George R.R. Martin Says He Doesn’t Watch ‘Game of Thrones’

This coming Sunday, millions of Americans will tune into HBO to watch the finale of Game of Thrones seventh season. However, series creator George R.R. Martin won’t be among them.

In an interview with Metro, the author of the still unfinished Song of Ice and Fire series – on which Thrones is based – revealed that due to his busy workload and touring schedule, he no longer watches the series. While Martin is still credited as producer and creator on each episode, he hasn’t written for the HBO mega-hit since its fourth season.

In his time away from the show, George R.R. Martin told Metro that the series has diverged considerably from the novels.

“The book series and TV adaptation go their separate ways. On the screen characters are killed right and left. About twenty of them have died already, which are quite alive to me and will appear in a new book,” said Martin.

That “new book,” scheduled to be titled The Winds of Winter, has been in the making for several years with no definite release date in sight, much to the chagrin of the series’ most rabid fans. Of the delay, Martin said, “I did not start to write slower over the years. I was working on the first book for six years and four years on the second one. Fantasists who release their novels every year, do not offer books of large volume. These are not 1.5k pages like mine, but, for example, 500.”

The 68-year-old author added that his age has not sped along the writing process, saying, “In addition, I have not become younger. Age does not add enthusiasm.”

The full interview also contains Martin’s thoughts on why Game of Thrones has become so popular, the political allegories present in both the novels and television series, and how he feels about receiving plot ideas from fans.