So You Want to Write NA Contemporary Romance?

Photo credit: svacher on Flickr

What is it? 

College-age protagonists in everyday settings, falling in love. NA Contemporary Romance is quirky, funny, awkward, dark, gritty, real and everything in between. Every topic under the sun is up for grabs: military matters, drinking, pregnancy, marriage, drug abuse, sexual assault, first jobs, first time away from home, etc.

Pros/Cons of Writing NA Contemporary Romance: 

Pros: 

• It’s crazy popular (right now). NA Contemporary Romance is huge right now, which is great because there’s plenty of reference and interest in the genre. But it also has a downside, mentioned below. 


• YA energy with more mature NA themes. This is something I love about NA in general (not just Contemporary Romance)—the energy and raw quality often seen in YA novels is still present in NA, but now there are more mature themes and characters. As they say, “old enough to know better, but too young to care.” And it’s awesome. 


• It’s fun. NA Contemporary Romance is a really fun space for writers. There’s tons of room for experimentation and so much potential for some really great variety. 

Cons: 

• It’s crazy popular right now. As great as it is, this also makes life a little more difficult for a writer trying to get published, both because your book has to be awesome to stand out among the crowd and because, as it is with trends, this is a trend. I don’t know what will be next for New Adult, no one does, but every bubble eventually bursts. 


• Certain areas are over-saturated. This is pretty inevitable considering how popular NA Contemporary Romance has gotten. There’s definitely overlap with many of the plots, but to me, this is just a challenge to push the boundaries. There have been a lot of stories told, true, but there’s so much room for stories that haven’t been told and twists that haven’t been explored. 


• Stigma. Unfortunately, there are still people out there who believe NA is just sexed-up YA. I’ve already written about why this isn’t true, but the stigma, while not as bad as it used to be, is still there. 

Recommended Reading: 

As I’ve said before and will say again: you must read what you’re writing. So if you’re writing (or thinking about writing) NA Contemporary Romance, here are some great recs, all of which I’ve read and enjoyed:

• Only the Good Die Young by K.K. Hendin
• The Sound of Us (Radio Hearts series) by Ashley Poston
• Easy (Contours of the Heart series) by Tammara Webber
• Faking It (Losing It series) by Cora Carmack 
• Best Kind of Broken (Finding Fate series) by Chelsea Fine

Helpful Links: 

• What is New Adult? by the awesome people at NA Alley
• Young Adult vs. New Adult: What’s the Difference? by me. :)
• YA Common Clichés series: YA Romance by S.E. Sinkhorn on Maybe Genius. (Yes, this is for YA, but the clichés are definitely present in NA romance too). 

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) 

Book Review: THE SOUND OF US by Ashley Poston

Photo credit: Goodreads

So once upon a time, the amazing Dahlia Adler posted about some New Adult books anyone interested in the category should read, and The Sound of Us by Ashley Poston was super highly recommended.

So I read it. And loved it. But before I begin my raving, here’s the Goodreads summary:

“America's favorite pop band, Roman Holiday, is done, dead, and so totally last year. For eighteen-year-old rockoholic Junie Baltimore, this is music to her ears. But when she discovers their sexy ex-lead singer hiding out on the boardwalk, her summer vacation becomes the cover story of the year. 

She's willing to keep him a secret, but when a sleazy paparazzo offers her the cash she needs to save the bar her father left behind, could she sell out for the chance to save her future? Who is she kidding? That's a no-brainer...but she never planned on falling head over heels for the lead singer.”

If I had to describe The Sound of Us in one word, it’d be ADORABLE. Gah. This book was so freaking cute, I don’t even know where to begin.

I picked up this book because I was promised some laughs and a light-hearted, fun read, and that’s exactly what I got. Junie is a delightful protagonist with major snark and some really funny thoughts and Roman is sexy and entertaining and their romance is so swoon worthy and fun and I just loved it.

A lot of NA books have some pretty heavy themes (hell, a lot of what I read in general has some pretty heavy or dark themes), so The Sound of Us was a wonderful breath of sweet, fresh air. Also, I’m not a huge music buff, but if you are, you’ll love this book. For real. So if you’re looking for something fun and downright cute and have an interest in music (or even if you don't!), definitely give this one a try.

Have you read The Sound of Us or something fun recently? 

Twitter-sized bites: 

.@Ava_Jae gives 5/5 stars to THE SOUND OF US by @ashposton. Have you read this fun NA romance? (Click to tweet)  

Looking for a light-hearted, fun NA read? Try THE SOUND OF US by @ashposton. (Click to tweet)