A couple of weeks ago, to gather information for a press release, I had to do something I’ve not done in over a year: scan the Jaden Baker Amazon page for reviews. In doing so I noticed a little trend, that the readers who gave Jaden high praise (these people are automatically added to the My Favorite People List), wanted a sequel.

When people have asked me in person if I’d write another Jaden novel, I’ve answered the same way: I don’t think so, novels are about bad things happening (most are, at least). Jaden, I feel, deserves to live the remainder of his fictional life as happily as possible, and as such I’d planned on leaving him alone. The teensy, tiny, itty bitty problem with that is, while the novel is done, the surviving characters are still active players in my mind. We can debate if that’s sane in another post, the fact is I think of the characters frequently. The first time I thought of Jaden post-novel was around Christmas a couple of years ago, and I smiled at the idea of Jaden going to the mall. To shop. I may have laughed to myself. Ever since I’ve found myself asking silent questions: How would Jaden react in this circumstance? What would Libby say if she were in such a predicament? And then people who’ve read the book would ask their own questions or postulate how they think Jaden lives after the book. If it was a question, I always had the answer. If the prediction was wrong, I was swift to correct it (with love, of course).

Amazon and its Kindle have changed the way we read. Printing books, even a small one, is an expensive business. But eBooks are cheap both to make and to buy, and as such a short book can be priced low. Now there are Kindle Singles, published short stories that are often a dollar or less, a feat which wouldn’t be feasible with the printed book.

You can see where this is going, can’t you? I am unwilling to let go of both Jaden and Libby, and as such I’ve been quietly penning little stories of their lives and keeping them to myself. Yes, I ‘m working on a new novel that isn’t about Jaden, but as mentioned before, novels of the thriller genre are about bad things happening, and it’s fun to write about happy things, too. After reading over the reviews and hearing from many readers, I wonder if I should publish a novella about Jaden’s happily ever after, specifically the milestones achieved. The novella would be a genre departure, though, hence my hesitation.

Now I’m putting it to you: Would you want to read about the happy times?