If there’s one job that is fit for the coronavirus pandemic, it’s being the author of Game of Thrones. Confined in a remote location, George R.R. Martin is spending his extra time working on the sixth novel in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, The Winds of Winter.
The 71-year-old mastermind addressed fans via a post on his website, confirming his safety amidst the current crisis.
George R.R. Martin has told fans that he is currently safe amidst the coronavirus pandemic and he’s using the time in isolation to do some writing.
“For those of you who may be concerned for me personally … yes, I am aware that I am very much in the most vulnerable population, given my age and physical condition,” Martin described. “But I feel fine at the moment, and we are taking all sensible precautions.”
“I am off by myself in a remote isolated location, attended by one of my staff, and I’m not going in to town or seeing anyone,” he continued.
The statement also gave promising signs as to the progress of Martin’s next novel: “Truth be told, I am spending more time in Westeros than in the real world, writing every day. Things are pretty grim in the Seven Kingdoms… but maybe not as grim as they may become here.”
It has been nearly a decade since the last instalment in the bestselling fantasy series. The fifth novel, A Dance With Dragons, came out in 2011, around the same time that the franchise’s fanbase monstrously grew as a result of the HBO television adaptation, which ran from 2011 to 2019.
Naturally, fans will be waiting with keen anticipation for the next GOT fix. In the meantime, Martin offered a small piece of advice for those currently in isolation:
“With quarantines, lockdowns, and social isolation on the menu everywhere, and all the usual entertainment venues closing their doors, reading is the best way to pass the empty hours.”
Concluding the statement, Martin expressed his disappointment in the real-life sci-fi we are experiencing. Having grown up reading stories of flying cars and galactic colonisation, he confessed, “I never liked the pandemic stories half so well.”
“Let us hope we all come through this safe and sound. Stay well, my friends. Better to be safe than sorry.”
