In an interview with Metro, George RR Martin, who is at work on the latest book in the Song of Ice and Fire series, revealed that he does not watch the hit television show Game of Thrones, which is based on his work, because he doesn’t have the time.

“The book series and TV adaptation go their separate ways,” Martin told the website. “On the screen characters are killed right and left. About twenty of them have died already, which are quite alive to me and will appear in a new book.” However, Martin doesn’t have a date yet for the publication of The Winds of Winter.

The 68-year-old author also said that he felt closest to the show’s breakout star Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage), although he also admitted that he was “more like Samwell Tarly”. Tarly (John Bradley-West) is a member of the Night’s Watch and Martin had said he felt a kinship with his creation because he’s “the fat kid who likes to read books and doesn’t like to go up a lot of stairs”.

Martin also said that the original destination series of the destination wasn’t television. Hollywood studios first came knocking after the success of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy.

“They asked me about a possible adaptation,” the bestselling author said. “But at that time it was only about the big screen. It could have been a movie or three.”