Part of Series
The Winds of Winter is the eagerly awaited sixth novel in the epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin. The previous book, A Dance with Dragons, didn’t cover as much story as Martin had planned, leaving out a significant battle sequence and concluding several character arcs with cliffhangers. Martin has promised to tackle these unresolved storylines "very early" in The Winds of Winter. He plans to kick off the novel with two major battles that were being set up: the battle in the ice and the battle at Meereen, also known as the battle of Slaver's Bay, before moving the story forward from there.
Author
George Raymond Richard "R.R." Martin, born on September 20, 1948, in Bayonne, New Jersey, is a distinguished fantasy and science fiction writer. Son to Raymond Collins Martin, a longshoreman, and Margaret Brady Martin, he grew up with two sisters, Darleen Martin Lapinski and Janet Martin Patten. Martin's passion for writing emerged early, selling monster stories to neighborhood kids, which later evolved into a keen interest in comic books during his high school years, where he also started writing fiction for comic fanzines. His first professional story, The Hero, was sold in 1970 at age 21 and published in Galaxy's February 1971 issue. After earning a B.S. and then a M.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University, Martin served as a conscientious objector with VISTA, tied to the Cook County Legal Assistance Foundation from 1972-1974, alongside directing chess tournaments and teaching journalism. His marriage to Gale Burnick in 1975 ended in divorce by 1979 without children. Martin transitioned to full-time writing in 1979, after a stint as writer-in-residence at Clarke College. In Hollywood, Martin contributed to Twilight Zone and Beauty and the Beast on CBS, later producing his own pilot, Doorways. Residing in Santa Fe, New Mexico, he's been actively involved with the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America and the Writers' Guild of America, West.
