This book was one of the most difficult books I’ve ever written, and I’m beyond happy with how it turned out. It went through so many edits and rewrites, and I had to dig myself out of holes that I unknowingly created in the first book (which I wrote without plans for a second), and I couldn’t rely on a simple “survive” narrative - not when there’s so much more at play now.

Though I’m even more terrified about the reception this one will get than the first, I’m also confident that it’s a better book. I’m a better writer, after all.

I loved being able to explore the wider world of the registration in this book rather than Lynells story alone.

I’m most excited for everyone to meet Sawyer, our second FMC and Lynells biggest enemy- at least on paper.

Sawyer comes from her own powerful family with secrets under every rug and has taken her resources to create and lead the biggest anti-registration rebellion in the country. Six years ago, her transgender wife was Registered and killed as a hate crime and Sawyer has spent that time trying to heal herself while attempting to help heal the entire country. That is, until everything she’s created is at risk when her life is threatened and she’s forced into Lynells dangerous path.

So though this book wasn’t planned and wasn’t easy, it was definitely worth it. We meet so many more characters and dig into the political, legal, & societal aspects of a system like the Registration that I just didn’t have space for in book 1. 

The world is bigger, the characters are smarter, and the stakes are so much higher.