Fans are treated to an excerpt of the highly anticipated novel "Winds of Winter" from author George R.R. Martin himself during the Sasquan science-fiction convention in Spokane, Washington.

Venture Capital Post reports that the "Game of Thrones" creator read a passage of the novel from the point of view of Dornish Princess Arianne Martel. The monarch is the eldest daughter of Prince Doran Martell and the heiress to the kingdom of Dorne. Before Robert's rebellion and the subsequent fall of House Targaryen, Anne was betrothed to Viserys Targaryen.

The excerpt from "Winds of Winter" talks about the princess while she was venturing out of her Sunspear home to find out what became of Prince Rhaegar's son, Aegon Targaryen. Escorted by her cousin Ella and sworn shield Sir Daemon Sand, Anne would sail to the Stormlands to find some answers.

Meanwhile, another interesting detail about the novel was revealed on "Off to Spokane," Martin's Not a Blog post. Franchise Herald reports that when a fan asked him whether Stannis Baratheon, played by Stephen Dillanewas in the television series, was alive or dead, the author replied with a short but succinct "In my books? Alive, beyond a doubt."

As for Jon Snow's (Kit Harington) fate, Martin has remained tight-lipped. He was quick to explain, however, that viewers and readers should separate the book with the series, as these are two different mediums of the same story. What promised in the meantime was that there would be a lot of "great twists" in store for the new novel.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, he said that the new storyline would "drive the readers crazy." He also admitted that he was still thinking whether to go "that" direction or not, whatever that meant.

"It's easy to do things that are shocking or unexpected, but they have to grow out of characters. They have to grow out of situations. But this is something that seems very organic and natural, and I could see how it would happen."

The release date for "Winds of Winter" has not been announced yet, but Martin assured the fans it will be "soon." Meanwhile, season 6 of "Game of Thrones" is expected to air spring of 2016 on HBO.