Renowned author George RR Martin confirmed that the sixth book in the 'A Song of Ice and Fire' series to be called 'Winds of Winter' will not make it before the Game of Thrones' sixth season comes out in April. Martin expressed his sincerest apologies through his personal blog.

Unfortunately, despite Martin's efforts to finish the book before the tv series  moves on to its sixth season, he wasn't able to beat his deadline to finish the book. According to Ecumenical News, the next book is predicted to be finished some time in 2017.

Martin explained in his blog that he is the most disappointed on the matter. "You're disappointed, and you're not alone. My editors and publishers are disappointed, HBO is disappointed, my agents and foreign publishers and translators are disappointed... but no one could possibly be more disappointed than me", Martin stated.

Out of the 7 expected books for the series, five has been published in the past. As reported by Cross Map, Martin also previously stated  that he is determined to finish the book and even cancelled conventions and interviews just to give more time in preparing Winds of Winter.

Martin's post about the delay of the book earned mixed reactions from the fans. As reported by iDigital Times, although some of the members of the fandom were angry about the delay, many have expressed their support to Martin stating that creative work usually takes time.

Martin also thanked the fans for understanding the situation, "The outpouring of support in response to my post on THE WINDS OF WINTER has been astonishing.  Thank you all, so very much.... I cannot tell you how much I appreciate all the kind words and good wishes", Martin stated.

Furthermore, Martin also explained that although the next season of Game of Thrones will in some way provide spoilers for the plot of Winds of Winter, he stated that the readers will still have a lot to look forward to in the next book as some characters who died in the series are still alive in the book, while some characters are the other way around.

Martin stated that he will publish the book when he thinks it is ready. Meanwhile, Game of Thrones is expected to air its sixth season beginning April 2016.