“Lochlan Museum” is going to be longer than I thought, since it’s on page 346 and has yet to end. It’s close though. On the last chapter… or maybe next to the last.

At the moment, I’m reading it through for the first time. I’ve found all sorts of loose ends that need tied up, convincing me that it’s best to re-read repeatedly, as I write. All the loose ends are tying up as I go, so I’m hopeful I’ll get that finished and get back to page 346, so I can finish writing this book.

The house is an absolute mess. Golden retriever fur is everywhere, it’s like the dog exploded. We no longer walk, we wade. It’s terrible! Fortunately the downstairs is all laminate, and that’s where he usually is. If it was carpet, I’d have to rake before vacuuming. Or else commit vacuumicide by exposing it to all that hair. I really don’t want to kill my vacuum. I’ve lost too many of them to death by dog-hair. Thirty or so years ago, I recall my father saying that I did not want a golden retriever. They shed like crazy. Well… I did want a golden retriever. And, I’m glad we have Indy. But wow. After living with a golden for almost nine years, I completely understand what Dad was saying. When we get another dog, Brad wants another golden. He expresses this, and then there’s silence, save for the chirping of crickets in the background.

I love the dog. But I miss how easy Fox was to groom. He managed to hang on to most of his fur, until I brushed it out. He also groomed himself like a cat. And was only about half the size of Indy, which is amazing to realize. He seemed much bigger.

A few more bits and pieces of inspiration for the next Mystery Lane book are beginning to filter in. It will most likely take place four months after Suspense Street. It’s still 2015 for them, if anyone doesn’t know. 715 Mystery Lane takes place that May, the same May in which Miles and Anika get married. Then Will and Gemma get married, right as Miles and Anika are discovering there’s something not quite right about the nutty professor, and that they can give up on having a normal, ordinary life. But does anyone really have a normal, ordinary life? I’m not certain that actually exists.

So what’s up next? Another Mystery Lane, House of Bannerman, Jack Ryland, Terms of Engagement… or one of many stand-alones that are waiting to be written? I have no idea! Although “Disengaged,” third in the Terms of Engagement series, is on page 116. I left it there, to finish “Lochlan Museum.” And, there it will stay until Lochlan is finished and the house is clean. Speaking of which… it’s time for me to get back to the one, so I can get to the other, and get back to writing one–or more–of the rest.

Happy reading!