This article was originally published in The Penguin Post (https://www.penguinrandomhouse.co.za/penguin-post-latest-issue), a magazine about books for book lovers from Penguin Random House South Africa. 

“I was so looking forward to visiting SA in May 2020 to promote my book, Grown Ups, and was devastated when things fell apart. We were all set for those two lovely book festivals, the Kingsmead Book Fair and the Franschhoek Literary Festival, and we’d made all kinds of plans — including going to a braai. But I love SA, and I really hope that we get to visit soon. Actually, it wasn't too long before then that I’d decided to start on a Rachel Walsh follow-up. I’d just finished writing Grown Ups, and was in that stage of wondering what I would write next. I had three ideas, and I pitched them to a writer friend I have called Louise O’Neill. She is a big fan of Rachel’s Holiday, and when I told her the idea for a follow-up with Rachel, she said that all the hairs on the back of her neck stood up, and I thought, 'Well OK. I’ll try it'...