Short version: less frazzled than last week.
Longer version:
The short story for the next Tales Around the Supper Table anthology is done. I’m going to give it another once-over, now that it has “rested,” and send it off to the editor. That collection should be *taps wood* out later this fall.
I got the draft of White Gold and Empire done last weekend. It needs major revision before it goes to the alpha readers, mostly to get the “voice” unified across the book. Keep in mind, I started it in the fall of ’19, then set it aside, so it needs to be smoothed out, and one big plot thread tucked away.
I have the plot for another Merchant book sketched out. I’m going to work on it for NaNoWriMo (November). The tentative title is City, Priest, and Empire, and it is set at the end of the Great Cold. It appears that I can’t really do a good Merchant world book unless I am immersed in Central Europe stuff, either being there or doing a lot of heavy research for something else. *shrug* #WriterWorldProblems
The stories for Familiar Paths are well underway, and I hope to have those done by the end of October, for a December release.
I know how the next Elect story will go, it is a matter of clearing space in my head to work on it, now that the reference book I needed has arrived. The main character is Paulus, and the female lead doesn’t have a name yet. She’s an environmental science major with more Grand Plans than sense, at least until reality, ahem, bites.
Day Job is rather calm for the moment this term, as usually happens. Spring is when things tend to go rodeo.
Cat Rotator's Quarterly 
So Familiars go from M to P, with no stop at Oscar?
That’s N to P. November to Papa. Gotta,tpe phonetically …
No. Familiar Paths is a short story set that is not necessary for the main flow of the series, like Familiar Roads and Familiar Vows were. O.Familiar continues the main “trunk” of the series. It should come out in the spring of 2022, then P. Familiar, and so on.
Good news! And yes, headspace is an ‘issue’ with the muse shoving MOAR stories down one’s throat… Looking forward to the new reads!
until reality, ahem, bites.
Hope he doesn’t bite her too hard. [Crazy Grin]
I am glad to hear that things have smoothed out.
Fall–Plenty of breaks, kids still optimistic (mostly)
Winter–After Christmas, a long slog. Kids settle in, grimly.
Spring–Spring fever, contests, testing… Mass chaos.
That intro gave me visions of a now properly groomed cat, correct tea close to paw, clicking keys. All the wind and rain effects put to rest.
You must have seen my tee-shirt. (Red tabby, reading a fat book and wearing glasses identical to mine.)
Ooooooooooo. Looking forward to those future tales (while appreciating and re-reading the already existing ones)!