Missy Kalicicki on writing with her best friend, Abi Ketner

Missy Kalicicki joins HEA to share what it's like to write with her best friend, Abi Ketner. Their latest A Sinner Series release, Hunted, follow-up to Branded, is out now.

Missy: Did I ever think I'd go into business with my best friend, let alone write books together? Nope, but sometimes the best things are the very things we never plan. They say one should never mix business with friendship or family. What follows is our story, two best friends who not only have a fledgling writing business, but whose friendship has never been stronger.

In the summer of 2012, life was busy. Abi and I both had children in diapers. We were both struggling to balance our lives, get enough sleep and stay mentally on track. To maintain our collective sanity, we'd meet at a local Italian restaurant to talk about books we were reading and that we really liked. Of course, we'd eat, too! After meeting a few times, we decided to try and write a book of our very own. That's how it began.

A few weeks later, Abi pitched me an idea about the Seven Deadly Sins. That idea became the pre-cursor to Branded. For the next three months, we sent a file back and forth, adding, changing and developing our story and characters. And then we finally decided to give the book a name.

Branded was originally written as a stand-alone novel with a clear beginning and end. When we finished, we loved it so much we showed it to an editor who suggested we should self-publish it. She also recommended we make it into a series. After months of working hard to gain readers, we decided we wanted to try having it published traditionally. Even then, we didn't see writing together as a business. We were still two best friends who had a story we wanted to share with the world.

Then the moment that changed everything about how we saw the world of publishing came. We acquired an agent. That was a huge step for us! It meant we had to start looking at things like sales, commission, revenue, taxes and career planning. We had to allow someone else into our world and allow them to guide our career and future decisions about what and when we wrote.

But unlike solo authors, when it came to making big decisions, we were blessed to have one another. We were able to weigh all the pros and cons with every step we were about to take. And, on the very rare occasion that we did not immediately see eye-to-eye, it was great to have an agent to turn to. Even still, these were never quick decisions. We took our time and even had our husbands weigh in at times. It truly was like a village of support.

Shortly after, Month9Books made an offer to publish Branded! We were thrilled and, to be honest, shocked. After that, we sat down and had our conversation about taking the next step. After all, we were just two best friends who never intended to be business partners. We wanted to make sure we were making the right decision. Did we want to stay indie or did we want to go with tradition publishing?

This was probably one of the toughest decisions, but in the end we both agreed to take the step of joining Month9Books. It was scary at first, but we had one another, and we knew that together, we could do anything.

Thankfully, our friendship stayed solid throughout the process. At separate times along the way, we both questioned our ability to write, network and to be successful. Did we really have what it takes? But the bonus that co-writing afforded us is that we were always there to encourage and pick one another up. We might run a business now, but we're friends first.

Our friendship foundation has made writing together easier than writing alone. For instance, sometimes Abi will write a scene that blows me away, and I can't help but admire her. It also helps that our writing complements one another's and we've each grown so much along the way. There have been a few times when we've chosen the same name for a character without even talking about it, and that's when we laugh the most, because writing together has forced us to be more connected than ever before.

Our journey has been checkered with highs and lows, but we've learned so much together and our friendship has grown stronger. Every day it seems like there's some new, scary, awesome opportunity to consider. But we could not be luckier to have one another as business partners. And when you're having this much fun, writing never seems like work.

About Hunted:

Hunted is the electrifying sequel to the bestselling debut Branded, A Sinners Series, by Abi Ketner and Missy Kalicicki.

It's been three months since the revolt against the Commander's fifty-year-old regime failed.

Under a new ruler, things were supposed to change. Get better.

But can anyone really be trusted?

Lexi and Cole soon find out, as life takes an unexpected turn for the worse.

In this ever-changing world, you must hunt or be hunted.

Lives will be lost.

Dreams will be crushed.

Fears will be realized.

Secrets will be exposed.

When Cole is once again faced with losing Lexi at the hands of a monster, one encounter will change everything.

Forever.

Find out more about Missy and Abi at www.abiandmissybooks.com.