Kit: Mika, dear, we need to talk.

Mika: Noww?

Kit: Yes, now. Please get off the curtains.

Mika: Fite the curtins!

Kit: No, get down. Down. Come on, honey, if you don't get down I'm going to lift you - okay, thank you. Now Mika, we need to discuss our agreement. You remember our agreement?

Mika: You strokes Mika, Mika purr?

Kit: No, not that one.

Mika: Strokes Mika!

Kit: Okay, honey. But we did have another agreement, remember? It was about mousing?

Mika: Mika purr. What are mowze?

Kit: See, that's the point. We agreed you'd have tenure in this house, full room and board, entertainment, medical expenses paid...

Mika: Mika had sore eye.

Kit: That's right, honey, and I took you to the vet, you remember?

Mika: Nasty mean you put nasty drops in eye! Nasty! Mika trust you and you put mean drops in eye!

Kit: Honey, it made your eye better. Now, you'll agree that we've provided medical care, and food, and played with you?

Mika: Fite your leg! Bite it! Mika strong!

Kit: I'll take that as a yes. Now sweetie, there's a problem with the mice. There are scrabblings in the roof. And droppings in the kitchen. And somehow, despite our agreement, you aren't catching any mice.

Mika: Wuv?

Kit: Yes, we love you very much. But we need to talk about our contract. You did great on the aptitude tests. You've caught every ball we've thrown for you, pounced on all the toys, chased leaves like a proper little mouser. We know you've got it in you.

Mika: Mika can fit whole head under your arm, look!

Kit: Mika baby, are you ever going to catch the mice for us?

Mika: What are mize?

Kit: Are you even listening?

Mika: Mika nice. Wuv.

Kit: Oh ... well, you really are cute...

Mika: Prrr...

I'm spacing out blog posts a bit at the moment, for a number of reasons. First off, I'm tired. I finished my last book in a mad dash a couple of months ago, and have been writing a new one ever since. I'm 65,000 words into it, which is all to the good, but it's all taken it out of me a bit. My brain is a bit slow. As per my usual habit when I'm a bit weary, if anybody has a subject they'd like discussed, all suggestions are welcome, but in the meantime, I'm a bit sleepy.

The other reason is that I'm currently in a holding pattern, waiting for my poor overworked editors to all finish reading Book Two and tell me where we go from here. There's an element of suspense, but being an author with publishers is like being a traditional Mormon wife: there's only one husband/publisher, with a lot of wives/authors to divide the time between, and sometimes you just have to wait your turn.

This, however, might be a kind of encouragement to any brave souls out there who are currently shipping their beloved manuscript from agent to agent, and waiting out the long weeks with no reply. It really isn't personal, or a reflection of your ultimate chances: it can happen to published authors as well.

I shall let you know the news as soon as I'm able as soon as I'm able to. In the meantime, here's one of my better photographs to amuse you, taken in my neighbourhood on a particularly pretty day...