New Adult vs. Adult Fiction

 At a recent writing group meet, we talked about writing for different age groups. How writing for children's, middle grade, young adult, new adult, and adult differ when it come to vocabulary, language, and content.

As we moved through the different age ranges, highlighting the standards for the classifications, both from a library prospective, as well as, a commercial one, we ended up getting stuck on new adult. It's not really a classification, as far as age range, that libraries use, but it is used in the commercial space, and has been for over a decade.

 So what is new adult?

If you've never heard the term before, it can be confusing. Up until a little over a decade ago, new adult meant a book fell into the adult genre and was a new release. Or, at the very least, a new acquisition for the store or library. But today, in the commercial space, that might not be what someone means when they say they're looking for a new adult book.

Most books that fall into the new adult category have characters between the ages of 18 to 24 years old. They are embarking on their lives as adults, encountering a lot of changes, and adjusting to new responsibilities. They are new adults.

A lot of these books revolve around college and college students, but they don't have to. The genre tends to revolve around characters finding their way in life as adults. Experiencing things for the first time.

The new adult label is most often found in the romance genre. It focuses on falling in love for the first time as an adult. Sometimes it deals with one or more characters losing their virginity. And it usually involves one, or more of the characters exploring things out of their comfort zone.

Why is this distinction between new adult and adult important in romance?

I've been a romance reader for the better part of my life, which means I've read all different types of romance. And while I enjoy some new adult titles, I tend to favor adult titles. Why? The maturity of the characters.

That's not to say all new adult books have immature characters. They don't. Elle Kennedy's Off Campus series is a perfect example of that.

While her characters are in college, and sometimes they do stupid things, they don't come across as immature. They all have responsibilities and they take them seriously.

But new adult books often center around going to college, college parties, and finding your way as someone who's often experiencing independence for the first time. As a woman who's flirting with 50, and has been on her own for several decades, that holds very little interest to me. 

That, however, is one of the great things about books. There are different genres, different characters, and different lifestyles we can read about and we can find the books that speak to us. Even if they don't speak to someone else.

It's one of the things I love about indie publishing. There is no gatekeeping. No begging an editor in New York to give your book a chance.

Self publishing has opened the door to everyone. If you have a story you've written, you have the ability to put it out to the masses-to find your audience.

Do you have a preference between new adult and adult books?

Currently Reading - First-Time Caller

A hopeless romantic meets a jaded radio host in this cozy, Sleepless in Seattle–inspired love story from beloved author B.K. Borison.

Aiden Valentine has a secret: he’s fallen out of love with love. And as the host of Baltimore’s romance hotline, that’s a bit of a problem. But when a young girl calls in to the station asking for dating advice for her mom, the interview goes viral, thrusting Aiden and Heartstrings into the limelight.

Lucie Stone thought she was doing just fine. She has a good job; an incredible family; and a smart, slightly devious kid. But when all of Baltimore is suddenly scrutinizing her love life—or lack thereof—she begins to question if she’s as happy as she believed. Maybe a little more romance wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

Everyone wants Lucie to find her happy ending…even the handsome, temperamental man calling the shots. But when sparks start to fly behind the scenes, Lucie must make the final decision between the radio-sponsored happily ever after or the man in the headphones next to her.

 Amazon

Currently Reading - The Paradise Problem

Anna Green thought she was marrying Liam “West” Weston for access to subsidized family housing while at UCLA. She also thought she’d signed divorce papers when the graduation caps were tossed, and they both went on their merry ways.

Three years later, Anna is a starving artist living paycheck to paycheck while West is a Stanford professor. He may be one of four heirs to the Weston Foods conglomerate, but he has little interest in working for the heartless corporation his family built from the ground up. He is interested, however, in his one-hundred-million-dollar inheritance. There’s just one catch.

Due to an antiquated clause in his grandfather’s will, Liam won’t see a penny until he’s been happily married for five years. Just when Liam thinks he’s in the home stretch, pressure mounts from his family to see this mysterious spouse, and he has no choice but to turn to the one person he’s afraid to introduce to his one-percenter parents—his unpolished, not-so-ex-wife.

But in the presence of his family, Liam’s fears quickly shift from whether the feisty, foul-mouthed, paint-splattered Anna can play the part to whether the toxic world of wealth will corrupt someone as pure of heart as his surprisingly grounded and loyal wife. Liam will have to ask himself if the price tag on his flimsy cover story is worth losing true love that sprouted from a lie.

 

 Amazon

Currently Reading - Out of the Clear Blue Sky

Lillie Silva knew life as an empty nester would be hard after her only child left for college, but when her husband abruptly dumps her for another woman just as her son leaves, her world comes crashing down. Besides the fact that this announcement is a complete surprise (to say the least), what shocks Lillie most is that she isn’t heartbroken. She’s furious.
 
Lillie has loved her life on Cape Cod, but as a mother, wife, and nurse-midwife, she’s used to caring for other people . . . not taking care of herself. Now, alone for the first time in her life, she finds herself going a little rogue. Is it over the top to crash her ex-husband’s wedding dressed like the angel of death? Sure! Should she release a skunk into his perfect new home? Probably not! But it beats staying home and moping.
 
She finds an unexpected ally in her glamorous sister, with whom she’s had a tense relationship all these years. And an unexpected babysitter in, of all people, Ben Hallowell, the driver in a car accident that nearly killed Lillie twenty years ago. And then there’s Ophelia, her ex-husband’s oddly lost niece, who could really use a friend.
 
It’s the end of Lillie’s life as she knew it. But sometimes the perfect next chapter surprises you . . . out of the clear blue sky.

 

 Amazon

Currently Reading - Part of Your World

After a wild bet, gourmet grilled-cheese sandwich, and cuddle with a baby goat, Alexis Montgomery has had her world turned upside down. The cause: Daniel Grant, a ridiculously hot carpenter who’s ten years younger than her and as casual as they come—the complete opposite of sophisticated city-girl Alexis. And yet their chemistry is undeniable. While her ultra-wealthy parents want her to carry on the family legacy of world-renowned surgeons, Alexis doesn’t need glory or fame. She’s fine with being a “mere” ER doctor. And every minute she spends with Daniel and the tight-knit town where he lives, she’s discovering just what’s really important.

Yet letting their relationship become anything more than a short-term fling would mean turning her back on her family and giving up the opportunity to help thousands of people. Bringing Daniel into her world is impossible, and yet she can’t just give up the joy she’s found with him either.

With so many differences between them, how can Alexis possibly choose between her world and his?

 

 Amazon

Currently Reading - The Brazen by Devney Perry

A small town, forced proximity romance from #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Devney Perry.

Kerrigan Hale’s personal life is about as exciting as a bucket of tar. With hard work and hustle as her steadfast companions, who needs romance or adventure? Her empire in Calamity, Montana, isn’t going to build itself.

For years, her mentor—and investor—helped make her dreams come true. Until his unexpected death put her fate in his grandson’s hands. A brazen billionaire, he seems intent on ruining Kerrigan’s life.

But if Pierce Sullivan thinks she’ll go down without a fight, he’s sorely mistaken. Pushed to the extreme, she drives to his ritzy mountain lodge to force the arrogant You Can Call Me Mr. Sullivan to hear her out.

No sooner does she arrive than a snowstorm traps her with Pierce. Stranded together for days, she’s in for the battle of her life. Pierce is nearly irresistible by candlelight. Without his suits and fancy cars, he’s almost human.

Except only a fool would let down her guard. And Kerrigan can’t risk her future. Not when she doesn’t know if he’s out to pilfer her dreams . . . or to steal her heart.

 

 Amazon

Currently Reading - The Wildest One

A scorching hot, hockey, forbidden, billionaire romance from USA Today best-selling author Marni Mann …

I’m not the calm before the storm. I am the storm. And only she can tame my wild ways.

Hockey is my religion.
My body is my temple.
My only goal in life is to win another Stanley Cup with the Los Angeles Whales, so women are just a sexy distraction.

Until her.
The fiery redhead I see across the bar while I’m at an away game.

With one look, I know I have to meet her.
With one touch, I need her beneath me.
With one bat of her long lashes, I want those eyes gazing up at me as she kneels before me.
And with booze flowing through my veins, I do something I’ve never done. I offer her a proposition—to spend a long weekend with me.

What is only supposed to be three nights of sizzling passion turns into much more, and when I leave for my next away game, I find myself wanting her in ways I’ve never felt.

She’s a young heart with an old soul.
My dream woman in every way.
The only thing I’ve ever encountered that my family name, talent and money can’t attain.

But there’s too much distance between us, and I realize that maybe we just aren’t meant to be.

Until a chance meeting skates us right back together and our time is suddenly now.

Except all of that changes when I learn the truth …

She’s forbidden, untouchable, and off-limits.

With my heart on the line, can I score the most crucial goal of my life, or will she realize that being with the wildest one isn’t worth the sacrifices she’ll have to make?

 

 Amazon