Some Like it...not as hot

I know this month's theme is Some Like it Hot. But I write YA, and I don't really read romance outside of that genre. But lately I've been thinking about YA romance, which is a , um, hot thing right now. And I'll tie it into a theme that comes up at just about every conference I've been to in the last year or two. How much is too much for YA? What is the line?

Well, I usually answer, if you've read the Hunger Games, then you know the line is WAY back there.

 But what about sex in YA? That's a tougher questions. I mean, it's obviously going to be off-screen sex, or toned down. YA is more of the sweet variety of romance, but that doesn't mean it can't have a little heat in the buildup. In the Young Adult romance, there is the added layer of turmoil that comes with adolescence, the hormones, the flirting, the jealousy, the uncertainty of first (or second) love. There's kissing, petting, even allusions to sex, off-stage sex, and some of those flirting and kissing scenes can leave you swooning. It's almost an art form.

And it's a rich soil in which to grow a story. Add in fantasy elements, and it can be a roller coaster ride.

For me, the look at it this way, whether dealing with violence in YA or with romance scenes: it's not the subject, it's the author's treatment of it. Cursing, for example. A book for older kids may use the word "Bitch", but one for younger kids might say "he cursed", leaving to the reader's imagination. For a violent scene, it's the difference between a scene written by Suzanne Collins vs. the same scene written by Stephen King. See what I mean?  Same with romance. The difference between a scene written by Cassandra Clare and the same one written by...someone who writes hotter than that. LOL.

Hot can be hot without being...hot. In YA, it has to be.

Dark Quest Books

I’ve been hinting around that there was to be a big announcement, that I’ve been making changes in my writing career. I couldn’t tell anyone officially until after Balticon, when we made the public announcement at the Dark Quest launch party.

There’s a whole big story behind this, but long story short.

Dark Quest Books, an independent SF/F/H publisher (yes, the website is out of date, it’s on of the things on the ever-growing to-do list.) is opening a Young Adult imprint, Palomino Press.  Here is the shiny new logo:

And I am the Acquisitions Editor. Yes, me.  I know, right?  The first release from this new imprint will come out in the Fall – The Unexpected Enlightenment of Rachel Griffin, by L. Jagi Lamplighter, who is the author of the Prospero's Daughter series, from TOR, and an all around nice lady. This will be a multiple book series.

So, we have six (JUST SIX) slots left to fill for the imprint for 2014-15.  Right now we’re accepting submissions. THESE ARE THE GUIDELINES:

*YA ONLY (no middle grade), we’re aiming for 15-19 year old readers (and crossover with the adult readers who read YA, of course).

*65,000-100,000 words

*Speculative Fiction ONLY (SF/F/H)

Other than those three things, pretty much anything goes!

*Contemporary, Historical, Alternate Universe, Futuristic, Dystopian, Steampunk all welcome!

*Romantic elements are certainly acceptable, but should be secondary to the plot.

*Especially looking for sharp, original YA voice (think Cassandra Claire, Kady Cross, Lauren Oliver, Jennifer Armentrout, Suzanne Collins).

I know what I want for this imprint, now I just have to find it! If you think you’ve got the perfect manuscript, please submit a query letter, the first three chapters, and a 1-2 page synopsis to me at palomino@darkquestbooks.com. Please do NOT email my personal email — it will be deleted. Snail mail queries will not be accepted.

Favorite shifters...

I love shapeshifters. Beyond the traditional werewolves, there are shifters who can take any form. There are those who are restricted to particular creatures. My daughters also enjoy shifter stories. Luckily, they've been able to find quite a few Young Adult novels that are not only well-written, but include some wonderful characters.

In honor of the Halloween season, here are some shifter stories -- mostly YA -- you might want to check out. Some you've probably read or heard of; the rest may be a pleasant new find. If you have some to add, please do!

1. Shiver (Wolves of Mercy Falls) by Maggie Stiefvater

2. Linger (Wolves of Mercy Falls) (M. Stiefvater)

3. Forever (Wolves of Mercy Falls) (M. Stiefvater)

4. Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices, Book 1) - by, Cassandra Clare

5. The Hunchback Assignments - by, Arthur Slade

6. The Dark Deeps -- The Hunchback Assignments, 2 (A. Slade)

7. Empire of Ruins -- The Hunchback Assignments, 3 (A. Slade)

8. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - by, JK Rowling

On a more 'adult' note:

9. Eat Prey Love - by, Kerrelyn Sparks

~~Meg Allison
Indulge your senses...
http://www.megallisonauthor.com

Show Me the Way to Go Home

I'm just home from a long holiday road trip. Five days away left me equal parts wonderfully exhausted, warmly buzzed from being with family I don't have a chance to see often enough, and eager to get home so I could see my husband, whose work schedule didn't let him come with us for the fun. I keep randomly grinning from the little snippet-memories I'm getting of things that made me laugh over the weekend.

It's about an eight hour car trip to my sister's house. We've done the trip so many times that there isn't much that is shiny and new along the route, other than the occasional new construction area that slows traffic to a crawl. Not exactly the sort of new I look forward to. And I'm very much an "It's about the destination, not the journey" person when it comes to this sort of road trip. If I only have 5 days, I want to get there and start having fun with the people I'm going there to see.

So the 16 hours in the car that bracket these family visits have been the least favorite part of this trip for a long time. And this is in spite of the fact that the kids are really great travelers. They know bickering will make Mom a NOT happy person, and when a NOT happy person is in charge of snacks, drinks, and potty breaks... well, let's just say they are sharp enough to know not to go there. But I didn't like that the trip there and back had become something we just endure.

Then a few years ago I picked up an audiobook right before the trip. I think my daughter was 6 then, and my son 14. And suddenly, the words "Are we there yet" all but disappeared from our road trip dialogue. Instead, before we're even out of our neighborhood I hear "Start the book Mom!"

The only real challenge to this is finding a book that appeals to both kids and me. My son is 16 now, and my daughter 8. Not a whole lot of overlap in their reading interests. But having it read aloud means that I can introduce my daughter so some books she isn't quite ready to tackle on her own just because her reading vocabulary isn't quite there, as long as I keep the genre one my son likes. Luckily the fantasy genre, his favorite, has a large number of young adult authors that fit our niche very sweetly.

This trip we found a new-to-us author, Garth Nix. His book "Sabriel" was a perfect mix of magic, with a talking cat (who isn't really a cat), a young female heroine with enough male voices to keep my son happy, and a storyline that was kept us all entranced. The unabridged audio was just over 11 hours, leaving us enough downtime that my daughter could nap a bit and I could get my NPR fix. And we made it there and back having heard a great story, perfectly framing the wonderful family time that was the main reason for the trip.

I'm already looking forward to our next family trip. I'm not sure what we'll listen to next time. Something YA, so the content isn't too "adult" for the now 8 year old. Something with magic, and either cats, horses, or dragons. (Unicorns are cool too!) Something no more than 14 hours unabridged, and at least 8. Any suggestions?

Making the Shift

Just recently I went to a Mentoring Workshop given by the NJSCBWI. This was part of my New Year's resolution to invest more in my career by seeking out these professional writing thingys and attending them (and guess what -they're tax deductible).

The mentoring workshop went like this - you send in 30 pages of your manuscript, and an editor or agent, whoever is attending the workhop, gets them and reads them over and gives you notes. That kind of input is priceless.

You also give your pages to the other writers in your group for them to critique as well, which is also very useful, especially since most of the other people who sign up for such things aren't clueless newbies.

So I submit my pages and wait. I get an editor from Penguin/Putnam Young Readers. I am so nervous - what if she totally hates what I've written? What if it's total crap? I'm ready to listen to her critique, because I want this book - a YA historical fantasy, currently titled Smoke and Mirrors -to be the best one I've written. I want this book to have an agent and a hardcover NYC deal.

She gave me terrific notes, all written up for me to keep. She loved my synopsis, called it 'excellent' but too long. Okay, I can fix that. She liked the story, liked the characters. Warned me against making my villain a caricature (which I talked about here a couple of months ago; I guess I hadn't done enough softening), and staying too close to the original Fairy Tale. She wanted me to lose the very thing that had inspired the story in the first place, but there was a good reason for it. I scribbled notes on her notes, nodding and agreeing. She didn't say the writing was bad, in fact she said that all the changes she wanted she said I was "totally capable" of making. I like confidence!

Her biggest criticism was that it didn't seem to read like YA, but more like tween. Which is what I usually write, so it wasn't surprising. What she was really saying is it needs more, um, "older" ideas about relationships. In short, sex it up a little.

That doesn't mean turn it into a red light special, of course, but after thinking about it, I could see what she meant. There needs to be a different kind of meat for YA's to sink their teeth into, and it doesn't have to be overt. It's not just 'sex', but sexual tension, a little edge to the story.

It's strange to write it, but on the other hand, in certain places it's coming naturally as I revise. Just a matter of sticking myself into the head of seventeen year olds instead of fifteen year olds. No matter it's late 19th century - teenagers are teenagers. Actually it's MORE interesting, because I have to remember all the mores of that time period, which lends itself to increased tension. Add in the romantic triangle I've got going, and this book is ready to explode.

It's rather exciting, and yes I mean that :P

Yanno, I actually could get used to this. It's kind of fun, and even a little freeing. I won't be writing Romance any time soon, though. I'm not ready for that.

I'm planning on attending the annual NJSCBWI conference. I wonder what I'll learn next.