Writing a sequel to the novel!

When I wrote the very first (and very poor) draft of Atlantic Split, I wrote it as a stand-alone book. It was never due to progress, but then back in 2007, I had a dream that changed my plan. The dream was just a small scene that is still in the final version of the book but it was that scene that inspired me to carry on Luke, Steve and James’s story and write the second book.

However, it was the hardest book I’ve ever written and it still remains the bane of my existence. However, the action scenes in that book are some of the best action scenes in The Luke Bright Series and the emotional scenes too are extremely, extremely powerful. I still get emotional reading the ending even now.

However, a HUGE amount of work has gone into this book to get it to where it is today, and even just a couple of months ago, the book still needed that something.

When I was editing Atlantic Split, I made sure that every scene in it was relevant and necessary. There was nothing surplus in that book, everything was there for a reason. With book 2, that wasn’t always the case. I’ll admit, I struggled. But I soon learnt that this was a common issue with writers. Second novel syndrome – SNS is a genuine thing. Trying to get your second book to match or be better than your first. Because you put in so much effort to your first book, you put your whole heart into it, what else can you write to make the next one just as good? How do you get readers to continue to care?

For me, the hardest part was getting the new characters in this book to be just as good as the first set of characters. I had the new characters in mind from the start but the best thing I did a couple of months ago was I changed the dynamics. I made the dynamic between these new characters so significant that you just had to care about them.

Tomorrow, I will be officially doing a social media launch and revamp of my website because I am going to reveal the new cover and the new title of book 2, so stay tuned! There’s still a lot of work to go into the book so release is still a while away, but just be reassured, this trio’s story isn’t over yet, and in book 2, there is a whole new adventure waiting for them. As for Luke Bright? He’s got a brand new life ahead of him and he’s ready for his second chance to begin.