Speaking in a new interview, Martin (whose fifth book in the series entitled A Dance with Dragons will hit stores in July) reaffirmed what he has said a few times in the past -- that he is still hoping to have his series end with the seventh book:
"Yes. Seven kingdoms, seven gods, seven books. Seven seems fitting, but until I get out of book six, I’m not sure. I won’t have a chance to start working on book six until next year."
