Game of Thrones creator George RR Martin has addressed the long-running “controversy” behind his next book in the Song of Ice and Fire series.
Between 1996 and 2011, the author wrote five books in the fantasy series, which were adapted into the hit HBO Game of Thrones TV show. Martin began working on Winds of Winter in 2010 but it has been hit by endless delays and has struggled to find “solace” in his writing.
Although there are two more books planned beyond the unfinished sixth novel, Martin has assured fans that he’s still invested in the story and doesn’t “feel happy” about missing his deadlines.
“I know there’s all this controversy about Winds Of Winter and how late it is, but I’ve always had trouble with deadlines and I don’t feel happy breaching contracts or missing a deadline or anything like that,” he said at New York Comic Con, via Entertainment Weekly.
“Yes, I do love Winds of Winter. I’m still interested in it, I’m still working on it, but honestly, I love these other things, too.”
Discussing the backlash he receives every time he announces a new project that isn’t related to Winds of Winter, Martin added: “Every time that happens, and I announce it on my website, half the internet goes crazy.
“Why the f*** is George R. Martin writing this other thing when he should be writing Winds of Winter? What is he doing?’ And I want to say, ‘I did it in 1993, guys. Come on! It was lying in my drawer, and they wanted it, so I sold it to them!”
Earlier this year, Martin called Winds of Winter “the curse of my life,” admitting that commitments to numerous other projects have diverted his attention away from the book.
In an interview with Time, a dismayed Martin said: “That’s the curse of my life. There’s no doubt Winds of Winter is 13 years late. I’m still working on it. I have periods where I make progress and then other things divert my attention and suddenly I have a deadline for one of the HBO shows, I have something else to do.”
As well as working on Game of Thrones spin-offs like House of the Dragon and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, Martin writes for the popular video game Elden Ring and the AMC series Dark Winds.
Outside of writing, Martin also has a renovated film theatre and a newly opened bookstore.
In 2022, he called The Winds of Winter a “big, big book”, stating: “It’s a challenging book. It’s probably going to be a larger book than any of the previous volumes in the series.” Promisingly, he divulged that he was about “three-quarters of the way done”. A seventh and final book, A Dream of Spring, is set to follow afterwards.
