AtoZChallenge 2015: N is for New Adult
Hello and welcome to just past the halfway point of the A to Z. Our theme here at Wittegen Press this year is ‘why’, specifically, why have we, as authors, written the titles we have. And, each day, the book we’re talking about will be FREE.
So, N is for New Adult today, and that’s the classification for my book The End of the Journey. For those who don’t know what New Adult is, it’s a fairly recent classification for those darker, sexier, possibly more violent stories that fall over the top end of Young Adult and into the books aimed at adults only.
The End of the Journey is the first part of the contemporary paranormal Hidden War series. Demons and magic are real in the Britain in which this series is set, and war rages between those who raise demons for their own ends and those who are trying to protect their world from such dark infiltration. This war goes on unseen by most.
In this world of two very clear sides, my protagonists, young men Damon Wulfres and Zac Kithrall, one from each of the sides, are forced together, Zac finding himself very much at the mercy of his enemy. He should be fighting for his freedom, but he trusts Damon, relies on him and, when the story opens, he has done for quite some time.
It was this idea that hooked my muse onto the story.
I wanted to explore the relationship between Damon and Zac as it developed, first through necessity and then into something more complex as Zac tries to discover the truth behind his own and Damon’s actions. Two young men with totally different backgrounds, but who share the weight of the expectations of their people, expectations they have both destroyed.
The End of the Journey could probably have been classified simply as Young Adult, but as Zac and Damon’s connection arcs through the upcoming stories, I intend for the story to grow both darker and more intimate, thus deserving the New Adult Classification.
What do you think of the New Adult classification – do you think it’s a useful designation, or do you think we had enough subgenres already?
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The End of the Journey by Sophie Duncan
Code for FREE download at Smashwords*: BE93E
The Hidden War has been raging unseen my normal eyes for generations and Zac Kithrall, demon-seer, and Damon Wulfres, demon-raiser, have grown up on opposite sides of it.
Zac knows these truths, but when he finds himself mostly helpless and under Damon’s control, he can’t remember why he trusts his enemy, or why they are running from both sides in the war. Weak, and fighting a raging power that is threatening to tear him apart from the inside, Zac is forced to rely on Damon, friend or foe, and, together, they face a race against time to prevent Armageddon.
The End Of The Journey is the first story in The Hidden War Series.
*Click Smashwords to go to the book on their site. Click the buy option. Put the code in the Coupon Code box, click ‘apply coupon’ and the book will be free. Coupon is only guaranteed to be valid for 16th April so please use immediately.
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I haven’t read a lot of New Adult yet. It all seems to be lacking paranormal.
I suppose I should add, aside from the one you highlighted here, but still, I haven’t found many more. =(
I have to say I haven’t looked specifically, NA and YA seems to merge a bit for me.
I had very little idea about some genres until I started the A to Z Challenge, probably as it’s full of people who write 😉
I think it’s useful if it might indicate something a bit “more” than YA, at my age I don’t need to worry, nor did I as a child, about reading things not of my age. At least now I can sometimes search out genres just to see what’s there and try something new!
Mars xx
Curling Stones for Lego People
I totally agree – YA and NA are more a grouping for genres, rather than genres in their own right, so yeah, it’s better to have YA Contemporary Fantasy, NA Paranormal, etc. And age does seem to matter a lot less for readers than watchers.
I get why there are genres or classifications; we need some way to get our books in to the hands of readers who will enjoy them, but at the same time, I think they can be restrictive. When I went to query my first book I nearly split my brain trying to figure out which genre it fit in. Finally, I decided it didn’t.
I know what you mean. One of our books is a complete mixture, it’s a police procedural, but sent in a contemporary fantasy Britain and it’s a murder mystery, so trying to classify it, especially when you only get two genres on Amazon is a challenge! I could never work in a bookstore, or be a librarian, I’d spend my entire time flitting between genres and wanting to put books in every genre going 🙂
Great post. Your book sounds fascinating. I love the genre and believe my novel belongs in New Adult because I’m being told its skewing higher age-wise than young adult. After reading your post and about your book, I’ll look into it more and consider attaching it to the description of my work.
New Adult is a useful descriptor if you’re not sure, but want to warn the content might be slightly beyond Young Adult – although YA didn’t exist until a decade or so ago either 🙂
It’s officially the second half of A to Z. Time to catch that second wind, rest up on Sunday, then it’s that mad dash toward the finish line!
Stephen Tremp
A to Z Cohost
N is for Numerology
That it is!
I like the idea of “New Adult” and wish it didn’t have to have that strong sexual element, but hey–that’s marketing for you. 😉
Yes, that’s marketing – and it can tie us in knots trying to work out exactly which market to aim a book at!
I’m not so sure NA is a realistic age-based category for my particular genre, historical. The average person from ages 18–25 was already considered a full grownup 50+ years ago, without a transitional period from adolescence to “real” adulthood. I doubt the average NA-aged reader of today could relate to a same-aged character who, for example, is already married and starting a family, or who went right from school into the workforce or the military.
You make a good point – the more we break up the age ranges of fiction, the more complex it gets, because you will get genres that don’t fit into what might be considered that age range because, as you say, there is nothing to identify with.