If you haven't heard, check it out here . Martin has announced when Dance with Dragons will be released!

WELL ITS ABOUT FREAKING TIME!!

I just broke down crying in front of my computer screen.

Oh, and BTW - I'll really, really believe it when I hold the book in my hands. Not a second before.

Yeah, mark me down as skeptical, too. Encouraged, but skeptical. The message starts with "I'm not done" and then goes into "here's the date." It's amazing how many tsunamis, asteroid strikes, etc. there truly seem to be.

I'm with Ratatoskr.

But still, the news makes me mildly optimistic about actually being able to read the book this year.

You all know what? Screw it. I officially retract my statement from five minutes ago. You know, I'm done with being sceptical. I've been sceptical for like five years.

I drank the Kool aid. A whole Maß of it. I am officially psyched now. WOOOOHOOOOO!!!! Yeah Baby! It's coming! IT'S COMING!!!!!! My baby. My precious. On July 12 I'll cradle it in my arms, murmuring to it in soothing tones.

Unless all online vendors break down at the same time and have it delivered four weeks late. Which is OF COURSE what will happen. **** you Amazon! **** you to hell!

Sorry, guys. I'm just not in a stable place right now, emotionally. Don't know if you can tell.

Ratatoskr said:

Better not think about the book after Dance then.

Right. Any word on when that's gonna be out?

Just kidding. JUST KIDDING!

Holy crap Holy crap Holy crap Holy crap Holy crap Holy crap Holy crap Holy crap Holy crap Holy crap Holy crap Holy crap Holy crap Holy crap Holy crap Holy crap Holy crap Holy crap Holy crap Holy crap Holy crap Holy crap Holy crap Holy crap Holy crap Holy crap Holy crap Holy crap Holy crap Holy crap Holy crap Holy crap Holy crap Holy crap Holy crap Holy crap

Everyone is getting awfully excited, but to be clear, the article never once says "2011."

skeletonator said:

Did you click on the link?

I'm so excited that parts of me are exploding.

skeletonator said:

skeletonator said:

**** it, you're one evil little bugger. Nearly gave me a heartattack there. Nice job there, man.

You know what, Ale xxx ? I don't like The Laughing Storm! The artwork is not nice! The cheering guy in the backgroung looks stupid! So there!

Ha. Showed him.

Wow...between the HBO series and this...it might be the 'year of not getting as much done'.

I have to agree though, when it is in my hands I will believe it.

Ok, his site says 2011. The first article I saw was an Entertainment Weekly interview that just said July 12th. You know, the interview also said he's still writing. As in, the book is not done. It's just close enough that they're trusting him to finish it.

He said: "This date is different. This date is real." So even if there will be tsunami, this means he almost finished writing.

My guess is that all the content is there, and he's just in the process of making structural changes and edits. Maybe he's considering moving various chapters around or working out a particular line that he thinks would be cool for Tyrion. OR maybe, he's basically done but doesn't want to pull momentum away from the HBO series?

In any case, he's an experienced writer, and if he says July 12 is *the* date, I'm inclined to believe him.

I'm liking this news and am confident we'll see the book this summer. Can't wait.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

hahahahahahahahaha.

ha.

*gasps for air*

Sorry guys, I expect my laughter to kick back in again on July 13th when no one has a published copy of this book in hand.

So frakken excited!

If the publishers have a firm date for when the book is available that pretty much means he is working on editing the book, finishing up on the last section of a rewrite. The book in its structural form is done and he is putting on the finishing touches. It really would take something life altering and beyond their control for them to miss that date. Notice it says the book will be in stores on that date. That means they've already confirmed shipping and printing. Something that is still in the first draft does not get that.

Kennon said:

That's because everyone will already have read it on the 12th!

While I will admit this is the best we've heard in a long time, I'm not holding my breath. GRRM may be a professional writer, but he's also a professional trickster. A publisher deadline isn't the same as a GRRM deadline (aka never). My expectations are that the book will never come out. If it does -- great. If it doesn't -- there isn't anything else left (for me at least) to lose. But news short of, "It's on the book shelves and doesn't just have the words, 'LOL Fooled You!'." Isn't really news to me at this point.

~Anyone want to start an insurance pool to make a profit off of those asteroids and tsunamis?

Ratatoskr said:

Indeed. I just can't get excited about this at the moment. While this does seem a little more legitimate than all the previous dates I really have no expectations anymore on this.

Maybe on the night of July 11th when I've already called my local bookstore and have confirmation that the book is in the store and they will open at 12AM on July 12th then I can finally celebrate.

For me, I'm going to believe it is going to happen. And it slots in perfectly in my awesome Spring/Summer of fun!

March 10- Leave for Disney World Trip

March 12 - NCAA Tourney Selection show

March 17 - NCAA Tournament starts

March 31 - MLB season starts

April 18 - Game of Thrones on HBO starts

April 28 - NFL draft starts

May 13 - attend first GoT Regional

May 27 - attend second GoT Regional

June 10 - attend third GoT Regional

July 12 - read Dance with Dragons

I'm not sure I'm seeing much room for Dobbler to have some dating disasters...hmmm.

It's about **** TIME!! Very excited and will be very happy when its in my hands.