The coronavirus pandemic and its subsequent social distancing restrictions may have caused many to shelve plans, but it has inspired George R R Martin to finally get around to writing the next Game of Thrones book.
"I am spending long hours every day on The Winds of Winter, and making steady progress," the author wrote on Twitter, on Wednesday, June 24.
In his blog, Martin said the enforced isolation was helping him get into the spirit of writing and that he is "making steady progress" with the new fantasy novel, saying he hopes to have it finished by next year.
Fans have been eagerly awaiting the penultimate book in the series for almost a decade. The fifth and most recent volume, A Dance with Dragons, was published in 2011 and took Martin six years to write.
Many fans of the fantasy series – which is set in the Kingdom of Westeros and nearby lands – were dismayed by how the TV adaptation concluded in May 2019. An online petition was even drafted trying to convince HBO to remake the final season, which finally showed the character that claimed the Iron Throne.
Martin has previously said that he believes the last two books of the series – the seventh is said to be called A Dream of Spring – will be well over 3,000 pages and take readers farther north than ever before.
During the 2016 Guadalajara Book Fair, Martin revealed that The Winds of Winter will be a darker and more uncomfortable read than the titles before it.
"I've been telling you for 20 years that winter was coming. Winter is the time when things die, and cold and ice and darkness fill the world, so this is not going to be the happy feel-good that people may be hoping for," he said.
"Some of the characters [are] in very dark places. Things get worse before they get better, so things are getting worse for a lot of people."
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SHOW COURTS ORDER OF PLAY
Wimbledon order of play on Tuesday, July 11
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Centre Court
Adrian Mannarino v Novak Djokovic (2)
Venus Williams (10) v Jelena Ostapenko (13)
Johanna Konta (6) v Simona Halep (2)
Court 1
Garbine Muguruza (14) v
Svetlana Kuznetsova (7)
Magdalena Rybarikova v Coco Vandeweghe (24)
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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Barcelona v Real Madrid, 11pm UAE
Match is on BeIN Sports
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NYBL PROFILE
Company name: Nybl
Date started: November 2018
Founder: Noor Alnahhas, Michael LeTan, Hafsa Yazdni, Sufyaan Abdul Haseeb, Waleed Rifaat, Mohammed Shono
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Software Technology / Artificial Intelligence
Initial investment: $500,000
Funding round: Series B (raising $5m)
Partners/Incubators: Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 4, Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 6, AI Venture Labs Cohort 1, Microsoft Scale-up
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UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
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Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
INFO
Everton 0
Arsenal 0
Man of the Match: Djibril Sidibe (Everton)
Brief scoreline:
Liverpool 5
Keita 1', Mane 23', 66', Salah 45' 1, 83'
Huddersfield 0
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 1 (Gundogan 56')
Shakhtar Donetsk 1 (Solomon 69')
The specs
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- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
