Earlier this month, fans of "Game of Thrones" learned that they may have to wait a little longer before season 6 premieres on HBO. As the show usually premieres in late March or early April, the news that the show might debut its sixth season by late April or even early May seemed to frustrate fans of the TV show. But there has been speculation that the new season's delayed premiere may have something to do with the release of George R.R. Martin's sixth book in his "A Song of Ice and Fire" series.

While there are several reasons as to why HBO has decided to push back the premiere of "Game of Thrones," fans of the books think that the network is giving Penguin Random House and Martin a little more time to release "The Winds of Winter" before season 6 premieres.

Fans of the books have been waiting since 2011's "A Dance with Dragons" for the next installment in the series. The author has not said a word about the book's release, but in a post on his blog last month, he revealed that he is still working on the novel.

On Oct. 13, Martin took to his blog, Not a Blog, to announce that Cinemax has optioned the television rights to "The Skin Trade," which he describes as an "offbeat werewolf noir" novella which he wrote in the '80s. While Martin has written some episodes for "Game of Thrones," he revealed that he could not do the same for the upcoming show.

"And no, while I would have loved to write the script and run the show myself myself, that was never really in the cards. I have this book to finish. You know the one," he wrote.

Martin previously expressed his desire to have "The Winds of Winter" published before the new season of "Game of Thrones" starts airing. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, he said that having his new book out before season 6 starts "has been important to me all along."