As much as we all love Game of Thrones, the Song of Ice and Fire novel series, and George R.R. Martin himself, the next book in the series, The Winds of Winter, has become something of a punchline. It’s been years since A Dance With Dragons was published, and once The Winds of Winter comes out, it will have been the longest gap between any of the books in the series. Every year, fans hope to hear news of the book’s progress, and every year, Martin heads to his blog to deliver the bad news.

Martin did that very thing not too long ago, and despite fans waiting on pins and needles for that book to hit, he seems to be keeping himself very busy. In addition to Game of Thrones, he has another one of his novels, Nightflyers hitting TV, and just last week, we reported on the prequel series he was developing getting a pilot green light over at HBO.

RELATED – HBO Orders Game Of Thrones Prequel Pilot

So is The Winds of Winter a priority anymore? Most definitely, as Martin himself wrote:

“And yes, before you ask, work on WINDS OF WINTER continues, and remains my top priority. It is ridiculous to think otherwise. If I wasn’t busy with WINDS, don’t you think I’d be scripting one or more of these pilots myself? It’s not as if I’ve never written for TV…”

Very true. In previous years, Martin had taken up the practice of writing episodes of Game of Thrones, but as The Winds of Winter has fallen behind, he’s taken a backseat, opting not to script any episodes in the seasons. Given how complex these novels are, it’s a given they’d take a good while to written. Here’s hoping interest stays strong in the franchise once the book does hit shelves.

Are you excited for The Winds of Winter still? Sound off down below!

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SOURCE: George R.R. Martin