George R.R. Martin won't get his new book out before Game of Thrones returns

In a move that should surprise no one, A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin missed the Dec. 31 deadline for the sixth novel in his series, he confirmed in a blog post Saturday. That was likely the last chance for Martin to get The Winds of Winter published before April, when HBO premieres its sixth season of Game of Thrones, the TV show based on his fantasy series.

"The book's not done," Martin wrote. "Nor is it likely to be finished tomorrow, or next week. Yes, there's a lot written. Hundreds of pages. Dozens of chapters."

Martin had already blown past the original deadline with his publisher, which was Halloween. He wrote that he hasn't set a new date to shoot for, and that deadlines stress him out.

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"But I won't make excuses. There are no excuses," Martin wrote. "No one else is to blame. Not my editors and publishers, not HBO, not David and Dan. It's on me. I tried, and I am still trying."