User blog comment:Werthead/Official: producers will not wait for Martin to finish the books/@comment-80.161.138.217-20130331191514

I think this decision is mostly sad for the fans of the books, in case season 8 is released before A Dream of Spring. Spoilers are going to be omnipresent, and though the series are far, far less detailed than the books, one is going to assume that major plot points are going to be the same. One can only hope that RR will release the next book soon, though knowing his track record it seems unlikely.