While much of the conversation had centered on the issue of sex in NA, recently the debate turned to a question of genre--does a New Adult novel have to be a contemporary romance?
As a devotee of both NA and historical, I was thrilled to see people saying New Adult can be anything: historical, fantasy, sci fi, parnormal. You name it!
A fantastic example was released last week: THE HEIRESSES, by Allison Rushby. When I read that this NA Historical would appeal to fans of Downtown Abbey and THE LUXE series by Anna Godbersen, I got giddy!
Here's the scoop:
THE HEIRESSES, by Allison Rushby
Publication date: May 7th, 2013
by St Martin's Press
Genre: New Adult Historical
Publication date: May 7th, 2013
by St Martin's Press
Genre: New Adult Historical
Synopsis:
In
Allison Rushby's Heiresses, three triplets--estranged since birth--are
thrust together in glittering 1926 London to fight for
their inheritance, only to learn they can’t trust anyone--least of all
each other.
When three teenage girls, Thalia, Erato and Clio, are summoned to the excitement of fast-paced London--a frivolous, heady city full of bright young things--by Hestia, an aunt they never knew they had, they are shocked to learn they are triplets and the rightful heiresses to their deceased mother's fortune. All they need to do is find a way to claim the fortune from their greedy half-brother, Charles. But with the odds stacked against them, coming together as sisters may be harder than they think.
When three teenage girls, Thalia, Erato and Clio, are summoned to the excitement of fast-paced London--a frivolous, heady city full of bright young things--by Hestia, an aunt they never knew they had, they are shocked to learn they are triplets and the rightful heiresses to their deceased mother's fortune. All they need to do is find a way to claim the fortune from their greedy half-brother, Charles. But with the odds stacked against them, coming together as sisters may be harder than they think.
The Heiresses Q&A with author Allison Rushby
Q. Where did you get the
inspiration for The Heiresses?
A. This is extremely embarrassing,
but I think it was actually from watching a Dr Phil show, years ago. I can't
say too much as it will spoil the plot completely, but I saw a segment that
involved a family and their genetic makeup and asked my husband (a medical
specialist) about it all that evening. This led me to wondering how this
family's scenario might have played out if genetic testing was not available to
them, which is the case in The Heiresses, set in 1920s London.
Q. What other novels in the New
Adult genre would you compare The Heiresses to?
A. I think the obvious comparison
is Anna Godbersen's The Luxe series, because of the historical
setting and the saga-like plot. I love all her books!
Q. What's The Heiresses about?
A. The Heiresses revolves around triplets Thalia, Erato and Clio.
Estranged since birth, they are thrust together in glittering 1926 London to
fight for their inheritance. They quickly learn they can't trust anyone in
their new lives – least of all each other.
I
had an absolute ball writing The Heiresses with all its dramatic highs and lows. I was
even lucky enough to be living in Cambridge at the time, so had the advantage
of being able to research in London whenever I needed to.
Q. Who are your favourite
authors?
A. My very favourite author is P.G. Wodehouse.
So much so that for Christmas I received the five book The Jeeves Omnibus set
because I'd worn my old five book set out! Some other favourites are Stella
Gibbons and anything at all Mitford.
Q. How long did it take to you
to complete The Heiresses?
A. The Heiresses was a little
different for me because it was contracted from only a short writing sample and
a series guide. I wrote it very quickly, in under nine months (altogether, it's
roughly 120,000 words). Usually I wouldn't be anywhere near this fast!
Q. What was the hardest part
about writing The Heiresses?
A. The most difficult part was the
historical research. Although I love to read historical books and watch
documentaries and historical dramas on TV, I hadn't actually written anything
historical before. When I started writing, I found myself stopping after every
second sentence or so to research this point and that point. After a while, I
realised I had to write on and put little 'x' signs where I needed to research
and go back later to do all my research in one session, or I'd never get
anywhere!
Luckily, I wrote The Heiresses while living
in Cambridgeshire in the UK (I usually live in Australia), so could pop on a
fast train and be in London in under an hour to research anything I liked.
Being so close to London was an enormous bonus – from the London Transport
Museum, to simply walking around Belgrave Square, it really brought the story
to life for me. I even managed to crash the village set of Downton Abbey, which
was a hugely exciting day, despite the fact that it snowed (Australians don't
do snow well…)!
Q. Why New Adult?
A. I think it's just a fascinating time in
life -- a time that's difficult to bridge and often scarier than any other
change you've been through. You don't necessarily feel like an adult, but you
have sudden adult responsibilities (working, studying in the kind of way where
no-one cares if you go to classes or not, maybe being a parent if you have
children early…). Everyone has a different experience and everyone deals with
that experience differently. There are endless story-telling
opportunities!
Q. What do you feel the major
differences are between New Adult and Young Adult?
A. For me, it's all about bridging
that gap between childhood and adulthood and the more I see people discuss New
Adult, the more this is firmed up in my mind. I do think people focus too much
on the sexual content of books when talking about the New Adult genre. For me, The
Heiresses is New Adult because of how the girls deal with the sex they are having
in the book (and, to be honest, there isn't a whole lot of sex) and how it
changes them from girls into women, along with all the other happenings in
their new lives.
Q. So much New Adult work is
self-published. Is there a reason you chose the traditional publishing route?
The Heiresses was a bit of a different
publishing experience for me as my agent approached me and mentioned St
Martin's Press was actively looking for New Adult ideas that could work in
serial form. I had the basis of an historical idea that I'd been thinking about
for years and the timing was great as Downton Abbey (set in a similar time
period) was really taking off. Thus, The Heiresses began to take shape
very, very quickly. I'd love to say all my ideas pull off so easily, but
unfortunately that's not quite true (I sold my first chick-lit novel out
of the slush pile and agent-less in 2000 and have many a manuscript in my
bottom drawer)!
Q. Most New Adult books seem to be set in
college. Can you tell us more about writing historical New Adult?
A.
As it happens, when I first had the idea for what would become The Heiresses (years ago), there was
no such term as New Adult. The idea itself meant that the story required three
18-ish year-old heroines (they needed to be able to inherit money, be of
marriageable age, live away from home and be generally young and fabulous in
1920s London etc.), so it simply happened to fall into the New Adult genre
naturally. As for the world, I've always adored reading about London in the
1920s and it's a perfect fit for the New Adult genre -- the years between WWI
and WWII were a very heady, unstable time to be young in England, with death
looming and a 'live for the moment' motto.
Q. What are you reading at the
moment?
A. I'm actually on a short New
Adult/Young Adult reading break (might have gorged myself a little there) and
am reading Rebecca Skloot's The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, which is
absolutely fascinating and horrifying all at the same time.
Q.
What are you writing now?
A. I've just finished a
contemporary New Adult novel. While it's set in the present day, it's not
college-based, but is about a charismatic modern artist and a young woman who
becomes his muse. It's set in Paris, London and New York. My next New Adult
novel will most likely be historical, though.
Q. Do you have any advice for
aspiring New Adult writers?
A. Read widely and write what you'd love to read. I think it always
shows if you're writing something you're excited about, rather than trying to
write to a trend.
AUTHOR BIO
Having failed at becoming a ballerina with pierced ears
(her childhood dream), Allison Rushby instead began a writing career as
a journalism student at The University of Queensland in Brisbane,
Australia. Within a few months she had slunk sideways into
studying Russian. By the end of her degree she had learned two very
important things: that she wasn't going to be a journalist; and that
there are hundreds of types of vodka and they're all pretty good. After
several years spent whining about how hard it would be to write a
novel, she finally tried writing one and found it was quite an enjoyable
experience. Since then, she has had nine novels published. She keeps up
her education by sampling new kinds of vodka on a regular basis.
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YES! Stella Gibbons is AMAZING! Cold Comfort Farm is one of my all time favourite books. Great interview, and your good taste in writers only makes me more intrigued with your book!
ReplyDeleteThis does seem especially timely with Downton Abbey craze. And I love the cover!
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