Fans of the Game Of Thrones novels are going to be furious, but it looks like George R.R. Martin has found a new thing to distract him from actually writing the final two books: a two-year deal with HBO to develop and produce new series.

He'll still be on as executive producer for the on-going Game Of Thrones adaptations, but these projects will most likely be set outside of Westeros, though details aren't 100% clear on that front just yet.

Of course, this isn't the first toe-dip into the murky waters of TV show production for Martin, with previous credits including writing episodes for The Twilight Zone (and a couple for Game Of Thrones) as well as helming the original Beauty And The Beast series with Ron Perlman.

In other words, if you're dreaming of, um, A Dream Of Spring and The Winds Of Winter appearing in your local Waterstone's any time soon, don't count your baby dragons before they've hatched.

To help ease the pain, have a look at our webchat with Martin here and remember that the third series of Game Of Thrones will hit HBO on March 31.