Cynthia Shannon
asked
Shane Kuhn:
So excited about your new book! How was writing this story different from the first? Did the story come easier? What were some challenges?
Shane Kuhn
Cynthia
So sorry it took me FOREVER to respond to your interesting questions.
Writing Hostile Takeover was an interesting process because it was like riding a pendulum between easy and difficult. The easy part was the concept. Shortly after finishing Intern's Handbook, I knew I wanted to write an explosive, bullet-riddled love story between John and Alice and that's exactly what I set out to do. The flow of the narrative was another easy part. The difficult part was dealing with "second novel expectations." I found out that, in publishing, the second novel is often the most difficult to write because everyone actually expects you to fail. They expect this because that is often the case. No one could ever explain the phenomenon to me but it is real and, in many ways, I had exponentially more to prove than I did selling my first book. As a result, the edit was long, arduous, and more work than I've ever had to do on any creative project. And of course there were dark nights of the soul when I didn't think I could go on. Self doubt and fear are demons to an artist and they are incredibly powerful. But my father and mother taught me to have a strong work ethic. They were both farmers and hardship was a way of life for them. My father used to say "when the going gets tough, the tough get going." That was my mantra writing this book. I never surrendered and I kept hammering that iron until I had a sword. It was a battle and it made me stronger and I'm grateful for my editor Sarah Knight (fitting name right) who never left my side and held the fire in our darkest hours. I'm really glad you asked this question because I want readers to know how hard I worked to deliver a great follow up to Intern's and how hard I will always work for them with every book I write. I understand there are thousands of books to choose from and I'm honored by each person who chooses mine. Thanks!
So sorry it took me FOREVER to respond to your interesting questions.
Writing Hostile Takeover was an interesting process because it was like riding a pendulum between easy and difficult. The easy part was the concept. Shortly after finishing Intern's Handbook, I knew I wanted to write an explosive, bullet-riddled love story between John and Alice and that's exactly what I set out to do. The flow of the narrative was another easy part. The difficult part was dealing with "second novel expectations." I found out that, in publishing, the second novel is often the most difficult to write because everyone actually expects you to fail. They expect this because that is often the case. No one could ever explain the phenomenon to me but it is real and, in many ways, I had exponentially more to prove than I did selling my first book. As a result, the edit was long, arduous, and more work than I've ever had to do on any creative project. And of course there were dark nights of the soul when I didn't think I could go on. Self doubt and fear are demons to an artist and they are incredibly powerful. But my father and mother taught me to have a strong work ethic. They were both farmers and hardship was a way of life for them. My father used to say "when the going gets tough, the tough get going." That was my mantra writing this book. I never surrendered and I kept hammering that iron until I had a sword. It was a battle and it made me stronger and I'm grateful for my editor Sarah Knight (fitting name right) who never left my side and held the fire in our darkest hours. I'm really glad you asked this question because I want readers to know how hard I worked to deliver a great follow up to Intern's and how hard I will always work for them with every book I write. I understand there are thousands of books to choose from and I'm honored by each person who chooses mine. Thanks!
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