Ah, New AdultโฆMan, I love this little genre. Itโs the age where youโre finally
making peace with not only who you are, but how you relate to the world around
you. How do you get there? That age is a roller coaster of emotion, and thereโs
inevitably going to be a few mistakes. So doesnโt it make sense that our New
Adult characters would make those same mistakes?
New Adult is known for angst, for the drama that accompanies the age and keeps
the pages turning. Heck, I canโt think of one New Adult book Iโve read that I
havenโt, at one point, thought about smacking the heroine or hero for some
idiotic choice they made that led to said drama. But you know what? Theyโre
18-25 years old or so. Who the heck has it together at that age? So while our
characters are making mistakes, swimming through the drama, and hopefully coming
out the other side with a better understanding of what went wrong, weโre along
for the roller coaster ride.
In romance, nothing can be sweeter, or more agonizing than the anticipation, the
heights we climb with the characters before we know theyโre about to fall. We
turn the pages, expectantly clicking up the incline. Then it happens, and the
exhilaration of the plunge is worth the frustration getting there. The relief is
usually short-lived before there are twists, turns, loops, all caused by what?
Usually mistakes. Sure, thereโs outside forces at play, putting pressure on our
characters, but chances are, theyโre going to mess it up.
And you like it.
Yes, I said it. You like the drama. You like the mistakes, even as youโre ready
to toss your Kindle across the room at 2 a.m. because a miscommunication just
blew up in the heroineโs face. As much as we may deny it, itโs the mistakes, the
drama that keep us coming back for more because as much as we hate that the
characters got themselves into their latest debacle, weโre cheering for them to
get out of it. Thatโs where the growth happens, and what makes it New Adult as
the characters dig their way out, unraveling who they were raised to be to
discover who they really are. Without the mistakes, we donโt afford them the
opportunity to learn, and who wants to read that kind of story? The twists,
dips, heck even the occasional backwards movements are what make a story exciting.
In my new release,
EYES
TURNED SKYWARD, twenty-year old Paisley suffers from the same heart
condition that killed her older sister. Everyone she knows treats her like a
heart attack waiting to happen, until she meets Jagger Bateman. Heโs a brand new
lieutenant in Army Aviation flight school, and Paisley is not only the
commanding generalโs daughter โsheโs the girlfriend of his rival. As their
friendship grows, youโd think sheโd immediately tell Jagger about her condition,
but she doesnโt. Why? Because he doesnโt treat her like glass, and she needs
that in her life more than anything else. Mistake? Maybe. Human? Absolutely, but
thatโs the point.
If we started our characters off perfect, where would our roller coaster lead
us? What kind of ride would that be? Probably one at the kiddie end of the park.
Personally, I want my heart to race at the anticipation of the ride. I want to
gasp at the turns, and my stomach to fall when it pitches us backwards. I want
to take a ride with the characters, and New Adult is the perfect vehicle for it.
If youโre settling in for the evening with a New Adult novel, buckle up, chances
are youโre in for a spectacular ride, mistakes and all.
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