Game of Thrones author George RR Martin has teased fans with the tantalising suggestion that he may not release just one, but TWO new books next year.
Fans of his A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels have been eagerly awaiting the sixth instalment, The Winds of Winter. The last book in the series, A Dance With Dragons, was released in 2011.
Now, the esteemed writer has posted an update on the series, writing on his Livejournal page:"I’ve seen some truly weird reports about [The Winds of Winter] on the internet of late, by 'journalists' who make their stories up out of whole cloth.
"I don’t know which story is more absurd, the one that says the book is finished and I’ve been sitting on it for some nefarious reason, or the one that says I have no pages.
"Both 'reports' are equally false and equally moronic. I am still working on it, I am still months away (how many? good question), I still have good days and bad days, and that’s all I care to say."
The 68-year-old American novelist went on to say that he is working on a two-volume history of Westeros' history under the Targaryen dynasty, which is currently titled Fire and Blood.
"Whether Winds or the first volume of Fire and Blood will be the first to hit the bookstores is hard to say at this juncture, but I do think you will have a Westeros book from me in 2018… and who knows, maybe two.
"A boy can dream," he added.
Martin published the first book in his A Song of Ice and Fire series, A Game of Thrones in 1996. Fans have been waiting for Winds of Winter since 2011.
The novels serve as the basis for HBO's hit fantasy series Game of Thrones. The show, which is currently airing its seventh and penultimate season, has now surpassed the storyline in the books.
