‘Winds of Winter’ Release Date: What is Holding up George R.R. Martin’s Sixth Book?

George R.R. Martin has stayed mum about his highly anticipated book, "Winds of Winter," over these past few weeks. With no updates to go on, fans are worried that Martin might not complete the book before season six of "Games of Thrones" premieres next year. The HBO TV series is based from Martin's book series, "A Song of Ice and Fire."

Despite the lack of news, fans can expect the sixth book to be quite different from the TV series, which has strayed from the story's plotlines numerous times already throughout the first five seasons.

First off, fans found out that Stannis Baratheon is "alive beyond a doubt." Baratheon is presumably dead in "Games of Thrones." Second, Martin revealed the possibility that the show will end before his seventh and last book of the series. If that is the case, the endings will most likely be very different. Third, Martin stated that his ending will be "bittersweet."

"Anything is possible. The show is moving forward like a locomotive, or sometimes a jet locomotive. They're writing 60-page scripts, I'm writing 1,500-page novels. So who the hell knows?" Martin said. "There was a period where I was worried about that," Martin said. "Then I said, to hell with that. Worrying about it isn't going to change it one way or another. I still sit down at the typewriter, and I have to write the next scene and the next sentence...I'm just going to tell my story, and they're telling their story and adapting my books, and we shall see. "

He added, "I haven't written the ending yet, so I don't know, but no. That's certainly not my intent. I've said before that the tone of the ending that I'm going for is bittersweet. I mean, it's no secret that Tolkien has been a huge influence on me, and I love the way he ended 'Lord of the Rings.' It ends with victory, but it's a bittersweet victory."

In the meantime, while Martin continues to work on "Winds of Winter," "Games of Thrones" has been busy adding new cast members. Some of the new actors that will be in season six include Richard E. Grant and Freddie Stroma.

There is no premiere date for season six of "Games of Thrones." The season is expected to start sometime in April.