Hello all! Here’s a picture of my dog begging my wife for food at lunch time, just because the depth of doggie expression in his eyes is awesome.

Y’know what else is flipping awesome? Reaching goals that you’ve set for yourself.

Sure, I said I’d get the second of the missing chapters done in a couple of days, and it took about a week, but it’s an eleven-thousand word chapter, and the original plan was for only five thousand.

Who’s counting anyway, jeez.

Here’s an (unedited) excerpt of the moments just before things get crazy:

Ten minutes had passed, and preparations for the next race were made.
I saw that Kioni was back on the paddock, ready to ride her Number Four again. Now that the jig was up, she had her hair tied back against her neck like a bundle of snakes.
I found the bookie sitting where I’d left him, amidst a pile of new tape and tickets, worrying his hat around in his hands. His loop of coins was skinnier than the last time I’d seen it.
“Not you…”
“Hello again.”
“We’re finished taking bets.”
The other gamblers expressed outrage at this.
He shouted them down. “The race is about to start!”
“Alright,” I said to him. “I’ll bet everything that number four wins again, but the silver horse crosses the line first.”
His eyes widened, and he mouthed back what I’d said.
I jingled my coins. “You could win it all back…”
The start of the cup race was only seconds away.
He wobbled like a struck ninepin, ignoring the other attempted last-minute bets.
He grabbed my proferred hand. “You’re on.”
The gun fired, and the horses launched out of the gate.
“Wait, what silver horse?”
Ed came rocketing onto the track below from the service entrance, eight shining silver legs driving divots into the vertical turf wall, like a rocket-powered jackhammer.
“That one,” I said, and jumped over the railing.

That’s all for now. Hope you enjoyed!

Best regards,
D.R.Sylvester