Last week, Irene and I were in St. Petersburg, Russia for a post-Helsinki Worldcon trip, and on our first night, as we wandered the Nevsky Prospekt, who should we run into but—George R. R. Martin!

Well, not the real George R. R. Martin. Rather, a larger-than-life version in a bookshop window.

He was plastered there because he was scheduled to sign around the corner from our hotel at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, Agust 17th, as was verified by a sign near the escalators leading to the area where his books were stocked.

I headed upstairs and checked out the science fiction and fantasy section, where I discovered something unusual about George’s books. (more…)