Writing quality sequels of unique, non-genre books is hard. One of my favorite novels is “The Time Traveler’s Wife” by Audrey Niffenegger. In 2013, she announced that she was working on a sequel that would be ready in 2018. Later, she changed the date to 2023, and the most recent update states October 2026.

For the first eight books in my writing career, I never had a problem with writer’s block. That included “The Silver Squad: Rebels With Wrinkles.” It was the best book I’d written, and it also lent itself to the possibility of multiple sequels. The first sequel, the newly released “The Silver Squad Rides Again,” forced me to deal with writer’s block for the first time. For almost two months I stared at the same page! Fortunately, the characters finally spoke to me, and I finished the book.

Even so, I worried if it was good enough—or even funny. Now that the sales and reviews are coming in, I’m feeling more relaxed about that. The reviews so far have been outstanding and include “I like this book even more than the first one,” which is what every author of a sequel hopes for.

So now I’m roughly 5,000 words into the third book in the Silver Squad series. Those first 5,000 words include some of the funniest stuff I’ve ever written. Nevertheless, I still need to come up with the primary social justice cause for my protagonists Barry, Beth, and Jenny to deal with. I’m hoping the warmer weather that allows me to move to my outside writing room provides inspiration.

I’m also hoping that Audrey Niffenegger gets her long-awaited “The Time Traveler’s Wife” sequel published before the end of this year.

You can purchase “The Silver Squad Rides” Again” here:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GSH7FMHS

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-silver-squad-rides-again-marty-essen/1149683620

Books-a-Million: https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Silver-Squad-Rides-Again/Marty-Essen/9798994260708

Powell’s Books: https://www.powells.com/book/the-silver-squad-rides-again-9798994260708