Fans of "A Song of Ice and Fire" and "Game of Thrones" have been scratching their heads as they have no clue when the sixth installment of the book series will come out. Everyone's excited for "Winds of Winter," yet author George R.R. Martin has been taking his sweet time to finish it. 

The release date for "Winds of Winter" has been a hot topic since last year, but no one, not even Martin himself, can give an exact date as to when it will be released. In turn, this has led to speculations and theories, one of which came from Master Herald. 

According to the site, the book might hit shelves in 2016. A 2017 release is also possible, but it is unlikely to go beyond that. The theory was based on the writing pace that Martin had in the past books.  According to the site, from the third book "A Storm of Swords," the gap was every five to six years. This book came out in 2000. In 2005, "A Feast for Crows" was released, and then in 2011, "A Dance with Dragons" was published.

Is it a good theory to believe for the waiting fans? Martin has not said a word and won't even drop a hint. All he has said is that he is now focusing on his writing and not letting anything distract him. As for his editor, there's been no comment on the release date yet. 

Nonetheless, Martin did make a public announcement when he was enthralled in the Twitter controversy during the Christmas season last year. Apparently, his followers thought that his countdown was an actual countdown to the release of the book. He later apologized for the confusion and told fans that once he is done writing, he will let everyone know about it. 

Meanwhile, fans can expect "more deaths, more betrayals and more marriages" in "Winds of Winter" as Martin pointed out last year. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, he revealed a couple of storylines that fans will be looking forward to — Tyrion and Daenerys in particular. 

One thing to note in the sixth book is that Tyrion and Daenerys are both coming home, said the author. And since Daenerys accepts her Targaryen roots in this book, could it be that the homecoming will be about fire and blood? This is her house's words after all.