“The Winds of Winter” is long overdue, but George RR Martin made a promise some months ago that he will be finishing the book and publish it next year. The 71-year-old author wrote his vow to the fans via his personal blog site, and his post lifted the fans’ hope once again.
Everyone has been waiting since 2011, so it is understandable why some of Martin’s fans may have given up on seeing the sixth book in the “A Song of Fire and Ice” novel series where the drama TV series “Game of Thrones” was based on.
Martin’s promise
In May, the author wrote, “If I don’t have ‘THE WINDS OF WINTER’ in hand when I arrive in New Zealand for the Worldcon, you have here my formal written permission to imprison me in a small cabin on White Island, overlooking that lake of sulfuric acid, until I’m done.”
With this statement, fans quickly assumed that “The Winds of Winter” will be released in late July or early 2020 since Martin is set to attend the Worldcon in New Zealand that is taking place on the said months. This is still more than eight months away, so there is more time to finish the book. However, doubts if he can really finish “TWOW” arose when news that George RR Martin has accepted new jobs has surfaced.
HBO’s “Game of Thrones” spin-off
It was revealed that George RR Martin signed up for the “GoT” spin-off called “House of the Dragon,” and he has a big part in this series because he will also be the executive producer. According to Deadline, Martin and Ryan Condal got an order of 10 episodes from HBO, and the former will also be involved in the overall development of the show.
This means he will contribute to writing the scripts, budgeting, and other production details. With all of these new workloads, it is likely that Martin will not be able to focus on writing “The Winds of Winter.”
Will he finish “TWOW” on time?
But fans should not worry because, in a new report from Insider, it mentioned that the author’s new gigs, his priority is still “The Winds of Winter,” and he will finish it before anything else. "I am not taking on any scripts until I have finished and delivered 'The Winds of Winter,'" the publication quoted Martin as saying. "Winter is still coming, and WINDS remains my priority, as much as I'd love to write episodes of 'House of the Dragon.'”
