Author George R.R. Martin has announced on his official blog that "The Winds of Winter," the sixth book in the 'Song of Ice and Fire" series of which "Game of Thrones" is based on, will not be out and on store shelves before season 6 of the show premieres this April. As a matter of fact, the book may be pushed to 2017.

"Believe me, it gave me no pleasure to type those words," the author explained. "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."

His statements do confirm, however, that he is still busy working on the book and that it may see a release soon. However, fans now speculate that the book won't see a 2016 release given how much content the sixth book will contain and that it may be pushed as far as next year.

A report from The Bit Bag points to a calculation made by The Washington Post back in 2014. This calculation predicted that if George R.R. Martin were to work at the pace he is going at and if "The Winds of Winter" is as lengthy as "A Storm of Swords" or "A Dance with Dragons" then the book will be out by early 2017 but no sooner.

This is because the author is still busy working on other projects and that he himself has proclaimed on several occasions that he is only comfortable writing on his old computer back in his home, which makes it difficult for him to write when on the go.

Even if the book's draft was to be completed by this year there will still be a lengthy period dedicated for editing, and to prepare the book for publication can take an average of three months. It is now safer to say that the book may be out before "Game of Thrones" season 7 premieres next year.