A most curious announcement from Gena Showalter and Harlequin Teen

Gena Showalter fans, you're a lucky bunch. Gena and publisher Harlequin Teen have decided the White Rabbit Chronicles trilogy will no longer be a trilogy. Book three, The Queen of Zombie Hearts, left us all wondering what would happen to our favorite characters. Gena herself felt the story was unfinished. So we're going to get book four: A Mad Zombie Party, coming our way at the end of September. Gena and her editor join HEA to explain the why and, most important, the what.

First, here's where we are in the White Rabbit Chronicles, according to Harlequin Teen: When we left Ali Bell, Cole Holland and friends at the end of The Queen of Zombie Hearts, they had just won a zombie/human war destroying the evil Anima Industries. But the gang did not emerge unscathed and one particular loss devastated the characters and their loyal fans. Messages poured in, everyone wanting to know the same thing: What happens with Frosty and Kat?

Never fear! Slayer … we mean, author Gena Showalter is back!

Gena and editor Natashya Wilson on what readers can expect from A Mad Zombie Party …

Tashya: Hi, Gena! Ready for round four?!

Gena: Dude! Are zombies hungry?? Bring. It. On. I'm basically foaming at the mouth.

Tashya: How did you feel when you wrote the final words of The Queen of Zombie Hearts?

Gena: The moment I finish any book, my feels are pretty much the same. Goes a little something like this: It's done? Whimper. Tears of joy. Oh, my back. Relief! Shower! Food! Sleep! Oh, my back. You mean I get to catch up on my favorite TV shows? Tears of joy. Oh, my back.

But after that, book-specific emotions began to settle in. With The Queen of Zombie Hearts, I experienced an extreme high — and a major low. I was so beyond pleased with what I'd written, and so happy with the growth of the characters (well, the characters who survived, that is — insert evil laugh). But I left one of my favorite boys in the lurch, with nothing but a lifetime of misery ahead if he continued along the same path. Sexy man-meat too sad for love? Not on my watch!

Tashya: How have your fans responded to the end of the trilogy?

Gena: I have been overwhelmed by the response to The Queen of Zombie Hearts. In fact, I received some of my best reviews yet. "Amazing!" "Epic!" "A book worth the wait." "Beautiful." But despite the positive feedback, a sense of heartbreak pervaded. So many wanted to know: What about Frosty? (Oh! And, of course: How could you do that to Kat?) I had to know the answer, too.

Tashya: When did you first suspect you had one more story to tell?

Gena: The moment one of my favorite characters died, and Frosty's devastation began to take over every scene. I knew I couldn't leave him that way.

Tashya: Without spoiling anything, tell us a little about A Mad Zombie Party.

Gena: The book will be told from alternating points of view. You'll get live-action thoughts from Frosty — as well as the girl he loves … or will love, one day. Kat? Or someone else? I'll never tell! (Well. Until I do, in fact, tell you.) Ali, Cole and the gang are back, and they team up with River and his crew — oops, I just dropped a huge hint about the storyline — as Anima rises from the grave, just like the zombies they created.

Tashya: What do you hope fans feel once they finish this final White Rabbit Chronicles book?

Gena: As if the darkness has at last lifted, and the light shines.

Tashya: Thank you, Gena, and a huge thank you to all the fans who have made the White Rabbit Chronicles a bestselling and much-beloved series! We are so thrilled that you have taken these characters into your hearts.

Find out more about Gena and her books at genashowalter.com.