A
few weeks back Amazon finally recognized New Adult as it’s own
category--one hurdle down, many more to go. Although Amazon now says
that the genre exists, it still has the stereotype of smutty Young Adult
plastered all over it. As both a Young Adult and New Adult author I was
among the slightly annoyed that such a stereotype was place on a genre I
wrote. I certainly don’t write smut, not that there’s anything wrong
with it; I just don’t write it. As I started looking at it more, I
realized the reason why people where labeling it that way. Not only were
the covers reminiscent of adult smut novels with scrawnier young men,
but the content of many of the most popular in the genre truly are smit.
I happened to discover this when I read a review with an excerpt of a
book I was interested in reading in the genre because of it’s
popularity. Boy, was I glad I got to read that excerpt and happened upon
it at home instead of when I was bored at work on lunch! I turned
varying shades of red, and I’m sure my facial expression was mortified.
Let me preface what I’m about to say with the fact that I’m not saying
there is anything wrong with Erotica, it’s just not my cup of tea, and
it’s certainly not the way that I write. That excerpt made me realize
that there are a lot of books out there that are New Adult that are
truly smut, BUT they aren’t Young Adult by any means. See the truth is
there are broad categories or genres for novels that describe the age
group that they are aimed at: Children’s, Middle Grade up to about 15;
Young Adult 16-23; New Adult 18-28; and adult everything else.
Subsequently, the age of the reader is usually the age of the characters
within the book (minus Children’s which often has non-age specific
characters like dogs, etc). As you can see there is some overlap between
Young Adult and New Adult, which is because of the fact that there are
varying levels of maturity in Young Adult novels. Then again, let’s be
honest--every single one of us probably reads books outside of that
“age” range depicted. That aside, within the large age-based genre are
sub-genres that describe the content of the book: Dystopian, Romance,
Contemporary, and you guessed it, smut. Saying that New Adult is all
smut is like saying that all adult novels are smut. Yes, characters
within New Adult novels (just like their adult counterparts) will have
sex, just like the real people those ages will. There will be New Adult
where it’s gone over in grotesque detail, and there will be New Adult
where it’s glossed over as a part of a relationship, but not an
overwhelming factor. Then there will be New Adult where it’s somewhere
in the middle, which is where I think that my novels are. I personally
do not believe that sex in a Young Adult novel makes it New Adult, more
often than not it would be Mature Young Adult, because despite the fact
that parents all over will want to smack me, teenagers have sex. There I
said it. The other major difference in New Adult is the experiences
that the characters will be having--they are more based along the age
that they are targeted at. Overall, New Adult filled a much needed hole
between Young Adult and Adult novels--it revolutionized
publishing and caused the dirty YA controversy. I don’t believe that my
explanation will change the stereotype at all, but I do believe the New
Adult genre is far more than just smut, and I plan on proving it with
every book I write.
Emma Walker was a writer who'd lost herself to someone else's anger--who had given up on ever feeling like herself again.
Evan Levesque was a rock-god--the one all the woman wanted, but he'd never gotten used to the loneliness between the stage and real life.
With just one cup of coffee they'll begin a journey of self-discovery at each others sides, but can Emma handle Evan's fame while dealing with her own demons? Emma's checkered personal past, a bad relationship that haunts the edges of her memories, threatens to make everything implode on them when Evan takes matters into his own hands.
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but your words...they'll destroy my soul--Can Emma handle being put back together and facing who she's become because of it?
GENRE: New Adult>Contemporary Romance
Mild to moderate sexual content
Goodreads
Author Biography:
Cassandra doesn't remember a time when she wasn't writing. In fact, the first time she was published was when she was seven years old and won a contest to be published in an American Girl Doll novel. Since then Cassandra has written more novels than she can count and put just as many in the circular bin. Her personal goal with her writing is to show the reader the character's stories through their dialogue and actions instead of just telling the reader what is happening. In 2012 she became a published Young Adult author, releasing In Between Seasons (The Fall, #1) and Walking in the Shadows. In 2013 she branched out by using her artistic illustrating talents to publish her first Children's novel, The Adventures of Skippy Von Flippy: Tales of Friendship (Skippy Tales, #1). Cassandra will also release her first New Adult novel, Just One Cup, in the Spring of 2013.
Cassandra is a freelance professional photographer known for her automotive, nature and architectural shots. She is the owner of Gio Design Studios, a photography and publication marketing company that designs covers and marketing materials for authors utilizing the company's photography. She is currently studying to receive a degree in Marketing. Cassandra is happily married to the man of her dreams and they live in the rolling hills of New England with the other loves of her life their dogs, Bubski and Kanga.
Evan Levesque was a rock-god--the one all the woman wanted, but he'd never gotten used to the loneliness between the stage and real life.
With just one cup of coffee they'll begin a journey of self-discovery at each others sides, but can Emma handle Evan's fame while dealing with her own demons? Emma's checkered personal past, a bad relationship that haunts the edges of her memories, threatens to make everything implode on them when Evan takes matters into his own hands.
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but your words...they'll destroy my soul--Can Emma handle being put back together and facing who she's become because of it?
GENRE: New Adult>Contemporary Romance
Mild to moderate sexual content
E-BOOK only $1.99
Paperback $12.99
Goodreads
Author Biography:Cassandra doesn't remember a time when she wasn't writing. In fact, the first time she was published was when she was seven years old and won a contest to be published in an American Girl Doll novel. Since then Cassandra has written more novels than she can count and put just as many in the circular bin. Her personal goal with her writing is to show the reader the character's stories through their dialogue and actions instead of just telling the reader what is happening. In 2012 she became a published Young Adult author, releasing In Between Seasons (The Fall, #1) and Walking in the Shadows. In 2013 she branched out by using her artistic illustrating talents to publish her first Children's novel, The Adventures of Skippy Von Flippy: Tales of Friendship (Skippy Tales, #1). Cassandra will also release her first New Adult novel, Just One Cup, in the Spring of 2013.
Cassandra is a freelance professional photographer known for her automotive, nature and architectural shots. She is the owner of Gio Design Studios, a photography and publication marketing company that designs covers and marketing materials for authors utilizing the company's photography. She is currently studying to receive a degree in Marketing. Cassandra is happily married to the man of her dreams and they live in the rolling hills of New England with the other loves of her life their dogs, Bubski and Kanga.
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