There have been speculations that "The Winds of Winter" will be released by 2017 because it is already being proofread. Meanwhile, author George R.R. Martin reveals that he will kill off main characters if it is crucial to the story.

George R.R. Martin's best-selling novel series "A Song of Ice and Fire" (ASOIAF) have captured many fans, especially when the series adaptation "Game of Thrones" was released by HBO.

The release of the upcoming sixth novel of "A Song of Ice and Fire" — titled "Winds of Winter" — is much awaited and a lot of speculations have been circling as to when it will debut.

According to Australia Network News, "The Winds of Winter" is already in the proofreading stage and is expected to debut before the end of 2017. Other speculations point out that the sixth installment of the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series will be pushed to 2018 since Martin is planning to release it alongside the seventh book, titled "A Dream of Spring." However, there has been no confirmation about when Martin will be releasing "Winds of Winter," or "A Dream of Spring."

One of the significant elements in Martin's novels is the way a character that has become very significant to the story and to the audience is tragically killed. Similar to the "Game of Thrones" series, like when Robb Stark (Richard Madden) and Catelyn Stark (Michelle Fairley) were ambushed at a wedding.

According to Martin, a story where only the extras die is a cheat.

"It doesn't happen that way. They go into battle and their best friend dies or they get horribly wounded. They lose their leg or death comes at them unexpectedly," Martin said in an interview with Galaxy's Edge, as reported by The Guardian.

"You don't get to live forever just because you are a cute kid or the hero's best friend or the hero. Sometimes the hero dies, at least in my books," added Martin.

"The Winds of Winter" is expected to be released by the end of 2017.