Game of Thrones George R.R. Martin writer reveals the reasons for delay of The Winds of Winter book

The latest announcement about A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, a prequel set in the Game of Thrones world, and George R.R. Martin's involvement in the series as a writer and an executive producer has brought the writer's critics out of the woodwork, demanding an update on his long-awaited novel, The Winds of Winter.

During his recent appearance at the New York Comic Con, the author addressed the controversy caused by the delay in the publication of The Winds of Winter, which he is "still interested in" and "still working on."

Keep reading to find out what the Game of Thrones writer revealed.

Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin on the delay in The Winds of Winter

A Song of Ice and Fire has been one of the most culturally defining series of this decade, and the fact that it still hasn't been completed and has two more installments left continues to baffle fans of the series. George R.R. Martin has published five books in the series to date.

The first installment, A Game of Thrones, was published in 1996 and was soon followed by A Clash of Kings (1998), A Storm of Swords (2000), A Feast for Crows (2005), and A Dance with Dragons (2011). The Winds of Winter is the sixth book in the series, and it has been 14 years in the making.

In his recent appearance at New York Comic Con, George R.R. Martin addressed the controversy surrounding the delay in The Winds of Winter's publishing. He admitted that even he, as a writer, is bothered by the fact that the novel has taken so long and that he is unhappy about the deadlines that have passed and the contracts that have been breached in these years:

"I know there's all this controversy about Winds of Winter and how late it is, but I've always had trouble with deadlines and I don't feel happy breaching contracts or missing a deadline or anything like that."

He then went on to admit that whenever he announced a new project, which wasn't The Winds of Winter, fans and haters alike would start bombarding him with updates on the novel, questioning why he was working on anything else except it. He explains that the success of the HBO show Game of Thrones has led to networks and studios wanting the rights to his previous works, even ones that weren't successful at the time of their publication:

"Every time that happens, and I announce it on my website, half the internet goes crazy. 'Why the f--- is George R.R. Martin writing this other thing when he should be writing Winds of Winter? What is he doing?' And I want to say, 'I did it in 1993, guys. Come on! It was lying in my drawer, and they wanted it, so I sold it to them!'"

While addressing the controversy, the Game of Thrones writer also added that despite his saying it for a long time, he is still interested in and working on completing The Winds of Winter, despite what the Internet seems to think. He added that, along with one of his projects, A Song of Ice and Fire, there are several other projects that he loves and tries to work on, leading to the controversial delay in the novel:

"Yes, I do love Winds of Winter. I'm still interested in it, I'm still working on it, but honestly, I love these other things, too."

The Game of Thrones author has previously divulged that he was almost "three-quarters" of the way through The Winds of Winter, which is a much bigger and more challenging book for the author compared to the previous works in the series.

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