"A Song of Ice and Fire" readers and "Game of Thrones" viewers are now sharing the same boat. It took five seasons, but everyone is pretty much caught up in the happenings of Westeros. The Jon Snow death scene that shattered minds during the "Game of Thrones" Season 5 finale was something fans were dealing with way back in 2011 with the release of "A Dance with Dragons." With no new episodes left, everyone has gone back to their favorite question; when will George R.R. Martin finish and release "Winds of Winter?"

There are a few stray threads left in "A Dance with Dragons" that will be featured in "Game of Thrones" Season 6. There will be plenty House Greyjoy action -- no word on the other uncles or the return of Yara, but Euron Greyjoy is rumored to be making his debut -- and we know we'll get to see Bran hanging out with the children of the forest and learning how to use his greensight from the Three-eyed raven. The "ASOIAF" series also has several plotlines that have been seemingly dropped from "Game of Thrones" -- Lady Stoneheart, Prince Aegon Targaryen and Arianne Martell to name a few -- or changed completely. All of that makes "Winds of Winter" even more fascinating as fans try to figure out if certain deaths or moments are part of Martin's larger plans for Westeros.

In terms of concrete answers, we know "The Winds of Winter" will include point-of-view chapters from Sansa Stark, Arya Stark, Arianne Martell, Tyrion Lannister, Barristan Selmy and several Greyjoys -- including Aeron, Theon and Victarion. The "Son of Kong" -- as Martin likes to call "Winds" -- could be out before Season 6, which would delight many fans. The Battle of Meereen and updates regarding Stannis' army at the Crofters' Village will definitely be featured in "Winds."

"I wish it was out now. Maybe I’m being overly optimistic about how quickly I can finish. But I canceled two convention appearances, I’m turning down a lot more interviews—anything I can do to clear my decks and get this done," Martin said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly in April.

Most recently, Martin noted that he was still very much working on "The Winds of Winter." In an update on his blog from June 10, Martin said he was currently writing a chapter of the next "ASOIAF" novel, but did not discuss any details about how close he was to finishing the novel.

In an ideal world, Martin would only have to worry about a few appearances each year and dedicating most of his time and energy to "Winds," but the author is incredibly busy. He has three scheduled conferences this summer and five scheduled throughout 2016. His last confirmed 2015 appearance will be at Bubonicon 47 in Albuquerque, New Mexico from Aug. 29 -30, but he will have the rest of the year off.

Martin is also working on several different novels. The "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" short story collection will be released Oct. 6 and Martin is finishing up his edits on the "High Stakes" -- the latest "Wild Card" novel. The author is also busy running the Jean Cocteau Cinema in Santa Fe and he's also working on three films and three series concepts for HBO and Cinemax. One property he's developing for HBO is "Captain Cosmos," which is set in 1949 and follows a young TV writer that develops a science fiction series with "stories no one else will dare to tell." There are plenty of gaps in his calendar that gives us hope that Martin may actually have "The Winds of Winter" out before "Game of Thrones" Season 6.

Let's just hope that "The Winds of Winter" doesn't become so huge that it has to be split into two novels.