"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a cat attempting to provide good guidance to his kitten must end up in the dog house."

I'm absolutely not working on a new story. I have book 3 waiting for me and I WILL get back on track.

That said, I did write about 400 words for a new opening scene. It held me hostage and forced me to write it, I swear.

I figure it will (eventually, after I finish book 3) form a middle section between Expulsion and Slayer of Rats. If it even gets to novelette length, the three combined would be long enough to publish in one volume.

It's not technically a novel, given that there are three separate stories, but they form one continuous narrative so it's not really a collection either.

I'll just have to wait and see ... AFTER book 3 is finished.

On the negative side, I only have the opening scene. I have no clue what the story is going to end up being about. Which makes it a little difficult to plot out.

But, if you look at the situation in a provincial light, it all takes place after book 3, so once I do get it done, it would make an acceptable book 4.