New Adult Genre

Our guest today is author Lynn Rush, who is touring her new release, Awaited, second in the Wasteland Trilogy. To celebrate, she is offering a FREE “Prelude to Darkness” short story.

About five years ago, when I first began writing for publication, I just wrote. Seriously, I just put down everything that came to mind. Heck, I didn’t even know what point of view (POV) meant—much to the dismay of my very first critique partner. 

As I learned the craft, I soaked up anything and everything I could find about my new-found passion. Then around six months into my journey as a writer, I was told my characters were too young for Adult novels yet they were too old for Young Adult (YA) novels. 

Naturally, being a newbie I asked, “So what should I do?”

And the overwhelming response was, “Change the age of your characters.”

That didn’t sit right with me, so I didn’t change anything. 

Then, as I continued writing, I heard that my romance was a bit sweet for Adult but a little too intense for Young Adult. 

Once again, when I asked what to do, I was told to change what and how I wrote. Now, perhaps it was either me being stubborn or just being too new in the industry to care, because I decided to stick with what I was doing. If it kept me from getting published, I was okay with that, because I just loved writing.

Don’t get me wrong, as the agent and editor rejections came pouring in, I did second guess things—a few times. But it always came back to the point of me feeling like I needed to write the stories of my heart.

Then I heard about something called New Adult (NA).

 

A couple of years ago a publisher, St. Martin’s Press, started throwing the phrase around. I don’t think it went as far as the publisher actually releasing any novels in that category, but it started something.

And, it confirmed that maybe what I wrote might be okay after all. 

So, I kept writing. 

It was Wasteland (my 13^th novel) that helped me break into this category. A boutique publisher, Crescent Moon Press, was ready to jump into the New Adult category full force. They even developed a line for it. And I was to be their flagship genre-breaking author. Very exciting indeed!

But is there an “official” definition of New Adult? I’m not one for “official” anything, so this is how I explain it when I’m speaking about this new and exciting space: 

YA is fairly sweet on the romance side of things, and Adult romances can get pretty intense and detailed.

Think of it in terms of a bedroom door and how “open” it is. In YA it’s not really open at all—or maybe just a tiny crack. In Adult romances, it can be wide open and the romantic scenes are sometimes very detailed.

New Adult is right in the middle. The door into the bedroom is cracked open, but a lot is left to the reader’s imagination.

With Wasteland (Book1,Wasteland Trilogy), I have been told my story falls between being very sweet, all the way to being called a very steamy read. The reviews for Awaited, (Book 2, Wasteland Trilogy), are describing the romance portion as more of a focus in the story, yet decidedly calmer than Adult levels of steam. 

I really focus on the emotional intensity rather than the physical steam, but ultimately how it’s interpreted is up to the reader. 

Just the way I like it.

I hope this sheds some light on the exciting genre called New Adult. But feel free to leave questions in the comments. I’m happy to try and answer them. 

To read an excerpt from Awaited, go to Lynn's website  

And register here for a FREE download of “Prelude to Darkness”. During the tour Lynn’s other eBooks are being offered with a special price for Wasteland ($5.99).  Awaited is available for $7.99.

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Driven to write, Lynn Rush often sees her characters by closing her eyes and watching their story unfold in her mind. Book reviewers say that her plots are well developed, and the writing is strong and full of artistic details – stunning in both characterization and her action-packed storylines.

A prolific author who began her writing career in 2008, Rush now has more than 25 novels to her credit. Six are currently under contract with Crescent Moon Press. Wasteland, the first novel in the trilogy was released in August 2011 and continues to receive five-star reviews. Rush holds a degree in psychology from Southwest Minnesota State University and a master’s degree from the University of Iowa.