Once I’d gone through the process of releasing my first YA novel The Madrona Heroes Register: Echoes of the Past (or fourth given that I did Star Wars numbering), writing the sequel was much much easier. I had a process. I had tools. I had the confidence to know I could do it. And I was so incredibly proud of the first one that I couldn’t wait to do the sequel.
The Madrona Heroes Register: Underneath It All was even longer than the first book. It introduced all sorts of new characters and focused on a new lead character. Here’s the logline: A year has passed since the Jordan kids developed super powers and their parents split up. Thirteen-year-old Zach, the oldest, has been doing his best to juggle the pressure of keeping their powers secret, and dealing with his new family structure. If there’s one thing the previous year taught Zach, it’s that keeping his feelings inside is the best course of action. But when Zach runs into Zoe, a new girl in the neighborhood, things get even more complicated. Zoe seems to have a super power and is very concerned about a rash of cases of neighborhood pets getting hurt or going missing. Oh, and one more thing, Zach thinks Zoe is impossibly beautiful. The more the Jordan kids and their friends investigate the missing pets, the more they find out that the story of their superpowers is even more tangled and dangerous than they ever suspected. Zach is doing everything he can to keep the neighborhood animals safe, and the kids’ powers a secret, but can he keep his own feelings safe and secret in the process?