People often ask me how long it takes to write a book, and that’s a fair question. The problem is that, for me, it doesn’t really have a good answer.
My first book, Cheating at Solitaire took about three months start to finish. I’d Tell You I Love You but Then I’d Have to Kill You took about six months. Learning to Play Gin was a nine month process.
So why am I surprised that Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy took over a year?
Why did it take so long? Well, I don’t really know, but I think it has something to do with the fact that Love You Kill You just felt like a really tough act to follow.
And then there’s the fact that I know a lot more about the Gallagher Girls and their world than even they know, so I had to be really careful about what they discover (and when).
And then there’s…well…you guys—the readers—who all write me such amazingly sweet notes telling me how much you enjoyed book one and how much you were looking forward to book two, so I really didn’t want to disappoint you…
And hopefully I didn’t.