"Game of Thrones" author George R. R. Martin has delighted fans recently with a sneak peek of his highly anticipated book, "The Winds of Winter" - the sixth volume in his best-selling "A Song of Ice and Fire" series - which he allegedly plans to finish in 2016.
The 66-year-old author posted an excerpt from his upcoming book on his official website, entitled "Alayne." The sample chapter, written from Sansa Stark's point of view, mainly focuses on Sansa's marriage and the character's deceptive ways as she assumes the life of Petyr Baelish's bastard daughter Alayne Stone.
The chapter reveals Sansa and Petyr's plans of marrying Sansa off to Harry the Heir, who doesn't know Sansa's real identity. "Charm him. Entrance him. Bewitch him," Petyr tells Sansa in the sample chapter. However, whether or not Sansa succeeds in her mission remains unclear to fans, according to IB Times. Readers will have to wait until the book is released to find out the outcome of Petyr and Sansa' schemes.
So far, "The Winds of Winter" release date has not been definitely set, although Martin hinted in a recent interview that he wanted to have it published before HBO's "Game of Thrones" Season 6 airs next spring.
"I wish it was out now. Maybe I'm being overly optimistic about how quickly I can finish," the best-selling author told Entertainment Weekly. "But I canceled two convention appearances, I'm turning down a lot more interviews -- anything I can do to clear my decks and get this done."
Martin also revealed he just came up with a shocking twist on a long-time character that he had never thought of before. "This is going to drive your readers crazy," Martin said, "but I love it. I'm still weighing whether to go that direction or not. It's a great twist."
In the same interview, the author revealed he regretted not continuing "Winds of Winter" after completing the previous installment, "A Dance with Dragons," in 2011.
"I was red hot on the book and I put it aside for six months," Martin stated. "I was so into it. I was pushing so hard that I was writing very well. I should have just gone on from there, because I was so into it and it was moving so fast then. But I didn't because I had to switch gears into the editing phase and then the book tour. The iron does cool off, for me especially."
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