Sex in YA novels: How far do you go?

Nominate Butterfly Suicide for publication at Kindle Scout: http://amzn.to/2qWYnFx

How far can you go when writing about romance in young adult novels? What kind of love are young readers looking for? Is sex allowed? How graphic should it be? Should it be in there at all?

It's a big debate for some writers, as well as, some readers.

Remember when the Twilight book series first came out? Keep in mind, I'm talking about before all the craziness of the movie versions. Most of the people I talked to about this series were really into the romance of it, the lingering looks between the two main characters, the blatant yet unsatisfied desire, the sexual tension! This is the type of romance that many older YA readers(20s-30's) remember experiencing in high school or really wanted to experience. It's just one of the reasons they like romance in young adult stories.

But then comes the sex.

I recall sitting around with a group of women at lunch and one of them was talking about how Edward and Bella were getting to the point of having sex in the book. This woman didn't have a problem with the progression of the relationship, but she'd decided that she would not allow her daughter to read any further in the series until the daughter was much older. She also felt like once the writer brought sex into the book, the romance factor was gone. To me it sounded as if the story had taken a turn into adulthood that the reader wasn't willing to follow.

I think that's an interesting phenomenon and really very personal to the reader. And as a writer, it's something you have to be aware of. Romance and sex can make or break your young adult book depending on how you use them. Sometimes it’s the factor that sells books. Sometimes it’s the factor that turns your audience off. It all depends on how you weave those things and what style of YA book you are writing.

When I write YA, I usually don't set out to have a romance in the story. However, because of the age group, because of the hormone factor, because it's virtually impossible to put two teenagers in the same room and not have them notice each other, some sort of relationship usually develops. That's life though. That's reality. That's what YA readers cling to.  When it comes to sex, I only let my characters get there if its part of the natural progression, but it's still something I'm cautious about. In my young adult novel, Bayou Myth, sex is a factor in the story, though it's not something my main character is doing. However, we do learn a lot about my protagonist's thoughts on the subject! Though my book is mainly a YA horror novel, it does have a romance in it that helps drive the story along.

In my latest novel, Butterfly Suicide, sex is certainly a factor in the story line. While my characters are grappling with the aftermath of a high school shooting and how it affects their lives, they can't help but notice each other, too. In fact, they begin to question if they are attracted to each other because of what happened or are they're feelings of desire real deeper than that? It's a tough question because we're dealing with two people whose sphere of experience in the romance department is limited. Isn't that how it starts out for most teens anyway?

In the end, a writer should let the romance and sex angle develop how it will. What would be the natural progression for your character? Put aside the audience you are writing to (yeah, I know lots of people will contradict me on that one) and allow your characters to just develop!

Butterfly Suicide has been accepted into the Kindle Scout program. That means if it get enough nominations and attention, it might be published by Kindle Press. Readers who nominate it also get a free copy of the ebook as well. If you're interested in helping a writer succeed, please click on the link provided and nominate Butterfly Suicide for publication. Thanks! Butterfly Suicide Kindle Scout Nomination

Changes to Amazon's Publishing Program

Well, if you live in the self publishing world at all then you've probably heard about the changes KDP is making in regards to how authors enrolled in the select program will make money. Now it's based on pages read---this could be a good thing, could be a bad thing. I'm never very good at explaining royalties so I'm going to refer you to one of my fave blog sites on book marketing. I saw this woman, Penny Sansevieri, lecture last year at a writing conference. She rocks! Check out her views on this latest change!

The New Changes to Kindle Unlimited

http://www.amarketingexpert.com/the-new-changes-to-kindle-unlimited/

Romance in YA--How Far Can You Go?

Yes. This is really me. Yes, I have
bangs now to cover up my
spotted forehead!

How far can you go when writing about romance in young adult novels? What kind of love are young readers looking for? Is sex allowed? How graphic should it be?

It's a big debate for some writers, as well as, some readers.

Remember when the Twilight book series first came out? Keep in mind, I'm talking about before all the craziness of the movie versions. Most of the people I talked to about this series were really into the romance of it, the lingering looks between the two main characters, the blatant yet unsatisfied desire, the sexual tension! This is the type of romance that many older YA readers(20s-30's) remember experiencing in high school or really wanted to experience. It's just one of the reasons they like romance in young adult stories.

But then comes the sex.

I recall sitting around with a group of women at lunch and one of them was talking about how Edward and Bella were getting to the point of having sex in the book. This woman didn't have a problem with the progression of the relationship, but she'd decided that she would not allow her daughter to read any further in the series until the daughter was much older. She also felt like once the writer brought sex into the book, the romance factor was gone. To me it sounded as if the story had taken a turn into adulthood that the reader wasn't willing to follow.

I think that's an interesting phenomenon and really very personal to the reader. And as a writer, it's something you have to be aware of. Romance and sex can make or break your young adult book depending on how you use them. Sometimes it’s the factor that sells books. Sometimes it’s the factor that turns your audience off. It all depends on how you weave those things and what style of YA book you are writing.

When I write YA, I don't intentionally set out to have a romance in the story. However, because of the age group, because of the hormone factor, because it's virtually impossible to put two teenagers in the same room and not have them notice each other, some sort of relationship usually develops. That's life though. That's reality. That's what YA readers cling to.  When it comes to sex, I only let my characters get there if its part of the natural progression, but it's still something I'm cautious about. In my young adult novel, Bayou Myth, sex is a factor in the story, though it's not something my main character is doing. However, we do learn a lot about my protagonist's thoughts on the subject! Though my book is mainly a YA horror novel, it does have a romance in it that helps drive the story along.

  

Going back to Twilight, think about when Edward and Bella finally consummated their love. After they got married. Very traditional and something that probably satisfied lots of mothers in the fan base. However, is that realistic? I'm not asking is it right or wrong, but is it how most teens think today? Hmmm….not for most of the ones that I know! In comparison, I've also read the House of Night series by P.C. and Kristen Cast. Their characters definitely are having sex and dealing with the norms (like them or  not, parents) that occur in many teen lives. The same could be said for many other book series like Gossip Girl or The A-List.

In the end, a writer should let the romance and sex angle develop how it will. What would be the natural progression for your character? Put aside the audience you are writing to (yeah, I know lots of people will contradict me on that one) and allow your characters to just develop!

Mary Ann Loesch is not only a contributor to All Things Writing, but the author of Bayou Myth and Bayou Scar, a YA horror novel series about voodoo, Greek myths gone wild, and a dash of betrayal. She has also written an adult fiction urban fantasy, Nephilim, and contributed short stories to the anthology, All Things Dark and Dastardly. Visit her website at www.maryannloesch.com.

The Voodoo of the Bayou Myth Series

It's almost Halloween! With that in mind, I thought I'd write about a topic that's been getting a lot of play lately on TV shows: Voodoo. I use it a great deal in my Bayou Myth series!--Mary Ann

I have always been fascinated by other religions--especially the more "out there" ones.

 

I was brought up Episcopalian which is basically just Diet Catholic--all of the sin, but no need for the confession! While my parents were pretty open minded, we didn't talk a lot about religion around the dinner table. It wasn't until I was in high school, about the same age as my heroine Joan from my young adult series, Bayou Myth and Bayou Scar, that I even began to really think about religions outside my own.

 

I guess that's natural since the teenage years are when you start to question everything!

 

About that time I saw the movie, The Serpent and the Rainbow. It's basically about this scientist who travels to Haiti to learn about a man who died and then came back as a zombie. While he's there, he learns a lot about Haitian voodoo and goes a little crazy. Okay. I admit that it wasn't the greatest horror movie I'd ever seen, but it did get me interested in voodoo. Everything I'd ever seen or read about voodoo had made me think it was just a crazy cult thing, but the movie indicated that the story of The Serpent and the Rainbow was based on true events.

 

Curious, I did some research and discovered that voodoo was much more than some spooky blood smeared rituals meant to frighten people. It's actually a blend of Haitian and Catholic beliefs. Yes, there are some elements that are supernaturally charged, (the creation of zombies is one example) but the intentions of voodoo--to love and be true to oneself--is essentially the same as other faiths.

 

Now, New Orleans voodoo does have a slightly different feel to it. That's because in Louisiana voodoo really is like a spicy pot of gumbo--it’s a blend of a little bit of everything! There, you have voodoo priestess who can make you love potions, create spells meant to get rid of an enemy, or make a gris gris bag to bring you good luck. This is the voodoo that Hollywood likes to show the world and  that's probably why it has such a confusing reputation.

 

When I set out to create a young adult tale that featured voodoo, I wanted to be respectful. So I did my best to include information about voodoo that is both authentic and a bit on the spooky side, too. But you can't write about New Orleans voodoo and not include one of the most famous voodoo priestess of all time either--Marie Laveau. Marie was the woman who really brought voodoo to the forefront of the New Orleans world. She is still revered--and a little bit feared--to this day!

 

So, of course I had to put her in the Bayou Myth series, too. In fact, she is the great, great, grandmother of my heroine, Joan Renault. She tends to guide Joan in the realm of voodoo, teaching her the customs and rites that will one day make Joan a powerful voodoo priestess. But like lots of teenagers, Joan isn't exactly willing to be bossed around by a lady who's been dead for almost two hundred years!

 

The really fun part of writing this series was combining my research on voodoo with the Greek myths that so many of us are familiar with. You may recognize some Greek tales that now have just a little voodoo twist to them!

 

Hopefully, I've got you curious about my series. Here's a teaser from Bayou Myth to wet your appetite a little more….

 

As a sixteen year old voodoo queen in the making, Joan Renault just wants to be like all the other girls in the small town of Monte Parish, Louisiana—obsessed with boys and swamped with social lives. If the other kids would quit calling her “hoodoo hag,” she might have a small shot at normality. It would also help if Joan’s weekend outings with her secret crush, Dave, weren’t always being interrupted by her dead Grandmere, the legendary Marie Laveau. After all, it’s hard to make out with your best friend when your grandmother is watching! But when you come from a long line of voodoo priestesses with dried gator heads decorating the wall of their huts, normal doesn’t come easily.

When Joan witnesses the brutal sacrifice of a child to a tree Druid, she learns her Grandmere’s scandalous past has come back to haunt those living in the present. Hera, a vengeful voodoo priestess, is determined to use the residual energy of Pandora’s Box to revive a sleeping voodoo god and declare war on the descendants of Marie Laveau, especially Joan. Suddenly, Greek myths are being re-enacted all over town, and Joan has her hands full trying to sort it all out. With the approach of Samedi’s Day—the voodoo day of resurrection—Joan must learn to accept her destiny in order to stop the approaching threat to her family and friends.

 

 

Mary Ann Loesch is an award winning fiction writer from Texas. Her urban fantasy, Nephilim, was published in July 2011 by Lyrical Press Inc.  An avid blogger for All Things Writing (http://www.allthingswriting.blogspot.com), Mary Ann has also contributed stories in the horror anthology, All Things Dark and Dastardly. Her latest book, Bayou Scar, was released in June 2012. While she loves dirty martinis and cuddling with her dachshund, she loves fan mail even more! Contact her through her website at www.maryannloesch.com.

 

Bayou Scar--The Journey of Writing a Sequel

My new book, Bayou Scar, comes out on Oct. 1, 2013. Finally. It should have been out almost four months ago! But writing a trilogy isn't as easy as you might think, and when you've written the first tale to good reviews, you kinda feel that crazy pressure of the next one needing to live up to certain expectations.

I think the hardest part for me in crafting the second book was that I wrote the rough draft for it right after writing a second draft of Bayou Myth. I was inspired and ready to keep the story rolling along while it was fresh in my mind. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

But then life interfered. Edits for Bayou Myth ate up a lot of time. I started writing for multiple clients and Bayou Scar got pushed to the back burner. When I did get around to reading that rough draft, it depressed me. I'd made so many changes and edits to Bayou Myth that the draft for Bayou Scar had things in it that no longer applied or didn't make sense.

It was frustrating. Really frustrating. The kind of frustrating that makes you procrastinate big time and only work on it in small spurts.

Last spring I finally got my act together and started cleaning up the rough draft. It was surprisingly painful. Joan (my main character) and I were at odds with each other. She wanted to do one thing on the page and I wanted her to do another! She wouldn't behave.

And then I realized she really needed to run the show. So what if I had all these words already written? They weren't exciting me, much less Joan. I had to let go and let her take the lead.

Once I did, every thing fell into place.

I'm proud to announce that after writing five drafts of the novel, going through a Beta Reader group, and working with the best editor out there--Ramona DeFelice Long--the novel will be released on Oct. 1. Yippee! Just in time for Halloween!

You can pre-order your copy of Bayou Scar today at Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon!

Here is the publisher's blurb from Dragonfire Press:

The moment teenage voodoo queen Joan Renault holds the Golden Apple of Journalism in her hand, its deadly power silently infiltrates her life. But this apple is more than just a token of high school pageantry.

It's toxic. Poisonous.

And it just might kill all the people Joan loves.

This is Book 2 in the Bayou Myth series.

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Of course, now comes the hard part...writing the final book in this trilogy! It's called Bayou Curse and will hopefully be out soon!


Follow Mary Ann Loesch at Twitter or Facebook or drop by www.maryannloesch.com.

The Business of Writing: Some Thoughts on KDP Select

I've been chatting with several Indie writers lately who are curious about how I'm faring with the KDP Select program. I've actually only been apart of it since Oct. 1, so I still have roughly sixty more days to go before I can make a fair determination.

So far, so good....

Obviously, I'm not a millionaire yet.

But then again, I've never expected to be. I will say that my sales are decent, but I can't help but think that may be due to some good word of mouth. My book, Bayou Myth, was free on Amazon for over two months prior to me joining the Select program. This was because of marketing strategies I employed that had nothing to do with making money, but were about getting the book out there. Because of this, I've gotten a lot of great reviews which I think help with sales. I can honestly say that I've made more money on Bayou Myth than I have through my publisher, Lyrical Press, for my first novel, Nephilim. Of course, part of that is that I have a little more leeway with marketing and the ability to raise and lower the price as I see fit.

So will KDP Select help me in the long run?

Hmm...right now I'm going with maybe. Like I said, I'll know better in sixty days whether or not it was worth it. Remember, with KDP Select you can only sell your book digitally through Amazon. That means no Barnes and Noble and no Smashwords with all of their outlets.

Anyway, I am going to take advantage of KDP Select's freebie days. With Halloween being just next week, I will offer my little tale of voodoo and horror, Bayou Myth, for free Oct. 30-31. Enjoy!

How to Run a Book Giveaway!

As many of you know, I had a book release this week--Bayou Myth! Bayou Myth is a young adult horror novel set in Louisiana. It's about Joan Renault--a teenage voodoo queen in the making-- and her struggle to fight off the contents of Pandora's Jar once they are unleashed. I'm currently on a virtual book tour with the novel and so far, I am really pleased with the reviews. As part of my book tour, I'm doing an ebook giveaway using Rafflecopter. Interested in getting your own free ebook of Bayou Myth? Then hop over to my blog, LOESCH'S MUSE, and enter today!

Okay, now that I've got the shameless self promotion out of the way, let's move on to today's topic: running a giveaway. It probably doesn't seem all that difficult, but I've discovered that in order to be fair to your readers there are a few tips to follow.

1. If you can, offer more than one copy of the book. Sometimes publishers, especially small press, will frown on this, but I think you should push the boundaries as much as possible. The idea is to get your name out there! So be in a giving mood!

2. Don't rely on blog comments to help you pick a winner. Some people are too shy to leave a comment, but they really want to a shot at winning.

Which brings me to tip 3.

3. Use Rafflecopter. It's a pretty simple way to set up a giveaway. All you do is go to the Rafflecopter website, sign up for free, and then customize your giveaway. The directions for how to put it on your blog are pretty easy to follow. The great thing is that you look so much more professional when you use this particular tool.

Try it on your own blog and let me know how it works for you!

Bayou Myth

Well, I hate to do it, but I'm gonna! I'm tootin' my own horn! Today my young adult novel, Bayou Myth, officially goes on sale everywhere. I hope you'll check it out at my personal blog, LOESCH'S MUSE or perhaps at one of the buy links listed below.

I've been working on Bayou Myth for a while and it feels so good to have it available in ebook form, as well as, paperback. Next week I will be doing a virtual book tour through My Reading Addiction Book Tours which will include giveaways, interviews, and (gasp!) reviews--ten reviews to be exact!

Here is the synopsis of the book:

As a sixteen year old voodoo queen in the making, Joan Renault just wants to be like all the other girls in the small town of Monte Parish, Louisiana—obsessed with boys and swamped with social lives. If the other kids would quit calling her “hoodoo hag,” she might have a small shot at normality. It would also help if Joan’s weekend outings with her secret crush, Dave, weren’t always being interrupted by her dead Grandmere, the legendary Marie Laveau. After all, it’s hard to make out with your best friend when your grandmother is watching! But when you come from a long line of voodoo priestesses with dried gator heads decorating the wall of their huts, normal doesn’t come easily.

When Joan witnesses the brutal sacrifice of a child to a tree Druid, she learns her Grandmere’s scandalous past has come back to haunt those living in the present. Hera, a vengeful voodoo priestess, is determined to use the residual energy of Pandora’s Box to revive a sleeping voodoo god and declare war on the descendants of Marie Laveau, especially Joan. Suddenly, Greek myths are being re-enacted all over town, and Joan has her hands full trying to sort it all out. With the approach of Samedi’s Day—the voodoo day of resurrection—Joan must learn to accept her destiny in order to stop the approaching threat to her family and friends.

Feel free to learn more about me at www.maryannloesch.com or check out the buy links for Bayou Myth!

AMAZON

BARNES AND NOBLE

SMASHWORDS

What's Coming Up At All Things Writing?

I don't really look like this...much.

Today I'm the guest blogger at Romancing the Darkside, and I'm talking about how a book cover can make or break a book. Slide over there and check it out if you get a chance! ROMANCING THE DARKSIDE.

I always look forward to this time of year. I'm a teacher and summer is coming. Do I really need to provide you with a further explanation of why I'm singing a happy tune? I love the little children I teach. Really. But sometimes they make me crazy!

For me, summer means devoting more time to reading and writing. I have a new YA coming out June 1 called Bayou Myth which I'll chat more about in the upcoming weeks. However, we also have a very full calendar for May and June when it comes to guest bloggers, interviews, and book tour reviews. My summer is jammed pack already with a great reading list that I can't wait to get to.

As many of you know, we are already a tour host for the nice folks at Innovative Online Book Tours. Because they do such a great job, I know they are incredibly busy. I've been getting some amazing tour requests in all genres. In addition to that, we also have been contacted by Hydra Publications to work with some of their authors on interviews and reviews.

So here's what's coming up:

CRAZY FUN!

Sorry, I didn't mean to shout.

Actually, we've got zombies, literary fiction, historical fiction, sci/fi fantasy, mystery, more zombies, and several YA books all about to be interviewed, reviewed, or given away. Be sure to drop by in the next few weeks for some fun!

By the way, I have to now do a shameless plug for myself. I'm hosting a giveaway at my blog, Loesch's Muse, right now for my young adult novel, Bayou Myth. You can win it before you can buy it if you provide me with your favorite Cajun recipe. After all, that's the flavor of the story--spicy, not too sweet, with a dash of voodoo mixed in for good measure! Click here to enter: LOESCH'S MUSE