George RR Martin is a mad genius

So Toronto Romance Writers emailed me, and apparently they're sending me something. So they know I exist. They do everything with volunteers, so stuff gets done when it gets done. I can understand that.

I read Romancing the Blog pretty frequently. Now that I have my own blog I was curious on how to get listed.

They have a link: "Add your blog to our sidebar!" with a whole set of rules and a Submit button. Then I poked into their FAQ page and found this: "New columnists are added by invitation only. Suggesting yourself as a columnist through the contact form is essentially a waste of time."

I wonder, why would you go to the trouble of making a Submit page, then admonish that it's a waste of my time and yours?

Curious.

There are some books I want to buy and read, but my reading schedule has been stopped in its tracks. This is the reason:




Don't read Amazon reviews. I did, and they actually convinced me to doubt for a minute. Idiot.

Don't start with this book - start with the Game of Thrones, the first book in the series. Call in sick to work; take the phone off the hook; lock the door. You will not be able to concentrate on anything else until you've read them all, I promise. Tell your significant other not to take it personally.

Yes, this book is slower than the others, but the story needs a breather. You can't have relentless action without some time spent analysing the consequences of those actions; it makes for a better story. Writing 101. In this case, "some time spent" is 600 pages, which should tell you something about the scope of Martin's story. How he manages to keep tension, brilliant characterization, agonizing suspense, humor, fear, violence, and emotion under his masterful thumb is amazing to me.

The next one is coming; the writing gods are good. The next one has Tyrion in it.

Abby