George R.R. Martin has a strong message for those who think he won’t finish A Song of Ice and Fire

During his recent trip to Europe, George R.R. Martin sat down for an interview with Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger.

When the question arose of how he feels about people wondering if he will finish A Song of Ice and Fire before his health fails him, he gave a straight forward answer: “I find that question pretty offensive, frankly, when people start speculating about my death and my health. So fuck you to those people.” He accompanied the message with the appropriate hand gesture, and finished off with a laugh. Watch the full video interview below.

He also commented on the often negative reaction when he is seen taking time off from his writing: “I don’t know what I can do about it, you know. I can’t write many more than one word at a time. And I know myself, I’m 65 years old now; I’ve been writing professionally since 1971. I know my working methods. I don’t work when I travel, I don’t work in hotels, I don’t work on airplanes, I don’t work on trains. I work at home, when I have a nice, big uninterrupted block of time in which I can really lose myself in my work. And it’s worked for me for my entire adult life. I’m not going to change it now because some people are too impatient to wait for the next book.”

He does admit that he is slowing down, but offers a few reasons as to why, including the simple fact that he is getting older, and that the success of Game of Thrones has increased his number of obligations. He also discusses the comparisons between himself and Tolkein, why genre doesn’t matter when you enjoy a story, and getting readers to expand their boundaries. He shares his love for The Great Gatsby and Casablanca, and more.

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