It has now been more than five years since the release of George R.R. Martin's last book in the popular "A Song of Ice and Fire" novel series, and fans are now becoming impatient as there still seems to be no updates regarding the status of the series' sixth installment.

However, some new reports have now suggested that the highly anticipated book — titled "The Winds of Winter" — could be in the proofreading stage and that it might very well be released sometime next year.

Throughout the previous months, fans of the novel series have been quite anxious about the release of "The Winds of Winter" since it has already been delayed a number of times. The best-selling author has given different excuses about the delays, with Martin even admitting that he was a very slow writer and that his age might have something to do with it.

Fans of both the novel series and of its television series adaptation "Game of Thrones" are very concerned about the release of the next book as the show itself has already caught up to the source material it was based on.

According to several reports, it ispossible that the new book itself will be coming out before the release of the seventh season of "Game of Thrones" and that it would contain some plot spoilers for the show.

While none of the reports have been verified yet, fans are still pretty much excited about the notion as it would mean that they will finally know what has happened to their beloved characters. Martin, of course, still has one more book in the pipeline, the seventh and final installment in the novel series titled "A Dream of Spring."

There are rumors that both of the books may already be in the works and that the cause of the delay could have been caused by Martin's decision to write both book's simultaneously. The rumors are also unconfirmed, so it is best to just wait for an official announcement from Martin himself or from his publishers.