While some people panic with the news of having to self-quarantine, others are putting it to good use. Take George R.R. Martin, for example. Martin took to his blog to assure fans that he is doing well and has been “spending more time in Westeros than in the real world, writing every day.”
“For those of you who may be concerned for me personally… yes, I am aware that I am very much in the most vulnerable population, given my age and physical condition. But I feel fine at the moment, and we are taking all sensible precautions. I am off by myself in a remote isolated location, attended by one of my staff, and I’m not going in to town or seeing anyone. Truth be told, I am spending more time in Westeros than in the real world, writing every day. Things are pretty grim in the Seven Kingdoms… but maybe not as grim as they may become here.”
Martin’s last book in the “A Song of Ice and Fire” novel series was “A Dance With Dragons” published back in 2011 – 9 years ago! While fans have been clamoring for the author to finish writing “The Winds of Winter” (the next book in the series), this is certainly not the circumstances anyone would have wanted to get him to finish it. So far, plans are for one more novel after this to be written and released which is tentatively titled ‘A Dream of Spring.’
Back in January, Martin had indicated he was working on finishing his epic book series promising fans some closure on many of the storylines that were not featured on HBO ‘Game of Thrones.’ And while that series revealed who eventually obtained the Iron Throne, Martin teased that their ending may not necessarily match up to his:
“People know an ending — but not the ending.”
Martin ended his blog post with some thoughts about the world today and included a meme on handwashing using a quote from Frank Herbert’s ‘Dune’:
“Some days, watching the news, I cannot help feeling as if we are all now living in a science fiction novel. But not, alas, the sort of science fiction novel that I dreamed of living in when I was a kid, the one with the cities on the Moon, colonies on Mars, household robots programmed with the Three Laws, and flying cars. I never liked the pandemic stories half so well…
Let us hope we all come through this safe and sound. Stay well, my friends. Better to be safe than sorry.”
It’s great to know that Martin is keeping busy and safe during these uncertain times. Now go wash your hands!
