HBO’s Game of Thrones has now come and gone, and while most of the series was universally praised, the final season was a bit polarizing.

Now author George R.R. Martin, who wrote the “A Song of Ice and Fire” book series the show was based on, has shared his thoughts on the show ending. He also touched on whether or not the long-awaited next book in the series, The Winds of Winter, and the book after that, A Dream of Spring, would ultimately lead to the same ending as HBO’s adaptation. You can see what he had to say below.

It’s been nearly two years now since Game of Thrones last left us after the season seven finale “The Dragon and the Wolf,” so to say that fans are excited for its return this Sunday would be a massive understatement. At the same time, the return is bittersweet. The upcoming season eight is also the show’s grand finale, and fans know that in six short weeks it will all be over and they’ll likely be spending the summer bursting into tears at random moments. When they’re at the bank. When they’re trying to pick out the best avocado at the market. When the damn clown is making a balloon poodle at their kid’s birthday party. It’s going to be a mess, and very confusing for those who don’t watch the series.

While most of us don’t want it to end, we all understand that a show can run too long and damage the overall product. Better to tell the story with as little filler episodes added in to stretch the series out as possible. But there is one particularly interesting person who doesn’t think the show should be ending just yet, someone who’s pretty familiar with it: George R.R. Martin.

Earlier this month it was revealed that four different Game of Thrones spinoffs were being developed, with four writers being brought in to work on the potential new series with author George R.R. Martin.

Martin recently wrote a lengthy blog post about the announcement, in which he shared that since the news surfaced, a fifth potential spinoff with a not yet announced mystery writer has also come into play. Martin also revealed two popular inspirations for spinoffs that, as it turns out, are not being developed. And he shared that he’s not a big fan of the “spinoff” description, preferring to call them “successors,” and why he feels that way.

See what he had to say below.

Some type of spinoff to HBO’s Game of Thrones has been expected since we the fans, and especially HBO, realized how big of a hit it was. The world that the “Song of Ice and Fire” series is set in runs so very deep with history, it can be overwhelming to try to take it all in. It would be crazy not to bring some of those other stories to life. There’s a wealth of great tales to be told—especially ones that happened before the events of the show—such as Robert’s Rebellion, the Children of the Forest (seen above), the fall of the city of Valyria, and so many more. That’s why it was no great shock to find out that, after the main series wraps up, a prequel was more likely than a spinoff.

Now comes news even more exciting than just a potential prequel. It’s being reported that not one, but FOUR different potential Game of Thrones spinoffs are now being developed, and four writers have signed on to work on them along with George R.R. Martin.

We’re speeding toward the end of Game of Thrones (*sniffle*), and that’s something we just have to accept (knock it off, you promised yourself you wouldn’t cry). But while the end of the main series begins to come into view, anyone who has been paying attention knows that this is more than likely not the end of our time in Westeros and the surrounding areas.

For a while now we’ve been hearing about the potential for a spinoff series, which would focus on other stories set in other times. Those familiar with author George R.R. Martin‘s “A Song of Ice and Fire” world know there’s an incredible amount of history there, much of which would make for some great TV. HBO’s president of programming Casey Bloys talked about this recently, saying it would more likely be a prequel series than a spinoff. He also revealed that season eight of the current show, the final season, could end up being a little longer than previously believed.

See what he had to say below.