As many fans of HBO’s well-received fantasy series Game of Thrones know, the television show is based on author George R. R. Martin’s popular book series A Song of Ice and Fire. Each season of Game of Thrones has roughly followed one of Martin’s books in the series — though season 4 pulled from books 3, 4, and 5 — so that HBO’s drama would end around season 7 or 8, coinciding with the seven books planned for A Song of Ice and Fire. However, only five of Martin’s books have been finished and published so far.

Martin has taken a break from contributing to Game of Thrones for its fifth season (the author usually pens one episode per season) and is currently working on the sixth installment, “The Winds of Winter”. Earlier this year, he released a chapter from the book, but many fans believe he has more than part of the novel finished.

The Huffington Post is reporting that Martin has shot down a popular fan conspiracy theory. Though many fan theories involve how the characters’ stories will be resolved in the series finale, this conspiracy states the author has completely finished A Song of Ice and Fire and is simply waiting to release the final books. According to Martin, the theory that he is withholding the last two installments in order to increase the series’ value is “crazy.”

Read Martin’s full quote:

“From my point of view, the craziest one is the people who believe that I’ve actually finished all of the books, and I’m just sitting on them for some reason in order to get more money or increase the value, you know, to release them an appropriate point. That’s a pretty crazy one, but there seem to be people who actually believe that.”

Given that Game of Thrones has nearly caught up to Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, many have voiced worries that the show might try to draw out its storylines with more filler episodes, or pass the book series entirely. Though that may seem impossible if the books aren’t already written (lending credence to the fans’ theory), Martin has told Game of Thrones showrunners D.B. Weiss and David Benioff the “broad strokes” of what he plans for the series’ ending.

Martin has been working on A Song of Ice and Fire for over two decades and it can be presumed he has had a big-picture idea of where the series is headed. For a long time, he has left hints and clues for readers (which is how fans came up with the R + L = J theory). However, while Martin may have an idea, a plan, or an outline for the final installments in his series, it’s unlikely he’s hiding completed books from fans.

Additionally, holding back from publishing the final two books makes little sense from the publisher’s standpoint. While Game of Thrones continues to grow in popularity, viewers are more likely to read the books if they are released prior to the show’s seasons with which they coincide, though that is not true of all fans. That being said, speculation surrounding whether or not Martin has finished A Song of Ice and Fire seems moot as the author has gone on record to say he hasn’t.

Game of Thrones returns for season 5 on HBO in spring 2015.