So GaymerFIN was awesome enough to just straight up drew me this cute as heck pic of Spyro and Flame, inspired by my ongoing (soon to be finished, I promise!!) Spyro fic.

He actually sent me this ages ago, but I'm only now getting around to sharing it with y'all. Huge thanks, mate, I love it! You should really go check out his art on Weasyl, the guy is amazing!

[b]And a little status update on Spyro's Old Flame...[/b]

So, on the subject of Spyro's Old Flame, I really feel like I owe you guys a status update, and perhaps an explanation. I said I'd have the next chapter done in a couple of weeks, and it's been months!

I've been getting messages from readers, wondering (understandably) if I intend to finish the series at all or if I've just lost interest.

So I guess I just want everyone to know that I'm totally, definitely, absolutely going to finish it, and hopefully soon too! I never intended to take a break, it just sort of happened. But somehow, actually sitting down and getting some writing done has been exceptionally hard for me. Work has conspired with a sudden onslaught of anxiety and depression to keep me from making any meaningful progress.

I know I'm hardly alone to be struggling with mental health issues in these times, but it just so happened that this is all new to me. I don't know what caused it, maybe the isolation, and it doesn't really matter in the end, but I've had to figure out how to cope with it.

The point is that I've realized that just lazing about all day isn't going to make me feel better. But being productive [i]is[/i] - and part of it is finishing my year-long Spyro x Flame love story. I've been letting this story become yet another source of anxiety in my life, and I should have never allowed that to happen.

I know it's just a fic in my end, but I feel like I owe it to the characters, and you most of all, to finish it.

So the good news is that I'm writing again, that I almost have a finished draft to send out to my very patient beta readers, and that I'm feeling much better. It's far from done, there are a couple of scenes I'm not quite happy with yet and I'm not gonna post anything I'm not happy with just to get something out there. Endings are hard after all. But at least it's coming soon.

So. [b]TLDR[/b]: Been dealing with mental health stuff, like everyone else I guess, but I'm back to writing now, and I'm feeling better.

I wanna thank you all for your patience. For your comments, for reaching out and checking in on me and letting me know that there are people out there who miss Spyro and Flame just as much as I miss writing about them. You guys mean the world to me!

PS: Oh by the way, while chapter 12 might be the last chapter in the main Spyro's Old Flame series, it's definitely not the last you'll be seeing of these two dorks. I have more stories I want to tell about Spyro and Flame, and Cynder, Ashes and Ember too, that'll take place in the Forgotten Realms after the main series.

PSS: And since some of you have been asking, yes some of those ideas might include some more, ehm, intimate (read NFWS) scenes featuring our main couple. I'll keep these separate from the main storyline so people who just aren't into that stuff don't have to read it though!