My aunt is in from London.  My mother’s sister, she is one of the easiest house guest I have ever come across.  Her favorite spot in the house is on my love seat. She loves to lie there curled up under a quilt made by another aunt of mine. What she loves to do most is watch TV while she is here.

We introduced her to The Game of Thrones.  I know it’s a fantasy drama, but I have to comment on the phenomenon I am witnessing. It began when the Lord of the Rings Trilogy came into being. It was then that those of us who appreciate fantasy could do so in the light of day.

It was the beginning of something beautiful. People discovered a whole new genre and the curiosity of readers became a boon to authors of all genres. Some  began to read, some for the first time, others for the first time outside of their comfort zones. A whole new world opened up and what began with The Lord of the Rings is now continued by The Game of Thrones.

People who I have never heard discussing the fantastical or the paranormal now are wrapped up in the stories of the same. The season finale is tonight and people from all over the world wait with baited breath to see just what George R. R. Martin will do to his characters next.

It occurs to me after watching my aunt, the latest addict of Game of Thrones, she is well and truly engrossed in the story.  So engrossed is she that we are watching the three seasons in its entirety. Thank god for HBOGO .

Watching her reactions reminds me that it is an author’s/ screenwriters job to create characters that draw the reader or viewer in and hold them there. It’s our job to make them compelling and to make the worlds we create as compelling. And as I watch me aunt devour each episode with glee, even sometimes forgetting herself enough that she tries to direct a characters action. I can only be happy that George R.R. Martin accomplished that goal.