All it took was a global pandemic.
If you've been following George RR Martin's laboured journey to complete 'The Winds of Winter', you'll know that it's a long time coming.
In fact, the last novel published in the series that birthed HBO's 'Game of Thrones' came in 2011's 'A Dance With Dragons'. The series, in fact, has ended as we know it but Martin's still ploughing away with his novel - and what's more, he's been making progress following on from the lockdown.
"For those of you who may be concerned for me personally," Martin stated on his blog, "I am aware that I am very much in the most vulnerable population, given my age and physical condition. But I feel fine at the moment, and we are taking all sensible precautions."
"Truth be told, I am spending more time in Westeros than in the real world, writing every day," Martin went on. The author, who is 71, has been frank about how he's blown past deadlines. While no official release date was ever pencilled in for 'The Winds of Winter', tentative release dates were mooted in 2017 and again in 2018.
Not only that, Martin previously said that if he didn't have the novel finished by 2020, he ought to be imprisoned until the book is complete. We're three months into 2020, George RR Martin, so maybe hurry up and get this done before society collapses in on itself.