Just a quick note to clarify what might happen to Polinka next.
Her holiday story was originally intended as an introduction for me to get to know her as she slotted into a larger world that I've been working on and conceptualising for a couple of years or more now. That introduction ballooned a little, mostly because any attempts to hurry things up resulted in the story lacking certain key moments, both plot and personal. Which is how we got where we are, with Polinka going on holiday, having one self-image, becoming oddly closer to her father in an intimate but non-sexual way, and learning she is really not interested in men after all, much to her own surprise.
Her story, going forward, will open up both the larger story in which she is a part, and also her attempts to go 'kiss a girl'. And her music.
For now that 'book 2' remains only a list of plot points and character beats, without a structure or a plan. It will come, but not for a while. I have a lot of other things to work on, tidy up, and some even publish. I have also learned the importance of taking 'down time' from each of the stories I'm working on so I don't feel burned out or 'obligated' towards them. Ultimately, everything I write is, first and foremost, me entertaining myself, and also staving off the moment when I start talking aloud to my characters.
Sorry, Polinka? Staff meeting? The Rowdens are there? And the Walkersons? Okay, be there in a minute...
Clee