George R.R. Martin Says if He Doesn’t Finish ‘Winds of Winter’ by 2020, He’ll Be Imprisoned

Game of Thronesmay be over but George R.R. Martin still has two books left in theSong of Ice and Fireseries, leaving many fans to wonder if we will ever get the conclusion to the beloved franchise. Martin is currently working on The Winds of Winter, the sixth book in the series, and has said it will be done by August 2020. In order to ensure he is properly motivated to meet that deadline, the 70-year-old author has come up with an extreme punishment if he’s not done in time: a prison sentence.

This strange form of self-motivation began when Air New Zealandreleased a video inviting Martinto finish the book in New Zealand. Martin respectfully declined the offer, saying the beautiful country would “distract” him. Martin followed up by saying that he will be coming to the country in 2020 to serve as Toastmaster for Worldcon’s Hugo Awards, which usually takes place in August, and that if he’s not done with the book by then, he would voluntarily be imprisoned in a small cabin until he finished his book.

“As for finishing my book,” Martinwrote on his website. “I fear that New Zealand would distract me entirely too much. Best leave me here in Westeros for the nonce. But I tell you this — if I don’t haveThe Winds of Winterin hand when I arrive in New Zealand for Worldcon, you have here my formal written permission to imprison me in a small cabin on White Island, overlooking that lake of sulfuric acid, until I’m done. Just so long as the acrid fumes do not screw up my old DOS word processor, I’ll be fine.”

Hopefully, this motivates Martin to getThe Winds of Winterdone, otherwise, he may end up spending his remaining days quarantined halfway across the world.