Fans of novelist George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy series are melting. The Game of Thrones author just released a previously unpublished sample chapter from the upcoming sixth installment, The Winds of Winter, on his Website.

At 6,100 words in length, the excerpt is substantial.

The chronology, as usual, is tricky, Martin said on his LiveJournal page. This chapter will be found eventually at the beginning of 'Winds,' but as you will be able to tell from context, it actually takes place before some of the chapters at the end of

Martin also said another Winds of Winter sample chapter will be included in the paperback edition of A Dance with Dragons, which is due in July. A Dance With Dragons was released in July 2011, 15 years after the first volume -- A Game of Thrones -- came out.

In an interview published in October, Martin said he had written 100 pages of Winds, which will be published by Bantam Books. A release date has not been set for that book or its successor, A Dream of Spring, which Martin plans to be the final installment in the A Song of Ice and Fire series.

In the meantime, Martin fans will bide their time with the second season of HBO's series adaptation A Game of Thrones, which starts in April.

Game of Thrones