Martin is well-known for being secretive about his work. And as we’ve seen, this can be quite the annoying factor for his fans when combined with his slow working pace. He’s in his right to keep things under wraps until he’s ready to show us something, but on the other hand, keeping his fans in the dark for so long may eventually backfire on his popularity.
If we don’t hear any specific announcements about Martin’s plans for “Winds of Winter” and “A Dream of Spring” by the end of January, it’s probably safe to assume that the rumors were false and that the author is still working on just one book.
If that’s true though, he should do his best to get it finished within the next few months, as the clock is ticking, and he might not always enjoy the huge levels of popularity that he has now.
Martin is still well-liked among his fans, but we’ve seen examples in the past of how this can change. People might eventually find themselves far less supportive if he keeps working without any updates. And this could actually affect the popularity of “Game of Thrones” just as well, even though some fans might not realize that at the moment. With all this in mind, hopefully 2017 will turn out to be a more fruitful year for the author and his fans.