Metropolitan: Writing and Reception

This is the second essay on the conception and creation of my novel Metropolitan. Perhaps it’s best, if you’re new here, to start with the first installment.
We now return to the narrative.
Actually writing Metropolitan was, as it turns out, quite a chore.
My previous two books, Aristoi and Days of Atonement, had been easy and joyful to write. I have no explanation for why one work is easy for me and another is hard— Aristoi, Hardwired, and This Is Not a Game were effortless: Angel Station, Metr...