George R.R. Martin has been quite loquacious these past few days on his “Not a Blog” personal site, to the point that the media has been taking notice of his remarks. Among them have been his reiteration of his intention (but not his promise) to have the A Song of Ice and Fire series completed in seven books, his struggle to decide whether he’ll be providing a script for season 6 of Game of Thrones (he passed on writing a script for season 5), his thoughts on the “how many seasons” question, and even some passing remarks on a once-proposed feature animated adaptation that he passed on prior to HBO coming into view.
Most recently, however, George’s post on cancelling his attendance to the World Fantasy Convention and San Diego Comic-Con, stating that he simply had too many things to do. It’s worth noting that these weren’t the only events on his schedule (though as he notes, SDCC was never noted as an official appearance), and in particular it seems like he’s still set to appear at conventions and fairs where he’s a Guest of Honor. Still, freeing up some time and space in his schedule sounds like something he feels will be helpful to him given the various tasks he’s dealing with.
But all that said, it’s the last note in his post that has caused wild speculation:
“(Should I complete and deliver WINDS OF WINTER before these cons roll round, I reserve the right to change my mind).”
Canceling an appearance as far into the future as WFC (which takes place in November) suggests that George is being appropriately cautious in estimating how long it may be that he’ll still be working on The Winds of Winter, and his proviso at the end is there to cover all bases on the chance—however remote it may or may not be—that he finishes in advance of it.