Event Video: George R. R. Martin Visits Seattle!

Today is the three week anniversary of A Dance With Dragons by George R. R. Martin!

The most anticipated book of the last few years has done quite well for itself. It hit #1 on the New York Times bestselling list and still sits at #3. It’s gone back for seven printings and looks to be an unstoppable juggernaut for bookstores. As George’s fan base swells from the additional exposure HBO has afforded, so too are the sales for A Dance With Drgons.

I hate to make comparisons, but the buzz reverberating through the world about George R. R. Martin feels very similar to the days after Goblet of Fire was published by J.K. Rowling.

Do we have another huge, culture-sweeping hit on our hands?

I think we are its very beginning.

George is fairly oblivious to all of this though. Last Thursday, he flew into Seattle on tour for a Friday event, and invited several of us out to dinner. Peter Orullian, Cherie Priest, a number of other people and I joined him and we talked about a wide range of topics. Through it all, I got no sense that George feels owed anything or that his time has finally come. He is pleased by the success but it hasn’t changed him. He’s as self-deprecating and humble as the first day I met him and as a fan that pleases me as much as having the new book!

The Seattle event was a huge success. 1000+ fans crammed into Town Hall to listen to George speak and get books signed. The event was one of the last on his tour though and I wanted to capture it for all those fans around the world who haven’t had a chance to witness a recent George R. R. Martin event. I brought my camera and used it.

The result is a 43-minute video. George talks about A Dance With Dragons, why it took so long, how he feels about the HBO show, and answers many questions from fans that range from naming conventions in the series to which character has been the hardest to kill in the series.

A Dance With Dragons by George R. R. Martin is in fine bookstores now!