On Crafting A Compelling Sequel (and COVER REVEAL for The Search for the Shadowsoul!), a guest post by author Callie C. Miller

Covers. For readers, they’re often the first indicator of whether or not to take a closer look. For authors, they’re a mystical part of the publishing process. I, who am not an illustrator, view them as magic of the highest order. When I first saw the cover for my debut middle grade fantasy romp, The Hunt for the Hollower, I may or may not have shrieked with delight. (I did. I did shriek. Because the cover is pure magic.)

I continue to be spoiled silly with gorgeous covers by Kristy de Guzman and the design team at Aladdin. Behold, the glory that is the cover for Hollower’s sequel, The Search for the Shadowsoul!

Marvel at its beauty! Drink in its detail! Admire its masterful character design!

Because Shadowsoul is a sequel, there was significant discussion about how to design the cover in a way that matched The Hunt for the Hollower while still capturing its own story. I think we nailed it.

For me, thoughts about sequels started long before these cover discussions. When sequels are great, they’re great, and when they’re not, they’re…really, really not.

You know the feeling. You’re expecting to be wrapped up in the cozy embrace of a beloved friend, but with differences and new delights that make the experience somehow even more satisfying, and then…disappointment.

As a television writer, I am naturally predisposed to crafting stories and situations that can span across several episodes or seasons, so you might think that writing sequels comes naturally. However, I initially wrote The Hunt for the Hollower as a very intentional standalone novel. Whenever my brain said, “and what if this happens in the next book?” I gave the idea a little pat on the head and sent it off to bed. I was unpublished, and at that time had no professional writing credits to my name. There was no guarantee that I’d get a single book, much less a second book. I wanted Merlynda’s journey to be whole and complete on its own. I was (and am) very proud of Hollower.

So imagine my surprise, dear reader, when it was suggested by my fabulous editor that perhaps, maybe, if I wanted, I could potentially write another book with the same characters.

Reader, I was stunned.

Don’t get me wrong. I was thrilled and grateful and absolutely tickled that my editor loved my first book enough to want another one. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to write a sequel. It’s that I didn’t want to write a bad sequel.

So, I went and had a think.

I started by considering what, in my opinion, makes a poor sequel, and identified two primary reasons. The first is that debut books, in theory, have an unlimited amount of time to be refined and polished and endlessly fiddled with. Sequels, more than often, do not. The Hunt for the Hollower took me nine years from first scribbled notes to publication. For The Search for the Shadowsoul I’d have…nine months. Technically I had slightly longer, if you count the time I spent drafting an outline and the first three chapters to send to my editor as proof of concept before they decided to move forward. But even if we round it out to a year, that’s two whole university degrees less time than my debut.

The second reason, and perhaps the more obvious culprit, is that often there’s just no need for another story. The characters grew, the mystery was solved, and the jokes were told. Unless your series is purely episodic, how do you craft another compelling narrative that continues to expand the characters and their world?

Armed with my understanding of what makes a bad sequel, I moved on to identifying what qualities make a good sequel. I reread sequels. I studied sequels. And I came up with the following (non-exhaustive) list to guide me.

The Same, but Different!

One of the most singularly delightful things about sequels is when the unique tone and voice of the first book are just as strong in the second. I want more of that same atmosphere, that feeling, to rest comfortably in the arms of the familiar narrator and trust that they’ll guide me through an entirely new story. Jeanne Birdsall’s The Penderwicks on Gardam Street does this marvelously. I loved the sisters and their dog just as much in the second book as I did in the first (The Penderwicks), and the story was just as charming.

Expansion of the World

This is one that most sequels do well. Think of a sequel. Got it? It shows you sparkly new things that weren’t in the first book, doesn’t it? This could include the actual physical world of the characters, the relationships they have, new characters, events and traditions, and so on. The possibilities are endless! Think about Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series, Kekla Magoon’s Robyn Hoodlum series, Tamora Pierce’s Song of the Lioness quartet—the list goes on. And on. And on.

Character Growth Continues

Even if the series is planned from the beginning, characters should still grow and learn at least some things in the first book. For sequels, is there another way they can engage with the same lesson or flaws from before? What new things can we learn about them, and they about themselves?

I’ll be honest, I cheated this one ever so slightly. Because I’d written Hollower as a standalone, all of my main character’s arcs were resolved by the end. I couldn’t erase all of that hard work, I wouldn’t! Merlynda and her friends had suffered and persevered and grown, darn it!

My way around this was for Merlynda to not be the main character of Shadowsoul. She’s still involved and still has some growing to do, but Shadowsoul isn’t her story. But you know what? Adam Gidwitz’s In A Glass Grimmly (sequel to A Tale Dark and Grimm) features entirely new protagonists, and those books are wonderful. Susan Cooper’s classic The Dark is Rising series does this as well, so I don’t believe I cheated after all.

Beloved Character Appearances

There’s a reason we fall in love with characters, but not every character makes sense in every story. When this is the case, it’s still nice to get a little visit from them in an organic way. I picked up on this tidbit while reading Kwame Mbalia’s Tristan Strong Destroys the World (sequel to Tristan Strong Punches A Hole in the Sky). On all accounts, a phenomenal sequel (and series), but while reading this second book I’d thought, (vagueness included to avoid spoilers) “I do miss So-and-So from the first book.” And then So-and-So showed up! And it was perfect! And I was reassured that this character was still alive and well and active in the world, even if they weren’t as prominent in this book as they’d been in the previous one.

Armed with this enlightened study, I at last embarked upon a quest to write my own sequel, and did my darndest to make The Search for the Shadowsoul a worthy follow up to The Hunt for the Hollower. I’m proud of this story, and think I achieved my goals. I hope readers agree.

The Search for the Shadowsoul is available for preorder, and comes out September 17, 2024!

The Hunt for the Hollower is available now in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook! The paperback is available for preorder and comes out June 11, 2024.

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Shadowsoul page: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Search-for-the-Shadowsoul/Callie-C-Miller/A-Quest-of-Great-Importance/9781665952323

Hunt for the Hollower Page: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Hunt-for-the-Hollower/Callie-C-Miller/A-Quest-of-Great-Importance/9781665918107

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheSuperCallie

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesupercallie/

Author Bio:

Callie C. Miller writes for animated television shows, a video game company, and (most importantly) herself. When she’s not writing, Callie is most likely reading comics or playing video games or dreaming about hot chocolate. (Hot chocolate is very important nourishment for writers.) She received her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. Visit her at www.calliecmiller.com.

Filed under: Cover Reveal, Middle Grade, Middle Grade Fiction, Mind the Middle Project