George R.R. Martin gives a rare update to his blog

You've got to feel for George R.R. Martin at times. He turns 78 this year, and at that age most men have retired and are spending their days chilling out and booking cruises. He's got to sit at a desk and type away at his sprawling fantasy world, though, because people can't stop pestering him about one of the biggest book series of our age.

For the first time in months, Martin himself typed up a post on his Not a Blog site, where he didn't address where he was up to with A Dream of Spring, Winds of Winter, or any ASOIAF works. He didn't lump praise on A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, nor did he critique the latest season of House of the Dragon. Instead, Martin gave us quite a poignant post with a lot of perspective.

"It's been a while, I know. My last blog post went up here on February 19. The posts that came after were made by my mighty minions. I am lucky enough to have a great staff of assistants... though even with their help, I kept falling further and further behind," Martin wrote.

"This year has been... stressful, to say the least. So much has been happening, it's been overwhelming. Some great things, exciting things. Dreams coming true. But there have been nightmares too. I have lost friends. Battled sadness and depression. The worst may be yet to come. I turned seventy-seven last September, and I tell you, getting old is no fun. But there have been amazing times as well. I suppose that's just life. Of course, I knew that. If you've read my stories, you know that. So much to post about... I will try and catch up some... and my minions will help... but my posts are likely to short and rushed."

Martin did conclude with a nod to A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms picking up nine Emmy nominations, saying he'll do his utmost to be at the awards ceremony to cheer on the folks who worked on the show. Other than that, from his words, it seems George has bigger fish to fry than Winds right now.