Born in 1948, fantasy writer George R. R. Martin grew up in Bayonne, New Jersey. He developed a love for writing early on. His first novel, Dying of the Light, debuted in 1977. In 1996, he published his first installment of the A Song of Ice and Fire series. Martin became a best-selling author in 2005 with the fourth title A Feast for Crows and again in 2011 with the fifth A Dance with Dragons. The series includes popular 1996 Game of Thrones.
Martin lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with his wife, Parris McBride. He was previously married to Gale Burdock, from 1975 to 1979.