We So Do Second Books!

Today we are featuring an author who's first book hasn't even released yet! Barrie Summy's, I So Don't Do Mysteries, will be released December 9th. (Check back for her launch party!) Her second book, I So Don't Do Spooky, is slated for sometime in 2009.

Nope, it doesn't have a cover yet, but Barrie said it will be similar in tone as the first book because both books have the same cover designer--an extremely talented woman named Marci Senders.


I So Don't Do Spooky is the second book in the middle-grade mystery series starring reluctant sleuth Sherry (short for Sherlock) Holmes Baldwin. In I So Don't Do Spooky, Sherry teams up again with her ghost mother to find out who's stalking The Ruler (Sherry's stepmom). And why. There's a zany cast including a teen psychic, a good-looking ghost hunter, a rival robotics team and, of course, Sherry's cute boyfriend, Josh, her BFF, Junie, and Junie's cousin-with-attitude, Amber.
2k8: How does it feel to have a second book coming out?

Barrie: Great! It removes the "when will I sell my second book" angst. But it's surreal too. I mean, it is pretty weird to think I'll have proofed the galleys for the second book before the first one is even on shelves. Weirder still, I'll probably be writing the third book in the series before the first book is out.

2k8: What was different about writing this book as opposed to the first?

Barrie: It was way way way easier. I sent a very detailed chapter-by-chapter outline to my editor. So, I knew going in what would work and what wouldn't. As it turned out, I ended up ditching a bunch of the material in the outline. It was either that or hand in a book that was something like a thousand pages long!

Another thing that made the second book easier to write is that I'm working with the same editor. An editor I totally trust. An editor who has the same vision for the book that I have. An editor I already have a really decent working relationship with.
Lastly, I've already spent hours and hours with the main characters. I know them better than I know some of my friends!