Why Young Adult and New Adult Romance? Blast from the Past by Lynn Lovegreen

(This Blast from the Past was first published in 2016.)

We’re celebrating New and Young Adult romance this month! I am honored to be asked to write an extra post for this theme. (My usual gig is the second Thursday of the month.) These age categories are my favorites, and I’ll explain why.

Young adult (YA) is usually defined as the teen years, when most kids are in secondary school and figuring out who they are. New adult (NA) is often defined as the period right after that, when young people are holding their first jobs, going to college, and learning to be on their own in the world. Both ages are full of drama and possibilities, especially in fiction. Add a little romance, and you have the perfect ingredients for a novel.

Depending on who I’m talking to, I often just say I write YA. But if my audience knows about NA, I will say YA/NA. In my Gold Rush books, there is a combination of YA and NA characters. Because of the time period, most of my teenaged characters are taking on adult roles earlier in life. Plus, there is not an obvious border between the two age groups then, so teens are spending time with what we might call new adults. In Quicksilver to Gold, for example, set back in 1900, Jeannie has never set foot in a school building, but today she’d probably be a senior in high school. The object of her affection, Clint, would have graduated high school already since he’s a little older. When they meet at their mining claims outside Nome, Alaska, they are both seen as adults. But when you see Jeannie’s emotional reactions to things, there is no doubt she is a teenager.

I write YA and NA because I remember my teen and college years vividly. I knew even then that it was a dramatic stage of life; I recall thinking that if I ever wrote a book, it would be set during that time. (No, none of my books are that close to autobiography, but you never know what I might write in the future!) For most of us, those years are an emotional roller coaster. Everything is important, and so much feels earthshaking. That’s built-in drama for a novelist.

While adults also enjoy reading YA and NA, I hope teens can use my characters as examples of what they might do with their own lives. If Jeannie can strike it rich with her mining skills or Charlotte can help create Denali National Park, why can’t our readers achieve their own dreams? I hope they will.

For more on why I write YA, see my video at https://youtu.be/rJDWwrSnXuMhttps://youtu.be/rJDWwrSnXuM.

Lynn Lovegreen grew up in Alaska, and still lives there. Her young adult/new adult historical romances are set in the Alaska Gold Rush, a great time for drama, romance, and independent characters. See her website at www.lynnlovegreen.com.

What the World Needs Now: Empathy by Barbara Binns

 

In " What the World Needs Now: Empathy", first published December 10th, 2014, YA and Middle Grade Author Barbara Binns presents the importance of being able to see things from another person's vantage point, and how reading diverse fiction helps children develop empathy. (File this one under "Educate/Inspire")

Hi everyone! I am YA and Middle Grade author B A Binns , writer of contemporary and realistic fiction for teens. My tagline says it all - Stories of Real Boys Growing Into Real Men - and the people who love them. 

This month I'm blogging about the E-word.

This is that season, you know, the one were everyone shouts about peace on earth and good will toward men. I have to think about another word. Empathy. You know, that ability to see things from another point of view. To understand and at least temporarily share someone else's feelings, even if that someone else is outwardly very different from yourself.

I have a quote from Purple heart recipient Charlene Lauderdale, a retired master sergeant in the United States Air Force. She was also born with both female and male anatomy. After living most of her life as a man, she is now legally a woman faced with all the challenges the transition represents. Instead of the walk a mile in someone else's shoes cliche, I will use her words:

You never know until you step up to the plate and swing at the ball coming at you.

See, it's not about feeling sympathy or approval. It's about understanding.

Two weeks ago at my adult Sunday School class, the subject of Ferguson Missouri and the Michael Brown came up. One member of the group made a statement saying he could never understand how anyone could ever try to hit a police officer for any reason.

Never understand.

I'm not going to pretend I know the right or wrong or the final truth about anything that has happened or is happening in this arena.  But I know that anyone content to relax and say "I'll never understand" and let that be the end of things, lacks the ability--or the desire--to even consider the possibility that another individual might look at the world and see something outside their own vantage point. 

Not long ago I saw a call from a teacher looking for books for her elementary class she could use to help teach them empathy. My answer: get any book about anyone who is different from them, who lives a life different from theirs in terms of social class, race, ethnicity, and physical location. Hand them books that show these characters face the kinds of challenges her kids can understand. Let her readers walk through those books wearing the character's shoes so they also see his or her motives, issues, thoughts, goals and emotions. See their sorrows and their triumphs. Become someone different from themselves, at least for the time it takes to get through that book.

A good book can be the perfect empathy training ground.  The march 2013 issue of the Rotarian included an article called The Truth About Fiction. In that article, cognitive psychologist Keith Oatley is quoted as saying:

…reading more fiction enables you to understand other people better.  Fiction is about exploring a range of circumstances and interactions and characters you’re likely to meet.  Fiction is not a description of ordinary life; it’s a simulation. ...fiction tells us what can happen, which can stretch our moral imaginations...

Inside the pages your mind can occupy another space, another body. You can see the world through different eyes. Unfortunately, too many of us read books about people who are like ourselves.  I don't mean that we're all beautiful heroines or navy seal heroes. But a load of the books we read are about people who are basically like the reader. White, middle class or wealthy, primarily suburban. As a result - little or no empathy is required or promoted during the reading of that book, and opportunities are lost. WNDB was born for various reasons. Partly by authors and concerned members of the publishing industry who saw how many children's books featuring a protagonist outside the typical "universal" background could not find a publisher. That included fantasy and speculative fiction,  aliens and yetis were more plentiful than kids of color, kids who lived in poverty, or people who existed outside the US, Canada, England or the UK. Don't even ask about non-christian kids or the handicapped.  

I believe that books featuring Heroes or Heroines from all places and walks of life can have stories that bring something to enrich us all. That characters who are neither rich nor middle class can share their form of the universal story with readers, and in the process, enhance the readers' lives. Those books can teach readers they do not have to condone an individual's actions, but that understanding is the path toward a better future.

That's why I write diverse books. It's also why I teach a class for writers who want to write about people who are different from themselves.  It's not an easy task. If done wrong, the author can do more harm than good, promoting stereotypes that negate the need for empathy because the reader Ends up feeling, "Everyone knows that's how those people are."  And people from the group can feel victimized when seeing themselves portrayed as a caricature.  The class is for authors who want to do the work needed to do a good job understanding and portraying someone else. And, in the process, developing more than a little empathy themselves.

Learn more at Diverse Writing

A Blogversation: YA Romance by Lynn Lovegreen

Unlike genres, young adult (YA) is a category or age range. The main characters are teens, roughly 12-18 years old. You can find YA contemporary, fantasy, paranormal, mystery, and many other genres. I write YA historical fiction set in Alaska, and there’s always at least a thread of romance in there. YA romance is a perennial favorite. Why not—who can resist the first kiss, the high school date, all the heady experiences of teenage romance?

 

Some young adult novels focus on the love story and can be called true or straight YA romance. For example, Chris Cannon’s Boyfriend Chronicles series starts with Blackmail Boyfriend (http://www.chriscannonauthor.com/book-store/):

Sometimes, blackmail is the only weapon a girl has…

Haley Patterson has had a crush on golden boy Bryce Colton for ages. But when she hears a rumor that he hooked up with her she gives him a choice: be her boyfriend for a month to show other guys that she’s dateable—despite her overprotective and very intimidating brothers—or deal with the angry, cage-fighting boyfriend of the girl he actually did hook up with.

Bryce didn’t know the other Haley even had a boyfriend. He was just trying to get his ex off his back. And now, not only is he being blackmailed, he's being blackmailed by an honor student. His new “girlfriend” has two three-legged dogs, her father mows grass at the country club, and she's…well, difficult. And different.

Can something so fake turn into something real?

 

 

 

Pintip Dunn’s upcoming Dating Makes Perfect (http://www.pintipdunn.com/dating-makes-perfect) is another good example:

The Tech sisters don’t date in high school. Not because they’re not asked. Not because they’re not interested. Not even because no one can pronounce their long, Thai last name—hence the shortened, awkward moniker. But simply because they’re not allowed.

Until now.

In a move that other Asian American girls know all too well, six months after the older Tech twins got to college, their parents asked, “Why aren’t you engaged yet?” The sisters retaliated by vowing that they won’t marry for ten (maybe even twenty!) years, not until they’ve had lots of the dating practice that they didn’t get in high school.

In a shocking war on the status quo, her parents now insist that their youngest daughter, Orrawin (aka “Winnie”), must practice fake dating in high school. Under their watchful eyes, of course—and organized based on their favorite rom-coms. ’Cause that won’t end in disaster.

The first candidate? The son of their longtime friends, Mat Songsomboon—arrogant, infuriating, and way too good-looking. Winnie’s known him since they were toddlers throwing sticky rice balls at each other. And her parents love him.

If only he weren’t her sworn enemy.

 

Others integrate romance into the plot, like Sherry Thomas’ The Magnolia Sword: A Ballad of Mulan(https://www.sherrythomas.com/the-magnolia-sword-a-ballad-of-mulan.php):

CHINA, 484 A.D.

A Warrior in Disguise
All her life, Mulan has trained for one purpose: to win the duel that every generation in her family must fight. If she prevails, she can reunite a pair of priceless heirloom swords separated decades earlier, and avenge her father, who was paralyzed in his own duel.

Then a messenger from the Emperor arrives, demanding that all families send one soldier to fight the Rouran invaders in the north. Mulan's father cannot go. Her brother is just a child. So she ties up her hair, takes up her sword, and joins the army as a man.

A War for a Dynasty
Thanks to her martial arts skills, Mulan is chosen for an elite team under the command of the princeling--the royal duke's son, who is also the handsomest man she's ever seen. But the princeling has secrets of his own, which explode into Mulan's life and shake up everything she knows. As they cross the Great Wall to face the enemy beyond, Mulan and the princeling must find a way to unwind their past, unmask a traitor, and uncover the plans for the Rouran invasion . . . before it's too late.

Inspired by wuxia martial-arts dramas as well as the centuries-old ballad of Mulan, The Magnolia Sword is perfect for fans of Renee Ahdieh, Marie Lu, or Kristin Cashore--a thrilling, romantic, and sharp-edged novel that lives up to its beloved heroine. 

 

 

Let’s talk! What do you prefer, straight up YA romance, or a young romance woven into the story? Or maybe you have a title or author to recommend?

Market Correction

Hi everyone! 

I am Young Adult and Middle Grade author Barbara Binns, writer of contemporary and realistic fiction for adolescents and teens. As my tagline says, I write Stories of Real Boys Growing Into Real Men - and the people who love them. 


This is part 1 of a two-part post on Diverse Writing.  You can read part 2, with tips for writing diverse characters and cultures, by clicking HERE

This month, Romancing The Genres will present tips for writing authentic diverse characters on weekends. In fact, I will be doing a post this Saturday, March 16. Currently, social media is operating in viral mode about a resent YA book involving the intersection of several layers of diversity. Some are calling the viral Twitter messages a mob attack that all authors should fear.

If you don't know, author Kosoko Jackson wrote a book called, A Place For Wolves. The book was scheduled to be published later this month. Instead, he and the publisher, Sourcebooks, have decided to withdraw it following diversity related attacks by what is being called YA Twitter.

Mr. Jackson is an #ownvoice, black, gay, and his book has a black, gay, non-Muslim American teen as the  protagonist.

This pre-publication withdrawal follows similar actions taken with two earlier books: Blood Heir by Amélie Wen Zhao, and A Suicide Bomber Sits in the Library by Jack Gantos.  Blood Heir includes a racially insensitive portrayal of slavery, including the sacrifice of a black character to save a white. A Suicide Bomber Sits In The Library repeats the way overused caricature of a Muslim suicide bomber preparing to set off a bomb in the US.


School Library Journal considered A Place For Wolves a starred book. Nevertheless, the historical thriller was pulled last month  following a negative Goodreads review that led to a barrage of twitter attacks. Mr. Jackson and his book had received starred reviews from major reviewers. Interestingly, Mr. Jackson was a well-known and respected sensitivity reader. The reviewer who read a pre-release arc claimed – “I’ve never been so disgusted in my life.” She went on to detail issues with the importance of the plight of the Americans over the genocide of Muslim Albanians and placing one of those Muslim men as the stories terrorist villain.

Commenters on Twitter and Facebook discuss the possible harm this book could do to real people. The book is set in the Kosovo war in the 1990’s. It focuses on the suffering and fear of two non-Muslim American boys with little regard for the genocide suffered by the Albanian Muslims of Kosovo. And it makes a Albanian Muslim the terrorist villain.

The author apologized, stating

I failed to fully understand the people and the conflict that I set around my characters.

I call that the issue. Not the power of twitter, but the failure to understand. Without that, there would never have been a mob. Some have called the attack on this book a witch hunt. I think it's a sign that no one is immune from backlash if they use problem tropes and engage in cultural appropriation.

Of course people make mistakes. I almost made one myself, was on the verge of creating a stereotypical womanizing, hard drinking black male. Thank God for critique partners, since all I really wanted was for my protagonist to have a relative who drank too much and not be a caricature. I was able to catch the issue in time and re-write before arcs went out and reviewers got their hands on the book.

Many authors view are viewing this action with fear.  Especially while writing the story of his or her heart. They want the "exotic" character or culture without having to think about the implications that may have to readers. Existing groups and cultures have exiting human being who are part of it, and who may be hurt if the facts of that culture are misused. In this day of social media, those readers have the ability to voice their displeasure.

I called this post Market Correction for a reason. Some writers are running cared, fearing the comments on Social Media and calling this "censorship." Had this book been published, and then the government told the publisher/author to withdraw it because of concerns about the depiction of Muslim-American relationships, I would agree that that was censorship. But in this case, it was the market itself that spoke up and issued a correction. Just like an overvalued stock may decline after investors realize there are reasons to withdraw their money. In this case readers and their followers voiced their displeasure and were heard. I don't feel scared about that.

Note, on Saturday I will be back to provide some tips to help authors avoid these kinds of problems in the first place.  For now, feel free to ask questions in the comments and I will look at including those in the March 16th post.

PS - here is a link to the apology Kosoko Jackson posted on twitter when he removed A Place For Wolves from publication:

From me to the Book Community: I'm Sorry. pic.twitter.com/sFXQAlQCk9

— Kosoko Jackson (@KosokoJackson) February 28, 2019

We Still Need Diverse Books

Hi everyone! 

I am YA, and now MG author Barbara Binns , writer of contemporary and realistic fiction for adolescents and teens. My tagline tells you what I am about - Stories of Real Boys Growing Into Real Men - and the people who love them.  My debut middle grade novel, Courage, was recently published by Harper Collins.

I happen to be between conferences right now. I was at the Joint Council of Librarians of Color (JCLC) in Albuquerque, New Mexico last week. Today (Wednesday) I am speaking at the Illinois Library Association conference in Peoria, Il.  In lieu of a new post, I am giving you a post a made during the JCLC conference, as librarians discussed children's books and We Need Diverse Books.  An appropriate topic as I prepare to begin my Diverse Writing class  for next week. So here goes, an overview of the Youth Author Luncheon at the recent JCLC conference.

The Youth Author Lunch on Friday included an opportunity to discuss with a panel of WNDB personnel, Dhonielle Clayton, Lamar Giles, Caroline Richmond, Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, and Juleah del Rosario. We had a full house including great conversations at individual tables, a lovely lunch, and a lot of information about changes in diversity in the publishing industry.

The panelists started by going over the history of We Need Diverse Books. The first wave of activity after the birth of the #WNDB hashtag and movement involved publishers looking at authors and illustrators writing outside their lane to provide “fixes for the problem.” Fortunately, most now embrace the #ownvoices movement. In addition, many books written by POC and other #ownvoices are finding spots on bestseller lists. As Lamar Giles notes, that is not because these authors went from bad to good overnight. Its because the authors and books are finally being taken seriously by publishers, and getting the marketing and publicity push behind them to propel them into visibility. Diverse books by diverse authors are no longer being shoved into a pigeon hole to die, quietly and unnoticed. Once these books are discovered by readers and reviewers, the quality that was always there is seen.

We are coming up on the fifth anniversary of the organization. The panelists discussed many of their accomplishments including:

1. Sponsoring numerous diverse interns into large publishing houses. Publishers often hire from pools of unpaid interns, and many authors from marginalized populations found in difficult to afford to take on an unpaid job in the very expensive land of New York. In the last few years, several of the interns subsidized by WNDB have gone on to permanent employment in publishing. 
2. The Walter Awards celebrating diverse books by diverse authors. 
3. Short story anthologies of diverse authors designed to be school-friendly. Each anthology includes a slot reserved for an unpublished author to help undiscovered #ownvoices get a start. 
4. Copies of the anthologies, Walter award winners, and other books are regularly given away to classrooms across the country. And several participants at the luncheon went home with autographed copies of several of the books involved in the giveaway. 
5. Created an Our Story app as an easy-to-use resource for students, teachers, and librarians to help find diverse books of interest. The app includes a quiz readers can take to help the app suggest books for them. That includes so-called reluctant readers who may simply not have found a book that speaks to them…yet. 

During the Q&A period, several questions about the self-publishing surge came up. The panelists felt self-publishing was more a band-aid than a solution to the problem of getting more diverse books published and into libraries. They advocate for actions that will help fix institutional problems, such as the internship program. While self-publishing is now a viable publication path for authors to pursue, it should not absolve publishers from dealing with real issues that remain in the publishing industry.

New releases by the presenters:

Nobody's Perfect

Hi everyone! 

I am YA, and now MG author Barbara Binns , writer of contemporary and realistic fiction for adolescents and teens. My tagline tells you what I am about - Stories of Real Boys Growing Into Real Men - and the people who love them.  My debut middle grade novel, Courage, was recently published by Harper Collins.

My first book was published nine years ago (where has the time gone?) Pull won a Reader’s Choice award, and was a finalist in the Reveal Your Inner Vixen contest. Pull garnered good review from Kirkus and School Library Journal and several other professional reviewers.

But one reviewer noted there was an unresolved subplot. I was mortified. I reread the book a dozen times trying to find what plot line was left dangling. Every book I have written since then (Being God, Minority Of One, and now Courage) had me going over every subplot with a microscope to be sure I never made a horrible mistake like that again.

Right now I am racing to a deadline on a new story. I've also been victimized by writer’s block for several weeks. The source of my block was another review, only this one was not from a stranger. It came from a member of the librarian community, someone whose blog I have read and whose recommendations I have trusted for years. I actually put an ARC for Courage in her hands and asked her to read and review when we met at a conference over the winter. Mind you, I didn’t expect a mind-blowingly awesome recommendation. I simply thought she would be fair. What I didn't expect was that she would write falsehoods about the content of Courage.

I teach a class on diversity and inclusive writing.  I begin a new session next month. So I was horrified when her review accused me of creating a stereotypical Asian tiger mother. I actually doubted myself for a moment.

Then I remembered, there are zero Asian women in the pages of my book. Black women, white women, but not a single Asian women. The mother in question is a white, over-enthusiastic soccer-type mom, or, in the case of Courage, a pool mom.

The reviewer made an honest mistake, I told myself. She goes through so many books, she somehow mixed mine up with another. So, even thought I have been told to never have respond to reviews, I did the unthinkable and wrote to explain the mother was not Asian, her heritage is described on page 20. I felt good, until I saw that she “fixed” things by adding a note admitting the mother was not Asian, but then accusing me of turning her adopted Filipino son into a stereotyped super-Asian kid. He was, she proclaimed, the only Asian in the book and illustrated the dangers of the “single story.”

Well, he is adopted and from the Philippines. But he is not the only Asian in my story. He is also not a superkid, just an 11-year-old diving student who wants to improve. Taking one last chance, I reminded her that there is more than one Asian in Courage. She changed her comment to admit that, while he was one of many, he was still an example of the single story AND a represented an attempt to use a checklist to to insert diverse characters to make a story commercial.

I bowed my head and licked my wounds. I sank like the Titanic, into an ocean-deep funk, knowing that the Internet is forever and that people would read her and believe I had written stereotypes. Never mind that anyone who read the book first would know she was wrong. Those who read her blog first wouldn't touch my book, ever.  I had a meeting with my critique partner last week, and had to struggle to think of anything to say about my WIP – the one with that deadline approaching. My mind just wasn't there.

My new story involves magical realism, and includes one ghost (and the danger of that single story looms again). The ghost sends some modern kids back in time, then reverses things and brings a kid from the past into the present. Frankly, after the review turmoil, I simply couldn’t think straight, much less deal with a couple of time paradoxes.

At least now I can cease worrying about that forgotten subplot. I’m ready to cease trying to fix a problem that probably never existed outside one reviewer's mind.

I’ve stopped worrying about this issue as well. I've heard from too many other people about Courage. This coming Sunday (September 16) I will be one of the featured authors at the Chicago Children’s book fair. I’ve also been asked to speak at the Illinois Library Association Conference on the subject of invisible populations and how librarians can reach out to them. And just yesterday I was asked to participate in an Illinois Youth Literature festival in 2019. These invitations come from people who believe in the way I strive for diversity and inclusion in my stories for children.

My block has cracked, and my ghost is ready to fit on the page.

PS, At least this has given me a new anecdote to relate to my diverse writing class next month, what happens when you do things right and readers still see a distorted picture in their minds. If you are interested in taking the class, you can find out more at http://www.babinns.com/spice-class/

As a reward for reading this, if you sign up for the class you get a 10% reduction, just for mentioning this post. This online class  begins October 1. 

Have Courage, everyone

Hi everyone! 

I am YA, and now MG author Barbara Binns , writer of contemporary and realistic fiction for adolescents and teens. My tagline tells you what I am about - Stories of Real Boys Growing Into Real Men - and the people who love them.  The release date for my newest book, Courage, is fast approaching - July 29 from Harper Collins.


This post is about the Courage saga, my debut novel being released in a matter of weeks and geared for those most demanding of readers, young readers.

Not that you can't read it too, and enjoy peering into the wayback machine to your own childhoods. But no one is pickier than young readers. Adult readers will often forgive authors a lot. We know we keep reading, even past the occasional slow spot, plot hole, character inconsistency or other minor imperfections, geographic inaccuracies and improbable motivations.

Kids will drop a story the first time it bores them. Taking the reader out of the story is a huge fear for those of us who write for younger readers, because if we lose them we know we will never get them back. That's listed as one reason why many adults have gone back to reading YA. They are not looking for simple stories, they are looking for stories that move and make sense on every page. That's also true for middle grade books, MG. We have to be more entertaining than alternatives like video games, social media, and even real life play!

It all made writing Courage, my debut middle grade novel, an exacting event. I've written adult romance. I've written YA. Writing Courage was harder, because it had to all the characterization and plot of a novel intended for adult audiences, and more. Holding the attention of these most demanding of readers puts an extra burden on craft.

I'm a plotter, not a pantser, but I always begin a new novel by developing the characters. I struggle to create full-featured characters that readers will follow anywhere.  Once I have that, its safe to develop a plot for them to traverse. I know that no matter what danger or trouble they get into, readers will come along and enjoy the ride. I do make things harrowing, the young people in this story face everything from a near death experience to problems with police, to diving off the edge of a springboard into open air.

They also face a host of family issues.

Courage is a modern day retelling of the parable of the prodigal son. One child leaves home and wastes his life, in this case, ending with prison time. His younger brother, the main character, T'Shawn, remains at home. When his older brother returns home a frightening stranger, T'Shawn stands prepared to do whatever he must to protect his widowed mother and younger sister.

Everyone in this story needs courage. The courage to forgive, courage to try again, and courage to deal with the police, an all too common phenomenon that people of color, and even children, have to face on in today's world. They become every man and woman, with age and race taking second place to their humanity. One character lives with a debilitating disease, another with homelessness. Yet another is willing to do anything, break any rule, to hold onto the love of an adoptive parent.

Technically, Courage is not a romance. It's a story of friendship, and family love. In the end, (sorry for the spoiler) love and faith wins out. T'Shawn finds the strength and courage to dive off the springboard into the pool, and to deal with his fear of letting himself love his brother again.

Speaking of love, even at thirteen, T'Shawn manages to find himself in a relationship triangle between Carmela, the police detective's daughter, and Linda, Carmela's best friend and the daughter of a man in prison. You see, I believe that even stories of friendship and family should hand readers happily ever afters.

The city of Chicago provides the perfect backdrop for this story. Courage highlights the vibrant south side. Locations including the University of Chicago to the lakefront are featured on the pages. Readers see the city through the eyes of children from various ethnicities and socio-economic backgrounds.  Forget what you think you know about Chicago, pick up Courage, and get a good look at the real deal.

I invite you to take a look at one of the reviews of Courage  where Kirkus calls Courage - " a multifaceted look at the urban experience." - https://bit.ly/2KY7QK6

Author Barbara Binns was a Golden Heart finalist in 2010 with her adult interracial romance, Damaged Goods. Her first YA novel, Pull was published by Westside Books in 2010. Since then she has gone on to write several YA novels, and her short stories are regularly published in the Arlington Almanac. She lives in the Chicago area, and is both a cancer survivor and an adoptive parent. She is also a member of Kid Lit Nation, http://kidlitnation.com an organization working to help more authors and illustrators of color break into publishing.

Website - http://babinns.com
twitter - http://twitter.com/barbarabinns
facebook - http://facebook.com/allthecolorsoflove

Courage is her debut middle grade novel.
Hardcover $16.99 ISBN - 978-0062561657



Available from Amazon - https://amzn.to/2N6GMFT

Harper Collins - https://bit.ly/2u7ogWG
Barnes & Noble -  https://bit.ly/2u9CiHF

Writing YA/NA Historical Romance

You may recall that Romancing the Genres celebrated New Adult novels in August and September, and I explained then how my books could be considered both Young Adult and New Adult. (See my post at https://romancingthegenres.blogspot.com/2017/09/new-adult-or-not-by-lynn-lovegreen.html.)

I’ve learned a lot about writing YA/NA historical romance over the years, including these points:

• A writer can’t just take a modern young woman and throw her into past centuries.

• The historical information must be woven into the story without slowing down the plot.

• The romance has to be organic and appropriate for the characters involved.

For more tips and tricks, you can sign up for “Writing YA/NA Historical Romance,” an online workshop I’m leading through Hearts Through History Romance Writers on January 3-31, 2018. Here’s the course description:

Can you just throw Bella or Katniss into the nineteenth century to create a historical romance? This four-week workshop will provide the skills an author needs to write a historical romance with young characters. In this course, we will practice writing romance grounded in historical fact. We will consider setting, character, and plot points, and ensure the language is appropriate for the story. Part of our discussion will include how young women had more limitations in the past, sexuality has changed over the years, and that adolescence was seen differently way back when. We will also discuss researching and weaving in historical information. While Lynn will provide lectures and short homework assignments, participants will be encouraged to add to the conversation with their own ideas and knowledge.

To learn more and to register, go to https://www.heartsthroughhistory.com/workshops/writing-yana-historical-romance/#register.

Lynn Lovegreen has lived in Alaska for almost fifty years. She taught for twenty years before retiring to make more time for writing. She enjoys her friends and family, reading, and volunteering at her local library. Her young adult/new adult historical romances are set in Alaska, a great place for drama, romance, and independent characters. See her website at www.lynnlovegreen.com. You can also find her on Facebook, Goodreads, and Pinterest.

The Long & Winding Road - AKA Traditional Publishing

Hi everyone! I am YA, and now MG author Barbara Binns , writer of contemporary and realistic fiction for adolescents and teens. My tagline tells you what I am about - Stories of Real Boys Growing Into Real Men - and the people who love them. 


IT came in the mail on Monday. The galley for my new novel, Courage, all three hundred and fifty plus pages.

You can’t see me, but trust me, if you could you would view an older black woman who is somehow managing to do both a happy dance and heave a heavy sigh of dread.

Here’s the thing, I am a hybrid author. My first and now this, my fourth novels, were/are being traditionally published. My second and third were Indie published. I also have numerous short stories and flash fiction in magazines. (That reminds me, I have to finish off a new story for the Spring issue of the Arlington Almanac.) So I know things about different sides of the publishing spectrum. Which is why I signed a contract with Harper Collins and I am eagerly going Traditional with my new, Middle Grade novel, titled Courage.

For the next three weeks I will be rationing my time to be certain I finish this final look through of the three hundred and fifty plus pages of the novel I spent months writing, and then even more months revising. This is the last time I will go through my own words before publication. Since, in the words of the old jingle, “the quality goes in before the name goes on,” and I will be my name on book, I have responsibility for the final look-through of every page.

And then it’s off to the hell country know as promotion.

Having traversed both paths to publication, I know that traditional publication is a long, winding road. It’s not for the faint-hearted or for anyone unwilling to face a mountain of rejection. I finished this story in 2015. It was sold in 2016. I did not bother to count the rejection messages in between. Suffice it to say there were almost as many as I received for my first novel, PULL. But at least they were all nice comments.

I spent much of 2017 doing major revisions and edits. My wonderful editor at Harper Collins, Karen Chaplin, gave me great feedback and numerous suggestions. Some I took, others got the push back necessary to preserve my original artistic vision - buy me a drink sometime and maybe I'll tell you more. I will say the ending was re-written three times. (With the third re-write largely going back to the elements I put into the first re-write.) This was important, because while all authors know that the opening has to be the strong hook that pulls readers into your story and prepares them to stay with you for the long ride, the ending too is critical. That’s the part that has to leave a reader ready to say the ride was worth it. It should also have them want to take another journey with the author.

I have deliberately not re-read my manuscript in months. That’s part of the process, an author needs eyes as fresh as possible for this last step between herself and her readers. My heart thumps as I open that first page and read that

“Chlorine fills the air.” 

Maybe not the most perfect first line ever, but fitting for a boy who is about to stake a leap into the air and learn that even in the midst of something as bitter and unpleasant as the stench of chlorine, he can find the goodness of friends and family. That he needs to learn the lesson of the final line, that

“Everyone deserves forgiveness.” 

(Yeah, I know. Three complete re-writes of the two ending chapters to get to something that simple. So shoot me.)

Courage hits the shelves in the spring of 2018. This MG novel from Harper Collins is the story of six twelve and thirteen year old friends living on Chicago's South side, including T'Shawn, who finds himself living through a remake of the prodigal son drama when his older brother returns from prison. His friends set out to save him, and their neighborhood.

Now, on to promotion, one of those aspects of my profession that I have always abhorred. See, I even bring out the big words just to show how awful I think it is. Promotion is a requirement, whether you are Indie or Traditionally published. I just finished having a consultation with a marketing manager to gain some pointers.

Hey, maybe more about that next month.

The Importance of School

Hi everyone! I am YA author B A Binns , writer of contemporary and realistic fiction for teens. My tagline tells you what I am about - Stories of Real Boys Growing Into Real Men - and the people who love them. 

There are few things more important in the life of young people than school. Over 250 schools have reopened in Houston. I felt a rush of triumph when I read that on Monday in a story from NPR, (http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2017/09/11/550218485/houston-public-schools-open-after-delays-from-hurricane-harvey). For children, school is a symbol of normalcy, and normalcy is something we all need now.

Naturally, the Internet had many comments about this, including one troll who told the world that the kids had to be really bummed out about that development.

Seriously.

I chose not to feed him.

The kids of hurricane ravaged Houston, on the other hand, gave positive messages to the news that school was back:

• I'm feeling good today 
• I don't have to sit in the house anymore and think about everything else. 
• I was just waiting to go to school. I was like, 'Why did Harvey have to come? We got to go to school and learn!'

They echoed my own thoughts. When I was a child, I reveled in the first day of school. Rain or shine, it couldn't come soon enough for me. Summer was too long, too hot, boring, and frankly the "vacation" aspect had worn out it's welcome by September.  I knew my future lay in that education thing I got inside the walls. Besides, other kids might laugh at me, or ignore me, but I could always impress my teachers.

As a parent, I looked forward to that first day of school for a different reason. I knew the importance of an education for my daughter, and of having the middle of the days to myself again. The return to school was a celebration of parental freedom.

As a writer – well, I write MG and YA fiction. School and schoolchildren are my milieu so naturally I attended NCAAL  (National Conference of African American Librarians) in Atlanta, Ga last month. There I picked up a number of tips for my writing and for attracting readers during the valuable three-day learning experience with librarians and teachers. I also taught them something, giving a workshop about innovative ways to use diverse books and materials in their programs and classes.

I love the start of school. Not only are school-aged youth the subjects I write about, they also constitute the audience I write for. Furthermore, I still enjoy enhancing my own education. I recently attended the tenth

 None of the stories I write take place during school vacation (although my WIP does have a few important scenes that occur during the Thanksgiving vacation). School is one of the number one social activities and bonding experiences for young people. That’s how I use school in my books and short stories.

For my first novel I invented a Chicago high school called Farrington for my first book. That school became and remains a unifying character. It’s the location where most of the action occurs, the place where teens socialize, get angry, and even fall in love – you know, all that real life drama. (BTW, Farrington H S is NOT Barrington H S in disguise. I not thinking of that school I have never been to. Then two years ago I was invited to speak at a workshop where the moderator introduced me as a former Barrington HS teacher. Not understanding, I can be very dense, I corrected the presenter, stating I had heard of the school but had never attended or taught there. I was half-way through my talk before I made the connection. Sometimes I wear blinders.)

School has a way of throwing people together. In adult novels, the workplace frequently provides the grounds for keeping people together and helping them bond. Farrington High School functions like a character in its own right, doing the same for the teens in my novel.

David meets and woos bad girl Yolanda, aka “The Dare,” inside the halls of Farrington in my debut YA novel, Pull. Fittingly, David is a survivor of domestic violence, and Yolanda’s self-esteem is being shattered by an abusive boyfriend.

In my second book, Being God, Yolanda’s former boyfriend and David’s arch enemy, Malik Kaplan takes center stage. He falls hard for Barnetta, David’s sister, both in Farrington’s school halls and while sparring in the boxing ring. (Turns out Barnetta had a mean left hook and she uses it to force him to choose between his growing feelings for her and his love of the alcohol that keeps him in trouble.)

In my third book, Minority Of One, Farrington forms the arena where the off-again, on-again relationship between gay teens Carl and Neill deepens into love.

My new book, Courage, coming May 2018 from Harper Collins, takes place in seventh grade. The kids may be a little young for conventional love and romance, but in even at twelve and thirteen, feelings are developing. The school in Courage (unnamed school, I have learned my lesson) provides opportunities for the kids to explore their diverse world and get to know each other.

The characters in Courage have connections with some of the Farrington high students. Linda is  David and Barnetta’s youngest sister. She plays a critical role in shaping some of T’Shawnt’s decisions, while continuing to wrestle with her own response to the domestic violence in her past. And T’Shawn Rodgers, the protagonist, was once mentored by Malik Kaplan. My brain finds it easier to maintain some continuity between my characters this way. I love expanding and embellishing old characters and revealing their personal stories. I love expanding the stories and lives of my minor characters,

COURAGE Excerpt:

“Romance” means something different for seventh grade kids than it does for older readers. At twelve and thirteen, young people are beginning to grasp that there’s the possibility of something more to relationships than simply being buddies. They know the differences between male and female no longer has anything to do with “cooties,” even if they don't yet understand or want much more.

For T’Shawn, the protagonist in Courage, the idea of a birthday kiss from the self-styled prettiest girl in class is huge, at least in the beginning as you see in this brief excerpt from Courage where T'Shawn Rodgers daydreams.

I come to the pool for the snacks. And to swim, the only sport I don’t hate.
And for the girls in swimsuits.
Well, for one girl, at least.
Carmela Rhodes.
She’s the brown-skinned mermaid in a shining blue and black swimsuit with a white swim cap. She’s already thirteen and is the prettiest girl in my seventh grade class. (If there is any question on that, you can ask her or one of her satellite besties: Marianne Smith, Fantasia Grey or Linda Murhasselt.) Linda is at the pool with her today, only she sits in the bleachers. Carmela stands beside one of the diving boards. I have one goal that I’m aiming for, a birthday kiss from Carmela Rhodes. My first real kiss ever.

But by the end of the story, T'Shawn's relationship with Carmela, and with a number of other classmates, has evolved. Not even finally getting his kiss helps him recover from her insistence that his brother be banished.

No one seemed more surprised by the news of my brother’s departure than Carmela. “Are you sure?” she asked after I told her he was gone.
“I saw him leave,” I snarl.
“You mean we won!” she squeals and then throws her hands over her mouth to stifle the sound. A moment later, she puts her arms around me and kisses me on the cheek.
I step back and wipe my face with the back of my hand.

The good news is, in spite of everything, a friendship forged by problems and misadventures has begun. One that will keep T'Shawn and Carmela, and a host of their friends, close as they move on toward adulthood.

On a personal note:

My personal education saga continues. On October 21, I am scheduled to assist in the Middle School Writer's Workshop during the Day of YA activities at the Illinois School Library Media Association’s conference in Springfield, Il. Then, just before year’s end I will be teaching a workshop to aspiring authors about the Business of Writing for KidLitNation.

If you are interested in finding out more about these events, and about Courage as it marches toward publication, let me know, OK?

New Adult, or Not? by Lynn Lovegreen

When I first started writing my Gold Rush series, I knew the main characters were a little older than the typical YA (Young Adult) heroines and heroes. As I learned more about the NA (New Adult) category, I saw that my books could be New Adult, too.

Young Adult is usually defined as having main characters who are teens, and YA themes involve finding yourself or discovering who you are, and how you can develop relationships with people in your life. New Adult books follow the next part of our lives. According to the blog NA Alley (which later led to the blog NextLit: Coming-of-Age Fiction for the Modern Era), “Typically, a novel is considered NA if it encompasses the transition between adolescence (a life stage often depicted in Young Adult fiction) and true adulthood.” NA issues include finding your place in the world, identity, and living on your own for the first time.

Because my main characters were older teens but often on their own, they kind of fit in between. Four years ago, when I started doing promotion for my books, I often referred to them as YA/NA because they had elements of both, and I wanted to include both audiences. But as I looked at the market more closely, I saw a couple trends that worked against that.

One was the fact that Young Adult books are often bought by gatekeepers: librarians, teachers, and parents. Those gatekeepers are looking for YA and might be confused or put off by the NA label. Another was the fact that NA books at that time were usually steamy.

As many of you know, my books are squeaky clean. I tell people they’re G-rated and you can hand them to your grandmother or your granddaughter without fear. NA books, on the other hand, had a reputation for being R-rated. As one agent told me a couple years ago, New Adult makes her think of "beer pong and sex on the floor.” Of course, there are NA books that aren’t about that, but the perception is there.

So, after much thought, I started dropping the NA part of my descriptions unless I thought the audience was familiar with New Adult and/or wouldn’t assume my books were the steamy type. (For example, readers of this blog are either familiar with me or savvy enough to know there are different kinds of NA.) If you look at my internet presence today, you’ll see that most of the entries list YA and only a few indicate YA/NA. 

Is that a fair representation? I guess it is, for now. But I’m hoping that the perception of NA will change as more people write New Adult books and the category becomes more varied. In the meantime, I’m calling my books YA. But I support New Adult books and authors, and hope to see more published.

Lynn Lovegreen grew up in Alaska, and still lives there. She taught for twenty years before retiring to make more time for writing. She enjoys her friends and family, reading, and volunteering at her local library. Her young adult/new adult historical romances are set in Alaska, a great place for drama, romance, and independent characters. See her website at www.lynnlovegreen.com. You can also find her on Facebook, Goodreads, and Pinterest.

Preserving your Voice

Hi everyone! I am YA author B A Binns , writer of contemporary and realistic fiction for teens. My tagline tells you what I am about - Stories of Real Boys Growing Into Real Men - and the people who love them. 

This is my second post on that super-elusive quality called Voice. The first post (which you can find at VOICE: It's All About You) came back in March, fittingly occurring as I was beginning the first of what ended up being three different rounds of revisions for my debut middle grade novel, Courage. I craft stories for kids. I am not one of those prolific writers who can curn out multiple books every year.  My first YA novel was published by Westside Books in 2010. Courage, which will be released in 2018 from Harper Collins, is only my fourth published novel. In between I have written several short stories and have two stories in progress.  Like a chisel wielding stone artisan, I work slowly, clawing out a finished product one chip at a time. At least my chosen media is slightly more forgiving than rock. When I mess up, I get to delete and rewrite with a keyboard.

For me, crafting a novel means doing that over and over again. The roughest part for me is figuring out how to perform major revisions without loosing my initial vision, my Voice.

Voice is hard to describe, but it’s something you just know when you hear it. Think of music. Christmas approaches (I know, I can barely believe how much of this year has gone myself).  Various artists will be releasing their versions of the old standards. Same old words, same old story, but different people find different artists compelling, singing standards that stand out because of the arrangement; the Voice.

I ponder this because I came face to face with the issue over the last few months while doing final revisions for Courage. As I said in another prior post, Revision and Editing are not the same things. Revision can involve making major changes to improve the story and reading experience. Those changes can encompass everything. Everything except dismantling the novel's basic core and theme. That has to remain to keep the voice intact.

At its core, Courage is about brotherly love and is a retelling of the Prodigal Son parable told from the point of view of the good brother who now fears the older brother he once loved and revered. I typed The End on this story in 2015. It was acquired by Harper Collins in 2016. Revisions began earlier this year for the 2018 release. Let me say that my editor is a wonderful woman. She’s interesting, loves books, and has near infinite patience. She also saw parts of the story she really wanted changed. I had to both listen to her, and remain true to the theme that moved me.

However, over the years, my own voice had changed. The 2016 elections played a large part in that, along with many of the issues plaguing people of color in America, including children of color. As I did the revisions, I realized there was no way that could not leech into my story. I was amazed to find how the personalities of several characters changed as I plowed through the revisions. But the innermost story of redemption remained strong.

As I said in my prior post on Voice, an author’s voice is the sum of their life experiences. That is the thing editors and agents prize more than they do the author’s plot. Lots has happened to me, my life and my world in the last two years. When called on by my editor to rework the ending, my updated Voice licked it’s lips and took control.

Our writer’s voice constantly evolves. That sometimes has us looking back on our body of work done years earlier and being astounded. We evolve, change, come up with things that are different because we ourselves evolve. Remember that when dealing with critique partners, beta readers, and editors. I’ve heard of writers revising to please them until their once vibrant and lively story turns voiceless. No editor or agent I know is interested in a story without a compelling, leap off the page and suck readers in, Voice.  It is Voice that makes writers. As someone said, there are only so many plots in the world. What makes a story original, what makes it yours instead of someone else’s, is how Your Voice tells Your Story.

On a related note: a number of editors, agents and award-winning authors are giving away critiques as a way to help the new a new organization, KIDLITNATION.com. Kidlitnation will use the funds to help #ownvoices. be heard. Today, August 9, is the final day of the raffle, if you are interested, take a look at the array of talent you can bid on at http://kidlitnation.com/home/own-your-voice/fundraising/. This is a chance to get feedback from industry experts on your Voice and your manuscript.