To Be An Evil Overlord...
an excerpt

Chapter One

Rule #22: No matter how tempted I am with the prospect of unlimited power, I will not consume any energy field bigger than my head.

Mercury hunched over her makeshift table and tapped the tips of her fingers together. "And then," she said, "we'll connect a trip wire to the door, and when they open it a massive pot of honey will fall on top of them. And as it falls it will trigger the release of the killer wasps. Muah ha ha!" She stared into the distance, eyes glittering.
The ferret in front of her cocked its head.
Mercury jolted out of her reverie. "So, what do you think?"
The ferret stared at her.
"Hello?" She waved her hand in front of its face. "Anyone home?"
Still the ferret stared.
"Fine." Mercury huffed and flopped back against the stone wall. "I don't care what you think anyway."
The ferret continued to stare.
Mercury turned aside and pretended to busy herself with her nails. She glanced at the ferret out of the corner of her eye. It was still staring at her. "Enough!" she exploded. "Have you got a better idea then."
The ferret stared just a moment longer, then shook its head. "No. Not yet."