As fans patiently wait for the official release date to Georger R.R. Martin's "Winds of Winter" opus, new reports suggest that the schedule is set already.
Accordingly, the novel will most likely hit the shelves before "Game of Thrones" season 6 premiere episode airs on April 3, 2016.
Th 67-year-old novelist admitted to Entertainment Weekly that he is indeed aiming for an earlier release date as he clears up his schedules to have more time on finishing the novel.
"I wish it was out now. Maybe I'm being overly optimistic about how quickly I can finish," he explained. But I canceled two convention appearances, I'm turning down a lot more interviews-anything I can do to clear my decks and get this done."
Alejo Cuervo, editor of Ediciones Gigamesh, added in an interview with to Lossie Tereinos via The Week, that "Winds of Winter" release date is most definitely happening next year.
"The difference between the release dates of the Spanish version and the English version are not expected to be much, as the manuscript will be made available to the Spanish publishers well before the book is out in the market," the article said.
Even joking that the release date will only be delayed "unless a meteor should fall."
"It's planned for next year," Cuervo assured. "They have promised us that they will give us the manuscript before the release date in English, but it won't be a big difference [between the dates]."
In line with the release date news, George R.R. Martin teased that fans should expect shocking twists on the upcoming novel.
"This is going to drive your readers crazy but I love it," he admitted.
"I'm still weighing whether to go that direction or not. It's a great twist. 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. Otherwise, it's just being shocking for being shocking."
Huffington Post added that George R.R. Martin has onced hinted of Jon Snow's fate in "Wind of Winter."
"Oh, you think he's dead, do you?" He answered when asked if Jon Snow is really dead.
Reminding fans that they "should know better than to take anything as gospel."
With no official statement yet, "Winds of Winter" release date is expected to arrive early next year.
