Introducing Against The Code

It finally has a name.

For months, my second novel has simply been “Seb and Addi” in my head. Now, with the first draft finished, I can officially introduce:

Against The Code

Readers of Cold As Silk will already have met Sebastian Fairfax and Addison Hawthorne, but although the books share characters and connections, I knew from the beginning that I didn’t want to write Eleanor and Nathan’s relationship again with two different names.

Sebastian and Addison needed to have a story that felt entirely their own.

And they certainly do.

Sebastian is controlled, successful and accustomed to being the person with the answers. As CEO of Keystone, one of London’s leading tech companies, he’s spent years building a life in which very little happens that he hasn’t anticipated.

Then there’s Addison.

Smart, outspoken and determined to prove herself as a developer, she tries not to let anyone intimidate her. Not even Sebastian Fairfax.

There are, however, a few complications.

Sebastian is ten years older than Addi. He’s her boss’s boss. And, perhaps most awkwardly of all, he’s her brother’s oldest friend.

Neither of them sets out looking for a relationship, but the more time they spend together, the harder it becomes to pretend there isn’t something between them.

Their story has a very different feel to Cold As Silk.

Eleanor and Nathan’s relationship grew from healing, patience and the quiet certainty of someone being there when it mattered. Sebastian and Addi have a different energy. There’s banter, attraction, friendship, workplace complications and two people discovering that some of the things they thought they knew about themselves might not be quite as fixed as they believed.

There’s also corporate disruption at Keystone threatening the company Sebastian has spent years building, which gives them rather more to contend with than an inconvenient attraction.

Some scenes in Against The Code  have been an absolute joy to write, including one particular chapter that may currently be my favourite thing I’ve written. But I’m keeping that one to myself for now. 😄

For the moment, the biggest milestone is simply this:

The first draft is finished.

There will be plenty of editing ahead because I want Against The Code to feel every bit as finished and polished as Cold As Silk did when I finally let Eleanor and Nathan out into the world.

I’m ridiculously pleased to have reached this point, but I’m not rushing it.

Sebastian and Addison have waited patiently while Eleanor and Nathan had their moment.

Now it’s nearly their turn.