking up his story wouldn\u2019t need to include revealing what happened to the other major characters down south.<\/p>\n

\n\tTHR broke the news<\/a> of the development in 2022 but held back story details to protect against spoilers. Harington, working with two writers from his drama series Gunpowder, was interested in mapping out a tale of Snow living alone as a broken man with PTSD. Having chased off his direwolf Ghost and thrown away his sword Longclaw, Jon spent his time building cabins and burning them back down again. Harington also wanted Jon to die and to avoid being a hero.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe story echoed, in some respects, Harington\u2019s personal struggles \u2014 entering rehab following an intense shooting experience on Thrones. (\u201cI went through some mental health difficulties,\u201d the actor has said<\/a>. \u201cI think it was directly due to the nature of the show.\u201d)<\/p>\n

\n\tHBO found the \u201cbroken Jon Snow\u201d idea too much of a bummer and eventually pushed it aside. Yet in recent days, sources say a new writer (Quoc Dang Tran from Drops of God) has come aboard to revive the sequel idea. While the story is still being fleshed out, one possibility is shifting the drama to the Mediterranean-like land of Essos and adding another hugely popular legacy character \u2014 Arya Stark (who was played by Maisie Williams in Thrones). <\/p>\n

\n\tThis is very early development, however, and HBO is naturally being quite cautious about handling this one. \u201cWe are very interested and excited by the prospect of a sequel but also keenly aware of how high the bar of execution needs to be,\u201d one insider says. No actors are yet on board, and signing Harington, in particular, would likely prove quite difficult. Just recently, the actor declared<\/a> he doesn\u2019t \u201cwant to go anywhere near\u201d Jon Snow again.<\/p>\n

\n\tMartin says he cannot confirm or comment on projects in development. None of the titles is as sensitive, however, as Martin discussing a show that everybody already knows about: House of the Dragon.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI have an ego,\u201d Martin once said.<\/p>\n

\n\tHaving interviewed Martin nearly a dozen times over the years, this quote always stuck with me because nearly all creatives have an ego \u2014 often massive ones \u2014 but they\u2019re rarely so forthright about it. Whereas Martin always comes across bluntly honest and unafraid to be vulnerable. He can also get a very frustrated at perceived rudeness or slights. Warner Bros. may legally own Westeros, but the world is still Martin\u2019s creation, and he understandably wants to feel respected and involved.<\/p>\n

\n\tMartin has made something else consistently clear: He believes book adaptations \u2014 not just his own \u2014 should be as faithful as possible. Martin is childless and has said he considers his characters to be his children. If another writer wants to make a major change to one of his brood \u2014 or remove one from a story altogether \u2014 he wants to know why, and the reason should make sense.<\/p>\n

\n\tKnight showrunner Parker says he suspects Martin leaning on HBO and showrunners to respect his vision is one reason \u201cwhy these shows have done so well\u201d and that the author has \u201cbeen nothing but a benefit.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIn my very first meeting with George, before I officially had the job, I promised I wouldn\u2019t put anything in that he didn\u2019t want \u2014 but it\u2019s never come to that,\u201d Parker says. \u201cHe\u2019s pushed back on a lot of things. I just explain the reason why I want to do something and then he would explain his reasons why I\u2019m an idiot.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s always been a bit unclear precisely how much authority Martin has over his HBO projects (sometimes it seems fuzzy to Martin, as well). When HBO\u2019s Orsi is asked about Martin\u2019s level of control, she replies, \u201cWe always value his input in terms of the writers we\u2019re hiring, the arenas we\u2019re tackling for new spinoffs and the development of each project\u00a0across the GoT universe. But\u00a0building, producing, and running a series is a massive undertaking. We while we care deeply about George\u2019s and our showrunners\u2019 perspectives, we ultimately make decisions that make the best show.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tI ask Martin carefully: I know you can\u2019t say much about this, but I was wondering how your relationship with Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal got so rocky?<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s worse than rocky,\u201d Martin says, looking miserable. \u201cIt\u2019s abysmal.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWithout getting into spoilers, Martin\u2019s gripes about Dragon stem from disputes over changes\u00a0to his book\u2019s characters that impact key plot points.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI hired Ryan,\u201d Martin says. \u201cI thought Ryan and I were partners. And we were all through the first season. I would read early drafts of the scripts. I would give notes. He would change some things. It was working really well \u2014 I thought.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen Ryan came to loggerheads with original\u00a0Dragon\u00a0co-showrunner Miguel Sapochnik, Ryan asked for Martin\u2019s support in their dispute, and got it (Sapochnik left the show after season one).<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThen we got into season two, and he basically stopped listening to me,\u201d Martin says. \u201cI would give notes, and nothing would happen. Sometimes he would explain why he wasn\u2019t doing it. Other times, he would tell me, \u2018Oh, OK, yeah, I\u2019ll think about that.\u2019 It got worse and worse, and I began to get more and more annoyed. Finally, it got to a point where I was told by HBO that I should submit all my notes to them and they would give Ryan our combined notes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tOne night in 2024, while the second season was airing, Martin wrote a blog post, \u201cBeware the Butterflies<\/a>,\u201d which publicly revealed some of his gripes. When he woke the next morning, it was as if Martin had unleashed his own Red Wedding. An upset HBO exec had called Martin\u2019s manager, who phoned Martin\u2019s assistant, who took down the post \u2014 but not before entertainment sites (including THR) picked up Martin\u2019s comments. \u201cI would\u2019ve put it back up, but then I would\u2019ve looked like an idiot,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd 80 percent of it was praise, but that\u2019s not what people focused on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tStill, the post was meant to be just part one of six detailing the author\u2019s issues with Dragon.<\/p>\n

\n\tMartin says he can\u2019t say anything beyond this. But sources say Martin and Condal\u2019s relationship deteriorated further and came to a head during a Zoom call with the show\u2019s producers and some HBO executives. The purpose of the call was for Condal to present his vision for season three. After Condal spoke, Martin detailed his many objections and allegedly declared, \u201cThis is not my story any longer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tCondal didn\u2019t comment for this profile but pointed to a statement he gave to EW<\/a> last year: \u201cI made every effort to include George in the adaptation process. I really did. \u2026 But at some point, he just became unwilling to acknowledge the practical issues at hand in a reasonable way .. I just have to keep marching forward for the sake of the crew, the cast, and for HBO, because that\u2019s my job \u2026 I can only hope that George and I can rediscover that harmony someday.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tAfter their contentious Zoom call, HBO asked Martin to step back from Dragon\u00a0altogether. A few months later, the author was brought back aboard. \u201cI can\u2019t talk about it,\u201d Martin says.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cGeorge and Ryan had a disagreement on the direction of season three,\u201d an HBO insider says. \u201cAt that point, it was clear that the process and communication with them was broken and needed a reset.\u00a0So there was naturally a period where everyone took a step back for a while until we could figure out a new way forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn August, Martin was on an author panel at WorldCon when a fan asked a stunningly rude question. Martin typically enjoys such events. He likes communing with fellow creatives and meeting fans. He\u2019ll do book signings for hours, autographing a thousand copies. Martin notes fans are always exceedingly nice when he meets them in person.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe WorldCon panel was taking audience questions when somebody asked Martin if he would let another writer finish The Winds of Winter because \u201cyou\u2019re not going to be around for much longer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe audience booed. Martin felt like he\u2019d been slapped. When he looked online to see the reaction, he was dismayed to find some fans saying he deserved it. \u201cThey say, \u2018He lied to us, he is going to die soon, look how old he is,\u2019 \u201d Martin says. Even now, months later, the author looks rattled. \u201cI really didn\u2019t need that shit,\u201d he says. \u201cNobody needs that shit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tMartin recently has endured losing a wave of fellow novelists whom he counted as close friends. \u201cHoward Waldrop, Gardner Dozois, Victor Mil\u00e1n, John J. Miller, Edward Bryant \u2026\u201d Martin lists. \u201cThey\u2019re all gone, one after another.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tLast year, Martin sat down with one of his idols, Robert Redford, who was a fellow executive producer on Dark Winds. Redford came out of acting retirement to film a brief cameo in the show with Martin. In the scene, the two are sitting at a chessboard, and Redford ad-libbed a line: \u201cGeorge, the whole world is waiting, make a move.\u201d It was a meta joke about how long it\u2019s taken Martin to finish Winter. Then Redford died, too. His chess scene with Martin \u2014 like something out of The Seventh Seal \u2014 was his final performance. \u201cWhich just seems so fucking weird,\u201d Martin says.<\/p>\n

\n\tMartin\u2019s masterpiece is arguably\u00a0A Storm of Swords. The book, published in 2000, was adapted into seasons three and four of\u00a0Thrones. It\u2019s a brilliant, twisty novel, spanning more than 1,000 pages and reads like Martin was channeling a river of fire. Somehow, Martin wrote\u00a0Swords\u00a0in a single year.\u00a0Winter\u00a0has taken him 14 and counting. \u201cI look back at that book too,\u201d Martin admits. \u201cAnd I don\u2019t know how I did it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tMartin says he has around 1,100 manuscript pages finished. He\u2019s also said the number for a while. He long has blamed the endless distractions that have come from shifting from a full-time author to a producer and celebrity. The success of Thrones was both the best thing that could have happened to Martin and the worst thing that could have happened to the greatest story he ever wrote.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhotographed by Daniel Prakopcyk<\/p>\n

\n\tThe roots of Ice and Fire extend back to Martin\u2019s childhood. As a kid, he kept pet turtles. When they mysteriously began dying off, he invented stories about how the turtles were feudal rivals who were secretly killing one another in sinister plots. Then when he worked on shows like Beauty and the Beast and a revival of The Twilight Zone, Martin chafed against the censorious, low-budget nature of \u201980s TV, decrying \u201cbullshit changes, sheer cowardice, [producers] afraid of anything that was too strong [and] anything that anyone might be \u2018offended\u2019 by.\u201d He deliberately wrote Ice and Fire to be so sprawling and epic that it would be \u201cunfilmable.\u201d The result has sold more than 100 million copies.<\/p>\n

\n\tToday, Martin works on Winter at his old house, which serves as his office (he recently moved his primary residence to another Santa Fe property), typing away on a DOS computer that\u2019s not connected to the internet.<\/p>\n

\n\tHere\u2019s what happens when he sits down to write: \u201cI will open the last chapter I was working on and I\u2019ll say, \u2018Oh fuck, this is not very good.\u2019 And I\u2019ll go in and I\u2019ll rewrite it. Or I\u2019ll decide, \u2018This Tyrion chapter is not coming along, let me write a Jon Snow chapter.\u2019 If I\u2019m not interrupted though, what happens \u2014 at least in the past \u2014 is sooner or later, I do get into it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tOne issue is narrative complexity. The fourth Ice and Fire book,\u00a0A Feast for Crows, introduced several new characters and major storylines to an already highly intricate tale. Martin was soon switching perspectives between 21 rival viewpoint characters, each with their own dedicated series of chapters. (When\u00a0Thrones\u00a0reached the same narrative juncture, showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss decided to largely stick with characters who were already established \u2014 yet still famously struggled to pull off a final stretch that fans felt was satisfying).<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen the pandemic hit, Martin tried going to a literal cabin in the woods to finish Winter. That was a prolific stretch, he says, resulting in many new chapters. But it took him away from his longtime partner, Parris McBride (they met in the 1970s and tied the knot in 2011), and even Martin\u2019s forced-isolation effort ran into creative troubles. \u201cI wrote a Tyrion chapter I just loved,\u201d he recalls. \u201cThen I looked at it and said: \u2018I can\u2019t do this, it will change the whole book. I\u2019ll make this into a series of dreams. No! That doesn\u2019t work either \u2026’\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tI ask Martin if he\u2019s ever considered simply giving up on the book. It\u2019s your life, George, I say. You don\u2019t have to spend it working on something if you find it torturous.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI would hate that,\u201d Martin says. \u201cIt would feel like a total failure to me. I want to finish.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tHanding the project to another writer \u2014 which some fans have lobbied for him to do \u2014 isn\u2019t going to happen, Martin says. There is also no secret contingency plan for somebody else to take over if Martin gets struck by lightning. \u201cIf that happens, my work won\u2019t be finished,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019ll be like The Mystery of Edwin Drood\u201d \u2014 referring to Charles Dickens\u2019 unfinished final novel.<\/p>\n

\n\tHow much further does he have to go? Martin is vague. \u201cIf I wound up doing everything in my head, this could be the longest book in the series.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAfter asking Martin repeatedly about Winds \u2014 seemingly more than he\u2019d like \u2014 the author did what he does best. He tells a story.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn 1975, Martin met Dune author Frank Herbert at a book convention and they shared a drink. The meeting was \u201cnear the end of Herbert\u2019s life,\u201d Martin says. Herbert had written many acclaimed novels, but all fans seemed to want was more Dune. Herbert\u2019s publisher had just offered him a modest advance for a story he wanted to write, or six times that number for another Dune novel.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cHe didn\u2019t like Dune anymore and he didn\u2019t want to write any more Dune books,\u201d Martin says. \u201cBut he felt locked in by the success of Dune, so he kept writing them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tMartin finishes \u2026 and waits.<\/p>\n

\n\tI ask: Do you relate to how Herbert felt?<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI\u2019m not necessarily tired of the world [of Ice and Fire],\u201d he says. \u201cI love the world and the world-building. But, yes, I do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tMartin is waiting in front of his bookstore for a car that will take him home. When you walk into the store, the first several bookcases are full of Martin\u2019s published works \u2014 which is more than you probably realize, especially when you add the dozens of anthologies he\u2019s edited (like his popular Wildcards series). The shelf space devoted to the Ice and Fire books is, perhaps unsurprisingly, rather small.<\/p>\n

\n\tA couple of fans had just presented Martin with a gorgeous custom-made dragon\u2019s head cane. He thanked them and they had a chat. I wonder how he feels about being given a cane but don\u2019t ask.<\/p>\n

\n\tMartin\u2019s thoughts turn, unprompted, to the end of Ice and Fire. It becomes clear that the details of his story\u2019s conclusion, like so much of the saga, remains uncertain.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI was going to kill more people,\u201d he muses. \u201cNot the ones they killed [in the show]. They made it more of a happy ending. I don\u2019t see a happy ending for Tyrion. His whole arc has been tragic from the first. I was going to have Sansa die, but she\u2019s been so appealing in the show, maybe I\u2019ll let her live \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHis assistant\u2019s car is coming. I ask what he\u2019s doing for Christmas.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d Martin says. \u201cI think I\u2019ll stay home. I have to write more Dunk and Egg. There\u2019s supposed to be another Fire and Blood book, too. I do think if I can just get some of these other things off my back, I could finish The Winds of Winter pretty soon. It\u2019s been made clear to me that Winds is the priority, but \u2026 I don\u2019t know. Sometimes I\u2019m not in the mood for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHe sighs. \u201cI\u2019m so far behind on everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tGeorge R.R. Martin<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhotographed by Daniel Prakopcyk<\/p>\n

\n\tBorys Kit contributed to this report.<\/p>\n

\n\tThis story appeared in the Jan. 15 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In 2015, George R.R. Martin confessed to having two worries that would define his future and forever change…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":409195,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[120897,223,196013,88,52585,140243,72905,16821],"class_list":["post-409194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms","tag-books","tag-dark-winds","tag-entertainment","tag-game-of-thrones","tag-george-r-r-martin","tag-house-of-the-dragon","tag-thr-original-video"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=409194"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409194\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/409195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=409194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=409194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=409194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}