'Winds of Winter' may be released in 2017; but don't get your hopes up

George R. R. Martin has confirmed that he is aiming to release “Winds of Winter” in 2017. However, the author cautioned his fans by pointing out that he has missed his self imposed deadlines before, and there is every chance that he will do it again.

Martin had previously hoped to release the book before the premiere episode of “Game of Thrones” season 6. However, the show aired and spoiled many of the major plot points that include Jon Snow and Hodor storylines. In a blog post, the author now says that he thinks the book will be out in 2017.

The book is not complete yet, Martin revealed. But, the author has made progress. He lamented the fact that he has not been able to write as much as he had wanted to, to achieve the goal he set himself last year.

Last year Martin was confident that “Winds of Winter” will be done by this time. This suggests that the author is very close to completion and may be struggling with the final few chapters in the book.

Fans should note that it will take a few months of editing the huge book that Martin has written over the past many years, after it is complete. If the book is too big to be published, then the author has to decide whether he wants to shift a few chapters to the next book, cut some chapters, or publish it in two volumes.

The books in “A Song of Ice and Fire” have been growing in volume with each new release. After writing for nearly six years, Martin may yet again come up with another huge novel for the fans.

While Martin is reasonably confident about “Winds of Winter” releasing this year, he did not commit to an exact release date. It appears as though the HBO TV series will continue to spoil more plot details of the book.