Naming a book is usually the last thing I do. I have files on my computer labeled “Draft 4” or “The One With The Plants” for months before a real title sticks.
But for Book Two, the title came early.
As I mentioned on social media, the sequel to The Conservatory of Thorns will officially be titled The Garden of Ash.
From Thorns to Ash I can’t tell you what happens in Book Two yet—we are still far too away from the release of Book One for that. But I can tell you about the shift in tone.
If The Conservatory of Thorns is about the pressure of the heat—the feeling of being trapped in a hothouse, sweating, waiting for the glass to crack—then The Garden of Ash is about what happens after the fire burns out.
The Character Connection The title feels right for Elara. We know from the premise that she is a “Void”—a biological anomaly that incinerates magic instead of using it. She is, effectively, a human furnace.
And what is left when a furnace has consumed everything it can reach?
Ash.
Drafting this book has been a different experience. The pacing is different. The stakes feel heavier. It’s less about “what can I learn?” and more about “what can I survive?”
Back to the draft.
— S.B.
