'Game of Thrones' Spoilers: George R.R. Martin Releases Sansa Stark Excerpt From Book 6, 'Winds Of Winter'

George R.R. Martin came under fire last week when news broke that the “Game of Thrones” TV show would outpace his books. Now, in an effort to not lose fan’s approval, the author has hit the throttle on getting the sixth book finished.

To prove that he’s not just sitting around thinking about other things, Martin posted an excerpt from the upcoming book “The Winds of Winter” on his website. The chapter focuses on Sansa Stark, whom book readers will note has not had a point-of-view chapter to herself since “A Feast For Crows” came out in 2005.

The excerpt [VERY MINOR SPOILER ALERT] finds Sansa (Sophie Turner) in a similar position to where her character is in the show. She’s hiding out in the Vale with Lord Petyr Baelish (Aidan Gillen). Because she is in hiding, she is referred to in the book as Alayne Stone, the bastard daughter to Baelish. Only a handful of people at the Vale know her true identity as a Stark. This is for her own protection as the Starks are being hunted by the Lannisters and their allies. Oh, and there was that nasty business with King Joffrey that she fled from.

In the chapter, the reader gets a first-hand idea of how much the character has grown and how she’s handling the politics of living in the Vale. Turns out, she’s doing quite well. Over the years, she’s learned to play the people around her like a fiddle. She’s delicately diffusing tense situations, such as advances from Lord Robert Arryn (Lino Facioli) to marry him. She even flirts with some boys… Or “manly knights,” depending on your point of view.

This isn’t the first time that the author has posted an excerpt from the book online. In May 2014 he posted a chapter titled “Mercy” from Book 6 as well, according to The Wall Street Journal. Although it’s unclear when exactly this scene was written, it is encouraging evidence that the 66-year-old author is hunting and pecking his way through the next book at less of a glacial pace. He even canceled several public appearances, including San Diego Comic-Con, in order to focus on getting the sixth book out. Unfortunately, his publisher revealed recently that there are no plans to release “The Winds of Winter” any time this year, according to Entertainment Weekly.

Whether he’s writing or not, Martin will be having a big month as April 12 will see the premiere of Season 5 of “Game of Thrones” on HBO. Luckily for fans, that date is set in stone, while you wait for the premiere and the release of Book 6, you can check out Martin’s excerpt here.