'The Winds of Winter' Release Date: Author George RR Martin Slams Countdown Rumours

Through his blog, author George RR Martin has slammed the rumours about "The Winds of Winter" release date that were doing the rounds for the last few days.

He informed his fans that the next novel from "A Song of Ice and Fire" series wouldn't be released before Christmas as he is still working on it.

On "Not A Blog", Martin explained how the publisher's special promotional programme "Twelve Days of Christmas" on Twitter were mistaken by the fans as the countdown for the release date of his latest book.

Martin stated that he is not active on social networking sites, such as Twitter and Facebook. The accounts are created as "self-defence" to avoid "various spurious pronouncements" made by people on fake accounts.

Meanwhile, Martin assured his followers that after finishing the book, he will share the news with them on the blog without "any clues to decipher, any codes or hidden meanings."

"The announcement will be straightforward and to the point. I won't time it to coincide with Xmas or Valentine's Day or Lincoln's Birthday, the book will not rise from the dead with Jesus on Easter Sunday. When it is done, I will say that's it is done, on whatever day I happen to finish," he added.

As per a recent report by kpopstarz, Martin has a lot of pressure to finish "The Winds of Winter" as early as possible due to the popularity of HBO's "Game of Thrones", which is a drama adaptation of "A Song of Ice and Fire" series.

However, as of now, there is no confirmation on the release date of the novel, but the fans are curiously waiting to read the developments in the storyline of their favourite novel.