A ‘stressed’ George R.R. Martin is stepping back from his blog

George R.R. Martin, the author of the fantasy books that form the basis for the HBO show “Game of Thrones,” is taking a break from his blog to concentrate on some projects — including, possibly, the long-awaited sixth novel in his “A Song of Ice and Fire” series.

Martin made the announcement on his blog Monday, writing, “All’s good, boys and girls... lots of exciting things going on. LOTS of exciting things. Maybe too many. I am buried in work, so much that it is starting to overwhelm me. Even with my army of loyal minions.

“So I am going to step back from blogging ... for a while, till I get a few of these monkeys off my back,” he continued. “In the near future, you’ll likely see fewer posts here. And some of those will be by my minions.”

Martin didn’t specify which “exciting things” he’s working on, but “Game of Thrones” fans are likely hoping that “The Winds of Winter,” the next novel in his most famous series, is among them.

His readers have been waiting a long time for the latest installment — the most recent book in the series, “A Dance With Dragons,” was published in 2011. Martin has been reluctant to speculate when the latest novel will be finished. In a blog post in July, the author wrote, “I am still working on it, I am still months away (how many? good question), I still have good days and bad days, and that’s all I care to say.”

Martin is also involved in several television projects. His novella “Nightflyers” is being adapted into a television series on the Syfy network, and he’s also been working with writers on pilot scripts for HBO shows set in the “Game of Thrones” universe.

In his post on Monday, Martin promised he’d return to his blog “eventually. Just don’t know when.”

At the end of the blog post, he wrote, “Current mood: stressed.”