George R.R. Martin clarifies: George Martin of Beatles fame is the guy who died, ‘Not me’

Well, this is awkward: How many people saw news of George Martin’s death and thought, “Ack! ‘Game of Thrones’ isn’t finished yet!”

Looks like it was enough that George R.R. Martin felt compelled to clarify that while the Beatles producer had indeed passed away Tuesday at age 90, George the writer was “not dead yet.”

“While it is strangely moving to realize that so many people around the world care so deeply about my life and death, I have to go with Mark Twain and insist that the rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated,” the 67-year-old author wrote Wednesday on his blog.

The music producer will be missed and his contributions to pop culture should be recognized and honored, GRRM said, though he admitted they’d never met. (“I did meet Paul McCartney once, for about a minute, while waiting for the valet to bring my rental car up at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills,” he noted.)

“As for me, I am still here, still writing, still editing, still going to movies and reading books, and I expect to hang around for quite a while yet, thank you very much, said the man who killed Eddard Stark, Robb Stark, Catelyn Stark, Jon Snow, Stannis Baratheon, Khal Drogo, King Joffrey, King Robert, Danerys Targaryen’s annoying brother Viserys and and Jon Snow’s lovely wildling lady Ygritte, to name but a few.

“But thank you all for caring.”

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