Whenever there's a cute critter, I'm always certain it's going to die. I've been known to check the last chapter to see if the critter's still there. Killing off the hero's beloved pet seems cheap, anymore.

But I loved the villain going "I *like* dogs." Humanity, not so much.

Villains working with a sense of righteous purpose are the most dangerous. Pure evil can be negotiated with.

Critters in books, yes, often -- I am still mad at The Knife of Never Letting Go for that. Completely unnecessary.

In movies? You want to live? Safest place to stand is next to the dog.

You've never watched Games of Thrones, huh?

HMPH

Hee.

I think I've figured out my sacrifice along with most of the plot. I just hope the plot isn't too long to squeeze into a MG wordcount.

Make it a series! Kids LOVE series.

I could do a two book split the way it's structured, but I'd prefer one book. If the wordcount gets too much over 70k, then a-splitting I will go. It should also be open to more books with the ending.

Cog is a five book series. At least one of the books will have sky pirates :).

Sky pirates sounds awesome.

I kicked off starting the novel with a blog post--there's a map and everything. I put the princess last as suggested.

[link]

Now I have to write it.