The Only Time A Man Can Be

She Narrowed Her Eyes. “what Is Our Heart’s Desire?” “vengeance.” His Voice Was Soft, As If He Were Afraid That Someone Might Be Listening. “justice.” Prince Doran Pressed The Onyx Dragon Into Her Palm With His Swollen, Gouty Fingers, And Whispered, “fire And Blood.

Ruling Is Hard. This Was Maybe My Answer To Tolkien, Whom, As Much As I Admire Him, I Do Quibble With. Lord Of The Rings Had A Very Medieval Philosophy: That If The King Was A Good Man, The Land Would Prosper. We Look At Real History And It's Not That Simple... Real-life Kings Had Real-life Problems To Deal With... My People Who Are Trying To Rule Don't Have An Easy Time Of It. Just Having Good Intentions Doesn't Make You A Wise King.

In A Heartbeat, A Thousand Voices Took Up The Chant. King Joffrey And King Robb And King Stannis Were Forgotten, And King Bread Ruled Alone. "bread." They Clamored. "bread, Bread!

Oh, My Sweet Summer Child," Old Nan Said Quietly, "what Do You Know Of Fear? Fear Is For The Winter, My Little Lord, When The Snows Fall A Hundred Feet Deep And The Ice Wind Comes Howling Out Of The North. Fear Is For The Long Night, When The Sun Hides Its Face For Years At A Time, And Little Children Are Born And Live And Die All In Darkness While The Direwolves Grow Gaunt And Hungry, And The White Walkers Move Through The Woods

Turtles Have Always Been My Sigil, I Suppose. When I Was A Kid, Growing Up In Bayonne, Nj, I Lived In A Federal Housing Project, And We Were Not Allowed To Have A Dog Or Cats. The Only Pets I Could Have Were Turtles. So, I Had An Entire Toy Castle Filled With Dime-store Turtles. I Gave Them All Names, And Since They Were Living In A Toy Castle, I Decided They Were All Knights And Kingsand I Made Up Stories About How They Killed Each Other And Betrayed Each Other And Fought For The Kingdom. So, Game Of Thrones, Actually Began With Turtles. I Decided Later To Recast It With Actual Human Beings.