George R.R. Martin won’t write any more TV episodes until The Winds of Winter is finished

Things are happening in the world of George R.R. Martin. On top of giving an excellent interview about all things Game of Thrones to TIME, he recently announced that he will serve as an executive producer on HBO’s Who Fears Death, based on Nnedi Okorafor’s novels. However, lest fans be concerned that this would take away from time spent writing A Song of Ice and Fire, Martin clarified on his Not a Blog that he wouldn’t be writing any episodes for the series, nor for any other TV show, most likely.

"Look, I probably won’t be writing episodes of ANY television shows until WINDS OF WINTER is done and delivered, and that goes for the five GAME OF THRONES successor shows as well. Other writers will be scripting those pilots, and the same is true for WHO FEARS DEATH."

Martin previously confirmed his involvement in five Game of Thrones prequel series HBO is developing, but it seems that involvement will stop short of doing any writing, at least until Winds is done. And while there’s probably no need to read too deeply into this, we don’t expect any prequel series to arrive for years — hopefully Winds is finished long before that.

As for prequel series HBO is developing, it’s unclear, but Martin may have provided a cryptic clue via another Not a Blog post. In this short post, he uploaded artwork of the ancient civilization of Valyria, where Daenerys’ ancestors lived before it was consumed by a mysterious cataclysm. There was also some verse: “Alas, alas, that great city Valyria, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.”

Martin could just be posting some art that caught his eye, but it’s more fun to consider this a hint about what HBO is working on.

Also, as long as we’re hanging out on Not a Blog, here are some interesting tidbits Martin dropped in the comments:

• Regarding an unpublished chapter from A Dance With Dragons concerning the Shrouded Lord: “I may publish that chapter one day… but probably not until WINDS and DREAM have both been published. I liked that chapter quite a bit when I finished it, but it was a dead end, taking me down a road I did not care to walk.”
• Regarding the text of Prince Nymor’s Letter to Aegon the Conqueror as referenced in A World of Ice and Fire: “C’mon. Sometimes mysteries are more fun than solutions.”
• Regarding the idea that Hodor was inspired by Lenny from John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath: “Lenny is from OF MICE AND MEN, not THE GRAPES OF WRATH. But I’ve read both. An inspiration? Not consciously. But everything we see, read, and experience is grist for the mill, so down deep, who knows?”

Next: Kit Harington talks Starkbowl and Jon Snow’s parentage

If you’re going to ask Martin a question, best best get your facts straight.