I've been in a bit of a funk over the state of YA within digital publishing for a while now. Truth is, YA is tough to sell digitally as most teens don't read that way, which means they also don't look for books from the digital presses (even if they're available in print).
I know, I know, what about Amanda Hocking (and a few others)? Yes, the success stories exist, but they are still the exception, not the norm.
However, a couple publishers are changing the game and getting their books into stores (which makes a HUGE difference when selling to a teen audience). So, I'm working on finding my way into that niche. I have a couple projects that are definite maybes. In fact, one has received a revise and resubmit from one of those game-changers. That's definitely on the agenda for this year--as soon as I can get to it.
You have all been incredibly patient with me in waiting for the next PRT book, and I promise it WILL happen. It's written and just waiting for the stars to align. The hope is to have all five books out by the end of 2015. I know it's a long wait (believe me, I know), but I hope you'll stick around for it.
I also hope if that you'll keep your fingers crossed regarding the other project, and that you'll be willing to follow me to a different world. One filled with supernatural creatures and romance and adventure.
A number of shark species will drown if they stop swimming. I try to look at writing that way. Even if you don't see my fin cutting through the water, I'm still going. Sometimes the hunt for dinner just takes longer than others. <3
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Guest: J.A. Campbell and Summer Break Blues
Please welcome the brilliant and wonderful J.A. Campbell to the blog today. Her new release, Summer Break Blues, just came out and you should definitely pick up a copy ASAP! Read on and check out the vampire-y goodness :)
Thank you all for joining me in celebrating the book release
of my second young adult urban fantasy, Summer Break Blues. This is the sequel
to Senior Year Bites and picks up a few months after it left off with Meg’s
graduation from high school.
Vampires are dead… no one is reading them now… people have
moved on. That’s what you hear from the industry “professionals.” HAHAHAHAAH I
say. True Blood anyone? Vampire Diaries? Yep, we’ve moved on… into more
vampires.
People have always had a fascination with vampires, from the
myths in the Balkins about vampire pumpkins, to almost every other culture that
has had some sort of blood drinking being. I don’t see that going away just
because a few professionals say so. Humans have been fascinated by the concept
for centuries. A few decades of “lots of vampire books,” certainly aren’t going
to change that. To me it has just added fuel to the interest.
That being said, these days it seems like writing vampire
fiction as a newbie makes you look like you’re just jumping on the bandwagon.
Yep, that’s me… bandwagon girl… except I started writing vampire fiction back
in, oh… 2000 I think. Way back when the Anita Blake series was one of my
favorite reads and only a few of them were published. LKH and Kelley Armstrong
certainly inspired me in my love of Urban Fantasy, before it was a booming
genre, but I liked vampires before that too.
I think, just like any other popular genre, there is room
for many more stories. Everyone has their own spin on things. Three of us at
Decadent just published young adult urban fantasies with vampires, werewolves
and all sorts of other supernatural creatures in them, and they are quite
different. And Decadent obviously thought there was room for all of our
stories. I agree.
What do you think? Are vampires dead? Or Undead as it were.
Do we have room for more stories?
Blurb:
Meg managed to survive her senior year of high school as a
vampire, and now she’s looking forward to a relaxing summer with her friends
before trying to tackle college. Unfortunately, some unfinished business from
the previous year rears its ugly head and Meg is forced to deal with the Sidhe
who are distinctly unhappy that she killed one of their kind last winter. Then
Ann’s parents vanish while they are on their annual summer vacation in Maine
and it’s up to Meg and the rest of the gang to come to the rescue. Though she
is still trying to figure out who, and what she has become, Meg and her friends
feel they are up to the challenge. That is until things really start to fall apart.
Buy Links:
Author Bio:
Julie writes
fantasy novels. When she’s not out riding her horse, she can usually be found
sitting in front of her computer with a cat on her lap and her dog at her
side. www.writerjacampbell.com.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Ranty-pants Time: Adults of the World, You're the Grown Ups
I know this is a blog for my young adult books, but I'm fairly certain a lot of parents read it too, so I hope the teens out there will forgive me for addressing the adults today. I think when I'm done, we can all agree it needs to be said, and said loudly.
Yesterday, while poking around Facebook, I came upon a post from someone that kind of set me off. You see, this guy's birthday (he's in his late 40s) happens to fall on Halloween. Cool, right? It totally is, unless you're his teenage kid and dear old dad decides to throw himself a birthday party on Halloween night. The teenager (who apparently doesn't live with his dad) decided he'd rather spend the night with his own friends and the guy was pissed. After all, it was his birthday and having his new wife and kids at his party was "the only thing he wanted."
Dude... grow up.
I'm sorry, but just no. So many, many shades of no. You are an adult and obviously no one has informed you that the world stopped revolving around you sometime about your tenth birthday. You see, when you hit the pre-teen years (sometimes earlier), you are no longer a cute precocious little thing everyone feels the need to pander to. That's about the time when reality strikes and you have to share the world with everyone else who lives in it.
The worst part is the dozen or so years of limbo in there where your brain says you're still the center of the universe but everyone else just laughs. It takes a while to come to terms with that, but in theory, it's supposed to happen around adulthood.
So now you're an adult and your birthday falls on a major holiday? Great. Go to the bar and try to get free beer out of the deal. Otherwise, don't expect everyone else to drop their plans to pay homage to you. Now, if you're known for throwing kick-ass parties of epic proportions, you might be able to get your friends to schedule you in because "Hey! Grown-up time!" But if you're looking for your kids (more specifically, your teenage kids) to say "Of course I'd rather spend time at your place with all of your friends on one of the few holidays that aren't more or less required family participation..." Good luck.
No, seriously. Good luck with that. If you have a fantastic relationship with your kids that you've nurtured since they were young, you might pull it off. Maybe. You have a better chance if you offer to include their friends so they aren't surrounded by "old people." (And don't trust that cousins or your friends' kids are going to be their friends. That's both arrogant and stupid. Get over it.) But your smarter move? That'd be to plan your party for a day other than your actual birthday/holiday. I know, I know, that's your day, but really, you can pretend you turn however old a day or two or even a week earlier or later. People will play along, I promise.
If you can't do that, you obviously don't remember what it was like to be a kid (other than that whole world-revolves-around-me crap). For kids, and especially teenagers, friends are their life. They have school (that tells them what to do and think), they have home (where parents tell them what to do and think), and maybe a job (where someone tells them what to do and think). The only place they just get to be is with their friends. That's important. That's how people learn and grow as human beings. (More than once, my friends saved my life in high school. Yes, they are that important.) Also, never assume you know what's going on in your teen's life. Odds are, you don't. There might be a break-up on the horizon or a friend contemplating suicide or the possibility of finally getting a chance with the girl/boy who will end up their partner for life.
There were comments from people saying the kid in question should have shown respect for his father by giving up the time with his friends blah blah blah. Personal opinion, in this instance the respect should have come from the adult and he should have talked to the kid about the fact that he wanted to do this party on a holiday. I'm pretty sure if said kid planned a date or party for say... Christmas or Thanksgiving, it wouldn't go over so well with the parents.
Adults need to learn to both grow up and get over the I'm-the-center-of-the-universe mentality while at the same time remembering what it was like to be young. You have to be an adult without being so old that you're out of touch. It's a sucky job, but it's what we take on when we become parents. It's kind of funny that for those first ten years or so when a parent allows their kid to be the center of the world, they are helping to build the kind of person the kid will become. Those next dozen or so years? That's when the kid becomes their own person. That's a battle parents fight at their own peril because every choice they make (or force on their kid) has consequences and shapes the landscape of their parent-child relationship when that kid becomes an adult and has children of their own.
So parents, please help your teen become their own person. Encourage them to make thoughtful choices, but don't condemn them when you disagree. Be the adult. Be the guide. And be wise enough to understand they might not always do what you want and that's okay because they aren't you. Also? If it turns out they were wrong and their choice bites them in the ass, be there to help them pick up the pieces. It might mean that next time they'll listen closer to you. And if they don't... it's still okay.
*Note: A message from the person in question said the teen had a voice in when the party happened, so that is an issue within this other stuff. However, the point of the post remains the same with regard to dealing with teenagers as the adult parent. Sometimes being the grown up sucks. Sometimes being the teen sucks. Sometimes they suck together. Life's messed like that.*
Also, to those of you doing NaNoWriMo this month, I wish you words of awesomeness :)
Yesterday, while poking around Facebook, I came upon a post from someone that kind of set me off. You see, this guy's birthday (he's in his late 40s) happens to fall on Halloween. Cool, right? It totally is, unless you're his teenage kid and dear old dad decides to throw himself a birthday party on Halloween night. The teenager (who apparently doesn't live with his dad) decided he'd rather spend the night with his own friends and the guy was pissed. After all, it was his birthday and having his new wife and kids at his party was "the only thing he wanted."
Dude... grow up.
I'm sorry, but just no. So many, many shades of no. You are an adult and obviously no one has informed you that the world stopped revolving around you sometime about your tenth birthday. You see, when you hit the pre-teen years (sometimes earlier), you are no longer a cute precocious little thing everyone feels the need to pander to. That's about the time when reality strikes and you have to share the world with everyone else who lives in it.
The worst part is the dozen or so years of limbo in there where your brain says you're still the center of the universe but everyone else just laughs. It takes a while to come to terms with that, but in theory, it's supposed to happen around adulthood.
So now you're an adult and your birthday falls on a major holiday? Great. Go to the bar and try to get free beer out of the deal. Otherwise, don't expect everyone else to drop their plans to pay homage to you. Now, if you're known for throwing kick-ass parties of epic proportions, you might be able to get your friends to schedule you in because "Hey! Grown-up time!" But if you're looking for your kids (more specifically, your teenage kids) to say "Of course I'd rather spend time at your place with all of your friends on one of the few holidays that aren't more or less required family participation..." Good luck.
No, seriously. Good luck with that. If you have a fantastic relationship with your kids that you've nurtured since they were young, you might pull it off. Maybe. You have a better chance if you offer to include their friends so they aren't surrounded by "old people." (And don't trust that cousins or your friends' kids are going to be their friends. That's both arrogant and stupid. Get over it.) But your smarter move? That'd be to plan your party for a day other than your actual birthday/holiday. I know, I know, that's your day, but really, you can pretend you turn however old a day or two or even a week earlier or later. People will play along, I promise.
If you can't do that, you obviously don't remember what it was like to be a kid (other than that whole world-revolves-around-me crap). For kids, and especially teenagers, friends are their life. They have school (that tells them what to do and think), they have home (where parents tell them what to do and think), and maybe a job (where someone tells them what to do and think). The only place they just get to be is with their friends. That's important. That's how people learn and grow as human beings. (More than once, my friends saved my life in high school. Yes, they are that important.) Also, never assume you know what's going on in your teen's life. Odds are, you don't. There might be a break-up on the horizon or a friend contemplating suicide or the possibility of finally getting a chance with the girl/boy who will end up their partner for life.
There were comments from people saying the kid in question should have shown respect for his father by giving up the time with his friends blah blah blah. Personal opinion, in this instance the respect should have come from the adult and he should have talked to the kid about the fact that he wanted to do this party on a holiday. I'm pretty sure if said kid planned a date or party for say... Christmas or Thanksgiving, it wouldn't go over so well with the parents.
Adults need to learn to both grow up and get over the I'm-the-center-of-the-universe mentality while at the same time remembering what it was like to be young. You have to be an adult without being so old that you're out of touch. It's a sucky job, but it's what we take on when we become parents. It's kind of funny that for those first ten years or so when a parent allows their kid to be the center of the world, they are helping to build the kind of person the kid will become. Those next dozen or so years? That's when the kid becomes their own person. That's a battle parents fight at their own peril because every choice they make (or force on their kid) has consequences and shapes the landscape of their parent-child relationship when that kid becomes an adult and has children of their own.
So parents, please help your teen become their own person. Encourage them to make thoughtful choices, but don't condemn them when you disagree. Be the adult. Be the guide. And be wise enough to understand they might not always do what you want and that's okay because they aren't you. Also? If it turns out they were wrong and their choice bites them in the ass, be there to help them pick up the pieces. It might mean that next time they'll listen closer to you. And if they don't... it's still okay.
*Note: A message from the person in question said the teen had a voice in when the party happened, so that is an issue within this other stuff. However, the point of the post remains the same with regard to dealing with teenagers as the adult parent. Sometimes being the grown up sucks. Sometimes being the teen sucks. Sometimes they suck together. Life's messed like that.*
Also, to those of you doing NaNoWriMo this month, I wish you words of awesomeness :)
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
First Thursday, Second Thursday... I Miss YA
The new schedule kind of threw me and I missed blogging last week. Not sure if I should just officially make it the second Thursday or what. But I do promise to blog once a month, on a Thursday. Promise-promise. Pinky-swear. All that.
The other me has been busy. Like crazy-busy. I've been working on book after book after book, but all of them have been for the adult market. And I really miss YA.
There are still some projects in the works and on submission, but writing of YA has been on hold because of the adult projects. As much as I love writing romance and stuff for an older market, there's this pull to the world of teenagers and first loves and beginnings. I want to write about things that are new, not just to me and the reader, but to the characters. New love, first kisses, new worlds.
So, I think I'm going to--in my questionable spare time--toy with that YA contemporary suspense I started a while ago. I think I need to. I need to believe in new beginnings again, and that's something I've only ever really felt with YA.
The other me has been busy. Like crazy-busy. I've been working on book after book after book, but all of them have been for the adult market. And I really miss YA.
There are still some projects in the works and on submission, but writing of YA has been on hold because of the adult projects. As much as I love writing romance and stuff for an older market, there's this pull to the world of teenagers and first loves and beginnings. I want to write about things that are new, not just to me and the reader, but to the characters. New love, first kisses, new worlds.
So, I think I'm going to--in my questionable spare time--toy with that YA contemporary suspense I started a while ago. I think I need to. I need to believe in new beginnings again, and that's something I've only ever really felt with YA.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Temporary Changes
I've kind of been hinting at this for a while now, but I'm finally having to implement things. I am temporarily putting the blog on semi-hiatus. (How's that for non-committal?) Basically, things have gotten really busy for me and I can't commit to blogging every week here for the time being.
However...
I'm not going to shut up completely. (Like you thought I could do that. Ha!)
This should have gone up last week but, life being as it is, I was a bit overwhelmed last week and it got pushed back. So... officially, I'm only going to be blogging here the first Thursday of the month. I might do it more often than that, but it'll be hit or miss. Additionally, if I have news, I will be sure to share.
I don't plan for this to be a permanent change, but for the time being it's a necessary one.
As for today, I'm off to get my hair done (finally!) and then I have to spend more time being adult-me. And then I have to be mom-me. Hopefully soon I'll get to be YA-me again.
In the meantime, I've been pondering Alice in Wonderland a lot lately and this video always reminds me of a darker version. We'll see if all those thoughts manage to converge into something. Enjoy!
However...
I'm not going to shut up completely. (Like you thought I could do that. Ha!)
This should have gone up last week but, life being as it is, I was a bit overwhelmed last week and it got pushed back. So... officially, I'm only going to be blogging here the first Thursday of the month. I might do it more often than that, but it'll be hit or miss. Additionally, if I have news, I will be sure to share.
I don't plan for this to be a permanent change, but for the time being it's a necessary one.
As for today, I'm off to get my hair done (finally!) and then I have to spend more time being adult-me. And then I have to be mom-me. Hopefully soon I'll get to be YA-me again.
In the meantime, I've been pondering Alice in Wonderland a lot lately and this video always reminds me of a darker version. We'll see if all those thoughts manage to converge into something. Enjoy!
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Meet Me in Chicago!
I am on the train to ChiCon (or getting ready to get on the train... or already in Chicago). Either way, it's ChiCon and I'll be there. If you'll be there too, find me...
Saturday 10:30-noon (in Wrigley): Why I Love My Editor panel
Saturday 7-7:30 (in Addams): Reading (definitely my adult urban fantasty Kiss of Death, possibly a bit of something else if there's time and dependent on the age of the audience, I might do Pretty Souls)
Sunday 5-6:30 (in Toronto): Literary Beers with Seleste deLaney (where I'll talk magic, urban fantasy, corsets, steampunk, sex, and romance--and there will be beer--since there's beer, I'm assuming this is a 21 and over event)
Otherwise, I'll be bopping around like my normal half-awake-half-crazy self. Feel free to stop me to say hi :)
Otherwise, I'll be bopping around like my normal half-awake-half-crazy self. Feel free to stop me to say hi :)
Friday, August 24, 2012
How Many of Me Do We Really Need?
Adult-me is on a blog tour this week and next for a book coming out on Tuesday, so I'm a little frazzled and completely forgot which day it was. Anyway, apologies for the tardiness of my post here.
Most of my readers are well aware that I write adult fiction (paranormal romance, urban fantasy, etc) under another name. When I first started in the business, I had these plans of keeping the two personae totally separate. That lasted about a day on Twitter before I accidentally tweeted something about my first adult release on my YA account. Then I said "Screw it" and removed the very thin veil of secrecy. My thought was that my names were different enough there wouldn't be any mistaking one for the other, so it was no big deal.
Considering the PRT books are on hold temporarily and my other YA projects are in various stages of submission, I haven't had a lot to talk about here or on Twitter. And I'm starting to wonder if separating my worlds so much was really my best plan. Don't get me wrong, I like having the two names to keep things very clearly separated, but I'm starting to think two Twitter accounts is... less than useful. I've had similar thoughts about two websites (though I think that is less likely to change in the long run) and two blogs in addition to group blogs (which may just mean I decrease my individual blogs to every other week).
I think I'm going to spend some time talking to my editors who work with both adult and YA and discuss the possibility of "merging" my accounts. (Essentially putting both author names on the account but a screen name that works for both.) I'm still not sure it's a good idea, but I feel like I'm neglecting people by not talking on the other account. Long story short, it's making me sad. I don't need more sad in my life.
Like many things I don't think this will be a quickly made decision, so bear with me while I ponder things. And in the meantime, if you wouldn't mind keeping your fingers crossed regarding some of those other projects, I'd be incredibly grateful.
Most of my readers are well aware that I write adult fiction (paranormal romance, urban fantasy, etc) under another name. When I first started in the business, I had these plans of keeping the two personae totally separate. That lasted about a day on Twitter before I accidentally tweeted something about my first adult release on my YA account. Then I said "Screw it" and removed the very thin veil of secrecy. My thought was that my names were different enough there wouldn't be any mistaking one for the other, so it was no big deal.
Considering the PRT books are on hold temporarily and my other YA projects are in various stages of submission, I haven't had a lot to talk about here or on Twitter. And I'm starting to wonder if separating my worlds so much was really my best plan. Don't get me wrong, I like having the two names to keep things very clearly separated, but I'm starting to think two Twitter accounts is... less than useful. I've had similar thoughts about two websites (though I think that is less likely to change in the long run) and two blogs in addition to group blogs (which may just mean I decrease my individual blogs to every other week).
I think I'm going to spend some time talking to my editors who work with both adult and YA and discuss the possibility of "merging" my accounts. (Essentially putting both author names on the account but a screen name that works for both.) I'm still not sure it's a good idea, but I feel like I'm neglecting people by not talking on the other account. Long story short, it's making me sad. I don't need more sad in my life.
Like many things I don't think this will be a quickly made decision, so bear with me while I ponder things. And in the meantime, if you wouldn't mind keeping your fingers crossed regarding some of those other projects, I'd be incredibly grateful.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
YA and Digital Publishing
There have been studies on teens and their book buying habits. A lot of them. And recent ones have shown both that teens are reluctant to get on the ereader train and that digital sales of YA fiction are skyrocketing. They cite sales of Twilight and Hunger Games and the like. The problem is that those books are selling no matter what format they're in.
Not unlike erotica and erotic romance, a lot of adult women are embarrassed to read YA in public. There is an "I shouldn't read this" attitude that makes reading on digital devices "safer." So, the best sellers are showing an uptick.
A key difference between the erotica/erotic romance digital sales and the YA digital sales is that the YA sales aren't shifting to digital first/digital only publishers. At least not in the same droves. The problem is YA sales are dependent on actual teen readers. They are the ones who give books the push they need to succeed--they're the ones who make a book popular enough that those adult readers hear the buzz.
What that means is those YA digital first/digital only publishers have a daunting task ahead of them. They're trying to sell books to people who don't shop in the same way as their adult readers. Teens don't go hunting for new stores to buy books from. Which means unless the publisher puts a lot of money and effort into promotion, they won't reach that target audience.
What's interesting to note is that there are the occasional self-pubbed YA titles that take off. Whether that's because the author really knows how to target their promotional efforts or they hit with the right book at the right time or they sold their soul... (This is not to say any of those success stories are undeserving, merely to point out that there seems to be a gap in knowledge from those successes to publishers being able to mimic them.)
So, what's the trick? How does one prod teens to go in search of books that aren't hitting the shelves of their local bookstore? Books that aren't the ones all their friends have already read?
Not unlike erotica and erotic romance, a lot of adult women are embarrassed to read YA in public. There is an "I shouldn't read this" attitude that makes reading on digital devices "safer." So, the best sellers are showing an uptick.
A key difference between the erotica/erotic romance digital sales and the YA digital sales is that the YA sales aren't shifting to digital first/digital only publishers. At least not in the same droves. The problem is YA sales are dependent on actual teen readers. They are the ones who give books the push they need to succeed--they're the ones who make a book popular enough that those adult readers hear the buzz.
What that means is those YA digital first/digital only publishers have a daunting task ahead of them. They're trying to sell books to people who don't shop in the same way as their adult readers. Teens don't go hunting for new stores to buy books from. Which means unless the publisher puts a lot of money and effort into promotion, they won't reach that target audience.
What's interesting to note is that there are the occasional self-pubbed YA titles that take off. Whether that's because the author really knows how to target their promotional efforts or they hit with the right book at the right time or they sold their soul... (This is not to say any of those success stories are undeserving, merely to point out that there seems to be a gap in knowledge from those successes to publishers being able to mimic them.)
So, what's the trick? How does one prod teens to go in search of books that aren't hitting the shelves of their local bookstore? Books that aren't the ones all their friends have already read?
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Remembering When
One of the things that I think can make or break a YA author is how well they remember and connect with their own teenage years. It's one of the reasons a lot of people right out of college do really well with YA--their teen years aren't that far behind them and a lot of the adult stuff is either new or hasn't happened yet.
I did a rather angry post yesterday at the Evil League of Evil Writers about life experiences and how they affect authors. One point I made is that everyone's life is different; even when we experience the same things, we likely will change in different ways in the aftermath. "Adult" experiences ("real job," marriage, children, divorce, etc) tend to pull people further and further away from that connection to their youth--unless they actively fight against it.
The book I was reading last week is by an author I've read for years. Over the last few books, I've really started to question her "YA brain." She had her female characters doing things and behaving in such ways that it made them (for me) stupid and rather unlikeable. Everything from the way a breakup was handled to weight issues to not understanding how someone could be hurt by betrayal.
Here's the thing... I remember being a teenager pretty well. Everything is bigger then. The highs are higher, the lows lower, and someone's world is going to end pretty much every week. At least this was my high school experience.
But all of us "got it." There was no "you two broke up three months ago, you should be over it." There might be a nudge toward the cute guy behind door number three, but not "get over it" attitude. When someone (male or female) dumped their girlfriend/boyfriend in a horrible way... people reacted. Sure, their friends might've stood by them. (And even there, sometimes there's irritation and anger. For example, I broke up with a guy--after a couple days--because kissing him felt like kissing a relative. My friends who were friendly with him as well weren't exactly happy with me.) But the jiltee's friends? No. They would want the jilter's head on a platter with a side of fries, thank you very much.
And, the level of this anger is in direct correlation to how long the couple dated, how long one wanted to date the other. Those things matter, and most teenagers (especially most teenage girls) wouldn't brush them aside.
Adults do that.
And the minute teen characters (no matter how responsible they might be) start to act like adults in those instances, they lose credibility for me. And so does the author.
I know YA fiction is hot right now, and a lot of agents and editors are dying for some quality middle grade novels, but... if an author can't deeply connect with that part of their past, it shows. It's been showing with this particular author for the last three books... maybe even four. The result is that I'm torn with continuing to buy the books. I'm emotionally invested in one character, but I'm not sure my wallet cares enough to find out what happens to him in a world where teenagers seem to have forgotten how to be teenagers.
I did a rather angry post yesterday at the Evil League of Evil Writers about life experiences and how they affect authors. One point I made is that everyone's life is different; even when we experience the same things, we likely will change in different ways in the aftermath. "Adult" experiences ("real job," marriage, children, divorce, etc) tend to pull people further and further away from that connection to their youth--unless they actively fight against it.
The book I was reading last week is by an author I've read for years. Over the last few books, I've really started to question her "YA brain." She had her female characters doing things and behaving in such ways that it made them (for me) stupid and rather unlikeable. Everything from the way a breakup was handled to weight issues to not understanding how someone could be hurt by betrayal.
Here's the thing... I remember being a teenager pretty well. Everything is bigger then. The highs are higher, the lows lower, and someone's world is going to end pretty much every week. At least this was my high school experience.
But all of us "got it." There was no "you two broke up three months ago, you should be over it." There might be a nudge toward the cute guy behind door number three, but not "get over it" attitude. When someone (male or female) dumped their girlfriend/boyfriend in a horrible way... people reacted. Sure, their friends might've stood by them. (And even there, sometimes there's irritation and anger. For example, I broke up with a guy--after a couple days--because kissing him felt like kissing a relative. My friends who were friendly with him as well weren't exactly happy with me.) But the jiltee's friends? No. They would want the jilter's head on a platter with a side of fries, thank you very much.
And, the level of this anger is in direct correlation to how long the couple dated, how long one wanted to date the other. Those things matter, and most teenagers (especially most teenage girls) wouldn't brush them aside.
Adults do that.
And the minute teen characters (no matter how responsible they might be) start to act like adults in those instances, they lose credibility for me. And so does the author.
I know YA fiction is hot right now, and a lot of agents and editors are dying for some quality middle grade novels, but... if an author can't deeply connect with that part of their past, it shows. It's been showing with this particular author for the last three books... maybe even four. The result is that I'm torn with continuing to buy the books. I'm emotionally invested in one character, but I'm not sure my wallet cares enough to find out what happens to him in a world where teenagers seem to have forgotten how to be teenagers.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Sorry
Apologies for the lack of blogging. I was away last week, and this week... I'm reading a YA that is making me really angry. I'm trying to give it the benefit of the doubt, but last time I did that with this author, I was horribly disappointed.
At the moment I'm debating a post about the book (without naming the book) to discuss the issue that's plaguing me. Honestly, it's the only thing YA-related that's on my mind at the moment, so there's no post this week either until I get my thoughts in line on the matter.
Sorry...
At the moment I'm debating a post about the book (without naming the book) to discuss the issue that's plaguing me. Honestly, it's the only thing YA-related that's on my mind at the moment, so there's no post this week either until I get my thoughts in line on the matter.
Sorry...
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