Meeting George R.R. Martin

“There was part of me that wanted to see the world and travel to distant places, but I could only do it in my imagination, so I read ferociously and imagined things.” – George R.R. Martin

George R.R. Martin, who celebrated his 69^th birthday this week, not only “imagined” things, but “wrote them wonderfully” and has been called The American Tolkien by Time Magazine, which listed him among the 100 most influential Americans.   Author of the epic series of fantasy novels A Song of Fire and Ice – adapted into the massive HBO hit series A Game of Thrones – Martin makes his home in New Mexico and is one of the most popular writers in U.S. history.

It was my good fortune to spend time with him at an authors' booksigning during the Historical Writers of America conference, where he was named for the HWA’s Lifetime Achievement Award.  As gracious as he is talented, Martin made an effort to personally greet many of the authors in attendance and posed for this photo with me.  

                             Martin's work has been described by the Los Angeles Times as having "complex story lines, fascinating characters, great dialogue, perfect pacing."  His characters are multifaceted with intricate pasts, aspirations, and ambitions.  “The author,” Publisher’s Weekly says, “makes us care about their fates."

“I'm one of those writers who say, 'I've enjoyed having written’,” Martin said.  “There has to be a level of joy in what you're doing.”
 

 

George R.R. Martin and his colleague, Melinda Snodgrass, co-author of their Wild Card series of books and TV scripts, (seated front) posed for a photo with me and Gini Grossenbacher and Mark Wiederanders, California authors who were with me on a panel at the Historical Writers of America conference in Albuquerque, NM.

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