The acclaimed author has inked an overall development deal with the premium cable network. Under a two-year agreement that was first reported on Deadline.com, Martin will develop and produce new shows for HBO. In addition, he’ll continue to serve as co-executive producer on Thrones. Martin also typically writes one Thrones episode per season, including an episode the upcoming third round of the hit fantasy drama which gets underway March 31.

Thrones fans will likely be split on the news. On one hand, Martin — a former TV writer — certainly deserves a network development deal. And the possibility of more genre programming on HBO is a good thing. But any project that takes Martin away from working on the next Thrones thriller tends to irritate fans given the number of years between recent installments of the series (which is a bit unfair — it’s his life, he can spend it how he wants … right?). The most recent novel, Book 5 A Dance With Dragons, was released after a six-year wait. Last year EW talked to Martin about, among other things, the pressure of fan expectations.