Fans have been eagerly waiting for the last six years for the sixth installment of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, The Winds of Winter. It seems like the wait is about to end very soon.

As per Time, when a reader complained about the delay in the upcoming novel, Martin responded via his Live Journal post that he is hoping to release the book this year.

"Not done yet, but I've made progress," Martin stated through his Live Journal. "But not as much as I hoped a year ago, when I thought to be done by now. I think it will be out this year. (But hey, I thought the same thing last year)."

The author's green light about the novel may come true this time. Rumors are flying around that The Winds of Winter is completed and currently in its proofreading stage.

The reason of such speculations is a certain post Christmas message by Martin on his official LiveJournal blog. Just a day after Christmas, the author stated that he spend a stress free holiday with his family and loved ones.

Martin has always complained how the sixth installment has particularly kept him so busy that he hardly gets to enjoy holidays and spend time with his family and friends. Fans have started speculating that the reason this year's Christmas was so pressure-free because Martin's upcoming novel might be almost complete.

According to Entertainment Weekly, during a recent Q&A at the Guadalajara International Book Fair, Martin hinted that The Winds of Winter will be quite dark in theme.

Martin announced that during winter things tend to die while the world of Westeros fills with darkness and cold and ice. Therefore if fans are hoping that The Winds of Winter is take them to a happy place or provide them a feel-good feeling, then they will be extremely wrong. Many characters in the book will find themselves in dark places.