While speaking with Hypable, Rainbow Rowell teased the “self-indulgent” Carry On sequel she would like to write.
We recently shared Rowell’s explanation for why the Eleanor & Park movie is no longer happening, but it’s not all bad news for YA fans. The bestselling author also told Hypable that if she returns to one of her books for a sequel, it will be Carry On.
“I have a setting for a Carry On sequel. I don’t have a plot,” she teased. “I really feel like I could go back there and there’s a lot to do with those characters.”
Carry On is the sort-of spinoff to Rowell’s previous novel Fangirl. In Fangirl, college student Cath writes fanfiction for the (fictional) Simon Snow series by (the fictional) Gemma T. Leslie. In Carry On, Rowell offers her own take on the Simon Snow world and characters –separate from both Cath’s fanfiction and Leslie’s series.
That Rowell has already returned to these characters once demonstrates the pull they seem to have on her, so it isn’t surprising to hear that she has still more to write about their adventures.
Without spoiling the ending, Rowell certainly left Carry On with many plot points still to be tied up, and she confirmed any potential sequel would focus on the same characters. “It would totally be with Simon and Baz — that whole crew,” she said. “I left lots of openings. There’s lots of stuff that’s undone between everybody.”
But why “self-indulgent”? Rowell explained that her own desire to write the book is in itself an obstacle. “Maybe it’s that I want to write a Carry On sequel, so it feels self-indulgent,” she told us, laughing, “but I don’t really want to write the other sequels [for her other books], so that feels like it would be more giving the people what they want.”
As for a timeline for the potential sequel, fans shouldn’t hold their breath. “I’ve always been someone who moves on,” Rowell added, “so it feels like, gosh, why am I not moving on?”
Look for more from our interview with Rainbow Rowell in the coming week.
Related: Rainbow Rowell says Eleanor & Park movie isn’t happening
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