On the insistence of Melisandre, played by Carice Van Houten, Stannis, played by Stephen Dillane, sacrificed Shireen, played by Kerry Ingram, to the Red God and she was burned alive in the stakes.
In the fifth book titled “Dance with Dragons,” both Shireen and her father Stannis are still alive. Martin previously confirmed that Shireen will lose her life in “The Winds of Winter,” but it is still not clear if Stannis would also lose his life in the sixth book.
Although Martin has yet to come out with a specific release date for “The Winds of Winter,” sources privy to the author’s timeline for the book are saying that it will definitely come out before the Season 7 premiere of “Game of Thrones” next year.
Critics now believe that it could still take about a year or less from today before the book hits the shelves next year.
Some are actually predicting that the book could be released anytime from December this year to March next year because that would be a smart move for the publisher, economically-speaking.
However, they also believe that the book could already be available to buy on Amazon beginning late this year.
Up until today, nothing official has been said by George Martin about his highly-anticipated book. He just said that the book will be done when it’s done.