George R. R. Martin is a busy man, so much in fact, that he’s having trouble getting his next book, "The Winds Of Winter," finished. He recently announced that he’s skipping the World Fantasy Convention and San Diego Comic-Con to focus on getting it done, but now he’s taking another responsibility onto his plate.
He has announced on his Livejournal page (via IGN) that he won’t be writing any episodes of for the sixth season of "Game Of Thrones." "After wrestling with it for a month or so, I’ve decided not to script an episode for season six of ‘Game of Thrones,’ " he said. "Writing a script takes me three weeks, minimum, and longer when it is not a straight adaptation from the novels. And really, it would cost me more time than that, since I have never been good at changing gears from one medium to another and back again. Writing a season six script would cost me a month’s work on ‘Winds,’ and maybe as much as six weeks, and I cannot afford that. With [showrunners] David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, and Bryan Cogman on board, the scriptwriting chores for season six should be well covered. My energies are best devoted to ‘Winds.’ " And yet, Martin can’t help but do things that aren’t writing ‘Winds.’
THR reports that he has set up a new show at HBO titled "Captain Cosmos." Trading the sword for the pen, this series is set in 1949 and centers on a sci-fi writer penning ambitious stories during the golden age of television. Sorta sounds like a subject Martin would be familiar with. Michael Cassutt ("Z Nation") is writing the pilot, and at the moment, ‘Cosmos’ isn’t expect to take up much of Martin’s time.
So, back to "Winds Of Winter." No word yet on when it will be finished, but recently Martin did tease fans with an excerpt. A preview is below, and you can read the whole thing right here. Thoughts? Will this book ever be done? Let us know below.