George RR Martin has teased Game of Thrones fans with an excerpt from the next book in the popular series.
The Winds of Winter - which will be the sixth instalment of his A Song of Ice and Fire series - is expected to be published in the next couple of years.
The author posted the excerpt - titled 'Alayne' - on his official website earlier today (April 2), along with a new illustration by Yulia Nikolaeva.
To mark April Fools' Day on Wednesday, Martin attempted to convince fans that he had decided to put The Winds of Winter on hold indefinitely, and would allow the TV series to wrap up the story instead.
Martin recently withdrew from scriptwriting duties on the sixth season of HBO's Game of Thrones to allow himself more time to focus on finishing the book. He also sat out of the fifth season for similar reasons.
Game of Thrones returns to HBO on April 12 at 9pm ET as part of a global simulcast. Sky Atlantic in the UK will air the episode one day later.
Gallery: Game of Thrones season 5
