George RR Martin has shared his first blog post in six months, revealing that he’s suffered from depression while going through some tough times in his life.
The author, whose books inspired Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, stressed that he’s also had some ‘amazing times’ too – but added that ‘the worst may be yet to come’.
Fans regularly check in on the 77-year-old’s online blog to find out what he’s up to, but in a new post, he explained that the last time he wrote anything for the site was on February 19.
‘The posts that came after were made by my mighty minions. I am lucky enough to have a great staff of assistants… though even with their help, I kept falling further and further behind,’ he said.
George then went into detail about what he’s been going through this year, saying that while ‘dreams came true’, he’s also endured some ‘nightmares’.
‘This year has been… stressful, to say the least,’ he wrote. ‘So much has been happening, it’s been overwhelming. Some great things, exciting things. Dreams coming true. But there have been nightmares too.
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‘I have lost friends. Battled sadness and depression. The worst may be yet to come.
‘I turned seventy-seven last September, and I tell you, getting old is no fun. But there have been amazing times as well.’
The author acknowledged how life can have its peaks and troughs, stating: ‘I suppose that’s just life. Of course, I knew that. If you’ve read my stories, you know that.’
George promised that he will post more updates soon, but stressed that they will likely be ‘short and rushed’.
However, one highlight that he did wish to celebrate was the recognition A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms received ahead of this year’s Emmys, receiving nine nominations, including for Best Drama.
‘I hope to attend… but that depends on… well, on a lot of things,’ he said.
‘(I am proud of our team, and hope we take home a few of the statues, but I will confess that I was hoping we’d get a few of the acting nominations as well. But there’s always next year).’
While George remains proudly involved with A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, his connection to House of the Dragon has soured in recent times.
In January, he admitted that he had an ‘abysmal’ relationship with showrunner Ryan Condal, telling The Hollywood Reporter: ‘I hired Ryan. I thought Ryan and I were partners. And we were all through the first season. I would read early drafts of the scripts.
‘I would give notes. He would change some things. It was working really well – I thought.’
George claimed that Ryan ‘basically stopped listening’ to him when he was working on season two, recollecting: ‘I would give notes, and nothing would happen. Sometimes he would explain why he wasn’t doing it. Other times, he would tell me: “Oh, OK, yeah, I’ll think about that.”
‘It got worse and worse, and I began to get more and more annoyed. Finally, it got to a point where I was told by HBO that I should submit all my notes to them and they would give Ryan our combined notes.’
On the other hand, he spoke highly of the critically acclaimed A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms ahead of its release, telling the publication: ‘The show is meant to be a very different type.
‘It turned out very well, and I’m very happy with season one. The casting was a home run. [Showrunner Ira Parker] is terrific and seems to have the same priorities I do – he’s trying to do something that’s very true to the characters.’