George R.R. Martin’s new Not A Blog entry was as notable for what it didn’t include as for what it did – a mention of House of the Dragon.

As the great prophet Rick Sanchez continually tells us in the Emmy Award-winning animated series Rick and Morty, we exist in a sea of alternate universes where every chance and possibility that could happen does play out. What that means is that there is a universe out there where George R.R. Martin didn’t pull down an edition of his Not A Blog post that called out HBO & showrunner Ryan Condal‘s House of the Dragon for the changes it’s made to his work – especially “Blood & Cheese” and the absence of Prince Maelor (and the “butterfly effect” that decision will have on the remaining seasons). Because that post was never taken down, GRRM didn’t need to begin his September 9th blog post (“A Belated Blog”) by making it sound like he hasn’t checked in with us since September 3rd. But since we don’t live in that dimension, the post did get taken down (though we shared a rundown of it here), and GRRM did share a post noting that it’s been a while since he last checked in blog-wise. Here’s a look at what GRRM had to share in a post that has a bit of a retcon/”Nothing to See Here” vibe.

HOUSE OF THE DRAGON (Image: HBO/House of the Dragon)

In his latest post, GRRM shares how he was traveling Europe from July 15 to August 15th – noting how he doesn’t travel with a computer, so he attempted to get as caught up as possible before taking off. From there, GRRM shared how the first half of the year was “pretty miserable,” noting the impact that the death of his “oldest friend in [the] science fiction community,” Howard Waldrop, had on him. GRRM’s work didn’t offer much of an escape, noting that “writing came hard” even though he finished some work on The Winds of Winter and Blood & Fire.

On the television side, GRRM noted that “my various television projects ate up most of those months. Some of that was pleasant (DARK WINDS, and THE HEDGE KNIGHT), most of it was not.” It wasn’t long before it began to have an impact on the bestselling author – with GRRM adding, “The stress kept mounting, the news went from bad to worse to worst, my mood seemed to swing between fury and despair, and at night I tossed and turned when I should have been sleeping. When I did sleep, well, my dreams were none too pleasant either.”

Though admitting that he considered canceling his trip to Europe because of everything on his plate, GRRM writes that he was “glad I decided against that. I was so stressed out that I doubt I would have accomplished much anyway… and the trip turned out to be a blessing, balm for my bruised soul.” Unfortunately, GRRM contracted COVID while away, “a mild case, thankfully, but even so, it put me out of action for a week or so, with the worst sore throat of my life. (I am fully recovered and testing negative once again, thank you. Don’t get covid, boys and girls, it is no fun at all).” With his current mood set at “Stressed,” GRRM admitted that his stress “came rushing back” when he got back on his computer. “So… I have a lot to blog about. Big things, small things, glad news and sad news. I do want to talk about the trip while it is still fresh in my mind, but there is so much else…”