'Game of Thrones' creator George R.R. Martin dispels 'Winds of Winter' rumors

July 28 (UPI) -- George R.R. Martin is clearing up rumors concerning the publication of his long-delayed, fantasy novel, The Winds of Winter.

Martin's books are the basis for the blockbuster HBO drama, Game of Thrones, which is currently in its seventh, penultimate season.

"I've seen some truly weird reports about WOW on the internet of late, by 'journalists' who make their stories up out of whole cloth," Martin wrote in a recent blog post. "I don't know which story is more absurd, the one that says the book is finished and I've been sitting on it for some nefarious reason, or the one that says I have no pages. Both 'reports' are equally false and equally moronic. I am still working on it, I am still months away (how many? good question), I still have good days and bad days, and that's all I care to say. Whether Winds or the first volume of Fire and Blood will be the first to hit the bookstores is hard to say at this juncture, but I do think you will have a Westeros book from me in 2018... and who knows, maybe two. A boy can dream..."

Martin's fifth book in the series -- A Dance with Dragons -- was released in 2011.