While the ever-growing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has led to movies and shows around the globe being delayed or put on hold, Game of Thrones author George RR Martin reveals self-isolation has given him more time to work on his next book.
Martin is the creator of the fantasy novel series A Song of Ice and Fire, with five of his planned seven books released so far. Fans have been waiting for The Winds of Winter since the release of A Dance with Dragons in 2011, but as of yet, there's no planned release date for the next part of the epic tale.
Posting on his site Not a Blog, Martin said he's doing well in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak. "For those of you who may be concerned for me personally… yes, I am aware that I am very much in the most vulnerable population, given my age and physical condition. But I feel fine at the moment, and we are taking all sensible precautions," assured Martin. He continued, "Truth be told, I am spending more time in Westeros than in the real world, writing every day."
Back in 2016, Martin confirmed he'd missed an end of year deadline for The Winds of Winter, but said in 2017 that he hoped to have the sixth book out the same year. More dates slipped as Martin shifted focus to other projects, and in 2019, he joked that if he didn't have a copy in his hand for 2020 Worldcon New Zealand, he should be imprisoned until he finished it.
Martin's slow writing pace meant that HBO's Game of Thrones overtook the books that inspired it and told its own story for Seasons 6-8. The author has promised that while the main plot points of the show will play out the same in his last two books, the ending of the show won't be exactly the same as what he's writing.
Now that Game of Thrones has finished and HBO turns its attention to other projects set within the world of Westeros and beyond, Martin has claimed he won't do any work on the upcoming House of the Dragon scripts until he's finished The Winds of Winter. Ultimately, there is plenty of doom and gloom to be shared in the wake of the coronavirus, but at least Martin is trying to find a silver lining in it all and is working hard to finally bring The Winds of Winter to bookshelves.