At a party yesterday afternoon, a friend asked about my book. Five-year-old F was with me, and he helpfully fielded the question. After a cursory reference to The Day-Glo Brothers, he then began breaking down his favorite parts of S.V.T., a book that won’t even be published for another year.

This morning, I asked nine-year-old S to tell it to me straight: You and your brother are more excited about the second book than you are the first one, aren’t you? His answer: Yep.

Who would have thought that the new could wear off my publishing debut less than eight years after I started working on it?