George R.R. Martin
George Raymond Richard "R.R." Martin was born September 20, 1948, in Bayonne, New Jersey. His father was Raymond Collins Martin, a longshoreman, and his mother was Margaret Brady Martin. He has two sisters, Darleen Martin Lapinski and Janet Martin Patten.
Martin attended Mary Jane Donohoe School and Marist High School. He began writing very young, selling monster stories to other neighborhood children for pennies, dramatic readings included. Later he became a comic book fan and collector in high school, and began to write fiction for comic fanzines (amateur fan magazines). Martin's first professional sale was made in 1970 at age 21: The Hero, sold to Galaxy, published in February, 1971 issue. Other sales followed.
In 1970 Martin received a B.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, graduating summa cum laude. He went on to complete a M.S. in Journalism in 1971, also from Northwestern.
As a conscientious objector, Martin did alternative service 1972-1974 with VISTA, attached to Cook County Legal Assistance Foundation. He also directed chess tournaments for the Continental Chess Association from 1973-1976, and was a Journalism instructor at Clarke College, Dubuque, Iowa, from 1976-1978. He wrote part-time throughout the 1970s while working as a VISTA Volunteer, chess director, and teacher.
In 1975 he married Gale Burnick. They divorced in 1979, with no children. Martin became a full-time writer in 1979. He was writer-in-residence at Clarke College from 1978-79.
Moving on to Hollywood, Martin signed on as a story editor for Twilight Zone at CBS Television in 1986. In 1987 Martin became an Executive Story Consultant for Beauty and the Beast at CBS. In 1988 he became a Producer for Beauty and the Beast, then in 1989 moved up to Co-Supervising Producer. He was Executive Producer for Doorways, a pilot which he wrote for Columbia Pictures Television, which was filmed during 1992-93.
Martin's present home is Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is a member of Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (he was South-Central Regional Director 1977-1979, and Vice President 1996-1998), and of Writers' Guild of America, West.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/george...
“Death should hold no fear for a man as old as me, but it does. Isn't that silly? It is always dark where I am, so why should I fear the darkness? Yet I cannot help but wonder what will follow, when the last warmth leaves my body.”
“I remembered that, so I allowed myself to hope... perhaps I wanted to... we all deceive ourselves, when we want to believe.”
“What fools we were, who thought ourselves so wise!”
“Is that true?There is truth in it.And lies as well?There is an untruth, and an exaggeration.”
“In the darkness all the gods were strangers.”
“He is fair of face and foul of heart.”
“The sea is colder than a maiden and crueler than a whore.”
“Oysters, clams, and cockles were cat's magic words, and like all good magic words they could take her almost anywhere.”
“They bought clams and cockles from her, told her true tales of Braavos and lies about their lives, and laughed at the way she talked when she tried to speak Braavosi.”
“You smile like Gerion and fight like Tyg, and theree;s some Kevan is you, else you would not wear that cloak... but Tyrion is Tywin's son, not you. I said so once to your father's face, and he would not speak to me for half a year. Men are such thundering great fools. Even the sort who come along once in a thousand years.”
“Less reliable tales also reached his ears, of a dwarf witch who haunted a hill in the riverlands, and a dwarf whore in King's Landing renowned for coupling with dogs. His own sweet sister had told him of the last, even offering to find him a bitch in heat if he cared to try it out. When he asked politely if she were referring to herself, Cersei had thrown a cup of wine in his face.”
“I heard a Lannister always pays his debts.""Oh, every penny....but never a groat more. You'll get the meal you bargained for, but it won't be sauced with gratitude, and in the end it will not nourish you.”
“Bones were bones; these days, nothing was easier to come by.”
“Underneath his steal and wool and boiled leather, Jaime Lannister was a tapestry of cuts and scabs and bruises.”
“In his dreams Jaime always had two hands; one was made of gold, but it worked just like the other.”
“You know the best thing about heroes, Jaime? They all die young and leave more women for the rest of us.”
“It please her to think that she made a better king than Robert.”
“My queen? You have a strange look in your eyes. Are you unwell?I was just... remembering.”
“Nothing tarnishes a hero as much as failure.”
“Ser Loras lusts for glory as real men lust for women, the least the gods can do is grant him a death worthy of a song.”
“My enemies are everywhere, and my friends are fools.”
“My life was writ in red, in blood and wine.”
“The path of faith was a crooked one.”
“The brave man slays with a sword, the craven with a wineskin.”
“How long has it been since you've eaten?My faith is all the nourishment I need.Faith is like porridge. Better with milk and honey.”
“If I pray nicely, will the Father give me a new hand?No. But the Warrior will give you courage, the Smith will lend you strength, and the Crone will give you wisdom.It's a hand I need.”
“Half as big but twice as mad.”
“When I was a boy, I dreamt that I could fly, he announces. When I woke, I couldn't... or so the maester said. But what if he lied?What do you mean?Perhaps we can fly. All of us. How will we ever know unless we leap from some tall tower? No man ever truly knows what he can do unless he dares to leap.There is the window. Leap. What do you want?The world.”
“All around, the sea was full of ships. Some were burning, some were sinking, some had been smashed to splinters.”
“Sins may be forgiven. Crimes require punishment.”
“Then armor yourself in faith, by all means, but wear a suit of mail and plate as well.”
“Keep friends at your back and foes where you can see them.”
“Some would fight for any cause, some for none at all.”
“Fire consumes, but cold preserves.”
“I dreamed... in the black of night a man asks all the questions he dare not ask by daylight. For me, the past years, only one question has remained. Why would the gods take my eyes and my strength, yet condemn me to linger on so long, frozen and forgotten? What use could they have for an old done man like me? ... I remember, Sam. I still remember.Remember what?Dragons, Aemon whispered.”
“I pray he found the peace in death that he never knew in life.”
“Some were bound to me by vows and some by blood, but they were all my brothers.”
“It's sad. He likes it where the wine is, and the smiles.”
“It was hard work to rule a kingdom, much less seven of them.”
“No mother should outlive her children, and no captain should outlive his ship.”
“Men see what they expect to see.”
“If only they were truly ants, wee could step on them and crush them.”
“She remembered a tale she had heard from Old Nan, about how sometimes during a long winter men who'd lived beyond their years would announce that they were going hunting. And their daughters would weep and their sons would turn their faces to the fire, she could hear Old Nan saying, but no one would stop them, or ask what game they meant to hunt, with the snows so deep and the cold wind howling. She wondered what the old Braavosi told their sons and daughters, before they set off.”
“Pissing is the least of my talents. You ought to see me shit”
“Shattered legs may heal in time, but some betrayals fester and poison the soul.”
“Love is the sweetest, dearest Ned, but it cannot change a man's nature.”
“In King’s Landing, there are two sorts of people. The players and the pieces… Every man’s a piece to start with, and every maid as well. Even some who think they are players."Petyr Baelish”
“Too stupid to learn and too stupid to give up.”
“She would be no one if that was what it took. No one had no holes inside her.”
“Many have served Him of Many Faces through the centuries, but only a few of His servants have been women. Women bring life into the world. We bring the gift of death. No one can do both.”