'Winds Of Winter' Release Date Likely By First Quarter Of 2016? Author George R.R. Martin Thrilled With 'Game Of Thrones' 24 Emmy Nominations

George R.R. Martin has been coy about the "Winds of Winter" release date but judging from his previous book releases, a website has speculated that the pre-order of the author's latest opus would likely come around the holidays this year.

The author has told Entertainment Weekly that he wants to announce the "Winds of Winter" release date before "Game of Thrones" season 6.

"I wish it was out now. Maybe I'm being overly optimistic about how quickly I can finish. But I canceled two convention appearances, I'm turning down a lot more interviews-anything I can do to clear my decks and get this done," he said.

Based on this statement, iDigital Times said that "Game of Thrones" season 6 will air in April 2016.

"If Game of Thrones Season 6 starts in April, then Winds of Winter should be coming out in March at the latest," it said. "If we are expecting to see a release in March, then we can expect to hear an announcement from Martin about the completion of the book around December of this year, four months before the possible release date."

Meanwhile, amid all the hype regarding the release date of "Winds of Winter," George R. R. Martin expressed his elation over the 24 Emmy nominations received by "Game of Thrones," the HBO series based on his "A Song of Fire and Ice" novels.

"The 24 nominations garnered by GAME OF THRONES is not only the highest number of any show this year, but among the highest ever received by a single series for a single season in the entire history of television. (For numbers geeks, the record remains 27, garnered by NYPD BLUE in 1994)," he wrote.

George R. R. Martin continued, "Before we do too many cartwheels, it would be wise to remember that GAME OF THRONES also led the Emmy nominations last year, with 19 nods, only to get skunked on the night of the televised awards."

The author, however, did not touch the "Winds of Winter" release date on his latest blog post.