Guest Post: New Adult Books Before Their Time by Matthew Turner
Let's all welcome Matthew Turner, author of Beyond Parallel, here at My Book and My Coffee. Earlier this year, Matthew visited My Book and My Coffee for an interview (See Matthew Turner's Interview here). It was an amazing interview as we learned more about his book, a little about him personally, and more. Today, he will be talking about New Adult ("the new genre on the block"). Check it out!
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The new genre on the block is NEW ADULT, a style of writing that focuses on characters aged 18 - 25 years-of-age. It's certainly garnering a great deal of attention with authors like Colleen Hoover, Tammara Webber, and Gail McHugh bursting onto bestseller lists, but is New Adult really new?
My name is Matthew Turner and I'm a new New Adult Author celebrating a campaign this week going by the name: A New Adult Man. Part of this is to announce that my debut novel, Beyond Parallel is FREE between 18/03/2013 - 22/03/2013; but a greater reason is to spread the love of the New Adult World.
What Is New Adult?
Current perceptions of New Adult are steered toward it being smut for teenagers and young adult erotica, and although there are many books who fit into this category, there are many more that aren't. Beyond Parallel, for instance, surrounds relationships but is far from a romantic novel.
When I read Hopeless from Colleen Hoover I didn't think romance, rather a story crafted around real issues that young people suffer with, and the same with Easy - by Tammara Webber - which again touches upon romantic notions but is about much grander issues.
At the moment the majority of readers and writers are female, but this doesn't have to be the case moving forward, and it's this what I hope the New Adult Man Campaign achieves. I have nothing against romance novels or books written by women - far from it in fact - but I believe New Adult can become a genuine genre helping an ever growing audience.
I hope you'll spread the word.
New Adult Isn't New
New Adult is a hot topic at present, but is it really new? I say not!
It's also full of women, but have men really been avoiding this type of writing? Again, I say not!
I want to share two books written by two talented MALE writers that I believe fit into the New Adult Genre long before New Adult was a real entity. Do you agree?
Starter For Ten by David Nicholls
I'm a big David Nicholls fan and feel he's the perfect example of a Male New Adult Writer. Starter for Ten focusses on a set of eighteen-year-olds, and although the entire story flits in and out of various relationships (including a few sexual scenes here and there) it's far from a romantic novel.
It looks at life away from home, drinking and partying and meeting new people, combining your studies with that special new girl, achieving dreams, discovering whether you actually want to achieve said dreams, and begin, for the first time, to consider jobs and life as a real life grown up.
This is New Adult if you ask me.
Starter For Ten was published in 2003 but in my opinion is a New Adult novel through-and-though. Smutty Teenage fiction it is not, but a story about young people, for young people… it most certainly is.
The Art Of Fielding by Chad Harbaugh
This is a great American novel that was published in 2012 (just as New Adult was hitting the streets), but I doubt few would associate it with the genre. Chad Harbaugh is a very talented writer who's extremely literary by nature, but The Art Of Fielding is again another example of what New Adult is all about.
It's set in college during freshman year as Henry Skrimshaw - a talented young baseball player - tries to take his skills to the next level and become a professional.
Again, the story has relationships and sex and love triangles (all regular ploys of New Adult novels), but the real essence of the story looks at friendship, growing up, and coming to terms with pressure from those around you. I'm not sure about you, but these are things that you tend to feel in your early and mid-twenties.
Again, not smutty in the slightest, but extremely New Adult.
What Does New Adult Mean To You?
At the moment I doubt any of the writers above would appreciate being associated with New Adult. The perception surrounds sex and steamy scenes, but I hope that in a couple of years time they all proudly link their name to it.
When writing Beyond Parallel I struggled with where to place it, but as soon as I found New Adult I knew I'd found its home. This is a genre for those living the young life, going through issues experienced in your early twenties, and trying to make sense out of the hazy world before you.
The New Adult Man Campaign will hopefully introduce this genre to new people and show them the grander potential it holds. I hope you'll search for your own opinion, read a few New Adult titles, and helps spread the love.
-- Matthew Turner - author of Beyond Parallel
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About the Author:
Matthew Turner is a Male New Adult Writer who's debut novel, BEYOND PARALLEL is FREE all week (18/03/2013 - 22/03/2013).
The New Adult Man Campaign is geared toward exposing this great new genre and showing that men can play a part too. JOIN THE FACEBOOK EVENT (https://www.facebook.com/events/498642426838956/) and help spread the word, discovering some great New Adult reads along the way.
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