Today I hit a huge milestone!
I finished writing the first draft of Shadows book 2, which is officially titled ‘Lingering Shadows’. It currently stands at 59,321 words. However, I have a strong feeling that the word count will grow during editing.
I began writing book 2 while still working on book 1. I didn’t expect it to become a full-length novel. I mainly wrote it for myself as a fun way to pass the time. This was particularly helpful when I faced writer’s block with book 1. This story focuses on the side characters Rowan and Grant. Regarding their connection to the main characters in the first book, the first book centers on Kai and Liam. Rowan is Liam’s younger brother and Kai’s best friend.
I can’t give an exact timeline until I re-read the entire manuscript, but I can share what I already know. So, the first few chapters of this book actually take place several months before book 1 begins. The book then briefly revisits the events of book 1 before returning to the plot. As of right now, it feels a little disconnected, but I aim to fix it. My challenge was that the events of book 1 needed to happen before I could finish the plot. I didn’t want to just summarize the events. Instead, we get a glimpse into Rowan’s point of view for book one.
There is a significant difference between the two books. The first one was quite focused on the plot, mainly because settings like tents limit what can happen. Additionally, that story in book 1 only covers about a week’s worth of time. In contrast, this book features much more romance and extends over a full year. We see Rowan and Grant’s relationship develop from their first meeting. It has a lot of sex scenes, but it’s balanced out with enough daily interactions that help you see their bond grow stronger over time.
Currently, this book is shorter than the first one. However, I already have notes on several scenes I plan to expand, so I have no doubt the word count will increase. The target is 65k words, which means I need to add about 5,679 words. The story flowed easily when I was writing it the first time, so I hope reaching this goal will be manageable.
And because I couldn’t torture myself enough—I’m joking!—I’m trying to make the book cover myself. I’m not great at drawing, but I find painting a bit easier. So, I plan to paint the book cover. I already have a rough idea of what it will look like. I recently stocked up on art supplies, and hopefully I can create a decent cover within a few weeks.
Depending on how editing and cover design go, I’m aiming to publish Shadows book 2 sometime in April 2026. Keep in mind, this time frame is only a rough estimate.
Overall, I believe these two books have quite different vibes, so I hope that readers who enjoyed book 1 will also like this one. I’m gradually working on the details for Shadows book 3 and plan to delay writing it until I’ve finished editing book 2. I’ve realized it’s difficult for me to switch off my “editing mode” once I enter it. This often causes me to rewrite the same paragraph multiple times. I end up focusing on revision rather than new writing.
Fun fact: It took 4 months and 19 days to finish this first draft. However, around the halfway point, I had to pause writing to concentrate on completing book 1.
