'The Winds of Winter' release date 2017 rumors: George R.R. Martin's latest update hints that novel is finally nearing?

More than five years since the release of "A Dance with Dragons," it is expected that the sixth novel in George R.R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" fantasy novel series, "The Winds of Winter," will finally arrive in 2017.

While Martin has yet to announce that he has finished writing "The Winds of Winter," several reports have said that the novel is already in the proofreading stage, which means that it could arrive in the first few months of this year. Interestingly, a recent update from the author could provide credence to this latest rumor.

Martin previously mentioned that he will devote the rest of his time to completing the upcoming novel. However, in a post on his LiveJournal blog dated Dec. 26, 2016, Martin revealed that he had a relatively stress-free Christmas.

"I have to admit, Halloween and Thanksgiving are my favorite holidays. Christmas has always been too stressful, at least since I became an adult (a long long time ago). But this year's was relatively mellow. I spent it at home with Parris, friends, and cats, and a good time was had by all," he recounted.

While this update does not necessarily serve as proof that "The Winds of Winter" has been completed, most fans are aware that the author has been under immense levels of stress due to the delay of the new novel. This update just proposes the possibility that the novel's completion could have contributed to a stress-free holiday season.

In other news, a fan recently explained why "The Winds of Winter's" delay makes sense. In a post on Reddit, user AdmiralKird explained in detail that the upcoming novel did not release in 2016 because Martin is writing slowly. Instead, it is because of a massive increase in the scope of the story. The Redditor proposed the possibility that "The Winds of Winter" could be released in two to three volumes.

Interestingly, user BrydenBFish, a touted expert theorist when it comes to all things "A Song of Ice and Fire," saw merit in this particular theory, citing similar instances during previous installments of the fantasy series. If Martin has indeed created more than 1,500 manuscript pages, it will be very difficult to bind them into a single book.

As per usual, fans of both "A Song of Ice and Fire" and its television adaptation "Game of Thrones" will have to wait for official confirmation from Martin and his publishers regarding the release of "The Winds of Winter."