Zoje Stage: Has There Ever Been a Sequel Where the “Bad Seed” Was All Grown Up?

Zoje Stage is the USA Today and internationally bestselling author of Baby Teeth, Wonderland, Getaway, Mothered, and Dear Hanna. She lives in Pittsburgh with her cats. Follow her on X (Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram.

In this interview, Zoje discusses her decision to return to past characters in her new psychological thriller, Dear Hanna, her hope for readers, and more!

Name: Zoje Stage
Literary agent: Stephen Barbara
Book title: Dear Hanna
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Release date: August 13, 2024
Genre/category: Psychological thriller
Previous titles: Baby Teeth, Wonderland, Getaway, Mothered
Elevator pitch: Hanna, a creative 24-year-old sociopath, starts to come unglued when she loses control of the people in her household.

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People have been asking me for a sequel to Baby Teeth since it was first published in 2018. I had real reservations about revisiting the story, concerned that a follow-up might be derivative and a disappointment to readers. But then during the pandemic, home alone watching true-crime documentaries, I started thinking about who Hanna might be as an adult, and that possibility started to really excite me: Has there ever been a sequel where the "bad seed" was all grown up?

I spent a long time—like, two years—letting the concept of an adult Hanna rattle around in my head. I also took my time writing the first draft, which took almost seven and a half months. I don't write rushed first drafts anymore, and I edit as I go, so it was a fairly complete, polished draft, and we had an offer on the book three months later. My editor had some ideas for starting the story a little sooner in time, so during revisions I added about 20 pages to the front of the book, but the story was otherwise unchanged.

Well, the one thing that took me by surprise was the possibility that Dear Hanna would be outsourced to an editor who wasn't part of the publishing company. I had never heard of that happening before—though apparently, it's starting to become a thing. It seemed like a strange approach to me, as how do you develop a good working relationship with your editor if she isn't the one who edits your book? I'm happy to say my book was not outsourced and I was happy with the process—though it does have me wondering how things are going to be in the future.

I have always wanted to write an epistolary novel, and while Dear Hanna isn't truly an epistolary novel, it's chock full of letters from Hanna and her brother, Goose. I loved writing their letters! I wanted to use this device so we'd get a chance to hear Hanna in first person (all of my books are written in close third), and it was so much fun to write that I really need to put "write an epistolary novel" on my to-do list.

I hope that readers who haven't read Baby Teeth are intrigued by this portrayal of a sociopath trying, in her own misguided way, to live like everyone else. And for those who have read Baby Teeth, I hope they see how 7-year-old Hanna became this more mature, less reckless 24-year-old.

I wish there was a golden secret to making every story or novel materialize exactly as you envision, in a timely and painless manner. But the reality is, it takes time and perseverance. Ultimately, every writer has their own process and if someone else's advice doesn't ring true to you, don't take it.