"The Winds of Winter" is one of the most anticipated novels which was previously said to be launched next year. However, it looks like avid fans are going to wait much longer since there were new speculations surfacing online regarding its release date.

Latest rumors suggested that the sixth installment of the "A Song of Ice and Fire" book series might get delayed and might come out in the year 2018 which is more or less than two years from now, because of the author George R.R. Martin's busy schedule.

Another speculation says that the novel may be cancelled for the reason that the writer has lost the materials, which is still to be verified.

There were also reports that state, "The Winds of Winter" is a long story and that it would take a long time for someone to finish the said fantasy series.

Martin, however, has once said that there are still "hundreds of pages" to write for the book.

"The book's not done. Nor is it likely to be finished tomorrow, or next week. Yes, there's a lot written. Hundreds of pages. Dozens of chapters," he wrote in his online journal. "But there's also a lot still left to write. I am months away still... and that's if the writing goes well. Chapters still to write, of course... but also rewriting. I always do a lot of rewriting, sometimes just polishing, sometimes pretty major restructures."

Also, George R.R Martin has admitted that his age is one of the reasons of the delay.

"'The Winds of Winter' is not finished," he said. "Unfortunately, the writing did not go as fast or as well as I would have liked."  

"You can blame my age, and maybe that had an impact too...but if truth be told, sometimes the writing goes well and sometimes it doesn't, and that was true for me even when I was in my 20s," he continued.

Though the book is already long overdue, George R.R Martin is yet to give a new statement and clear updates on "The Winds of Winter."