'Winds of Winter' release date yet to be announced; author George R.R. Martin lost manuscript?

"Winds of Winter," the sixth book in the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series keeps getting delayed. Fans are getting more and more anxious as author George R.R. Martin is still not giving a release date for the novel.

The "Winds of Winter" was supposed to launch before the airing of "Game of Thrones" season 6; instead the launch date has been pushed to 2017. However, as time marches on, rumors about the fate of the book's release are mushrooming. Some reports are assuming that readers have to wait until 2018 to get their hands on a copy of the book.

On Martin's official online journal, he wrote that his schedule and age are the factors keeping him from finishing his writing. He informed his readers that the novel is months away from being finished, with hundreds of pages still to be written. Despite his eagerness to finish the "Winds of Winter" as soon as possible, his busy schedule and age do not permit him to.

As Martin wrote on his LiveJournal, "But no, I can't tell you when it will be done, or when it will be published... But when delivery will be, I can't say. I am not going to set another deadline for myself to trip over. The deadlines just stress me out."

As long as no confirmation is coming from the author on the book's release, the waiting public will thrive on rumors and speculations of their own.

One rumor reported by Aussie Network News is that the author has misplaced the manuscript of "The Winds of Winter" and thus release will be further delayed. This caught fire and is now causing worry among readers about the longer wait they would have to put up with.

Moreover, another rumor is that the writer, burdened by the pressure put on him, refuses to continue the sixth novel and has burned his materials, as reported by GameNGuide. However, Martin never said anything to this effect.