The attentive reader will notice that Chapter 9 was written in January of 2026. What happened since? Did I lose interest in writing? Did something else take priority? I haven’t stopped thinking about the direction for these stories, but I must admit I ran into two problems.

First of all, my cancer treatment is taking up a lot of energy. Chemo and immune therapy are taking their toll, and I have had to prioritize where I spend my (limited) energy. Preparing to move to a new house later this year is one of them … so my favourite activities (painting and writing) have suffered.

Second of all, I had a bit of a writer’s block - lots of narratives to work on, but no clear priority where to start. Until recently.