The short answer is: Many, many awesome things!
More detailed answers below - there will be some
general spoilerage, so if you haven't yet read
Shield of Winter, then save this post to read afterward. I'll add a link to it from the front page of the website, so you can easily find it when you're ready.
Also, I'd appreciate it if you could link back to this post if other fans have questions, so everyone has the same info. Thank you!
Onto the questions that need answers! Warning, long post below.
Who is Book 14 about?
Updated 31st October 2014: Cover and blurb for book 14 now available! Follow the link to see.
Book 14 will feature Aden as the hero.
I'm not ready to talk more in depth about this book yet because I've just started writing it, and I always like to get deep into a book before I share details. I feel each book has an essence, a heart that needs to be nurtured until it's ready to be held up to the light.
Also, characters have been known to surprise me. That may sound odd, since I'm the author, but my characters have very strong personalities of their own, and sometimes, they just fold their arms and say nope when I think I've got things all figured out.
So give me a little time. In the meanwhile....
Bastien's novella, Secrets At Midnight, is coming out November 25th in the NIGHT SHIFT Anthology
I know many of you have missed the cats - with this novella, we return to the DarkRiver changelings, and specifically to the wild and wonderful Smith family.
Mercy makes an appearance, as do her and Bastien's other brothers. The infamous "kitten-defurring" incident is recalled. We also see Lucas and Naya.
So there's lots of stuff for Psy-Changeling readers, but it's also written to stand alone, so don't worry if you're new to the series. You can use this novella as your introduction to the Psy-Changeling world without problem.
I haven't posted an excerpt yet as the release is several months away, but here's a fun snippet of Bastien being grilled by a pack elder.
"Why aren't you mated or with a long-term lover?" She poked him in the arm. "We both know you have no trouble attracting women."
The question grated against his insides. "Does no one respect my private life?"
"You're in a pack. Of course not," was the rapid response. "Now, answer me. I'm a hundred and twenty-five--I don't have time to dilly-dally."
"No one can pass Mercy's tests," he said, wanting Vera off the painful and currently maddening subject of mating.
"Overprotective, is she?"
"If it's the right girl," he said, his leopard flexing its claws inside him, "it won't matter." Bastien might not know her name or what she looked like, nothing but her scent, but he knew his mate wouldn't be scared off. Smith mates had a way of surprising everyone.
- From
Secrets At Midnight by Nalini Singh (this is from a pre-edit version of the manuscript, so it may change slightly in the final published novella).
Also, check out the awesome cover!
What happens after Book 14?
A number of readers have contacted me asking if book 14 is the end of the series. It isn't!
I think the rumor began because I've spoken about the "
end of this story arc" in interviews. So what do I mean by that?
When I began the Psy-Changeling series, it was really important to me to have a coherent story arc, with a start and a satisfying end. I still deeply believe that. The only thing that has changed is that I realized as I wrote that this storyline wouldn't only have a single arc, but that the ending of the first arc would naturally be the beginning of the second. To end the series at the conclusion of this arc would leave too many avenues unexplored, too many characters with their stories untold. It would feel unfinished.
For me, a coherent story arc means a story that is moving forward with every book, heading for a critical climax. It's not standing in place. We're going on a journey, and that journey has a goal. With each arc, we have to reach that goal, have that sense of satisfaction.
In my head, this arc is called the Silence arc. That has been the defining element of the series to date. Some people have said to me that for them, the Silence arc ended with
Heart of Obsidian. I can totally see their point. So many things came to a conclusion in that book. It was a massive climax.
However, I feel that for a true conclusion to the arc, we need the "direct aftermath" books as well. The books that ask, what comes next?
Shield of Winter was the first book. Aden's book will be the second, but having said that, I won't know until I finish writing it whether I can tie up all the loose ends that need to be tied up, in this book. So some storylines may be picked up in Book 15, making it the final book in the Silence arc.
Post Book 14 or 15 - or the Post-Silence story arc
I love the richness of the Psy-Changeling world, love that there are so many possibilities to explore, so many questions to answer, so many layers to peel back, and that it's peopled by so many amazing characters.
Those characters are interconnected on a deep level by myriad bonds, so even once we move away from the Silence arc, we won't be moving away from the characters we know and love.
Yes, there will be new players in the next arc, as is natural as we further explore the world, but some of those new players will end up with characters we already know, while others will link through in other ways.
For example, if I do a book on the WindHaven falcons, they're allied with DarkRiver and SnowDancer, so we'd see the cats and the wolves.
And Silence remains a major player - it may have fallen, but it casts a long shadow that will impact countless characters for years to come.
I've consistently been using "tangent" books to describe these future stories, but I've decided it still sounds too much like "spin-off" and that's not what I'm thinking. The books, characters, and storylines are too interlinked for that, with the second arc being as coherent and as connected as the first one. I think it's better and clearer to simply say we'll be
opening up a new story arc, going on a new journey in this world.
Think of it like seasons of television, where a series has a strong background story/plot. We're coming to the conclusion of season one, but watch out - because something in that conclusion will lead directly into season two.
I hope that makes sense, and I hope you'll come with me into this new journey.
Who will get a story in the future?
I have so many people I want to write about! I can't list them all, because this post would be even longer than it already is, but here are just some characters I think will get either a book or a novella at some point:
The single SnowDancer lieutenants, Desiree from DarkRiver, Adam - the leader of WindHaven, one or more of the sea changelings, certain Psy characters it'd be too spoilerish to name here, Kit when he's a bit more grown up, Rina, Bowen from the Human Alliance... (and more!)
I'd also like to go back and write about some characters who appeared early on and who really need to have their stories told, like Zara, the wildcat who is a designer for DarkRiver, Finn, the poor healer who got manhandled by Nathan in
Beat of Temptation, Tag and Tiara from
Blaze of Memory, D'Arn and Sing-Liu - that's just the tip of my list. I don't know if they'd all get full novellas, or long short stories, but I haven't forgotten them.
Please don't worry if I didn't list your favorite character as a future story - I only mentioned a few names. There are more and some of them already have files opened for them on my computer, with notes entered. :-)
Which leads me to my Secret Anthology...now no longer so secret. ;-)
Updated 12 December, 2015: Anthology has been scheduled for release in North America on August 23rd, 2016. International date still to come. Title: WILD EMBRACE.
--
Because I have so many characters who either need novellas or longer short stories, I've been thinking of doing another Psy-Changeling anthology. Similar to
Wild Invitation, but with all-new stories.
However, since I do these shorter works around my full-length books, I can't promise you a release date right now. I don't want to schedule it and then disappoint you if I can't finish in time. I'd rather make it a nice surprise one day!
But, the good news is that I already have one novella in rough draft (it features Stefan, who was mentioned in
Shield of Winter), and a couple of other things in middle stages, so I'm
*hoping
* I'll have it done by the end of this year.
I'll post as to how it's going soon as I have more news, or have finished another piece. I'll update this post, so you can just save this as a bookmark and come back in a couple of months to see what's happening.
Updated 12 December, 2015:
#1 (Novella) - Stefan (Psy/Tk stationed on the deep sea station Alaris). Complete.
#2 (Novelette) - Dorian's story (exploring his growing up years, how being latent affected him, and how he became a sentinel). Complete.
#3 (Novella) - I've never before written the story of a submissive male changeling paired with a dominant female changeling, but this couple came out of nowhere and hit me hard. Complete.
#4. (Novella) - Kenji and Garnet (Jem). Complete.
When will the series end forever?
When I feel there are no more stories to be told in this world. I know everyone has their favorites, books/novellas that worked better for them than others, but as a writer, I am deeply happy with all of the entries in the series to date.
I feel each was needed, was necessary to tell part of the story, to give us a new insight into the world and its characters. I want to feel the same way about future entries, so when I come to a place where I feel the story is complete, and all the characters are in a good place, that's when I'll say good-bye.
I am nowhere close to that point, and I hope neither are you. Here's to many more journeys together into the Psy-Changeling world!
This is the end of a very, very, very long post. I hope that answers most of the burning questions. :-)