During the pandemic, George RR Martin has been squirrelled away in a secluded mountain cabin to finish writing The Winds of Winter. The A Song of Ice and Fire book has been a long time coming but his latest blog post has given fans much hope that the 71-year-old is nearing completion. In his latest update, Martin wrote: “I am still up in the mountains, doing the social distancing rag, and writing WINDS OF WINTER.”

Martin reassured fans: “ I have good days and bad days, but I am making progress.

“The only thing I am writing myself is THE WINDS OF WINTER, as I have said many times…”

ASOIAF expert BryndenBFish commented: “Another WINDS update from GRRM!

“Also, that goddamn Greyjoy sigil (remember that from Alas, Valyria? Drove you all, not me, crazy).”

READ MORE: Winds of Winter update: Has George RR Martin FINISHED book? 

If anything, BryndenBFish has previously predicted that The Winds of Winter will indeed publish in 2020.

Earlier this month he tweeted: “Getting close to gettin’ done.

“Lotta people elsewhere yelling that GRRM is pRoCraStiNAtinG again.

“Call me an optimist, but I like to think he’s polishing WINDS to an even better sheen than DANCE.”

While in December last year, the insider wrote: “I think 2020 will be the year TWOW gets published.

“I have faith in my sources.”

While also revealing: “I’ve heard a few [release] dates tossed around by industry people.

“The most compelling, believable one has it that GRRM currently has [redacted] with an expected publication date of [redacted].”