Planning for the next story is underway! And it's about...R.O.U.S.es???

Well, *one* R.O.U.S. in particular, whether she wants to be or not. :)

I'm still in the preliminary stages for my next serial (because while I am still resting up from Dogs Chase Squirrels, you never really *stop* writing), which will feature a new character, a new setting, and hopefully a new challenge for me to dive into -- at my own pace.

Admittedly, the idea started with thinking about "Attack of the 50-Foot Woman" (ha ha, real original, I know), but then evolved and became "that, but with a mouse", and then went a step further to "that, with a mouse, and doesn't suck," because let's be honest, as a movie, 50-Foot Woman isn't exactly a high-brow watching experience...nor is it a good movie in general, but I think all of us knew that. :)

Naturally, the theme isn't going to start and end as a carbon-copy of a cult classic, as I want this to be an entertaining read throughout, and with more going for it than "holy crap that's a big mouse woman".  It'll (hopefully) be cute, at times quite sexy, and include just enough dramatic flair to keep you all guessing until the very end.

There are still a lot of questions I'll need to ask myself (story format, setting, what themes I want to explore, and just how big of a rodent are we looking at because it's me we're talking about), but I'm already seeing the pieces fall into place, and I'm excited to get into it.

However, I don't think I'll be approaching this the same way as I did either Monsters Don't Cry and Dogs Chase Squirrels.  I'd like to stick to a regular writing schedule and not just say "I'll post when it's done" because...it'll never get done, heh.  But, trying to get an episode out every week didn't work out as well as I'd hoped, and I'd like to avoid making the same mistake twice.  Instead, I think I'd like to write this in three acts, with the first act being posted once it's completed before the second act starts, and vice-versa for the third act.  This way, everything stays laser-focused, without keeping you waiting weeks between episodes unless it's transitioning into the next act.  Hopefully, this should also keep me from burning out and might even give me room to fit in a few short vignettes from time to time!

For now, I'll be hard at work planning what's to come for our soon-to-be-gigantic rodent lady, and will share my thoughts as we get closer to the first act!

Also, since I don't count news and incremental updates as an actual story post, payments will remain frozen for the month of February, both to give myself time to prepare without a looming deadline, and because...well, you don't pay me to hear me ramble about what's to come, so I won't charge just for that. :)

I'm looking forward to the next few weeks, and I hope all of you will be as well!  Thank you for sticking around as I keep trying to make this little corner of Patreon work out. :)