Behind the scenes of the difficult second book
and learning to love (writing) again
As spring finally comes around again (thank god), I’ve been reflecting on the last year and all the changes since then.1
This time a year ago, my first book The Great Orchid Heist came out and I took it to Oxford’s Botanic Gardens with my best friend to show it to all the plants. The plants weren’t noticeably interested, but that’s okay. They can’t even read, bless them.
Nature plays a massive role in the book, which as the title subtly hints, is about the heist of a rare orchid. But I’ve realised even more this year that nature plays a huge role in my life all the time, in ways that feel both obvious and also silly.
We’ve all had that sudden ‘wait, remember... joy?’ feeling when we get the sun on our faces for the first time in months. I find it so endearing how humans love to think we’re so advanced but we’re fundamentally animals who like to feel The Warmth from the Big Light in the Sky.
Anyway. Things look very different this year, but it’s still lots of new beginnings. Not least that I have another book coming out next month! Which is strange to remember.
This entire year has been odd for many reasons, but a huge one is that honestly, I struggled to find my feet with Book 2.
It’s not uncommon to find a second book difficult. It’s a stereotype for a reason, y’know? This was actually the fifth book I’ve written, but my first time writing to a contract where I knew I had to finish it because it was going to be published in 2026.
It wasn’t that I doubted I’d finish the book — I’m not someone who can miss a deadline, and I mean that as more of a character flaw than a brag. It was more that I worried I just wouldn’t like it as a book. I couldn’t figure out my way in to caring about it as much as my beloved firstborn.
The Great Orchid Heist was my dream book in so many ways. It featured so many of my favourite things, including:
plants & flowers & nature
love story
joyful fictional botanical setting
highly satisfying heist framework to hang all the dialogue and jokes on (my fav bits always)
Book 2, however, is about a hunt for long-lost medieval treasure in Oxford. And I worried if I’d be able to make it as fun! For readers, but also for me.
Although exciting, it was hard moving the themes indoors to libraries, academia and history. I love all these things too, but most of them are much less familiar.
I also felt huge pressure with the Oxford setting as, despite all the evidence, Oxford IS a real place and I wanted it to feel authentic. Plus coming up with a convincing unsolved medieval treasure hunt??? What was I thinking, honestly.
But as I hate to learn, you unfortunately still have to trust the process even when the process is kicking your arse. I decided to accept that maybe I’d never like my treasure hunt book, and write it anyway. Maybe it was never going to feel like it was good. Maybe having such limited time to write it would mean it wouldn’t have enough time to breathe. Maybe it would use up one of my best ideas on a poorly executed story. Maybe maybe maybe.
Some people find doubts motivate them, but I’m not one of those guys. The doubts weren’t helpful! They made the process less enjoyable. But once I’d done my best to, if not set them aside, at least lock them in a box while I was working and only let them out at nighttime during the prime ruminating hours of 3-5am, the writing part was still fun.
I remembered that solving plot problems and character arcs and creating a new world to play around in is kind of the entire point. It takes me a long time to warm up to new characters too. I start off like, who the hell ARE these guys? I don’t know them. I don’t care about them! But just like making friends in real life, you can’t rush that period of getting to know new people deeply, and learning to love them.
Now, a month from publication, I’m so proud of Book 2. The only useful secret to writing I’ve ever encountered is not giving up. Write a crushingly bad first draft, get upset, and then make it better. And also, secret no. 2 — don’t be afraid to prioritise what’s important to you. For me, that’s cramming in as much fun as possible. Truly, readers can tell when you’re having fun, and then they will as well.
I eventually found my way with one of the book’s biggest challenges too, which was of course, creating the medieval treasure hunt. My editor asked at one point if any parts of it were real! Big compliment!!! But no I made it up. That’s fiction, baby.
And funnily enough, I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say I managed to return to my botanical roots (sorry) with Book 2 as well. You can take the writer out of the botanic gardens, but you can’t take... the botanics... out of the writer? or something
My difficult but now also much beloved second child Ex Marks The Spot is out on 7th May! You can pre-order it now, or even better, ask your library to order a copy.
The Great Orchid Heist is 99p on Kindle this month so if you’ve been waiting for the opportunity to read it, now’s your chance. Or of course the much nicer paperback option is also available.
Always worth noting by the way that January can do one — spring is the best possible time of year for a reset and fresh start.