YES, I'M STILL WORKING ON IT. HONEST.
Well, 2003 has come to an end... but sad to say, A FEAST FOR CROWS hasn't.
I'm getting closer, though, page by bloody page. Yesterday I finished another chapter, the forty-first (though I do move these chapters around as I write, so it probably won't be the forty-first when FEAST is finally published). It's a Davos chapter, his second in the volume.
I now have 911 manuscript pages in something very close to final draft form. I also have about eight additional chapters in fragmentary form, a couple of them fairly close to completion. But there's more that will be needed after that. I don't believe in saying, "Okay, I've got X number of pages, that's enough, I'll end the book." Each volume is a part of the overall story, but also needs its own beginning, middle, climax, and end to make for a satisfying read. As I have said here before, I am writing as fast as I can, but my first priority is to make the novel as good as it be.
The moment the book is done I will announce it here. The instant. The second. So if you visit this website, and this notice is still in place, it means I'm still writing. Various websites and bookshops have announced various publication dates, but until the book is actually finished and delivered, they are all pure guesswork.
No one really knows when A FEAST FOR CROWS will be finished, or when it will be published. Especially not me. When I do, know, I'll tell you here. For now, though, the only answer must remain, "As soon as possible."
Once again, I'd like to thank all my readers for their patience and support.
--George R.R. Martin, January 4, 2004
