It's been a long wait, but there's hope that maybe George R.R. Martin will soon finish Winds Of Winter, the next book in his A Song of Ice and Fire series of novels.

In fact, the good news is that Martin plans on actively working on the book and recently announced cancellations of a few of his upcoming convention appearances to do so.

On his blog, Martin states that he'll be missing both the World Fantasy Convention in Saratoga, as well as San Diego Comic Con.

"Reluctantly, however, I've just had to scratch Saratoga off my list of 2015 appearances," writes Martin. "For no reason having to do with the con itself. I am sure it will be terrific. It's just a matter of time."

Martin points out that he has "too much to do" to attend the con, with the most important thing being something called "Son of Kong," his reference to Winds of Winter.

"Also, I have decided against attending this year's San Diego Comic Con," Martin writes. "Same reason. But since Comic Con was never listed on my Appearances page, scratching it is not as big a deal."

Although San Diego Comic Con wasn't on Martin's official schedule, he often attends the annual event.

However, there's hope, because it seems that Martin is fairly close to finishing that next book.

"Should I complete and deliver Winds of Winter before these cons roll round, I reserve the right to change my mind," he writes.

With San Diego Comic Con in July and the World Fantasy Convention in November, if Martin does finish the new book before either of them, we're still possibly looking at an earlier release date than anticipated, although it's likely we still won't see it this year as originally promised.

Martin has gained a reputation as a slow writer, taking a lot of time between books to develop the world he's painstakingly created in his books. There was nearly a six-year gap between the last two books, A Feast For Crows and A Dance With Dragons.

Martin has also gained a notorious reputation for killing off popular characters, as most often depicted on the HBO television series based on the novels. This has spawned many parodies, including a recent mash-up of Martin and Taylor Swift song called "Blank Page," suggesting that when Martin stares at a blank page while writing, he's actually considering killing off yet another beloved character.

Photo: Edward Langley | Flickr

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