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Want to traditionally publish your NA MS? @Ava_Jae talks your best two options: aging up or down. #vlog (Click to tweet)
Showing posts with label New Adult. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Adult. Show all posts
Vlog: What Happened to New Adult?
What is New Adult and what's the status with the category in 2017? Today I talk about this in-between category and where we're at with it today.
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About Traditionally Publishing New Adult
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| Photo credit: ALBOWIEB on Flickr |
Except, unfortunately, that book never arrived. More New Adult books were published, and the traditional market shaped New Adult into the niche it is today: a romantic subgenre.
There's nothing wrong with that, of course—there are some great NA romance reads out there, like my favorite In Focus series. But as I've continued to see writers who want to traditionally publish ask about non-romance NA and pitch their Sci-Fi and Fantasy books as New Adult, I think it's important to talk about the realities of New Adult books in the traditional marketplace.
The truth is, if you want to traditionally publish a non-Contemporary Romance manuscript with New Adult aged characters and themes, you'll have to do one of two things:
- Age the manuscript down to Young Adult.
- Age the manuscript up to Adult.
Both are perfectly fine options, and in the latter case you may not have to change too much, because twenty-something or (late) teen characters in Adult books are totally okay (just look at the Shades of Magic trilogy by V.E. Schwab). Unless, of course, the voice and themes, pacing, etc. doesn't fit Adult, in which case with some adjustments you can make the switch down to YA, or revise so that it does fit Adult.
The simple truth is you're not doing yourself any favors by calling your non-Contemporary Romance manuscript New Adult—the market has shown those other genres don't sell as well as they needed to to survive, which means nowadays those other genres often don't get picked up to begin with. So if you find yourself in this position where you have a non-Contemporary Romance manuscript that would be New Adult if New Adult sold non-romantic genres, then you may want to start considering whether aging your manuscript up or down would better fit the manuscript and your career goals if you have your heart set on publishing traditionally.
What do you think?
Twitter-sized bite:
Have a non-Contemporary Romance MS you want to traditionally publish? @Ava_Jae says you may want to do this first. (Click to tweet)
Book Review: CAM GIRL by Elliot Finley Wake (w/a Leah Reader)
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| Photo credit: Goodreads |
So I did. And I'm so glad I did because this book felt really important to me.
Before I go on, here's the Goodreads summary, as per usual:
"Vada Bergen is broke, the black sheep of her family, and moving a thousand miles away from home for grad school, but she’s got the two things she loves most: her art and her best friend—and sometimes more—Ellis Carraway. Ellis and Vada have a friendship so consuming it’s hard to tell where one girl ends and the other begins. It’s intense. It’s a little codependent. And nothing can tear them apart.
Until an accident on an icy winter road changes everything.
Vada is left deeply scarred, both emotionally and physically. Her once-promising art career is cut short. And Ellis pulls away, unwilling to talk about that night. Everything Vada loved is gone.
She’s got nothing left to lose.
So when she meets some smooth-talking entrepreneurs who offer to set her up as a cam girl, she can’t say no. All Vada has to do is spend a couple hours each night stripping on webcam, and the “tips” come pouring in.
It’s just a kinky escape from reality until a client gets serious. “Blue” is mysterious, alluring, and more interested in Vada’s life than her body. Online, they chat intimately. Blue helps her heal. And he pays well, but he wants her all to himself. No more cam shows. It’s an easy decision: she’s starting to fall for him. But the steamier it gets, the more she craves the real man behind the keyboard. So Vada pops the question:
Can we meet IRL?
Blue agrees, on one condition. A condition that brings back a ghost from her past. Now Vada must confront the devastating secrets she's been running from—those of others, and those she's been keeping from herself..."
There are three things you can pretty much expect whenever you pick up one of Raeder's books:
- Incredibly gorgeous writing.
- Very sexy scenes throughout.
- TWISTS LIKE WHOA.
Cam Girl indisputably delivered on all three points.
While I found some of the pre-Blue cam girling stuff a bit much for me at the beginning (not a flaw of the book, just a personal taste thing), I'm so glad I kept reading because the story and characters more than made up for it.
Vada, an artist, deals with chronic pain specifically in her hand and arm from the accident at the beginning of the book. I've read a few books now with characters who struggle with chronic pain, but this depiction resonated the most with me—and the further connection of not being able to do art because of the pain, something I deal with IRL, is something that echoed unexpectedly deeply with me.
Then there's Vada's relationship with her best friend, Ellis, which I absolutely loved reading. Vada and Ellis have a blurry best friends/more than best friends relationship, but though Vada has accepted that she's bisexual, the thought of having a serious long-term relationship with a girl freaks her out, which is an experience with bisexuality that I haven't seen deeply explored in a book before. It worked really well here in terms of tension and adding a complicated dynamic to Vada and Ellis's relationship, and it felt like a real experience that was important to tackle.
All of these character elements and more weave incredibly well into the plot, which is messy and complicated and finished off with an ending I totally didn't see coming. I loved the frank discussions about gender and sexuality, and seeing a major nonbinary character figure themselves out and explore their identity is something I really appreciated.
I loved reading this, will probably re-read in the future, and now I'm even more excited for Raeder's next book, Bad Boy, which features a trans guy major character. If you haven't picked up Raeder's books before and you like (very) steamy, complicated, and dark New Adult books, I honestly can't recommend his writing more.
Diversity note: Vada, the protagonist, is Latina, bisexual, and deals with chronic pain, and another major character is nonbinary (genderfluid). The author is openly bisexual and nonbinary, so it's #ownvoices, too.
.@Ava_Jae gives 5 stars to CAM GIRL by Elliot Wake (w/a Leah Raeder). Is this twisty, diverse NA on your TBR? (Click to tweet)
Looking for a NA w/ major nonbinary, disabled, & bi characters? Check out CAM GIRL by Elliot Wake (w/a Leah Raeder). (Click to tweet)
Book Review: BLACK IRIS by Leah Raeder
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| Photo credit: Goodreads |
Before I go on, here’s the summary from Goodreads:
“It only took one moment of weakness for Laney Keating’s world to fall apart. One stupid gesture for a hopeless crush. Then the rumors began. Slut, they called her. Queer. Psycho. Mentally ill, messed up, so messed up even her own mother decided she wasn't worth sticking around for.
If Laney could erase that whole year, she would. College is her chance to start with a clean slate.
She's not looking for new friends, but they find her: charming, handsome Armin, the only guy patient enough to work through her thorny defenses—and fiery, filterless Blythe, the bad girl and partner in crime who has thorns of her own.
But Laney knows nothing good ever lasts. When a ghost from her past resurfaces—the bully who broke her down completely—she decides it's time to live up to her own legend. And Armin and Blythe are going to help.
Which was the plan all along.
Because the rumors are true. Every single one. And Laney is going to show them just how true.
She's going to show them all.”
So first and foremost, Black Iris is a New Adult novel, but holy guacamole it is so very different from 99% of NA novels out there right now. Black Iris is not a contemporary romance—it’s a dark, unsettling Thriller with deeply twisted characters and tons of twists. It’s the kind of book I feel like I’ll need to re-read to fully absorb, because it isn’t until all the pieces fall together that it really all begins to make sense.
Like Unteachable, Raeder expertly weaves a raw, realistic voice with moments of beauty and clarity. The characters are flawed and make few attempts to be likable—and there were some moments where I almost felt like Laney, the protagonist, was getting a little heavy-handed on deliberately portraying herself as unlikable (not so much through actions, but through things she would say about being an unlikable heroine). That said, I liked that many of the characters weren’t trying to be likable—they made ugly decisions, and had terrible thoughts, and they owned them completely.
The only other thing that occasionally threw me off was the timeline. The story is told non-chronologically with chapters jumping back and forth between the present and past, which occasionally got a little confusing (one of the reasons, I suspect, I felt like I would benefit from a second read).
Despite that, I really loved this book. From the gripping plot, to the out-there-for-you-to-see ugly emotions, to a protagonist who wasn’t completely sure about her sexual identity (and wasn’t trying to be sure or put a label on it), to a cast of characters who were twisted, and layered, and all-around fascinating, Black Iris is on my list of favorites.
If you’re looking for a gripping, beautifully-written, dark, and complicated New Adult Thriller, I couldn’t recommend this one more. 4.5/5 stars to this seriously awesome book.
Diversity note: The protagonist doesn’t label herself, but is attracted to (and has on-the-page explicit relationships with) both men and women, and she also has borderline personality disorder. Other major characters are bipolar and have antisocial personality disorder, and two major characters are Persian (including one love interest).
Have you read Black Iris?
Twitter-sized bites:
.@Ava_Jae gives 4.5/5 stars to BLACK IRIS by @LeahRaeder. Have you read this twisted, raw NA Thriller? (Click to tweet)
Looking for a dark, layered, and diverse NA Thriller? Check out BLACK IRIS by Leah Raeder. (Click to tweet)
Book Review: TRUST THE FOCUS by Megan Erickson
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| Photo credit: Goodreads |
As I like to do with book reviews before I talk about my feels, here is the Goodreads summary:
“With his college graduation gown expertly pitched into the trash, Justin Akron is ready for the road trip he planned with his best friend Landry— and ready for one last summer of escape from his mother’s controlling grip. Climbing into the Winnebago his father left him, they set out across America in search of the sites his father had captured through the lens of his Nikon.
As an aspiring photographer, Justin can think of no better way to honor his father’s memory than to scatter his ashes at the sites he held sacred. And there’s no one Justin would rather share the experience with more than Landry.
But Justin knows he can’t escape forever. Eventually he’ll have to return home and join his mother’s Senate campaign. Nor can he escape the truth of who he is, and the fact that he’s in love with his out-and-proud travel companion.
Admitting what he wants could hurt his mother’s conservative political career. But with every click of his shutter and every sprinkle of ash, Justin can’t resist Landry’s pull. And when the truth comes into focus, neither is prepared for the secrets the other is hiding.”Okay, so. Megan is a super lovely person, and I really enjoyed Make it Count, which was released last year, so when I heard she was writing a m/m NA, I basically freaked out with uncontained excitement.
Super quick note: this is, indeed NA (not YA), so everything you would expect from NA is here. I, obviously, did not have a problem with it, but I figure it’s good to mention because sometimes people get confused when I say NA. It is not the same as YA. Okay.
As for Trust the Focus! Generally, when I read Erickson’s romances, I expect sweet and sexy NA. This was exactly that. Justin and Landry go on a road trip to honor Justin’s dad with no plans of making anything happen romantically between them (Justin isn’t even openly gay, so there doesn’t at first even seem to be a possibility of anything happening between them), but the more time they spend together, the more they begin to realize ignoring their feelings for each other isn’t going to work for much longer.
Trust the Focus had me smiling, awww-ing, laughing, internally raging and getting teary-eyed—which is to say, making me feel all the things a good romance should. I absolutely loved Justin and Landry’s chemistry, and while Justin frustrated me (as any good flawed romance hero should), I was rooting for them from the first page and loved seeing their relationship pull together.
If you’re looking for some sweet and fun diverse NA, I absolutely recommend Trust the Focus. I’ve already added the next in the series, Focus on Me, to my TBR shelf, and I can’t wait to continue to diversify my collection of NA novels!
Do you have any diverse NA recommendations?
.@Ava_Jae gives 5/5 stars to TRUST THE FOCUS by @MeganErickson_. Have you read this sweet m/m NA romance? (Click to tweet)
Looking for a sweet and sexy diverse NA? Check out TRUST THE FOCUS by Megan Erickson. (Click to tweet)
So You Want to Write NA Contemporary Romance?
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| Photo credit: idea ablaze on Flickr |
What is it?
College (or college-age, at least), swoony book boyfriends (and girlfriends), awesome voices, awkward moments, stepping into adulthood, there are so many components of NA Contemporary Romances.
What do they have in common? They all feature college-age protagonists, are in a modern day setting, and the plot largely revolves around a romance.
Pros/Cons of Writing NA Contemporary Romance:
Pros:
- Wonderful voices. Like YA, one of my favorite things about NA are the incredibly diverse and powerful voices. There’s a very distinct sound to NA and some really wonderful voices that set them apart and absolutely fit the age range of their protagonists.
- Adorable (or heart-wrenching) romances. The tone in NA novels varies greatly, but in the end, the romances are really great. From the light, fluffy and adorable to the darker, emotionally-ridden conflicts, the romances stick with you long after the book has ended.
- Very popular (right now). Which means there’s so much to choose from! And it’s pretty good from a marketing standpoint, because books in popular categories and genres generally have a better chance of selling well.
Cons:
- Stigma/common misconceptions. There are a lot of people out there who still believe (and say) that New Adult is Young Adult with sex. Or that New Adult is the same as erotica. Neither of which are true, but it is an assumption a lot of people make about the category, particularly NA Contemporary Romance.
- Mostly digital. I mean, this is really only a con if your dream is to be traditionally published in print. NA is actually doing really well in the digital marketplace, and some NA authors have gone on to be traditionally published after their digitally published books took off (see Tammara Webber, Cora Carmack and Jennifer Armentrout, for example). But at the moment at least, NA is mostly a digital phenomena, and while it’s (painfully) slowly breaking in the traditional print sphere, it’s not quite there yet.
- Very popular (right now). Which means it’s easy to get lost in the crowd. Being part of a popular movement definitely has it’s pros and cons.
Recommended Reading:
As I’ve said in every other So You Want To Write post, reading in the genre (and category) you’re writing in is mandatory. Lucky for you, there are loads of awesome books out there to enjoy and learn from.
Note: I’ve read (and enjoyed) all of these except for Unteachable, which is on my TBR list because I’ve heard great things about it.
- Easy (Contours of the Heart duology) by Tammara Webber
- Faking It (Losing It series) by Cora Carmack
- Make it Count (Bowler University series) by Megan Erickson
- Only the Good Die Young by K.K. Hendin
- The Sound of Us (Radio Hearts series) by Ashley Poston
- Unteachable by Leah Raeder
For more, check out Goodreads’s New Adult page (which includes more than just Contemporary Romance) and their Popular New Adult books books shelf (which are mostly, but possibly not all Contemporary Romance).
Helpful Links:
- What is ‘New Adult’? Romance Editors and Authors Tell All by Natalie Zutter for bookish.com (partially) reposted on xoxoafterdark.com.
- RT14 Panel Recap: NA: Capturing the New Adult Voice by me on Writability.
- RT14 Panel Recap: NA: What’s Next in New Adult? by me on Writability.
- New Adult: No Sex Required by me on Writability.
- Young Adult vs. New Adult: What’s the Difference? by me on Writability.
Do you enjoy reading or writing NA Contemporary Romance? Share your experience!
Twitter-sized bites:
Thinking about writing NA Contemporary Romance? Writer @Ava_Jae shares some tips, recommendations and more. (Click to tweet)
Do you write NA Contemporary Romance? Share your experience at @Ava_Jae’s So You Want to Write series. (Click to tweet)
The New Adult Speculative Fiction Landscape
I've got a super special post for you guys, today! My CP and New Adult author of awesome, Caitlin Sinead, has agreed not only to share the super awesome cover reveal of her debut NA novel HEARTSICK, but she's sharing some super interesting thoughts on NA Spec Fic as well!
Take it away, Caitlin!
When I began writing HEARTSICK in the late spring of 2013, the New Adult landscape was still shifting (as it is now!) and it wasn’t clear if speculative stories would work well in the category. But I was optimistic. I loved the idea of writing YA-style speculative stories with older characters and more mature themes. So I was going to write it, gosh darn it!
When I began querying HEARTSICK in the fall, I got much more pushback on Quinn’s age (from agents who didn’t feel comfortable pitching New Adult but didn’t think the book fit well within the adult category either) than I did on the speculative elements. And when I did get an agent and we went out on submission, only one editor flatly turned it down because it wasn’t a pure (i.e., non speculative) contemporary romance.
Meanwhile, more and more speculative NA has been surfacing and doing well. To the point that NA Alley recently wrote a blog post entitled “New Adult Speculative Fiction is here to Stay.” However, I find it interesting that they don’t necessarily see the current NA audience as being receptive to speculative NA. Instead, they mention that, “readers of speculative fiction are already out there, and most of them don't realize that New Adult can satisfy their fantastical cravings as well.” The blog goes on to add, “it’s not about pushing spec fic on readers who love contemporary, it’s about targeting our own readers.”
I agree with the idea that there may be a large audience out there just ready for NA speculative. But have we, as a writing/publishing community, actually reached them? Is the common perception that much of NA is contemporary romance inaccurate?
I dug into the stats on Amazon to see if I could find some answers and had way too much fun playing in excel with graphs. I won’t bore you with all of my graphical creations, but I thought the comparison between YA and NA and general fiction might be interesting.
Now, before I get into my analysis *cleans glasses while pausing to look intelligent,* it’s important to note multiple caveats:
- Before you say, “Caitlin, those percentages don’t add up,” let me explain. I searched for ALL the “Young Adult” books on amazon. ALL of them! Then, I searched for ALL the “Young Adult Paranormal.” I then used that to get the percentage of YA books that are tagged as YA paranormal.
- “Contemporary romance” doesn’t preclude speculative elements. HEARTSICK has the “contemporary romance” label. And that’s great!
- I’m a little dubious that only 12% of NAs are contemporary romance, so this likely gets into issues of how things are tagged.
- To get the general numbers, I based them against a search for “fiction.” (When I tried searching for “adult” books a lot of NSFW stuff came up…heh). So, I think this worked! But, I suppose it’s possible a lot of fiction isn’t ever tagged with the generic “fiction.”
Still, even with all those caveats I think this data gives us an idea of what currently makes up NA, and it’s still very heavily leaning to contemporary romance with paranormal books being the only speculative books in the category with more representation than YA and general fiction.
The scenario gets even less optimistic for popular New Adult books. When I checked last week, in the top 100 Romance > New Adult and College there were only eight speculative books. In the top 100 Women’s Fiction > New Adult and College there were only two. Two! None of these were in the top 20. (It’s important to note that Amazon also has a Fantasy > New Adult and College category as well, where, obviously, 100 percent at speculative. They do not have an NA category under Science Fiction).
So, has that NA speculative audience really been found? As an optimist, I believe they’re out there, but we’ve only really pierced the surface. Perhaps, right now, we’re seeing the dark blue part of the venn diagram (I told you I had fun with charts!) below. Those readers who love NA contemporary romances AND also speculative fiction. And that dark blue area has been encouraging and fueling the NA speculative stories. Now we just need to figure out how to get to the rest of the “speculative readers” circle. Hopefully, with each NA speculative release, we reach even more readers.
Completely Made-Up Venn Diagram
Wasn't that great? I love the venn diagrams and I think Caitlin's perspective on New Adult SpecFic is totally fascinating. But the fun isn't over yet because as I said before, Caitlin has been gracious enough not only to share the blurb and an excerpt from HEARTSICK, but we're revealing the cover, too! Woot!
Here we go:
Blurb:
Quinn is looking forward to her senior year. She has big plans to hang out with her best friend Mandy, flirt with cute boy-genius Rashid, party at her favorite dive bar, and figure out what she’s going to do after graduation with her not-so-useful art major degree. But that is before she meets Luke, a hot townie who moves back home to help take care of his dying sister. And it is before the weird epidemic that starts sweeping campus in which people’s eyes mysteriously turn purple. Is it an odd side effect from a new party drug? Is it a rogue bacteria that was developed in a campus lab? Whatever it is, tensions are heating up as the town starts blaming the university, and the student religious group is convinced that it’s the mark of the devil. Quinn and Luke are caught in the middle, especially when Quinn learns that Luke isn’t just a happy-go-lucky, redneck boy-next-door—he is a detective—a fact that triggers Quinn’s phobia of guns and memories of her deceased uncle. In spite of herself and her desire to remain unattached and independent, Quinn finds herself falling for him. But when town and gown relations heat up even further, and Quinn’s friend Danny mysteriously falls to his death, Quinn vows to discover the truth behind the epidemic. As she searches for the people responsible, she realizes that sometimes to gain your independence, you have to be willing to give a little bit of it up.Excerpt:
“Did you go to college?”
His jaw is tight. “Yes.”
“Do you think I could guess your major?” I ask.
“Probably not,” he says.
I don’t like that I don’t even get a hint at what he did before or what he studied. I shrug, start on my second hotdog and then lean back, really aiming for a glint in my eye, if that’s possible to control. I’ll make this a game. “Well, do you think you can guess mine?”
He smiles. “Do I get something if I guess right?”
I hop up onto a stool and let the tip of my toe brush against his knee. When I make contact, he starts, before leaning in. “What do you want?”
“I want a lot of things…” He stares at me. “But for now, I’d settle for a second date.”
“Okay, if you can guess my major, on the first try—” I emphasize that bit with a pointed finger, “—then I’ll reluctantly agree to go out with you again.”
“I don’t like the reluctant part, but I’ll take what I can get. Now, let’s see…” He rubs his chin as though he’s an old-timey detective. He’s ready to pace back and forth across the room with a pipe and a deerstalker hat. “You like photography.”
Shit, he does know that. I start to hum the Jeopardy! theme song. Maybe if time is running out he’ll be more likely to guess quickly and get it wrong? Do I want him to get it wrong?
“Okay, I got it.” He rubs his hands together. “You’re an art major.” His cheeks swell with the weight of his smile.
“You got that just because I take pictures?” I rub my forehead.
“I know more than that.”
“Someone told you,” I say. “If this bet was rigged, it doesn’t count.”
He jerks back and shakes his head, frowning. “No, I wouldn’t do that,” he says. “I noticed you had some pottery on your coffee table, with initials on it, a Q. B.?”
I nod. He’s talking about the bowl I made last year. Initials usually go on the bottom, but I painted them big and proud in the middle. And the bowl is empty. Mandy and I haven’t decided what to put in it. We narrowed it down to fake fruit (lame), M&M’S (which we would devour) or Micro Machines. Clearly, we’re leaning toward Micro Machines.
Luke takes my hand. I think he’s trying to convey his earnestness, his respectability and seriousness of not tricking me into a bet. The pads of my fingers brush against his rough palms and I suppress a sigh. His thumb runs along my pointer finger, sliding to the fingernail. “You also have paint under your nails.” His victorious, smug smile is in full bloom.
I pull my hand away, embarrassed. “Yeah, it’s hard to get all the paint off.”
“I’m sure,” he says.
And here's the gorgeous cover!
I love this cover and as someone who has read the book, I can tell you the book is just as excellent (and also the cover fits so well aggghhh).
You can add HEARTSICK to your Goodreads TBR shelves right here!
And here are the other links:
Caitlin Sinead is represented by Andrea Somberg at Harvey Klinger, Inc. and her debut novel, Heartsick, will be published by Carina Press in 2015. Her writing has earned accolades from Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, Glimmer Train, and Writers & Artists, and her stories have appeared in multiple publications, including The Alarmist, The Binnacle, Crunchable, Jersey Devil Press, and Northern Virginia Magazine. She earned a master's degree in writing from Johns Hopkins University.Check out the cover reveal for @CaitlinSineadJ's debut HEARTSICK + her thoughts on NA SpecFic on @Ava_Jae's blog. (Click to tweet)
Have we found the NA SpecFic audience? @CaitlinSineadJ shares her thoughts + her debut's cover reveal! (Click to tweet)
Guest Post: Moral Ambiguity in New Adult: We’re Not in Middle Earth Anymore
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| Photo credit: Goodreads |
I've got a really special post for you guys today! The brilliant Sarah Harian, author of NA Sci-Fi THE WICKED WE HAVE DONE (which you may or may not remember I completely raved about), graciously agreed to write a guest post for Writability. And it's a pretty fantastic one, if I do say so myself.
Take it away, Sarah!
Two and a half years ago, I did a pretty crazy thing. I finished my fourth manuscript, and my first manuscript to feature a bunch of pretty awful characters. This story ended up being my debut New Adult novel, THE WICKED WE HAVE DONE.
In the book, ten criminals enter a technologically advanced prison to be judged for their crimes. Several of these characters are somewhat redeeming, or at least, I think they are. But they are killers. Some feel nothing for what they’ve done. Some still feel anger against those they’ve killed because they murdered out of revenge. Others feel guilty for the manslaughter they committed.
My narrator, Evalyn, is a rarity out of all the criminals she enters the prison with. While she was the one to pull the trigger, killing an innocent man, she was forced into it by a villain who threatens her with the life of her best friend.
But Evalyn’s guilt is misplaced. She doesn’t feel guilty about the life she took. She feels guilty that, even after she committed murder, her best friend still dies. When admitting this to another character, he tells her that she did what she had to do and not feeling guilty is okay, and Evalyn sort of believes him.
The reactions to Evalyn’s internal struggles have been very polarized. Some readers have told me that, in her shoes, they could see themselves doing the same thing and feeling the same way. Other readers think that Evalyn is a terrible person and deserves to rot in jail for an eternity.
As for me? Well, I don’t know how I feel about Evalyn’s misplaced guilt. As the author of the character, you’d think that I would, but I don’t. And that’s okay. Evalyn is morally ambiguous. While her true feelings are on display for the reader, real people have the luxury of hiding when they feel shame, or guilt, or when they feel sorry for themselves. Evalyn doesn’t.
To me, part of being a new adult is facing the concept of moral ambiguity. That’s not to say that all twenty-somethings feel indifferently about murder, because that obviously isn’t the case. But I know that my own coming-of-age consisted of the realization that the binary of good and evil rarely exists.
When I was a teenager, I read a lot of novels about good versus evil. The distinction of good versus evil in Harry Potter is obvious even in the descriptions. At the peak of their battle over the wizarding and Muggle worlds, Dumbledore is a gentle old man, and Voldemort is an ugly monster. In The Lord of the Rings, Mount Doom is described as having “fiery depths,” depicting hell. Orcs and the Nazgul are heinous, ugly creatures. The Chronicles of Narnia brim with biblical metaphors, making it obvious for young readers to tell who is good and who is bad. Those who are pure of heart are the ones who defeat the darkness, and all others fail.
Right and wrong and good and bad are often hammered into us at a young age. As a kid, I had a guilty conscious and was full of shame every time I did anything wrong. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I opened myself up to debating the reality of good and evil. I had to force myself to come to terms with the fact that the people I deemed good weren’t as perfect as they seemed, and those I thought were bad or evil were complex human beings who loved and dreamed and had feelings just like me. That even though I didn’t agree with their life choices, they were still people. They were a thread of humanity, and their stories shouldn’t be disregarded.
I believe that New Adult is a perfect category to explore this deconstruction of the good and evil dichotomy. Often, a person’s coming-of-age brings the disillusionment of black and white, but this doesn’t have to be a negative thing in terms of creating honest narratives. New Adult is an opportunity for readers to spend time with antiheroes and antiheroines, and come to terms with the fact that maybe a character doesn’t have to be as pure of heart as Frodo Baggins to carry the ring all of the way to Mount Doom.
Sarah Harian grew up in the foothills of Yosemite and received her B.A. and M.F.A. from Fresno State University. When not writing, she is usually hiking some mountain or another in the Sierras, playing video games with her husband, or rough-housing with her dog.
Twitter-sized bites:
To @sarahharian "part of being a new adult is facing the concept of moral ambiguity." What do you think? (Click to tweet)
Writing morally ambiguous characters? @sarahharian shares her experience with THE WICKED WE HAVE DONE. (Click to tweet)
Book Review: THE WICKED WE HAVE DONE by Sarah Harian
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| Photo credit: Goodreads |
I’d been looking forward to reading The Wicked We Have Done by Sarah Harian since I first heard of this epic-sounding NA novel, and now, having read it, I can say it definitely lived up to my expectations and more.
As per usual, here’s the Goodreads summary:
“Evalyn Ibarra never expected to be an accused killer and experimental prison test subject. A year ago, she was a normal college student. Now she’s been sentenced to a month in the compass room—an advanced prison obstacle course designed by the government to execute justice.
If she survives, the world will know she’s innocent.
Locked up with nine notorious and potentially psychotic criminals, Evalyn must fight the prison and dismantle her past to stay alive. But the system prized for accuracy appears to be killing at random.
She doesn’t plan on making friends.
She doesn’t plan on falling in love, either.”What immediately caught my interest about Wicked was that it’s not a typical Contemporary Romance New Adult novel—not to speak badly of Contemporary Romance NA, (I’ve read some excellent CR NA such as this one and this one) but I, for one, get very excited when I see some variation in the NA market.
Being that I love edge-of-your-seat-type novels, I was pretty psyched about this one—and it definitely didn’t disappoint.
What I loved about Wicked was how it kept me guessing—every page had me wondering what would happen next, and how Evalyn would survive, or if she even would. Not only that, but I found myself sympathizing with some truly dark characters, and even growing attached to them—something that I adore, because it’s a sign of really fantastic character development and building.
What’s even more exciting about this already thrilling book is that it really fits the New Adult category. Evalyn isn’t a typical college student—she’s practically on death row—but she still deals with many of the same struggles, fears and insecurities as other NA-aged characters. Her voice fits the category beautifully, and to me, Wicked serves as unequivocal proof that NA Speculative Fiction can definitely be successful.
I’m giving The Wicked We Have Done 5/5 stars and recommend it to anyone interested in trying out a different side of New Adult, who also loves thrilling, edge-of-your-seat novels.
Have you read Wicked? Also, I’d be happy to take some SpecFic NA recommendations!
Twitter-sized bites:
.@Ava_Jae gives 5/5 stars to THE WICKED WE HAVE DONE by @SarahHarian. Have you read this thrilling SpecFic NA? (Click to tweet)
Interested in reading some excellent NA SpecFic? Try THE WICKED WE HAVE DONE by @SarahHarian. (Click to tweet)
Book Review: EASY by Tammara Webber
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| Photo credit: Goodreads |
So if a certain YA series involving vampires is an example of how not to have a healthy relationship, Easy by Tammara Webber is a beautiful example of relationships done right. But first, the Goodreads summary:
“Rescued by a stranger.
Haunted by a secret.
Sometimes, love isn’t easy…
He watched her, but never knew her. Until thanks to a chance encounter, he became her savior…
The attraction between them was undeniable. Yet the past he’d worked so hard to overcome, and the future she’d put so much faith in, threatened to tear them apart.
Only together could they fight the pain and guilt, face the truth—and find the unexpected power of love.
A groundbreaking novel in the New Adult genre, Easy faces one girl's struggle to regain the trust she's lost, find the inner strength to fight back against an attacker, and accept the peace she finds in the arms of a secretive boy.”So Easy has a reputation of being the NA book that made many people love NA books, and I definitely understand why. Easy is one of the books that kicked off the category and made people pay attention, and it is totally deserving of its praise.
Like many other readers have said, I don’t usually gravitate towards Contemporary Romance novels, but Easy still caught my attention right from the beginning and kept it until the last page. It took me all of a day to read it, and I have to say, it features one of my favorite relationships ever.
Besides being super attractive, smart, artsy, badass and kind, the love interest Lucas respects boundaries. This, to me, is what made him so incredibly fantastic, because his relationship with Jacqueline is a perfect example of what a healthy, respectful relationship looks like.
Not only that, but Easy does an excellent job portraying and speaking out against rape culture—but it does it in a way that isn’t at all preachy or lecture-y.
Easy kept me flying through the chapters, smiling very often and has a wonderful message to boot. 5/5 stars for sure.
Have you read EASY?
Twitter-sized bites:
Curious about New Adult novels? Try EASY by @TammaraWebber. (Click to tweet)
.@Ava_Jae gives EASY by @TammaraWebber 5/5 stars. Have you read this book? (Click to tweet)
Book Review: ONLY THE GOOD DIE YOUNG by K.K. Hendin
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| Photo credit: Goodreads |
So I’ve been breaking out of my default genre choices for pleasure reading and picked up this wonderful book on release day, March 11. And promptly finished it in 24 hours.
This book, you guys. I loved it so much.
But before I start blabbering on about how wonderful it is, here’s the Goodreads summary for Only The Good Die Young by K.K. Hendin:
“The first year of college is supposed to be about parties, parties, and getting the hell out of Texas. Instead, Milcah Daniels is spending her eighteenth year in and out of Houston's hospitals. Her hair is falling out, they’ve cut off her boobs, and if she makes it to nineteen, she’ll consider it a personal miracle.
Breast cancer really has a way of messing with a girl’s social calendar.
When Milcah’s temporarily discharged from the hospital, she’s determined to get a tattoo for every medical procedure she’s had. Her quest leads her to Skin Stories, a new tattoo parlor a block from her apartment. And to it’s infuriatingly sexy artist, Callum Scott.
Callum is everything Milcah wants, and everything she shouldn’t have now. A new relationship when the official prognosis is one to five years is a terrible idea. But Callum doesn’t know about the breast cancer, and Milcah’s not running to tell him.
But when the doctor says things are actually looking positive, her entire life turns upside down. How is she supposed to start living again when she’s finally learned to accept her death?”So as I indicated at the top of the post, I don’t usually read a whole lot of contemporary romance, but it didn’t matter, because Only The Good Die Young kept my interest from first page to last.
Basically, this book was adorable.
Milcah’s voice is fantastic. It’s absolutely perfect for NA—full of snark that made me snicker on more than one occasion, and yet completely honest and real. Her thoughts and attitudes aren’t always pretty, and she isn’t even always a perfectly likable character (in fact, she was kind of infuriating several times), but I honestly didn’t mind because her worldview was so interesting and her voice made everything super fun to read.
Then there’s Callum.
Callum has jumped onto my list of favorite book boyfriends. He’s sexy as hell (I mean, hello gorgeous tattoo artist), and also adorable, and also thoughtful and basically I loved him from the start and didn’t stop loving him ever.
Overall, Only The Good Die Young is a fantastic example of NA fiction and one that I’ll be recommending basically forever to anyone curious about the category. So go read it.
I want more NA recommendations. Throw them my way, people!
Twitter-sized bites:
.@Ava_Jae gives 5/5 stars to ONLY THE GOOD DIE YOUNG by @kkhendin. (Click to tweet)
Looking for a great NA read without a college setting? Check out ONLY THE GOOD DIE YOUNG by @kkendin. (Click to tweet)
New Adult: No Sex Required
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| Photo credit: Muffet on Flickr |
As New Adult novels have become more popular and successful over time, I’ve seen a lot of talk, both interesting and infuriating about the emerging category.
The stereotype, which I’m sure most of you have seen, is that New Adult novels are Young Adult novels with explicit sex.
It’s not hard to see where the misconception comes from. The most popular New Adult novels, the ones that really brought attention to the category, are largely Contemporary Romance novels in which their characters partake in steamy scenes. Sex, explicit or not, happens in New Adult and is completely acceptable.
The issue that people seem to be getting confused on, however, is that sex is somehow a requirement for a novel to be categorized as New Adult. This, to me, is mindblowingly erroneous. New Adult novels are about a lot of things: independence, new responsibilities, being away from home for the first time, serious relationships, starting a family, grappling with the question of what it truly means to be an adult and so much more. Yes, some of them have sexy scenes. But New Adult is so much more than the sex.
The point of New Adult novels was and never will be the sex. There's a genre for that already, and it doesn't encompass the entire category of New Adult.
To infer that sex is somehow a requirement of New Adult novels is like saying that an Adult thriller that doesn’t have sex isn’t actually intended for the Adult audience at all, or like saying that a Young Adult novel without dark themes isn’t Young Adult.
But don’t take my word for it.
Last week, literary agent Suzie Townsend from New Leaf Literary & Media, Inc. (who, as an agency, collectively represent awesome books like Divergent, False Memory, Losing It and Shadow & Bone) interviewed several agents and editors about their opinions of New Adult and what New Adult meant to them. Here are some answers I found particularly telling:
“‘OMG. I'm an adult. Now what?’ in any genre. Like YA, it concerns a lot of first-time issues and struggles, but they're what most people face in/after college rather than in high school. It's a different focus and a different mindset. Repeat after me: NA is not sexed-up YA.”—Gordon Warnock, Foreword Literary
“I'm seeing way too many NA submissions that are simply YA with sex. That's not NA and that's not what I'm looking to add to my list. I want to see more novels about the experience of being NA. Unsure what this is? See my definition in GIFs here.” —
Kathleen Ortiz, New Leaf Literary
For those who want to learn more about how the industry views New Adult, I definitely recommend reading through the whole post.
The way I see it, New Adult novels, like Adult novels, can have sex in all it’s varying literary degrees—from explicit to “fade-to-black” scenes. But sex doesn’t determine whether or not a book fits into the category any more than it determines whether or not a book may be sold as an Adult novel.
So that’s my opinion, but what do you think? Is sex a requirement for New Adult novels? Why or why not?
Twitter-sized bites:
Is sex required for a book to be considered NA? Here's why one writer says no. (Click to tweet)
Do you think sex is a requirement for New Adult novels? Join the discussion at @Ava_Jae's blog. (Click to tweet)
New Adult: Here to Stay?
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| Photo credit: midnightglory on Flickr |
If you keep an eye on the publishing pulse, or otherwise are a writer on Twitter, chances are you’ve heard of the emerging categorization of New Adult.
While there have been many definitions and speculations on what exactly the category entails floating around the internet, I’ve found the one off NA Alley to be the most helpful:
“Typically, a novel is considered NA if it encompasses the transition between adolescence—a life stage often depicted in Young Adult (YA) fiction—and true adulthood.
Protagonists generally fall between the ages of eighteen and twenty-six, though exceptions may apply. NA characters are often portrayed experiencing: college, living away from home for the first time, military deployment, apprenticeships, a first steady job, a first serious relationship, etc.”
For more information on what NA is all about, check out their full “What is New Adult?” page, which has a great explanation.
Far more interesting than the actual definition of the category, to me, has been people’s opinions on NA (which range from we don’t need it to where have you been all my life?) and people’s expectations of where NA will go from here.
Right now, NA has been pretty focused on contemporary romances such as Cora Carmack’s Losing It and Faking It, Jamie McGuire’s Beautiful Disaster and Tammara Webber’s Easy, which is fine, but I’d love to see it expand to other genres—and I truly believe that it has the potential to do so.
But as agent extraordinaire Suzie Townsend said in her post on New Adult and different genres, where the category goes from here will depend entirely on the readers. And to me, that’s an exciting prospect.
The eighteen to early twenties segment has always been difficult to break into—a large part of the reason most of the characters I’ve written about until recently are about seventeen. Many publishers were convinced that readers didn’t want to read about characters within that age bracket, and so it went largely ignored for a long time.
But now self-publishing has changed that. The massive success of self-published NA novels has brought attention to the previously unmarketable age range, and now people are starting to pay attention.
In essence, readers have created New Adult, and whether or not it evolves and grows will depend largely on readers’ reception of this new category.
And to me, that is something very special.
What do you think? Is New Adult a fad, or will it continue to grow and change?
Twitter-sized bites:
Do you think New Adult is a fad, or is it here to stay? Join the discussion at @Ava_Jae's blog! (Click to tweet)
Why one writer thinks readers are making New Adult something special. (Click to tweet)
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