Game Of Thrones author George RR Martin has missed the deadline for the sixth novel in the fantasy series that would have allowed The Winds Of Winter to be published before the next season of the HBO TV series begins, the author confirmed on his blog. “The Winds Of Winter is not finished.”

“Believe me, it gave me no pleasure to type those words. You’re disappointed, and you’re not alone, “Martin posted today. “My editors and publishers are disappointed, HBO is disappointed, my agents and foreign publishers and translators are disappointed … but no one could possibly be more disappointed than me. For months now I have wanted nothing so much as to be able to say, “I have completed and delivered The Winds Of Winter on or before the last day of 2015. But the book’s not done.”

Nor will it be done soon. The first deadline for the book to be published in March before the new season of the TV series is scheduled to begin was the end of October.

“Unfortunately, the writing did not go as fast or as well as I would have liked,” Martin says. “Sometimes the writing goes well and sometimes it doesn’t … as spring turned to summer, I was having more bad days than good ones. Around about August, I had to face facts: I was not going to be done by Halloween.”

Then came the reprieve of an end of the year deadline. And now it’s 2016.

“I won’t make excuses. There are no excuses. No one else is to blame. Not my editors and publishers, not HBO … It’s on me. I tried, and I am still trying. I worked on the book a couple of days ago, revising a Theon chapter and adding some new material, and I will writing on it again tomorrow. But no, I can’t tell you when it will be done, or when it will be published. Best guess, based on our previous conversations, is that Bantam (and presumably my British publisher as well) can have the hardcover out within three months of delivery, if their schedules permit. But when delivery will be, I can’t say. I am not going to set another deadline for myself to trip over. The deadlines just stress me out.

“I am going back to my stance from last March, before all this. It will be done when it’s done. And it will be as good as I can possibly make it.”