Writing Sequels

I haven't written any new posts for a while, since I've been working on book II in the Nicholas Esperanza thriller series. It's been up and down and I've hit the creative wall once or twice. This is the first time I'm writing a sequel and It's taking me a minute to get reaquainted with characters I created a long time ago. I've had my moments of panic in the past couple of months but it seems to happen to every writer, no matter how many books they've published. This is an entry from mystery writers P.J.Parrish, who have seven books in print:

The new book is almost done. First draft, that is. I haven't read it through since we started the thing months ago. I am afraid to. I have this really bad feeling that it is a heaping, stinking, fetid, rancid pile of crap. I dream about it now, this pile of crap, almost every night, like Richard Dreyfus in "Close Encounters." I wake up in a sweat over it. My only consolation is knowing that I feel this way with every book. And that I am not alone.

I have found on many established author's blogs, no matter how succesful they are, each new book not only offers a new set of challenges, but also brings up all kinds of fears and insecurities.

Ah, the joy of being a published author...

But the truth is, no matter how much writers complain, this what we love doing and wouldn't have it any other way.