The next book for George R.R. Martin's series "A Song of Ice and Fire" still doesn't have a release date, but it seems that the reason for the delay is becoming clear. After all, at the recently concluded Emmy Awards night, the author teased fans about a "Game of Thrones" prequel. The author was quick to reassure fans that he is still focusing his efforts on the long overdue "The Winds of Winter" book.

According to the Parent Herald, Martin teased about the upcoming prequel book backstage at the Emmys. He even went so far as to say that he has thousands of pages about the events that occurred before the actual first book, "A Game of Thrones," ever happened.

Before fans can get hyped up about it, though, he added that his current projects are still his focus, and that it includes the last season of the "Game of Thrones" television series, as well as the two remaining Books for "A Song of Ice and Fire," which are of course "The Winds of Winter" and "A Dream of Spring."

Other fans anticipating the release of "The Winds of Winter" were alarmed by this announcement  since it might lead to further delays despite the fact that the prequel is all but ready. One reason for this is that Martin just turned 68 years old recently, and the fans fear that his old age might take him before he even gets to finish his books.

However, with the 20th anniversary of his first book celebrated last month, Martin wrote in his blog that he is still in the process of writing "The Winds of Winter" and that he is yet to give any announcements about the current progress of his upcoming novel.

In any case, with no proper release date just yet, fans should just stay patient and wait for more updates.