It's the tail end of 2016, and fans are still waiting for any update on George R.R. Martin's upcoming novel, "The Winds of Winter." It has been a while since the 68-year-old gave an update on the book, and now, rumors claim that the author might release the sixth novel of his "A Song of Ice and Fire" series next year, specifically, before the season 7 premiere of "Game of Thrones."

Previously, Martin expressed hopes of releasing "The Winds of Winter" before the season 6 premiere of the HBO series, but his self-imposed deadline came and went, and no book was released. As the cast and crew of "Game of Thrones" are currently filming the upcoming season in Spain, there are speculations that the show's delayed premiere might give the author more time to finish his novel.

Earlier this year, HBO confirmed that the show might have a summer 2017 debut to accommodate the season 7 winter storyline.

"Executive producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss felt that the storylines of the next season would be better served by starting production a little later than usual, when the weather is changing," said the network's president of programming, Casey Bloys, in a statement (via TVLine). Bloys added that instead of a typical spring premiere, they are moving the debut to summer to accommodate the shooting schedule.

At the earliest, fans might see new episodes of the TV series in June 2017. If there is any truth to the latest "The Winds of Winter" rumors, this gives Martin at least six more months to finish his book before the show returns. However, these reports should be taken with a grain of salt, as the author has always maintained that he himself will announce when the book is done, with the official announcement expected to be made on his official website, blog, and social media pages.

Stay tuned for more news about "The Winds of Winter."