George R.R. Martin doesn’t have time to watch Game of Thrones

Author of epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire George R.R. Martin is not one of the 10-million US viewers who tune in to watch HBO adaptation Game of Thrones each week, he told Metro in an interview.

According to Martin, he simply doesn’t have the time; the 68-year-old is too busy “touring” and working on Winds of Winter, the next novel in the series.

Martin, who wrote two episodes of the show in the early seasons, has since vowed to finish the book before writing (or watching, it seems) another episode of any television series. But not everyone believes his reasons are as diplomatic as he makes them seem.

Last year, Martin was said to “throw shade” in a blog post in which he revealed an excerpt from Winds of Winter.

Since season six, Game of Thrones showrunners have diverged from the source material, and one of the most notable changes was the Dorne storyline, which was eventually discarded.

Still stuck on season two? Even George R.R. Martin doesn’t have time to watch Game of Thrones

So when Martin released the excerpt starring the Martells, many were quick to read it as a sign of defiance on his part. Martin, though, does not take full credit for the show’s massive success.

He says that taking epic fantasy — previously made for a young audience — and making it violent, sexy and complicated earned it its popularity.

The author has not directly commented on his supposed annoyance with the series — instead, he’s been assuring that Winds will be released when it is done (whenever that is) and sharing pictures of himself wearing different hats on Twitter.

Trying out new hats…part three. pic.twitter.com/JGY28jhQMI

— George RR Martin (@GRRMspeaking) August 23, 2017

That’s one way to avoid addressing rumours, then.

Featured image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0, edited)