Today I am very pleased once again to be a stop on a blog tour for author, Kia Zi Shiru, her Disturbed Fate Tour. So, without further ado, over to Kia!
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New Adult and Young Adult, where first times grow up.
New Adult, a new genre that positions itself as the follow up from Young Adult. Young Adult is for the age group of 14-18 year olds and is usually about high school, first love, first time, all sorts of firsts. New Adult is a grown up version of this genre (ages 18-26/27), people are usually moving out of their parents’ house, they are in college or on their first job, they are starting to move in with boyfriends and girlfriends, all sorts of different firsts.
My new series Otherkin Spirits is a New Adult book. My main character Marc runs his own little pet shop, just a local neighborhood kind of thing, while the second narrator, Keiran, is still in medical school. I think this is one of the great things about New Adult, or about that age group really, you often make friends in a lot of different places. Some of them will be working, some will still go to school and some (like Devlan in the story) won’t be doing anything.
But I think stories can go further than that. Some of my favorite types of stories in the Young Adult genre are teenage pregnancies (I have no clue why that one interests me so), (eating)disorders and coming out stories. Well, those are also the type of stories that translate over well into the New Adult genre. Teenage pregnancies become young mums who are trying to find work, or are trying to combine toddlers and college work. Disorders don’t stop when the book ends, things like eating disorders but also social and other disorders are things that you’ll have to deal with afterward. I think in a way, those books might be even more interesting as you’re moving into territory where people aren’t fully cured but at the same time aren’t ill any more.
And well... people that come out of the closet and has their first kiss? They grow up. They will start looking for new partners, might have to deal with a school that is more open or less open about their sexuality or gender identification than they are.
These are all amazing stories. In that way New Adult can be so much more than most of the top 100 books in the genre would like you to believe (but then again, that same problem popped up with Young Adult).
What does it mean for my own stories that I move to New Adult and away from Young Adult (don’t worry, not forever, I’ve got a few ideas again). New Adult gives me the ability to write sexy scenes that are a lot more steamy than Young Adult allows, and you know, that can be a lot of fun sometimes. It gives me older characters, which can be a lot more damaged, but at the same time, they are stronger. Galen has lost his old boyfriend in Disturbed Fate and he is damaged by that, but at the same time, years have passed. He is now no longer a grieving teenager but a young man that is exploring love again with someone new.
Those are the things I love. Because my characters are older and have more responsibilities there are other parts to their character that I can work with. Parts that with characters at 16 or even 18 wouldn’t have been developed as much, like responsibility, more social awareness and other things.
Even though Disturbed Fate is an urban fantasy story with romance elements it doesn’t mean that it’s not socially aware and has dynamics in it that in some cases come close to Black Sheep, though dealt with differently. Why? Because I can. My characters are now older and in most cases stronger. This means that power relationships that were crooked in Black Sheep will turn out differently here.
At the same time, Disturbed Fate was my way of letting go of Black Sheep (I know, ironic sentence). It was the best way to step away from the mentality I had while writing Black Sheep and move into areas with older characters, who are influenced differently.
And, of course, I was able to write sexy times. Sexy times are fun and good.
New Adult, a new genre that positions itself as the follow up from Young Adult. Young Adult is for the age group of 14-18 year olds and is usually about high school, first love, first time, all sorts of firsts. New Adult is a grown up version of this genre (ages 18-26/27), people are usually moving out of their parents’ house, they are in college or on their first job, they are starting to move in with boyfriends and girlfriends, all sorts of different firsts.
My new series Otherkin Spirits is a New Adult book. My main character Marc runs his own little pet shop, just a local neighborhood kind of thing, while the second narrator, Keiran, is still in medical school. I think this is one of the great things about New Adult, or about that age group really, you often make friends in a lot of different places. Some of them will be working, some will still go to school and some (like Devlan in the story) won’t be doing anything.
But I think stories can go further than that. Some of my favorite types of stories in the Young Adult genre are teenage pregnancies (I have no clue why that one interests me so), (eating)disorders and coming out stories. Well, those are also the type of stories that translate over well into the New Adult genre. Teenage pregnancies become young mums who are trying to find work, or are trying to combine toddlers and college work. Disorders don’t stop when the book ends, things like eating disorders but also social and other disorders are things that you’ll have to deal with afterward. I think in a way, those books might be even more interesting as you’re moving into territory where people aren’t fully cured but at the same time aren’t ill any more.
And well... people that come out of the closet and has their first kiss? They grow up. They will start looking for new partners, might have to deal with a school that is more open or less open about their sexuality or gender identification than they are.
These are all amazing stories. In that way New Adult can be so much more than most of the top 100 books in the genre would like you to believe (but then again, that same problem popped up with Young Adult).
What does it mean for my own stories that I move to New Adult and away from Young Adult (don’t worry, not forever, I’ve got a few ideas again). New Adult gives me the ability to write sexy scenes that are a lot more steamy than Young Adult allows, and you know, that can be a lot of fun sometimes. It gives me older characters, which can be a lot more damaged, but at the same time, they are stronger. Galen has lost his old boyfriend in Disturbed Fate and he is damaged by that, but at the same time, years have passed. He is now no longer a grieving teenager but a young man that is exploring love again with someone new.
Those are the things I love. Because my characters are older and have more responsibilities there are other parts to their character that I can work with. Parts that with characters at 16 or even 18 wouldn’t have been developed as much, like responsibility, more social awareness and other things.
Even though Disturbed Fate is an urban fantasy story with romance elements it doesn’t mean that it’s not socially aware and has dynamics in it that in some cases come close to Black Sheep, though dealt with differently. Why? Because I can. My characters are now older and in most cases stronger. This means that power relationships that were crooked in Black Sheep will turn out differently here.
At the same time, Disturbed Fate was my way of letting go of Black Sheep (I know, ironic sentence). It was the best way to step away from the mentality I had while writing Black Sheep and move into areas with older characters, who are influenced differently.
And, of course, I was able to write sexy times. Sexy times are fun and good.
~
If you're interested in checking out Kia and her work, here are the links to let you do that, plus an excerpt from her latest book, Disturbed Fate.. :)
About Kia Zi Shiru
You can find me:
Website: www.5timeschaos.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/kiazishiru
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/KiaShiru
And if you want to keep up to date you can sign up for my newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/vvShb
Disturbed Fate (Otherkin Spirits #1)
Marc, a small pet shop
owner and seer, needs help with his store, but his new employee, Galen, brings
with him more trouble than expected. Marc tries to keep their relationship
professional even if Galen seems insistent on taking it to the next level. And
then there is the problem of Galen’s past.
Keiran, a hard working
medical student and Marc’s best friend, has a small problem, a stalker. One
night he confronts the guy and finds in his stalker vampire, Devlan, is too
alluring to turn down. But Devlan isn’t who he seems to be.
When the four men meet
up for a night out their lives fall apart. Marc’s premonitions are wrong and
everything points towards one autumn night a couple of years ago. Now they need
to figure out what happened that night, before someone dies, again.
Time is running out.
The visions might be false, but they don’t paint a pretty picture, not about
their futures and, especially, not about their pasts. They need to reverse the
change before it is too late.
Sales links:
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/333022
Excerpt:
Nails scratched along the floor and Isis shot back into the kitchen. She slowed down, took a look at him and walked with her head and tail high to the radiator and lay down in her basket, her job of annoying humans done for the day.
Marc stepped into the living room with two steaming cups of tea and stopped. Galen was bending over, trying to dry his jeans with a towel that he had probably found under the side table or the couch. Better not tell him what it was normally used for. His shirt was bunched up slightly, exposing flawless, lightly tanned skin, and his jeans were taut over an apparently perfect round ass. Marc swallowed before he walked in further.
Galen quickly turned around, standing up straight. “Sorry, your cat… She…”
“She’s evil. Don’t worry about it. Do you need dry ones?” He nodded to Galen who still held the towel to his jeans. “I could try to find something that might fit you.” Marc put the tea on the table and picked up the small kitten next to his feet. She seemed to be more curious about her surroundings than scared.
“They’ll dry soon enough. It’s okay.” Galen sat back down, putting three cubes of sugar in his tea.
Marc sat down on the other end of the couch, giving Galen some space, and put the kitten between them.
“She likes it here. She wants to explore this big new territory. My place is only a small studio so she had it explored pretty quickly. Right, little one?” Galen reached out to the kitten, petting her lovingly. “Thank you for letting me work here. Without it I wouldn’t have been able to keep her.” Galen met his eyes for a few seconds before he looked away shyly.
“It’s okay. It looked like you could use the companionship of a pet. She seems really attached to you. Did you name her yet?”
Galen shook his head. “I’m really bad at it. I couldn’t come up with something good.”
Marc smiled. The guy was honest and cute. “What about Snow? Seems fitting, right?”
Galen looked at him for a moment and blushed dark before he nodded. “Yeah, I think Snow is a nice name.” He looked at the kitten and softly petted her. “Do you like that too, little one? Snow.”
The kitten licked his finger and meowed quietly.
Marc studied Galen now the man seemed to have relaxed. Galen looked more his age now he wasn’t stressed. His eyes were kind and his lips a light red that would probably turn a nice shade of scarlet after some kissing.
Marc looked down at the kitten. He was going mad. This guy was just in need of some help with a job and a pet. He wouldn’t need someone like Marc drooling all over him.
Marc stepped into the living room with two steaming cups of tea and stopped. Galen was bending over, trying to dry his jeans with a towel that he had probably found under the side table or the couch. Better not tell him what it was normally used for. His shirt was bunched up slightly, exposing flawless, lightly tanned skin, and his jeans were taut over an apparently perfect round ass. Marc swallowed before he walked in further.
Galen quickly turned around, standing up straight. “Sorry, your cat… She…”
“She’s evil. Don’t worry about it. Do you need dry ones?” He nodded to Galen who still held the towel to his jeans. “I could try to find something that might fit you.” Marc put the tea on the table and picked up the small kitten next to his feet. She seemed to be more curious about her surroundings than scared.
“They’ll dry soon enough. It’s okay.” Galen sat back down, putting three cubes of sugar in his tea.
Marc sat down on the other end of the couch, giving Galen some space, and put the kitten between them.
“She likes it here. She wants to explore this big new territory. My place is only a small studio so she had it explored pretty quickly. Right, little one?” Galen reached out to the kitten, petting her lovingly. “Thank you for letting me work here. Without it I wouldn’t have been able to keep her.” Galen met his eyes for a few seconds before he looked away shyly.
“It’s okay. It looked like you could use the companionship of a pet. She seems really attached to you. Did you name her yet?”
Galen shook his head. “I’m really bad at it. I couldn’t come up with something good.”
Marc smiled. The guy was honest and cute. “What about Snow? Seems fitting, right?”
Galen looked at him for a moment and blushed dark before he nodded. “Yeah, I think Snow is a nice name.” He looked at the kitten and softly petted her. “Do you like that too, little one? Snow.”
The kitten licked his finger and meowed quietly.
Marc studied Galen now the man seemed to have relaxed. Galen looked more his age now he wasn’t stressed. His eyes were kind and his lips a light red that would probably turn a nice shade of scarlet after some kissing.
Marc looked down at the kitten. He was going mad. This guy was just in need of some help with a job and a pet. He wouldn’t need someone like Marc drooling all over him.
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