Winds Of Winter Release Date:  Fans were hoping that the next installment of the books that HBO's "Game of Thrones" is based on would be finished at some point during this year. Martin's readers thought they'd be able to grab a copy the upcoming sixth book of the epic fantasy series, "A Song of Ice and Fire" before "Game of Thrones" resumes in April.

Martin officially announced that the sixth book in his A Song Of Ice And Fire series, The Winds Of Winter, would not be published before Game Of Thrones Season 6.

"You're disappointed, and you're not alone," Martin wrote on LiveJournal on Jan. 2.

George R.R. Martin announced that the "Winds of Winter" release date wouldn't happen anytime soon. George R. R. Martin is known for his slow working pace. The author admitted that he had missed the October deadline that would have been necessary for the book to hit shelves by March.

"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."

"We continue to tinker with all of the scripts through prep and production," Game of Thrones producer Bryan Cogman revealed in an interview with Observer.

"But they're generally camera-ready when we finish them. They have to be, as we have to have all 10 scripts complete well before shooting starts. We shoot all 10 episodes simultaneously, out of order, like a big, 10-hour movie, with two shooting units going at all times, sometimes in different countries."

There were rumors that Martin may complete the much-anticipated book "Winds of Winter" by Feb. 23, 2016.

Martin said he was surprised that HBO's Game of Thrones series caught up with the novel series.

According to Entertainment Weekly, Martin visited to his alma mater, Northwestern University, to get received an award for being inducted into the Hall of Achievement. Martin told the press he didn't "actually think" the show would catch up with the books.

Martin reminded people that he started the book in 1991which gave him a 17-year head start over "Game of Thrones."

It has been 4 years since Martin delivered the last installment, 'A Dance with Dragons' and Winds of Winter was promised. All Martin has said about the plot is that he prefers bittersweet endings over happy endings.

"We all yearn for happy endings in a sense. Myself, I'm attracted to the bittersweet ending. People ask me how Game of Thrones is gonna end, and I'm not gonna tell them ... but I always say to expect something bittersweet in the end, like [J.R.R. Tolkien]," he said.

Martin did mention that The Wall in "A Song of Fire and Ice" was inspired by Hadrian's Wall of the Roman Empire.

George R.R Martin previously said "Winds of Winter" would be released sometime in early 2016. Martin revealed that the ending of the next "A Song of Ice and Fire" installment will be bittersweet, but he says don't rush him, there is no way he could write it any faster.

"I've been hearing them come up behind me for years, and the question is, How can I make myself write faster? I think, by now, the answer is, I can't," Martin told Northwestern Talk. "I write at the pace I write, and what the show is doing is not going to change what the books are."

"I don't see anyone else ever writing (legally) in that universe," Martin told a fan who asked if other writers could help at a book signing event for "The Expanse," by James S.A. Corey, a pseudonym used by novelists Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck.

Hollywood witch Marie Bargas threw some cards on the Game of Thrones cast and discovered that Sansa Stark is a Queen of Swords. 

"Game of Thrones" Season 6 is slated to return to the airwaves on April 24, 2016.