Welcome to Buzz Worthy News where the stories are awesome and not at all well-written. Need your YA industry news? Never fear, Kate Copeseeley is here to give it to you straight.

In this week’s Buzz Worthy News: George R R Martin makes GOT announcement, Alan Rickman Dies, Poe Dameron Comic, Hogwart’s Valentine, and more!

Buzz Worthy News is Cuddlebuggery’s weekly news post bringing you all the best information about the book and blogging world, particularly for the venn diagram of people who overlap between the two.

George RR Martin Kills His Fans

With despair, of course.  *sobs in corner*  This one is from last week, but I was sick, so I reserve the right to bitch about it now.  >:(

You can’t be a longtime fan of Martin’s and not be prepared for this kind of announcement.  I waited seven freaking YEARS for A Dance With Dragons.  But still, I was unprepared for the devastation.  Boo.

From the man himself:

THE WINDS OF WINTER is not finished.

Believe me, it gave me no pleasure to type those words. You’re disappointed, and you’re not alone. My editors and publishers are disappointed, HBO is disappointed, my agents and foreign publishers and translators are disappointed… but no one could possibly be more disappointed than me. For months now I have wanted nothing so much as to be able to say, “I have completed and delivered THE WINDS OF WINTER” on or before the last day of 2015.

WHAT?!  NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  This leads to the inevitable conclusion that the TV Show will spoil certain elements of the book for us.  Does Jon Snow die?  Does Dany end up being the queen?  Stay tuned and you’ll find out I’m sure.  *sob*

Unfortunately, the writing did not go as fast or as well as I would have liked. You can blame my travels or my blog posts or the distractions of other projects and the Cocteau and whatever, but maybe all that had an impact… you can blame my age, and maybe that had an impact too…but if truth be told, sometimes the writing goes well and sometimes it doesn’t, and that was true for me even when I was in my 20s.

Here it is, the first of January. The book is not done, not delivered. No words can change that. I tried, I promise you. I failed. I blew the Halloween deadline, and I’ve now blown the end of the year deadline. And that almost certainly means that no, THE WINDS OF WINTER will not be published before the sixth season of GAME OF THRONES premieres in April (mid April, we are now told, not early April, but those two weeks will not save me). Even as late as my birthday and our big Emmy win, I still thought I could do it… but the days and weeks flew by faster than the pile of pages grew, and (as I often do) I grew unhappy with some of the choices I’d made and began to revise… and suddenly it was October, and then November… and as the suspicion grew that I would not make it after all, a gloom set in, and I found myself struggling even more.

I am going back to my stance from last March, before all this. It will be done when it’s done. And it will be as good as I can possibly make it.

Look, there’s a lot more at the page itself, but for me, I will be reading the books.  Because George is a genius and I’m willing to wait to see that play out.  Yeah, sure, I bet I’ll be spoiled, but *shrug* no offense to the show’s writers… they are no George.

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Outlander Season 2 Preview

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Film Adaptions of Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark

Well, this is gonna scare the pants off of you, guaranteed.

Guillermo del Toro will develop to potentially direct Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark for CBS Films. The film is based on the wildly successful trilogy of books by Alvin Schwartz, which included iconic illustrations by Stephen Gammell. John August wrote the script.

When this will all happen is unclear; del Toro is juggling a few projects that include a remake of Fantastic Voyage at Fox, a Pacific Rim sequel and a personal project he’s kept close to the vest.

Alvin Schwartz’s trilogy of short story collections have sold more than 7 million copies worldwide. Even though, from the moment it was published in 1984, the Scary Stories series has according to the American Library Association been one of the most banned from placement (owing to concerns they’re too scary for children). The ensuing controversy only helped to fuel sales, and the trilogy has remained a cultural phenomenon ever since.

If you like that sort of thing, you should be very excited right now.  I, however, will be hiding over here under my covers.

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The Silver Chair Gets Adaption

I’m really excited to see that there will be another Chronicles of Narnia adaption happening.  There is a bit of a blow to fans of the movies who aren’t aware of the way the books work, however:

With word from writer David Magee that the film was in the script phase last year, Gordon made some comments about whether this new chapter would include any returning elements from the previous trilogy of films. Gordon’s word on the project is as follows:

No, it’s all going to be a brand new franchise. All original. All original characters, different directors, and an entire new team that this is coming from.

Yeah, in the books it keeps moving through a new set of characters every couple of books.  (almost as though Lewis imagined a film adaption and the problem of growing children)

So look forward to that, friends.

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Poe Dameron Gets His Own Comic

It has been all Star Wars, all the time at our house since my kids watched the movie and it seems like the same is true of the adult world as well, since news of various Star Wars projects is still floating around the internet.  Here’s another for you to anticipate:

Oscar Isaac’s Resistance flyboy from Star Wars: The Force Awakens gets his own Marvel Comicsseries in April with the ongoing Star Wars: Poe Dameron.

Poe Dameron will be an ongoing series from the creative team of Charles Soule (who wrote the excellent Lando miniseries) and Phil Noto (who provided the gorgeous art for the recent Chewbacca miniseries), and follow’s Poe’s career in the Resistance before the events of The Force Awakens, where he’d grown into the ragtag group’s best pilot, going out on personal missions for General Organa.

The new comic debuting in April focuses on the lead-up to the opening scene of The Force Awakens, which saw Poe seeking out mysterious traveler Lor San Tekka (Max von Sydow) on the planet Jakku for a key to finding the missing Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill).

The series will dig into Poe’s status as the top X-wing fighter jockey for General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) and leader of a squadron with an important mission. But the evil First Order also has a goal of finding Luke, and a new villain from the organization is introduced as Poe’s chief nemesis.

Funsies!

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Cameron Diaz Writes Book About Aging

Well, why not?  She looks fabulous.  Here is the actor’s announcement from Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BAhasPECFyc/?

Following the success of her surprisingly strong literary start in The Body Book: The Law of Hunger, the Science of Strength, and Other Ways to Love Your Amazing Body, Cameron Diaz is releasing a tome that’s “an all-encompassing, holistic look at how the female body ages—and what we can all do to age better.”

Now Cameron continues the journey she began, opening a conversation with her peers on an essential topic that that for too long has been taboo in our society: the aging female body. In The Longevity Book, she shares the latest scientific research on how and why we age, synthesizing insights from top medical experts and with her own thoughts, opinions, and experiences.

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Alan Rickman Passes Away

And now probably the saddest news we’ve discussed on here in quite awhile: Alan Rickman passed away at 69 after a long battle with cancer.  Needless to say, there are quite a few Harry Potter fans who had something to say about it.  But let’s not forget the Harry Potter writer:

There are no words to express how shocked and devastated I am to hear of Alan Rickman's death. He was a magnificent actor & a wonderful man.

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) January 14, 2016

Or the Harry Potter actors.  Emma Watson:

https://www.facebook.com/emmawatson/posts/1184500511568837

#alanrickman pic.twitter.com/4WXwnoUtM7

— Emma Watson (@EmmaWatson) January 14, 2016

Matthew Lewis:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BAhh4qWkQ5r/

Alan Rickman was an amazing actor and starred in one of my own favorite movies, Sense & Sensibility, where his performance blows me away every time I watch it.  He will be missed.

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Hogwarts Valentine’s Day

On a lighter Harry Potter note, we bring you a story about Warner Bros. continued efforts to capitalize on the HP phenomenon.

Warner Bros. Studio Tour London, home to sets from all the Harry Potter films—and the upcoming Harry Potter prequel— is offering Potter fanatics a chance to have a romantic evening in the Hogwarts Great Hall.

The special Valentine’s dinner will take place on Saturday, Feb. 13 and Sunday, Feb. 14 on the Great Hall set, where guests will be welcomed to the studio with canapes and a special Love Potion cocktail, plus individual tables for two adorned with flowers and candles.

Good lord.  Can you imagine the boyfriend that buys this gift for his girl(or boy) this year?  No one will be able to top that one, for sure.

The price tag might set your Gringotts account back a bit at £247.50—about $360—per person. But it does include a three-course meal, complete with an assiette of desserts. Just be sure Romilda Vane hasn’t snuck anything in your chocolate before taking a bite.

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