George R.R. Martin Provides Update On Game Of Throne’s The Winds Of Winter

John F. Trent |

Jul 24, 2020

George R.R. Martin, the author and creator of Game of Thrones and the A Song of Ice and Fire series. recently provided an update on the next book in the series, The Winds of Winter.

Martin posted an update on his Not A Blog.

He wrote, “This writing stuff is hard. Even so, it’s been going well of late. Three more chapters completed this past week. And good progress on several more.”

However, he added, “Still a long long way to go, though. Do not get too excited.”

While he’s not writing The Winds of Winter, Martin indicated he’s been doing editorial work for three new Wild Cards books.

Martin explained, “In my copious spare time, have been doing some editorial groundwork on three new Wild Cards books as well: PAIRING UP and SLEEPER STRADDLES and the mosaic HOUSE RULES, where Agatha Christie, H.P. Lovecraft, and P.G. Wodehouse have a wild weekend.”

He added, “They should be fun… but we are in early early days, so you won’t be reading any of them until 2022, I would guess.”

He did tease that there is more Wild Cards content in the works for 2020 and 2021, “But there is lots of other Wild Cards stuff already in the pipeline for 2020 and 2021, have no fear.”

Finally, he stated, “Anyway… be good, kids. Me and the Frog are headed back to Westeros.”

In fact, Martin had previously announced earlier this month that the Wild Card novel Knaves Over Queens had officially debuted.

He teased the novel writing, “Come meet the Seamstress, Enigma, the Green Man, Charlie Soper, Badh, Stonemaiden, Archimedes, the Visitor, Allen Crippen, Jenny Three Arms, Pygmalion, Banger & Mash, and Jiniri. Renew your acquaintance with Double Helix, Captain Flint, and Winston Churchill.”

As for The Winds of Winter, Martin had previously promised the book would be completed by the summer of 2020 and more specifically before he arrived at the World Science Fiction Convention.

He promised in May 2019, “But I tell you this — if I don’t have THE WINDS OF WINTER in hand when I arrive in New Zealand for 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.”

He added, “Just so long as the acrid fumes do not screw up my old DOS word processor, I’ll be fine.”

The 78th World Science Fiction Convention is set to take place between Wednesday, July 29th and Sunday, August 2nd. The convention will still be happening, but it is going digital with Martin serving as the convention’s Toastmaster.

Martin revealed in June that the book would not be done by the time of the convention.

He explained, “I am spending long hours every day on THE WINDS OF WINTER, and making steady progress.”

He elaborated, “I finished a new chapter yesterday, another one three days ago, another one the previous week. But no, this does not mean that the book will be finished tomorrow or published next week. It’s going to be a huge book, and I still have a long way to go. ”

He also revealed his writing pace has significantly slowed, “Way way back in 1999, when I was deep in the writing of A STORM OF SWORDS, I was averaging about 150 pages of manuscript a month. I fear I shall never recapture that pace again. Looking back, I am not sure how I did it then. A fever indeed.”

As for whether the ending of Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire novels will be similar to HBO’s Game of Thrones series, Martin addressed back in August 2019.

He told The Guardian, “They’re not the same thing, although they are very closely related to each other.”

In fact he noted that the show’s ending would not affect his novels, “No, it doesn’t. It doesn’t change anything at all… As Rick Nelson says in Garden Party, one of my favourite songs, you can’t please everybody, so you’ve got to please yourself.”

What do you make of Martin’s update on The Winds of Winter? Do you think the book will ever be finished?