"Writing a book is easy."
Writing is not easy. It's fulfilling, but difficult in the actual process. There are ups and downs.
"How could it take you six years to finish your first book?"
It didn't. I finished my first novel in a year, it's sequel a few months later.
Guardian's Host is not my first novel. Technically it's my fifth written, but my third completed. I put more time and care into it. I took more care in writing Guardian's Host. I connected with it more and wanted to make it the best it could be despite how I felt about it at the beginning. I was working on another book when I got the idea for GH. It was irritating that I couldn't get the idea for it out of my head. But once I started writing it I quickly fell head-over-heels for the characters and story. I wanted to do them justice. It took a lot of time, work, editing, writers' block, long nights, and stress to finish GH.
It didn't take six years to write the story. It took seven years to finish EVERYTHING that had to do with the wring process surrounding it.
For the sequels I know better and can go through the process quicker. But it still won't be easy. Writing a book is fulfilling. Not easy.