Despite its television series counterpart already in its upcoming seventh season, "The Winds of Winter" from the "A Song of Ice and Fire" novel series has yet to be released. Fans have been waiting for the book for ages, but it looks like a release may only happen after the season 7 finale of "Game of Thrones."

According to reports, author George R.R. Martin apparently gave an interview while he was making an appearance at the recently concluded Emmy Awards. Martin reportedly commented on the book's release and said:

"I do have thousands of pages of fake history of everything that led up to 'Game of Thrones,' so there's a lot of material there and I'm writing more. At the moment we still have this show to finish and I still have two books to finish so that's all speculation."

Some fans then interpreted his words to mean that "The Winds of Winter" will not be launched until after season 7 of HBO's "Game of Thrones" concludes. There have also been rumors circulating that Martin may have a lot on his plate, which is why he has been unable to finish the upcoming novel. His work on the show is also apparently one of the reasons for the delay of "The Winds of Winter."

Meanwhile, Apple has released "A Game of Thrones: Enhanced Edition," which is a book that contains new content as part of the novel series' 20th anniversary celebration. HarperCollins published the book and subsequently released it on iBooks for $8.99. But perhaps the thing that fans are most looking forward to when they purchase the book is the exclusive excerpt from "The Winds of Winter." 

Thus far, no teasers or sneak peeks have been made for "The Winds of Winter," which is why the excerpt included in the enhanced edition is making headlines. The excerpt, however, was previously made available on the author's website. 

"A Game of Thrones: Enhanced Edition" was released on Sept. 29.