Many readers are aware that The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever was originally written in 1994.

Sort of.

In 1994 I wrote a book called All Along which for a number of different reasons (both mine and Avon’s) never made it onto the publishing schedule. I always thought it was the best of my early novels and was disappointed that it was still sitting in a cabinet in my office, so when the Bridgertons finished up, I jumped at the chance to publish it.

I figured I’d need a few weeks to clean it up. I’m a much better writer than I was in 1994, and I knew that there were a number of stylistic things I wanted to change. There were some point-of-view problems, some choppy transitions, etc.

When I dug into the manuscript, however, I soon realized my editorial process would be measured in months, not weeks. There were a number of scenes that went virtually untouched (the prologue and the bookshop scene, for example) but the characters felt far too stereotypical to me. Miranda, in particular, was very manipulative at times. I wouldn’t go so far as to say she was unlikeable, but she was definitely in the hair-tossing heroine mold, which made no sense, considering how lovely and thoughtful she was in the prologue.

The differences between the two versions are really quite profound, and yet the overall story arc is quite similar. Some scenes are barely changed from the first version, some are brand-new, and some are a mish-mash. It was a writing experience entirely unlike anything I’ve done before, and for the most part, it was wonderful. It was the first time in a long time I felt free to simply write. I didn’t have to worry about what was going to happen next, I didn’t have to fret about my page count.

I got to remember what it was like to simply have fun.