It's publication day! - The Kissing Booth 2: Going the Distance

In case you missed it over on my Twitter countdown or on my Instagram stories... it's finally publication day for the sequel to The Kissing Booth!

Elle Evans seems to have finally tamed hotter-than-hot bad boy Noah Flynn, but now they're facing a new challenge. Noah's 3,000 miles away at Harvard, which means they're officially a long-distance couple - and it's tough.After all, there's only so much texts and calls can satisfy - and when Elle sees a post which suggests Noah's getting friendly with another girl, she's devastated.On top of that, it's hard to ignore the new boy at school. He's gentle, sweet, cute - and definitely interested in Elle.With her heart on the line, what's a girl to do?Join Elle, Noah, Lee and all your favourite Kissing Booth characters for another amazing romantic story that's sure to have you swooning.

FIRST THINGS FIRST...

I started writing this book back in 2013. The Kissing Booth had been around for about two years at that point, from its first days on Wattpad in April 2011, and people had been messaging me pretty constantly asking for a sequel. I was aware my publisher was interested in one, but I didn't want to write it because anybody told me to. 

There was one scene stuck in my head that I couldn't let go of. I ended up writing the entire sequel just for that scene... and because it was hard to let go of the characters!

The writing itself was a bit stop-start, where I was struggling with my mental health, studying for my degree, working on other things, or just feeling uninspired. There was a lot of editing and going back and forth before it was in good enough shape to be sent to my editor back in 2018 when the first movie came out... and then with the second movie on the cards (more on that later), timelines ended up being moved to be more in line with that. And, of course, there was more editing.

But here we are. Seven years later. A lot of hard work, a lot of late nights, a lot of tea and toast, and a lot of tears later. We're here. 

It's finally publication day! And I'm kind of terrified!

Of course I'm terrified! A hit movie and several translation rights and nine years of people asking about a sequel all feels like a lot of pressure. I feel like people will be expecting a lot from this book. Maybe too much. I don't know. This is the scary part of being a writer, because now it's all done and it's out there and I can't change any of it now.

I really, really hope you all enjoy the book. I've had quite a few messages already from people who smashed through the whole thing in a few hours, or got it a few days early somehow, and all of whom said they've enjoyed it. 

(Obviously, I'm not going over to Goodreads to see what's been said. I don't hate myself that much.) 

Anyway - I'm thrilled to hear people are enjoying it so much, and if you read it, please let me know what you think! I'd love to hear! I don't generally reply to DMs on Instagram but I do read them, and I'm more likely to reply if you Tweet me (@Reekles) or comment on one of my Instagram posts.

NOW: Where can you buy the book?

It's been published TODAY (2nd January 2020) by my UK publisher so should be available in the UK/Commonwealth now in ebook and paperback. You can find it on Amazon here, or check out your favourite (e)bookstore. I'm told it should also be available as an audiobook in the next few days.

It is going to be published in the US as of next week - I believe it's out on the 7th of Jan there! 

There are also a few translations coming later this year. So far, in: Spain, Brazil, France, Germany and Italy. (I think. I may have missed one or two.) Hopefully more will follow, and I have no idea when these translations will be available. Sorry!

If you're not sure where to find the book or if it's out in your country, I recommend checking your usual (e)bookstores - or else heading to Book Depository, where you can order the paperback here.

AND SOME SPECIAL INSTAGRAM CONTENT... COMING SOON!

To celebrate the release (at long last) of The Kissing Booth 2: Going the Distance, I will be doing some exciting things over on my Instagram, where you can find me @authorbethreekles.

Very soon, I'll be uploading a post to giveaway a signed copy of the book - it'll be open internationally and it'll be a 'like this photo, tag a friend, follow my account to enter' kind of giveaway. Nice and easy! I don't currently have all my copies of the book from my publisher but should get them very soon, so will be doing this in the next couple of days and keep it open for about a week. Keep an eye out for it!

I will also be doing a bit of a Q&A on my Instagram stories - sort of an 'Ask Me Anything' about the sequel (book, not movie) and answering a few FAQs. I'm planning to do that on Sunday 5th, so watch out for it!

AND, in a couple of weeks, I'll also do an Instagram Live to talk to you all about the sequel! (Again - the book, not the movie.) I want to wait a while to do this to give people a chance to get the book and read it, and avoid too many spoilers too soon. This is most likely going to be at the end of January, so stay tuned for that - I'll announce dates for sure on my Twitter.

What about the movie?

YES, there will be a second movie. YES, it will be based on my sequel. YES, all your faves from the first movie will be in it. NO, I can't say when it's out - except that it'll be later on this year! Hopefully we'll be able to share the release dates and a trailer soon! But honestly, I've not even seen a trailer or anything for it yet, so... I'm having to wait just like you guys!

If you want, you can read about my visit to set for filming of the sequel here, to tide you over in the meantime!

And lastly... how will I be celebrating?

I'm not actually doing anything to really mark the occasion for this one! I got back from a New Year's trip to Disneyland Paris pretty late last night and am back at the day job after Christmas break today, so aside from maybe tucking into some of my nice Christmas choccies, today is pretty low-key! 

I'm going to try to celebrate things like this a bit more throughout the year (it's one of my goals/resolutions for 2020) but since I had nothing planned in advance, it's likely to be a quiet one. No glamorous launch parties or champagne brunches here today... maybe next time!



I can't wait to hear what you all think of this book - I really can't believe that after all these years of working on it, it's officially done, and out in the world!