George R R Martin
George R.R. Martin, author of the "Song of Ice and Fire" fantasy series that is the basis of the television series "Game of Thrones", gestures during his masterclass at the Neuchatel International Fantastic Film Festival (NIFFF) in Neuchatel July 10, 2014Reuters

"The Winds of Winter," the sixth novel in the fantasy series "A Song of Ice and Fire" by George R. R. Martin, was initially expected to be released before the sixth season of "Games of Thrones" aired in April.

But early in January Martin revealed in a blog post that the book wasn't done and added that he has many more chapters to write. "…the book's not done," Martin wrote. "Nor is it likely to be finished tomorrow, or next week. Yes, there's a lot written. Hundreds of pages. Dozens of chapters…But there's also a lot still left to write. I am months away still... and that's if the writing goes well."

But this hasn't deterred fans from speculating a possible release date. A good number of fans believe that "The Winds of Winter" will be released in late 2016 or early 2017.

According to Martin, the long wait will be worth it, as "The Winds of Winter" is expected to have interesting twists and turns that haven't been explored in HBO's "Game of Thrones."

While Season 6 of "Game of Thrones" may contain certain "The Winds of Winter" spoilers, Martin recently told IGN he has something interesting planned for a character who is dead on the show.

"I have decided to do it. Will you know it? I don't know," Martin told IGN. "It is fairly obvious because it is something that involves a couple of characters, one of which is dead on the show, and not dead in the books."

"So the show can't do it, unfortunately, because they have killed someone I have not killed."

As for what else fans can expect, David J. Peterson, the person responsible for crafting the Dothraki and Valyrian languages, revealed during a Reddit AMA discussion March 1 that Dothraki will be heavily featured in "The Winds of Winter."

Referring to a statement he made in 2013 on how he helped Martin with some language translation for "The Winds of Winter," Peterson wrote: "I think he's annoyed with me for even saying that I translated stuff for him. I wouldn't be totally surprised if he doesn't use it and makes up something totally incongruous to punish me. :("