“I was just hiding it away”: George R.R. Martin Was Forced to Deny the Most Nefarious Allegation for His ‘Game of Thrones’ Book Delays

George R. R. Martin is widely known for his work A Song of Ice and Fire, a series of fantasy novels, which was adapted for HBO’s successful and, to date, popular show Game of Thrones. It was also adapted for the prequel series House of the Dragon, which premiered in 2022 and went on to receive love and appreciation from critics and fans. However, no television series has been able to match the popularity of Game of Thrones, even though the series concluded in 2019.

Martin is regarded as one of the most influential people in the world and, of course, is one of the brilliant writers. He is also considered one of the writers who’d make you love a character and then kill them off only for you to suffer throughout the season. It has been known that Martin admired J. R. R. Tolkien’s work and aspired to write an epic fantasy novel just like The Lord of the Rings, and thus A Song of Ice and Fire happened. In a conversation, Martin quashes one rumor about his writing that he had grown tired of hearing.

George R. R. Martin clarifies one misconception about A Song of Ice and Fire

Author George R. R. Martin is celebrated for his fantasy novel series A Song of Ice and Fire, which is the basis of Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon.

In an interview with Feather Factor, he clarified one misconception about his writing and his novel, which he has grown tired of hearing or reading online. He said,

Here’s a misconception. There are some weird theories out there about my books. The books [A Song of Ice and Fire series] take a lot of time to write, and the last one was seriously late. I’ve read some crazy theories on the internet about the delay.

Martin goes on to call out the fans online who believe that writing is an easy job and mentions that some of those fans believed that he had finished writing the novel four years earlier. He continued that some claimed,

I was just sitting on the finished book to drive the price up. Or that I was just hiding it away. Clearly some people know nothing about publishing.

During the conversation, the author was also asked about one piece of advice that he received: that was to find a job that he loved. He explained that people have to find their happiness in life, and he’s met so many people who do not like their work but are doing it for the sake of money. He added that he understands that money is an essential factor, considering that they want to support their families, but it makes them miserable. 

We work for so much of our lives; we do it for five days a week; we spend the majority of our lives at work. And money aside, you need to do what makes you happy.

Martin also revealed that if he wasn’t writing, he’d probably be teaching, which he did in the ’70s, and he loved doing that. He added he got out of it because it was too satisfying, and he couldn’t write enough at the time. The author said he thought that if he needed to be a writer, he needed to get out of it, and he did.

Game of Thrones originally had a love triangle

In the world of Game of Thrones, literally, anything is possible, but George R. R. Martin’s one-story angle can literally give the fans an ick.

Digital Spy reported that while Martin was pitching A Song of Ice and Fire back in the ‘90s, he had a very different idea of what Westeros was compared to what the audience saw on-screen in Game of Thrones.

In a story by Vanity Fair, the original idea was shared;

Arya will be more forgiving…until she realizes with terror that she has fallen in love with Jon Snow, who is not only her half-brother but a man of the Night’s Watch, sworn to celibacy. Their passion will continue to torment Jon and Arya throughout the trilogy until the secret of Jon’s true parentage is finally revealed in the last book.

George R. R. Martin confirmed that the idea was legitimate. However, the third part of their love triangle involves Tyrion Lannister as exiled; he switches his sides, and to bring his brother down, he would make a common cause with the Starks. During the same time, Tyrion falls in love with Arya, and his passion and love are unreciprocated, which leads to a deadly rivalry between him and Jon Snow.

Tyrion Lannister’s storyline with Arya Stark was transformed into his forced marriage to Sansa Stark, played by Sophie Turner. This love triangle between Jon, Arya, and Tyrion would have given the fans the ick, and they are so glad none of this was approved for the show. Fans loved how much Jon Snow loved his sisters and never failed to appreciate their resilience in going through a lot.

Game of Thrones is available to stream on HBO Max.