She Might Have Wept Then, Had Not

These Old Knights Are More Cunning Than You Think, Or They Would Never Have Lived To See Their First Grey Hair.

He Raised His Eyes. "sister. See. This Time I Knew You." Asha's Heart Skipped A Beat. "theon?" His Lips Skinned Back In What Might Have Been A Grin. Half His Teeth Were Gone, And Half Those Still Left Him Were Broken And Splintered. "theon," He Repeated. "my Name Is Theon. You Have To Know Your Name.

I Had These Cheap Alien Toys And I Made Up Stories For Them. They Were Space Pirates. They Didn’t Have Names So I Made Up Names. These Were The First Stories I Wrote. Even As A Little Kid I Was Thinking About Torture.

I Am Surrounded By Flatterers And Fools. It Can Drive A Man To Madness,.. . Half Of Them Don’t Dare Tell Me The Truth, And The Other Half Can’t Find It.

From Where I Sit, Battles Are Hard. I’ve Written My Share. Sometimes I Employ The Private’s Viewpoint, Very Up Close And Personal, Dropping The Reader Right Into The Middle Of The Carnage. That’s Vivid And Visceral, But Of Necessity Chaotic, And It Is Easy To Lose All Sense Of The Battle As A Whole. Sometimes I Go With The General’s Point Of View Instead, Looking Down From On High, Seeing Lines And Flanks And Reserves. That Gives A Great Sense Of The Tactics, Of How The Battle Is Won Or Lost, But Can Easily Slide Into Abstraction.