Finally, the day is here!

It’s my birthday today, but that’s the least of my concerns.

Today is the day BOOK 2 LAUNCHES!

Now, my first published book was a whole six months ago (July 28-29, 2018). So it’s been quite some time bunkering down and absorbing all I can before my second book!

The first (book) pancake

The first book was kind of like the first pancake. Not that it needed to be “thrown out” per se; just that it was the guinea pig.

I’ve grown so much as writer, as a marketing strategist — hell, as a human being! — since.

I didn’t know much at the time. I just knew that I had to PUBLISH THE DAMN THING, so maybe I rushed it a little.

Bear in mind, the draft existed for 15+ years. So the “rush” was really just to “publish” once I’d made up my mind to do it.

And I’m a perfectionist by nature, so even my “rushing it” probably isn’t everyone else’s “rushing it”.

Mind you, Book 1 was edited several times, had a great cover and a good blurb. Which is much more than I can say for many self-published books, so I’m proud I got at least that right (I hope)!

It looked professional, and I got great reviews so far.

Now, I know Book 1 is far from perfect. I love it, and readers did as well, but I personally wish it were significantly shorter — in fact, I managed to dock about 5 pages and re-upload it, post-publication!

But after doing that, I’ve told myself to just leave it alone. It’s out. It’s published. It survived. Move on.

It’ll never be perfect. And there’s no way I can realistically cut 100-200 pages and still tell the same story. There’s also no good point to chop that story in half, and then I’d need to rewrite and “fluff” far too much.

I need to accept that some books fall “outside” of genre norms, and my book just needs to be one of those.

So I’m moving on now, to Darren’s & Luisa’s story.

Books 2 & 3: Moving On

Book 2‘s & Book 3‘s couple is a lot more complicated than Book 1’s.

In Book 1, Kris and Nicole have one major issue in between them: she’s a workaholic, and he picks up the slack far too much with the kids; something’s got to give. With Darren and Luisa, there’s SO much more.

I loved writing their “early” scenes, when they were first falling in love.

I loved writing their “present – bad” scenes, when they’re sniping at each other.

I loved writing their “present – good” scenes, when they’re so tender.

…And that final scene (which bridges Book 2 & 3… OH MY GOD). Wait for it. Just wait for it.

Darren is a VERY difficult guy to love, but still Luisa can’t help herself. She also can’t help herself from feeling caught up in Gianni, who is the guy, as she says, that she “wants to want”.

The thing with Darren is that, as her friend Vicki puts it, early in Book 3:

“Darren Hart isn’t the rainbows and butterflies guy. He’s the one you call when you’re standing over the dead body with the murder weapon in your hand. You’re ridiculously lucky to have that guy. You can’t expect him to be the other kind.”

Even Luisa acknowledges this about him, many times. She’ll get the small-picture stuff from Gianni, but Darren is the big-picture guy. He’s always saving her, rescuing her, taking care of their family in the major ways that count.

That’s love.

When the chips are down, Gianni’s not the one who’s there. It’s Darren. It was always Darren.

You see, love doesn’t always look the way you expect it to look. That’s the lesson Luisa has to learn. And of course, she’s got to learn it the hard way!

So that’s Books 2 & 3 in a nutshell.

Writer Reflection: Gradual Growth

I should mention… Books 2 & 3 are way more emotional, way more steamy, way more provocative, way more profanity-laced, way more EVERYTHING than Book 1! I hope readers are ready!

I’m a little nervous that readers have to wait awhile for the HEA or HFN (Happily Ever After or Happy For Now), and that the semi-cliffhanger may leave them flinging Book 2 (physical copy or their device) at the wall!

But I’ve thought about it long and hard, and I KNOW it’s necessary. Apart from the obvious reason that the length is WAY too long for a single book (seriously — it would only be used as a doorstop!), you also need to take a break from this couple.

There’s a natural “break” between the two books because Darren and Luisa  barely speak to each other for awhile. And a couple of months will be sufficient time to BREATHE before all the Book 3 action kicks off.

Book 3 is SWIFT. I’m warning you.

But anyway, I realise, as I look back at these three books, that I’ve matured as a writer.

Book 1‘s first draft was written when I was in my late teens, on the cusp of adulthood. I knew so little about relationships then! And still, I was writing such a story!

But Book 2 & even more so Book 3… yeah, I was a lot older and more mature by the time those rolled around.

My writing is better. I see myself in these books, more than Book 1.

And I’m ready to rip off the band-aid and expose Book 2 to the world.

It’s happening. It’s today.

It’s out there. It’s published.

I’m a little scared. *Deep breath*… here goes nothing.

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