I started writing the eight Ryta book today. It was just a short scene revealing Ariel's reaction to some big news (if you read Ryta and the Big Bug Horror, you'd know what that was), but the ice has been broken. Work on Ryta number 8 (NUMBER 8???!!!) has officially begun.
Seeing how it takes me about two months to write these, I'm shooting for a late May finish date. I'll keep you posted.