"My UFO needs a tuneup."

UFO, in this case, stands for Unidentified Furry Object, one of which has been occupying my lap for the last half-hour. It isn't exactly unidentified, though, as I have long suspected that cats are in fact alien energy-sapping devices. What we call a purr is simply the motor revving.

Fluffy, the black longhair I had when I was a kid, had the worst-tuned motor I ever encountered in a UFO. He was audible across the room. Sesame isn't quite that badly tuned, but she still makes a considerable amount of noise, as does Poppy when she's in the mood.

In contrast, my sister's Jinx is well tuned but in need of oil, judging by the rusty gate noises he makes on a regular basis. Of course, we suspect that he is half Siamese, which explains both his voice and his temperament. He let a live bird loose in the house the other day…

Enough about cats. You want to hear about my writing. The Highwayman's Apprentice continues to burgeon, being sufficiently absorbing at this point that most of my fan fiction is on temporary hold. If I go back to fanfic anytime soon, it will probably be to finish "He Nearly Killed the Cat."

I know how eagerly everyone is waiting for more Surpassing Danger, but if I'm going to finish THA in time for Christmas, I need to concentrate on it for a while. Also, though I don't confuse my characters, the style of THA is sufficiently different from that of the DV to make switching a little difficult.

Give me a week or two to get well into THA, maybe to the end of the first section of it, which is the only part directly inspired by Storm. The fever may have abated some by then, and I can get back to Dangerverse. We shall see.

Also an interesting discovery—I can listen to music and dictate at the same time. Apparently what's coming over my headphones does not interface with what's going into the microphone. Now I just have to make sure I don't randomly start singing in the middle of my writing…