"The Winds of Winter" is George R.R. Martin's sixth book in the successful "A Song of Ice and Fire" series that brought to life the hit HBO drama series "A Game of Thrones." Martin discusses the release of the sixth book as well as giving insights on what the much-awaited book will be based on.

More than five years in waiting, "The Winds of Winter" has been promised by Martin only to fail to meet numerous deadlines. To keep fans interested, Martin releases teaser chapters to the public to give a brief snippet on what to expect once the final print of the book finally becomes available.

According to the author, "winter is the time for things to die." Speaking at Guadalajara International Book fair, he says the sixth book, "The Winds of Winter" will feature grim business, according to Entertainment Weekly. The author stated that there are many dark chapters included in the book.

He told fans not to expect any feel-good events in "The Winds of Winter," adding cryptically some of the characters are in very dark places. He adds though it is a classic structure that things get worse before turning better. This might mean many more of the remaining major characters will face death.

For those hoping for a fairytale ending might do some re-thinking. Based on the pronouncements of Martin, "The Winds of Winter" might not have that element, not just yet. It was previously rumored that the novel might be canceled since Martin lost the manuscript for "The Winds of Winter," others, unperturbed by this unfounded rumor believes the book will come out sometime in 2018.

However, others believe "The Winds of Winter" is already finished or just about to be finished and is rumored to be released by either March or April next year. Briefly, Martin also talked about the series conclusion in a seventh book "A Dream of Spring."

Noting however that “A Dream of Spring” does not have a fairytale ending as well, he adamantly stated that he is not going to tell how he is going to end the book. Though Martin hinted that it would lean more to a bittersweet ending, as it is happy, Time reported.