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It was not all tromping through sets, though. I also spent two days locked in a room with Ryan Condal and his writing staff (Sara Hess, Ti Mikkel, David Hancock, and Philippa Goslett) talking about the third and fourth seasons of HOUSE OF THE DRAGON. They were lively, fun discussions, and we got some good work done… though two days was not nearly enough. There is so much ground to cover that I am not sure twenty days would have been enough.

The highlight of the trip, though, had to be the sneak preview that Ryan gave me of the first two episodes of HOUSE OF THE DRAGON, season two. (Rough cuts, of course). Of course, I am hardly objective when talking about anything based on my own work… but I have to say, I thought both episodes were just great. (And they are not even finished yet). Dark, mind you. Very dark. They may make you cry. (I did not cry myself, but one of my friends did). Powerful, emotional, gut-wrenching, heart rending. Just the sort of thing I like.

And… of course, of course… I also spent three days with HOUSE OF THE DRAGON.  Starting with a visit to the studio where HOT D is being shot.   (I had originally planned to visit there months ago, but the WGA strike put an end to that, and instead I stayed here in Santa Fe, working on WINDS OF WINTER and walking a picket line).   All I have to say about that is… ohmigod!  I am no stranger to film sets.  I have worked off and on in television and film since 1986, where I joined the staff of the TWILIGHT ZONE revival at CBS.   I still recall the rush where I saw them building Stonehenge on the sound stage behind my office, for an episode I’d written.   And of course I visited the GAME OF THRONES shoots in Belfast, Scotland, Morocco, and Malta.   Those were incredible too.   But nothing I have ever seen can compare with the Red Keep and Dragonstone sets they have built at Leavesden Studios in London.   HUGE, stunning, and so damned real that I felt as if I had gone through a time portal to medieval Westeros.   I love castles and have visited dozens of actual medieval castles, keeps, and towers in my time, and none of the real castles I’ve ever seen can hold a candle… or a torch… to our Red Keep.