BEYOND YOUR TOUCH: Reviews, Guest Posts & More!

Tomorrow is release day for BEYOND YOUR TOUCH. I’m so nervous. And there’s lots going on today.

First I have a guest post up on Blogs and Coffee. Flutes. Cave bears. Finding Inspiration for BEYOND YOUR TOUCH Guest Post.

Early reviews are starting to roll in too. I was totally thrilled by a couple that were posted today. Dani Reviews Things   & Fantastical Paranormal Romantical

Amazon     BN     BAM     Indiebound

Target    Hudson Booksellers

JESSICA GUNN: A chat about the expanding category of New Adult fiction

Jessica Gunn is the author of New Adult science fiction and fantasy. She’s the author of the Atlas Linked series and her short story, The Balloon Thief, came out a few weeks ago in the Brass Moon Anthology. I’m so delighted to have her here. GYRE, the first book in her series was one the best NA novels I read last year.

There are a lot of readers and fellow authors out there who aren’t familiar with what the term New Adult (NA). What is it exactly?

New Adult is a category featuring books about protagonists aged 18-24, but can also reach as high as 29, depending on the book and the characters. It’s a category about characters who are just figuring out adulthood, but don’t know enough yet to be good at adulting. Think first careers, first intense relationships, first leading roles, quests, spaceships, etc.

As a writer and avid reader of NA, how have you see it change over the last year and where do you see it going in the future?

I’ve seen a lot more diversity, which I love, and I’ve seen the speculative fiction side grow. Both of these changes are amazing and need to continue into the future! As for the actual future of NA… I’m not sure. It’s such a weird category that changes constantly.

Beyond the age of the main character, what do you think the difference is between adult and NA science fiction and fantasy?

Oh—in science fiction in fantasy? You twisted the normal question on me! :)

I think the biggest difference across all genres, but especially in sci-fi and fantasy, is that NA characters know who they are as people but they have no idea how to fit that into the world they live in, or how to handle life’s first big responsibilities. They know better than to play with fire, but they do it anyway and then wonder why they got burned despite being doused in kerosene when they lit said fire in the first place.

Your series epitomizes NA specific. What other books do think are solidly in this category?

Your book! :D

But really, especially in the speculative fiction genres:

·      The Alliance Series by Emma L Adams

·      Artificial by Jadah McCoy

·      The Endure Series & The Evolution Chronicles by Starla Huchton

Contemporary/Romance:

·      Unethical & Foolproof by Jennifer Blackwood

·      One Night by A. J. Pine

Could you tell us a bit about what you have coming up in the future?

The next Atlas Link Series book, LANDLOCKED, is out on September 12^th, followed by a novella called DRIFTWOOD in December :)  I’m excited. LANDLOCKED has some of my favorite moments from the series, and DRIFTWOOD might have dinosaurs—I love dinosaurs!

BIO

Jessica Gunn is a New Adult author and avid science-fiction and fantasy fan. Her favorite stories are those that transport the reader to other, more exciting worlds. When not working or writing, she can be found binge-watching Firefly and Stargate, or feeding her fascination of the ancient world’s many mysteries. Jessica also holds a degree in Anthropology.

To catch up with Jessica, follow her on Twitter (@JessGunnAuthor).

BLURB:

Chelsea didn’t try to teleport. All she wanted was to play the Battle of the Bands show. But after accidentally teleporting onto classified Navy vessel SeaSatellite5, all she’s rocking is the boat. Once it’s sorted out that Chelsea’s not a threat, SeaSat5’s top scientist offers Chelsea a position on the crew as an archaeology intern. Dr. Saint studies people with powers, believing them to be descendants of Atlantean refugees, except Chelsea’s powers are beyond anything on previous record.

While great for everyone else onboard, the miracle of Chelsea is Trevor’s worst nightmare. The same girl who’d given him a brief lifeline to sanity three months ago literally fell from the sky, under a mile of ocean, and onto the very station where he’s employed. Making matters worse, Trevor’s family are Lemurians, Atlantis’s enemy, and Chelsea’s presence is unpredicted—a wrench in an already unstable situation. But Trevor wants no part of his family’s war. The only thing he wants is Chelsea, Atlantean or not.

Days into Chelsea’s sudden appearance, SeaSatellite5 uncovers Atlantean ruins and a massive artifact cache, placing its entire, hundred-man crew in the crosshairs of an ancient war. There are those who want the Atlantean relics inside the ruins destroyed, and only Trevor knows the treasures for what they really are: Link Pieces, tools used by the ancient civilizations for their time-travel war.

With lies and shifting alliances abound, Chelsea and Trevor will have to think fast in order to save the station. If they don’t, the Lemurians will seize the artifacts and Atlantis will be destroyed forever.

BUY GYRE: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
INSPIRATION BOARD | PLAYLIST

#NAAuguest #Science-fiction #Fantasy #Atlantis 

#NAAugust Interview: Kendra L. Saunders

Today, I’m excited to have a NA August interview with the author of DATING AN ALIEN POP STAR, Kendra L. Saunders. 

Welcome, Kendra. Could you tell us a bit about DATING AN ALIEN POP STAR and what you think puts it in the NA category?

Thank you so much for having me! Dating an Alien Pop Star features a protagonist in her late 20s who is trying to restart her life in the direction she has always hoped for (moving to New York City, getting closer to the big music scene there). Her struggles with trying to figure out who she is are what make it NA, in my opinion, even if Daisy is a little older than early 20s.

Why did you choose to write an NA book? What is it about the age range that appealed to you? 

I've been passionate for a long time about helping fill fiction with more women of all ages. In recent years, we've seen the YA genre expand and expand-- something that I feel started out as an amazing chance for books that tackled difficult subjects for people in an age group that really craves a lot of guidance and heroines to look up to. But somewhere along the way, YA changed from a genre meant to help tackle difficult subjects to a bit more of a genre for people of all ages who wanted fun, easy to read plots about fantastical, beautiful people. We've started realizing there's a marked lack of diversity in that genre, with the main focus seeming to be on slender, beautiful, white teenage girls.

There's nothing wrong with that, of course, but the trend began closing doors for people writing outside the YA genre. I can't even tell you the amount of reviewers who read my book, which was absolutely never touted as YA, and then commented that they were confused why it wasn't about teenagers! Some even gave it less stars because they thought it would be YA and then were disappointed that the characters weren't teenagers. I can't help feeling there is some assumption now that all fun, easy-to-read books, especially ones written by women, are YA.

I want to write fun, easy-to-read books that feature women of all ages, of different sizes, colors, social classes, and financial situations. Daisy is a bossy, music loving young woman who identifies as demisexual, doesn't have her career together, and has recently made a risky move to a big city. I want to write women like Daisy, because there are millions of amazing women in the world that are over the age of 17, and absolutely deserve to have their stories told.

Do you think NA books require certain elements—such as sex? Do you think there are stereotypes that are not necessarily true for all NA books? 

I think NA has grown much the way YA has... the books are considered fun and easy-to-read, and because many of them contain a lot more sex than YA allows, they're about character who are “legal,” but just barely. I would love to see the NA genre grow from there, though, and diversify. I have to admit, I miss the days when Chick Lit was a huge category! I think it was so great for women to have books about women of all ages, going on adventures, solving crimes, falling in love, making friends, or getting into trouble. Just like women-driven movies, I think we need more books that are women-driven, and not just erotic novels! Erotic novels are awesome, but they leave out all of the women out there who are more interested in adventure or friendship.

Do you think there is enough diversity in the genre, particularly compared to other age groups?

I think NA is better about some diversity issues, definitely. I think you see more people of color, more body diversity, and I think you see a lot more women with close female friends in NA, compared to YA. But we can always do better!

What can we do to encourage the growth of NA SFF?

Write the books you want to read! I've loved science fiction and fantasy since I saw Star Wars as a very young child. Princess Leia was my ultimate hero! If we want to see more amazing women like Princess Leia, or Arwen, or even real life fantastical women like Stevie Nicks, we have to write them. And we need to have more fun books in the genre, more comedy, more eccentricity. Guys still have a huge advantage over us when it comes to the comedy genre, including in the SFF comedy genre, and I would love to see that even out a bit more!

Tell us about your latest/upcoming books! Heck with it, you’ve written a lot of books, can you give us an overview?

I just finished Book 2 in the Alien Pop Star series, and still have a third one to write in that. I have an upcoming NA fantastical comedy called the Unlove Spell; it's about a witch who tries to put a spell on her ex-boyfriend so he can't fall in love with anyone else, but she accidentally puts it on herself instead. I've written two poetry collections, and am still really proud of my first novel, Inanimate Objects. It's a magic realism novel with very little romance and a lot more art, murder, muses, and magic. It's gotten excellent reviews, and I still love it dearly, even five years after it first came out.

Bio:

Kendra L. Saunders is a time-and-space traveling fashionista author who writes books about magical, dark-haired men, interviews famous people, and suggests way too many bands to you via whatever social media platform she can get her hands on. She writes with good humor because humor is the best weapon for a girl who can't learn karate (or ballroom dancing). She is the author of DATING AN ALIEN POP STAR, upcoming fantastical comedy THE UNLOVE SPELL, the magic realism novel INANIMATE OBJECTS, the dark comedy DEATH AND MR. RIGHT and the poetry collection GEMINIS AND PAST LIVES. 

Social Media links:

www.kendralsaunders.com

twitter : @kendrybird

instagram : @kendralsaunders

youtube : http://www.youtube.com/KendraLSaunders

Kendra blogs about well-being + fashion & interviews designers from Project Runway at http://kendrybird.blogspot.com/

Blurb (s)

Daisy Kirkwood has only just escaped her small-town life and run away to New York City, the land of last-minute secret gigs at famous musical venues, when she's kidnapped by aliens. Unfortunately, no one ever writes about how to handle alien abduction in those fancy NYC guidebooks.

Griffin and Dev are supermassively sexy aliens from a politically and environmentally troubled planet who arrive on Earth with very little knowledge about human ways other than what they learned from a wayward E! News signal. Their mission is to pretend to be the most influential people on the planet―English pop stars, of course!―and gain the help of a powerful secret society. Upon arriving, they abduct Daisy Kirkwood, a nerdy young woman who loves music but could seriously use a bit of help in the love-life department. Though Griffin and Daisy initially squabble, neither can deny the intergalactic sparks whenever they're too close to each other. Together, they must face murderous aliens, cultural misunderstandings, bad backup musicians, and the dark side of fame and the media, all set against a tight deadline…

Part High Fidelity, part Bridget Jones' Diary, part Doctor Who, Dating an Alien Pop Star is a sexy romantic comedy.

Buy links: 

Dating an Alien Pop Star: https://www.amazon.com/Dating-Alien-Star-Kendra-Saunders/dp/1634221753

Inanimate Objects: https://www.amazon.com/Inanimate-Objects-Kendra-L-Saunders/dp/1460961641