Monday, December 31, 2012

Talking New Adult and "Her Heart's Secret Wish" with Juliana Haygert

In November, I was bitten by the New Adult bug. I love Young Adult, I really do, but being 30-something, it's not a genre i want to read ALL the time. New Adult isn't aimed at my age group either, but just like i often find myself relating to and loving YA characters and story lines, I found myself REALLY loving the NA genre. I love that it is easy and quick to read just like (most) YA's. But I was immediately drawn to the older characters and more adult situations.

I started searching out some New Adult authors, researching their novels and sent emails to a few, offering to review their novels, and asking if they'd like to help promote the New Adult Genre on my blog. Juliana Haygert, author of a New Adult, contemporary romance novelette called "Her Heart's Secret Wish' was one of those authors who took me up on my offer. Juliana is also a contributor to a great NA blog called NA Alley, and she's here on the blog today, chatting all things New Adult!

Please, introduce us to yourself and your novelette: Hi! I'm Juliana, a Brazilian writer living in Connecticut. I'm older than I look, and I feel much younger than the age on my DL. My novelette, Her Heart's Secret Wish, is about a girl player and a nerd guy set on a college campus during Christmas. It's short, fun, sweet and very romantic. (If you missed it yesterday, you can check out my review of Her Heart's Secret Wish HERE - definitely recommend it to all contemporary romance fans!)

What made you decide to write a new adult novelette? Writing NA wasn't a conscious decision. When I was younger, I wrote about me and my friends in school, because I was in school, I think. Later, when I was in college, I wrote about characters in college. And even after I was out of college, that stayed with me. I wanted to tell stories of people in college. I had no idea that it would be hard to sell NA, that people frowned upon it. I didn't even know this term, new adult. I found out about the term and all that came with it after I decided to take this writing thing more seriously, and was already well into my third manuscript. I thought about giving up and turning to YA or adult many, many times. But each time I tried, my writing seemed forced and I lost interest in whatever I was forcing myself to do. So I stuck with NA, fully knowing this would be a hard road to ride on, because that's what I love and want to write about ;)

Do you also write YA, or adult fiction? How does writing an NA differ? No, I don't. I've thought about it, but never gave in. My love is NA. The situation and the reaction to that situation are different in NA. When you're 19-25, you're considered adult, but you haven't found yourself yet. You're in college or working, trying to figure out what to do with the rest of your life. Doing laundry, paying rent, and other bills are becoming a serious concern in your life. The boys are becoming men.

I really like what NYT bestselling author Cora Carmack wrote about NA on her blog:
"Whether you’re at college or moving out on your own or working your first full time job—your life seems to change radically overnight. And yet for most people in that age group (18-25ish), you’re still not completely on your own. Your parents are still a large part of your life. You’re not a child anymore, but you’re also not quite an adult. You may call yourself an adult (as will others), but deep down inside you are petrified because you don’t feel like one. [...] Young Adult books are about surviving adolescence and coming of age. New Adult is about how to live your life after that. New Adult is the “I’m officially an adult, now what?” phase. 
Just like growing up, that life stage is different for everyone, but I do think there are some things that are constant."
I think she hit the spot right here.

How did the NA Alley blog come to exist and how did you become involved? I met Victoria and Jaycee some time ago and knew they wrote NA like me. One day I got an email from them asking if I wanted to join them and come up with a blog dedicated to NA. I swear, I was thinking about emailing them and asking them the same thing! That was around Feb-March 2012. In May 2012, we launched NA Alley.

What books would you recommend for readers that are new the the NA genre? We have a good rec list on NA Alley , but I suggest Easy by Tammara Webber, My Favorite Mistake by Chelsea M. Cameron, Slammed by Colleen Hoover and Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park.

Thanks so much Juliana!

Check out Juliana's Website ~ Say Hi to her on Twitter ~ Add Her Heart's Secret Wish on Goodreads ~
Purchase Her Heart's Secret Wish at Amazon

1 comment:

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