'Winds of Winter' release date will not be this year; George RR Martin could launch another book instead?

George R.R. Martin, creator of the best-selling "A Song of Ice and Fire" series (adapted as "Game of Thrones" on HBO), has been getting pressure from fans to get the sixth book in the series, "The Winds of Winter," done by the end of the year, but it looks like they'll have to wait longer. Martin will publish a book this year called "High Stakes," and it's the next installment in an anthology superhero series, "Wild Cards."

According to Parent Herald, Martin had wanted to publish "TWOW" before the airing of the sixth season of "Game of Thrones," but the series had already come and gone and the book was nowhere to be seen. The television series had eventually caught up to the books, and has even surpassed the story timeline. Martin has also told the ending of the story to "GoT" showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, just in case the books were not able to keep up with the show.

Martin has also showed some resolve in finishing the sixth book in the "Ice and Fire" series. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, he said, "I canceled two convention appearances, I'm turning down a lot more interviews — anything I can do to clear my decks and get this done."

On his blog, Martin wrote, "I am not writing anything until I deliver WINDS OF WINTER. Teleplays, screenplays, short stories, introductions, forewords, nothing." He also said that he has dropped all of his editing projects except for "Wild Cards."

Some fans have actually speculated that the reason for Martin's delay was because he was writing two books in the series. Other than "The Winds of Winter," it was rumored that he was also writing "A Dream of Spring." That's the supposed reason he was taking so long — he was writing two books simultaneously.

Though "The Winds of Winter" may not come this year, there's still plenty of time for its release next year, before "Game of Thrones" season 7 comes out.