The story – which is split into seven instalments, five of which have been released thus far – sparked the entire Game of Thrones phenomenon. The final season of the TV series is due to air from next month, but Martin still has two books to finish. The Winds of Winter has been anticipated for several years now, with A Dream Of Spring set to follow after that.
In a new interview, he’s admitted that he still has much to do – though it’s not clear whether that’s indicative of his progress on Winds specifically.
He told Entertainment Weekly ahead of the TV show’s last episodes: “It’s the end for a lot of people.
“It’s not the end for me. I’m still deeply in it.
“I better live a long time because I have a lot of work left to do.”
George RR Martin’s involvement in the final season of GOT – in front of and behind the camera – has been almost non-existent specifically because of his focus on writing.
“I haven’t read the [final-season] scripts and haven’t been able to visit the set because I’ve been working on Winds,” he told the same publication.
“I know some of the things. But there’s a lot of minor-character [arcs] they’ll be coming up with on their own.
“And, of course, they passed me several years ago. There may be important discrepancies.”
Martin has also had other projects on the boil; including companion tome Fire And Blood, which released last year.
He said upon its release: He added: “The Winds of Winter is next, then I’ll decide what comes after that – whether it’s to go on to A Dream of Spring, the last one, or whether I switch back into Fire and Blood II, do another Dunk and Egg story or two.
“But I’ll worry about that one thing at a time – that’s too far ahead.”
Game of Thrones returns April 14.
