George R.R. Martin might be taking forever to finish the highly anticipated sixth book of 'A Song of Ice and Fire,' but that doesn't mean he will be asking for help to get 'The Winds of Winter' done!
The author recently posted about a book signing event for the best-selling series 'The Expanse,' which will be followed up by a viewing of the first two episodes of the show based on the novels. The book series is written by James S.A. Corey, which is actually a pseudonym used by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, who are good friends with George R.R. Martin.
However, it has become clear that the 'Winds of Winter' writer has no intention of doing what his friends do with their books. A follower of his Not A Blog livejournal had asked whether George R.R. Martin would consider letting Daniel and Ty write some stories for 'A Song of Ice and Fire' and he immediately declined. Undeterred, the fan had a follow-up question: "Do you see anyone? Or will ASOIAF books forever remain your work alone?"
George R.R. Martin offered a short but concise response: "I don't see anyone else ever writing (legally) in that universe."
This might sound like a rather selfish move for the 'Winds of Winter' author, since most fans believe that he is already getting old and might not be able to finish the sixth book in time due to his slow pace in writing. However, George R.R. Martin is determined to finish the stories of 'A Song of Ice and Fire' on his own, and he explained his reason in a 2013 interview.
"One thing that history has shown us is eventually these literary rights pass to grandchildren or collateral descendents, or people who didn't actually know the writer and don't care about his wishes," he said. "It's just a cash cow to them."
'The Winds of Winter' is set to be published in April 2016.
