Writing a second novel is notoriously tricky and I’m very grateful for some wise advice I received just after signing the publishing contract for my debut: write at least a rough draft of the second novel before the first comes out. Partly because, if your debut does well, the pressure increases. But also, no matter how much you try to avoid reviews and reader comments, it’s impossible. It can be easy to obsess over what people love or hate about your first novel, and that makes it harder to focus on what you actually want to write.
Taking this wisdom onboard, I decided to explore a vague idea that I’d pitched to my editor at submission stage in order to hook a two-book deal. One lesson I’ve learned from writing my first two novels is that I’m not great at short stories. Like its predecessor, mybegan life as an assignment for my MA in Creative Writing. A two and a half thousand-word story rooted in the crime genre. My problem is that my writing tends to be character-led but I also love storytelling. I often end up with too much going on for my short stories to be satisfactory.
