I am now irretrievably committed in the writing process; the 10,000 word mark has been reached.

I'm talking about a sequel to Tiger Lily, which I decided, after a long, hard think about the perils and pitfalls of self-publishing, was the best use of my time despite a desire to write a book closer to my heart (about Nikei in Oregon's Hood River Valley in WW II).

We're in the famous Zen rock garden of Kyoto's Ryoanji, about to confront Ashikaga's drunken sod of a brother after receiving news of Ashikaga's mother's murder from the hands of his father's Noh actor lover-Zeami Motokiyo.

Excitement abounds.