What? Another new genre?

One of my crit partners posted this to the Passionate Critters forum, today.  


The Agency Gatekeeper Blog and Georgia McBride's site let me know about this new contest by St. Martin's Press. Previously, we've talked about the emerging genres of cyberbilly, elegant erotica, and quagmire fiction.  Now it's "New Adult."  (By the way, I love subgenre categories - I find that stuff fascinating.)

Here's the gist: " St. Martin’s Press is actively looking for great, new, cutting edge YA with protagonists who are slightly older and can appeal to an adult audience. Since twenty-somethings are happily reading YA, St. Martin’s Press is seeking YA that can be published and marketed as adult; kind of an 'older YA' or 'new adult.' " Writer Jodi Meadows has a good look at the new genre and why it's cool.

Here is everything you need to know about the rules.  The contest ends quickly! - Nov 20, 2009


http://www.guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog/PermaLink,guid,a9ca31e9-029e-474f-b7e5-e134ccc173c1.aspx


Let's just write books for every age. Young adult, not-as-young-adult, slightly-older-than-young-adult, older-young-adult, older-older-young adult... This is what happens when marketing people who aren't writers get involved. They're trying to find the niche for their product. But I can't believe that readers are so ego-centric that they'll only read and buy books based on the age of the protagonist. I know when I was a "new adult", I read books based on the story.


Seems to me it's always been about the story. Can you imagine if Chaucer, Hawthorne, Twain, Austin Fitzgerald, Hemingway or Vonnegut or any other great writer of the canon wrote to the age of their readers instead of the story?


I don't know if you had the same educational experience as I (at least, if you live in America), but those are the authors I had to read in high school and college. They have protagonists of all ages. Yet those books ring true throughout the generations. And why?


It's the story, folks. The plot, the story line, what it's about. Story. And if your story's no good, no one will read it no matter what their age.


The End.

Kissing Trick! In PRINT!!

I wanted to wait until I was sure that the links worked and the pages were set and now--it's twu, it's twu.

Kissing Trick is available as a print book! An honest-to-goodness, able-to-be-autographed, will-have-a-smell-and-a-feel-book!

Guess what everyone in my family is getting for Christmas? (Question: Do I rip out the sex scenes in the one I give my parents? The thought of them reading scenes of oral sex that I wrote are just...oh, excuse me. I need to throw--)

Retch.

At any rate, I'm just about to go and order a few of them right now. Some authors actually recommend ordering a 100 copies of your book to up your sales. What I want to know is: Where can I get $1000.00? If I had that at my disposal, would I buy my own books?

Hmmm...

Here's what I would do with $1000.00:
1) Pay the past-due water bill.

Oh. Yeh. Okay. That's it. Maybe I should be more specific. What fun things would I do with $1000.00?
1) Buy the kids a Wii. And a some games and an extra controller.
2) Take the kids to Cold Stone for ice cream.
3) Buy myself a coffee.

Okay. Let me be even more specific. What fun thing would I do for myself with $1000.00?

1) I would rent a car for the weekend and drive down to New Jersey to visit my friend, author Jennifer Shirk. And my husband would happily and without complaining watch the children. And the children would behave like angels while I was gone.  And I would be able to take a shower without interruptions from the two-year-old.

Sigh.  Please hold on while I enjoy the moment...

If you had money to blow on yourself, what would you do with it?

A contest! A contest!

But first, a word from our sponsor...

Have you ever had writer's block? That nasty feeling that makes you feel uncreative and worse--like a hack?

Have you spent hours hunched over your laptop, staring at a blank page in your current w.i.p. and wondering...what am I going to write next? Will I ever write again?

You know the feeling. You have the next scene all mapped out. You know what you need your character to do. But for whatever reason--it's. Not. Happening. You can't get that square peg to fit your round hole and the result is blockage.

Well friend, I'm telling you there's no need to worry. Because I have the fix for you. It's a simple word and you've heard it many time. Are you ready?

Conflict.

That's right.

It's all you need. Sprinkle a little conflict in there and you'll be all...

What's that? What did you say? You've already got conflict? Then, friend--it's not the right kind. After all, there's conflict and then there's CONFLICT! That's what I'm talking about. The big conflict. The kind that means aliens and exploding cars and global nuclear war and--what's that? You're writing a romance? And you don't have that kind of conflict?

Let me introduce you to a friend of mine. She's a romance writer and she already uses my system. Let's hear what she has to say:  

Take a look at what you've already written. Is it possible that what you're concerned with in the scene you finish yesterday, last week, last year already deals with the issues--the conflict--you think you need to work in?  I ask because I had a similar problem a few weeks ago. No matter what I did, I couldn't get the words out the way I needed to.The harder I tried to write, the worse the blockage became. And then...illumination.

The reason my character refused to do what I expected her to do was because I'd already done it. I just didn't realize it.

When I looked at the scene I'd just finished, I realized that I'd already taken my character as far as I could through her conflict and now--she needed to explore the results of the way she dealt with it. How will her decisions affect her now? And what new conflicts will arise?

Before I knew it, I was writing again.

And there you have it, friend. That's all you need to do.

Now, I know all of you are wondering. What contest? What can I win?

What can you win?  I'll tell you what you can win--a free copy (that's FREE) of Kissing Trick, C.D. Yates' newest release from TWRP. (If you'd like to read the first chapter, go here: Kissing Trick, Chapter One)

And all you need to do is leave a comment. :) (If you're one of my three readers, I think--if I'm doing the math correctly--you have a 1 in 3 chance to WIN!)

So act now! Don't delay!

Finally! A release!

Note to self: If it's dangerous, they will find it.

Hey. Bet you'd like me to explain my "note to self".

Later, my child. Later.

No, what's important, today (to me): KISSING TRICK IS FINALLY RELEASED!

Woo-hoo!!  (happy dance)

This is a very special book, to me. I LOVE my hero. He's sexy, smart, kind, calm and sexy. And did I mention, he's sexy? Yeah, the guy on the cover looks good--but believe me, Trick looks even better. ;)

But you'll have to buy the book to find out why Trick is so hot...

Who am I today?

I'm starting to feel like Sybil.   She was a character based on a real woman and artist named Shirley Mason. Sybil was made famous through a movie based on a book by the same name.

She had disassociative personality disorder and the thirteen personalities to go with it. 

I don't have thirteen personalities. But I have five. Their names are Cyn, Cyn D., Cynthia, Cynthia B-T and Mommy.

Mommy is the patient one (when she's not being the nutty one, that is). She's the one who cleans the house, pays the bills, cooks the meals, does the laundry, mows the lawn, tends the pool, feeds the pets,helps the big kids with homework and other life issues and chases the two-year-old. Personally, I don't like Mommy. She's overwhelmed and overwrought, and has really bad hair. She needs a shower. She drinks too much coffee and is overweight because she doesn't take care of herself. She really needs a nap.

Cyn is the one who walks to Dunkin Donuts with her friend Sandi, to get coffee for Mommy. She is the one who talks to the DH and usually wants to kill him. She is scornful of Mommy but realizes the necessity of her. She thinks Mommy's weak for needing a nap.You can reach her at cyndatt1@yahoo.com

Cyn D.is the Writer. (She's the one writing this right now.) She usually wishes Mommy would sit down so she could get some writing down; she's afraid that if Mommy sits down, she will take a nap and no writing will get done. Though she wouldn't be averse to reading a book or two. You can reach her at cdyates@ymail.com

Cynthia is the Student. She is working on her Masters in Professional Writing at Chatham University and she is jealous of Cynthia the Writer, who gets to write fiction and spend time in her head with fun stuff instead of nasty non-fiction. She is very serious about her craft, however, and if given the opportunity would spend 24/7 in school. She is an overachiever. You can reach her at cdattilio@chatham.edu

Cynthia B-T is the Editor. She just started working for Lyrical Press and has no idea what she's doing yet. But she will. And then, I'm afraid, she'll take over. You can reach her at cynthia@lyricalpress.com or cbraydnthomas@gmail.com, especially if you have a manuscript you feel would fit the publisher's guidelines. She'll be happy to hear from you.

But first...she (and the rest of her selves) need to decide who they are and what they're going to wear, today. Mommy's thinking something that is okay to get bleach-stained. Cyn wants to wear something with an elastic waistband and Cyn D. is thinking "warm socks". Cynthia just wants to get busy on her assignment, and Cynthia B-T is thinking she needs a power suit.

This could take all day.

Treats. No tricks!

How do you like my background. Isn't it adorable?

Even better--it was FREE!!

I wish I could donate something to the two very talented ladies who created this background and dancing witches hat. But I'm poor. So the best I can do is give them credit and tell you to go here.

Maybe YOU can afford to donate to these two moms: Becky and Ashley.

Ladies, you rock. ;) Thanks for the graphics. :) (Did I mention they were free?)

Welcome to my life.

It's sheer hell, I tell you.



I bet it sucks for The Wiggles, too. After all, I just have to listen to it repeatedly. THEY have to perform it. Again and again and again...