for missing deadlines or just plain not making deadlines happens to be completed in the same year? Bantam expects both books to sell reasonably well, so it is not a sound financial decision to hold off on a completed book for one that may (but let's be honest here, its Martin so it probably will not) be completed the same year. If the people at Bantam had ANY financial sense, they would pursue a small marketing campaign for Lynch, and use the some of the profit from the sales of his novel towards a future marketing campaign for ADWD. But alas, people just are not intelligent.