For those curious about this sort of thing, the next book has an extended opening reel (stuck in screenplay mode, sorry) but is otherwise still in the research phase.
I’ve got the human characters all figured out. The setting is mapped out in my notebooks. I know the basic set of rules I’m working with… but…
I haven’t quite cracked the baddies yet. I’ve got a couple of directions I’d like to go, a few that would be interesting to me, and I’m not quite there yet.
Plus my mind wants this story to have a Macho Man Elizabeth relationship arc. Don’t ask me why.