After Delaying Next Game of Thrones Book, George RR Martin "Astonished" by Positive Feedback

Author George RR Martin delayed the next installment in his acclaimed and beloved A Song of Ice and Fire series this past weekend. The book, The Winds of Winter, will not be out before the sixth season of HBO's Game of Thrones airs in April. Among other things, this means that TV viewers will be ahead of readers.

While this news didn't sit well with 100 percent of Martin's audience, the 67-year-old says in a new LiveJournal entry that he's been blown away by the rush of well-wishes that have come his way.

"The outpouring of support in response to my post on The Winds of Winter has been astonishing," he wrote. "Thank you all, so very much."

There are currently 1,008 comments on the delay announcement blog post, which originally went up just after midnight on January 2. Martin said there were so many that he couldn't read even half of them when he woke up later that day.

But from what he was able to read, he said he's thankful for all the kind messages that have come through. "I cannot tell you how much I appreciate all the kind words and good wishes," he said, tagging his mood as "rejuvenated."

You can read Martin's original blog post announcing the delay, and the reasons behind it, here.

Once Martin finishes The Winds of Winter, he will write the seventh planned entry, A Dream of Spring.

In other news about the fantasy series, Telltale's video game franchise is unsurprisingly getting a second season, CEO Kevin Bruner confirmed in November. The sixth and final episode in the first season, The Ice Dragon, was released on November 17.