George RR Martin battles the bastards over Winds Of Winter

George RR Martin is supposed to be powering through his new Game Of Thrones book but he’s apparently being sidetracked by internet fake news and HBO wanting a new TV series.

GEORGE RR Martin has revealed he’s still struggling with writing Winds Of Winter — as he starts an online war with journalists and also reveals he’s in secret talks with HBO, probably about a new TV series after Game Of Thrones.

Martin recently wrote in his blog, Not A Blog, that his March has been “madness”.

He launched the “Stagecoach Foundation” on March 16, which is dedicated to bringing more film and television production to his home town of Santa Fe.

Since then, he has apparently been engaged in an online war with journalists over the reporting of that event.

George R.R Martin at one of his last book conferences.

“I am no fan of what passes for journalism on the internet but I have to admit I’ve been taken aback by the sheer amount of bullshit that’s been proliferating all over the web about our Stagecoach Foundation initiative ... some of it posted on what I would have previously regarded as reputable news outlets with familiar names, but almost all of it off-base and, well ... wrong,” he wrote.

“Hey, can people please stop making shit up?”

While Martin is obviously proud of the initiative he is supporting, it seems it has been a distraction from what people want him to do, which is finish Winds of Winter.

“So much to do. And the days go by so quickly. I love my work, all my work, all my projects, all my children, but sometimes it seems as if the harder I work, the further behind I get. Maybe things will calm down soon. But I am not holding my breath,” he wrote.

In a reply to a comment on the story he added: “I just need more hours in the day. Oh, and more energy would help too. I do get tired more quickly than I used to ...”

So that’s not good news for A Song Of Ice And Fire fans — but there could be a nugget of good news about a new TV show as Martin talks about “lots of stuff with HBO that I cannot talk about yet”.

Season seven of Game Of Thrones will premiere in mid-July, while season eight has been announced at just six episodes.

Obviously HBO (and millions of fans worldwide) want something GoT-esque to follow, with the Dunk and Egg tales a strong possibility for a new series.

The Hedge Knight, one of the Dunk and Egg tales, could form the basis of a new TV series.

It won’t be his superhero-style series Wild Cards, which is being developed by Universal Studios, so it seems it has to be one of his fantasy tales.

Just as long as HBO gives him enough time to finish ASOIAF ...