Book 1 is technically titled The Bell of the True Dragon, with The True Dragon of Atlanta being the series title.
Book 2 has the working title of The Gates of the True Dragon and is continues the story of May's growth, asking the ever important question "Now what?"
Personally, I abhore the types of sequels that try to recapture the same magic of the original plot. In Hollywood, you see this happen all the time, where the first Act of the sequel is solely intended to strip everything away from what the MC earned from the first story so that the audience can get the same ride from the same characters. They ruin the MC's relationships for no reason and take away all their security for no reason, rather than attempt to create something new.
May is not done growing. She achieves some things but so much is left undone. I won't blog any spoilers. Let's just say that Book 1 doesn't end with her life being perfect.
And that's the theme of Book 2.
I am really excited to get back to writing it, as I've had to step away from writing while I focus on family. But I'm confident that this new story will have all the drama and charm of the first - only concerning different and more evolved situations. Some questions left at the end of Book 1 will be answered and some will simply have more clues added to them. And that's the joy I want readers to feel from my stories. It's the journey with these characters. All the little things - and not just a sound-bite worthy plot.
All of my favorite novels are like that. You can't completely define them with a quip.
Dune is my favorite series of all time – and I will never be satisfied with a film adaptation, because the most amazing features are too cerebral and controversial for the lowest-common-denominator audience who just want to see spaceships, monsters, and sword-fights. And no audience wishing dragon kung-fu magic battles in downtown Atlanta will be happy with mine.
The new villain is so devious that I will spend most of my time ensuring she is written clearly and correctly. And she will be even more gruesome than Golden Lotus. She will not be for the faint of heart. June will develop with a more important role. Ricardo will change in a most terrifying way. And Bison will finally face the outside world as their True self.
And everyone, everywhere, will be asking themselves "Now what?"