My A-Z Plans & New(s) Adult

Winner! Winner! 

Congrats to Melissa Maygrove on winning last week's giveaway for a free eCopy of Julie Flanders' Polar Night! Julie will be in touch, and I hope you enjoy. :)

My A to Z Plan... or Lack Thereof

Hey gang! April is nigh, and that means the A to Z blogfest is getting ready to explode our inboxes and web readers. It's a great bit of fun, but an extremely nuts time for those who participate.

I've decided to abstain this year as I'm very busy preparing my third Moonsongs book for launch (coming very soon!), prepping my home and family to relocate across the country in June, and adapting to some exciting new blog/writing opportunities. (More on that below...)

So what's my A-Z plan, then? To support you all, of course! Almost every blogger I follow is doing A-Z, so I'm going to spend my time commenting on and sharing your posts. As a result, this blog will be pretty quiet in April.

But you'll probably still be able to find me around the blog world...

New(s) Adult

If you've been following this blog very long, it's no secret that I'm a fan of New Adult literature. I love the idea of creating stories specifically for the 18 to 20-something crowd. It's a time in life when folks are truly just figuring out adulthood. They're actively conquering life and, sometimes, life is conquering them.

Being that age often means struggling to find a career or an identity in the professional world. It can also mean a lot of exploration in relationships with a freedom and responsibility not experienced in the teenage years. 

In short, it's a dynamic life stage. A stage that was very meaningful to me personally, and one I think deserves some real attention from both readers and storytellers alike. 

I truly believe it's not a category of literature that simply should exist, it's a category that demands to exist. (And does now!) That passion is what led me into the New Adult community online. 

How I got into NA

Just under a year ago I was totally floored to find this blog of New Adult writers and enthusiast called NA Alley Blog. At the time, I had no idea there was a name for the kinds of stories I mentioned above. I just knew I was writing them, and that I wanted to read more like them.

After visiting with NAAB, an idea was hatched to start a weekly New Adult chat on Twitter. So I did. 

I honestly figured it would just be me and those enthusiastic ladies from NA Alley doing all of the chatting at these things. People in publishing circles were still very uneasy with the concept of New Adult, it seemed, and considering I'd just heard of the term myself, I couldn't imagine there'd be much interest.  

I was very, very wrong. 

The chat was an instant hit, and thanks to the support/knowledge of the folks at NA Alley, it became a real resource for the NA community. We had authors of all kinds, readers of all kinds, editors, etc. stopping in to chat with us on a regular basis. Word of mouth spread, and within weeks we were regularly trending on the BIG Twitter lists. 

Amazing!

I'm proud to say that the chat is still going strong (we'll celebrate our first birthday in July), and has grown into quite a 'thing'. I still host most Thursday nights, but have been able to tap into a network of professionals who are eager to share their expertise with New Adult writers. So you never know who'll be around! 

Meanwhile, New Adult has also become quite a thing. Publishers are eagerly looking for it, big time media is starting to investigate it, and readers are snapping it up. 

And I truly think it only goes up from here.

My next role in the NA movement is... 

That's why I was so thrilled to apply to be, and subsequently be accepted (last week!) as an official contributor to NA Alley Blog. These are the folks who got me into NA, the people I turned to for NA answers, and now I get to be a part of that for others.

As part of NA Alley Blog I'll have a special opportunity to share my--hopefully--unique voice with a diversity of writing and reading communities. I'll do my best to bring energy, fun, and encouragement as well. 

I'll be blogging about NA centric things over there on a regular basis, as well as taking part in the various activities and initiatives on that front. I'll be sharing that stuff with you all, of course, but this blog will still be my own--for better or worse. :) 

I'll be busy, and it may take me a while to figure out how to mange three blogs/endeavors (I'm still running the NA Lit Chat blog). But I hope you'll stick around to see where this latest adventure takes me. Who knows, maybe you'll even join me on the NA front?

A Special Thank You

I want to publicly thank Alex Cavanaugh and P.K. Hrezo for endorsing my application. If you know them (how could you not), you know they're special people in our writing community. They're great ambassadors for what we all do and aspire to do as writers online. They operate with a class, thoughtfulness, and spirit of community that is hard to find in my 'real life' relationships, much less from people I've never met face-to-face. 

It's the spirit of people like P.K. and Alex I hope I bring to the NA community, so they were naturally the first people I approached to write me notes of recommendation for the NAAB position. 

Just as naturally, I suppose, they said yes. :) In the end, they are more than role models, they are people I'm proud to call friends. And I hope they would consider me the same. 

~EJW~

27 comments:

  1. Knew they couldn't say no to you!! Congratulations. See what happens when you step up as a leader?
    If you're not participating next month, quiet is probably a good idea. But do post now and then so WE can stop by and say hey to YOU.

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    1. We feared the wrath of Alex and his ninja army if we didn't choose you...

      *Grins* Kidding, kidding. Congratulations!

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  2. Yeah, congrats on this new blogging opportunity. You've got me wondering now if the stuff I'm working on would fall under the category of New Adult. Hmmm....

    And best of luck with your move too!

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    1. Thanks LG! *looks into crystal ball* Yes, I see that your project IS New Adult, and that you should definitely join in!

      I might be slightly biased on this issue. :)

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  3. Yay!!! *snoopy dance*

    Big congrats! They are smart to snatch you up! And I'm super excited to see where you go from here. Rock on, brother.

    Thank you so much for your thoughtful words. Means so so much and you know I'm happy to offer any help I can anytime you need it. You've been a big help to me too and it's great to have real friends like you. Good luck on the move! I will be emailing you soon.

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    1. I'll be watching for that eMail. *wonders what you are up to, and hopes it's something he can read* :)

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  4. Congrats on your new role! NA really seems to be taking off. I think it will be pretty well accepted soon.

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  5. It's an exciting milestone in your writing career. I can't wait to visit you at NA Alley.

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  6. I'm spectating this year as well.

    Hugs and chocolate,
    Shelly

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  7. Congratulations, EJ. You're an awesome blogger and writer, and you're perfect for the job. :)

    Woohoo! I'm thrilled to win Julie's book. As I told her behind the scenes, I've been wanting to read it ever since I read the blurb the first time.

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  8. The best part of NA is knowing that age group is finding the time to read with school and work and falling in love to worry about. I've been reading a lot of YA, but need to add some NA to my reading list to see what's going on there.

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  9. Congratulations! I look forward to reading your posts over at NA Alley=)

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  10. Congrats on the new gig! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Virtual cheers!

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  11. EJ, I know you'll do a great job with your new project. You're a wonderful support to all of us, not just those in NA, but as a blossoming genre, I definitely think you're an excellent resource.

    I need to go see if you've said where you're moving!

    Shannon at The Warrior Muse

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  12. Congrats, EJ!

    I wish NA had been around when I wrote my series. It's labeled YA, but it's really NA. I guess I was just too far ahead of the curve.

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  13. If you ever learn the secret of juggling three blogs at once, please let me know. LOL.

    Congrats, EJ! This is a great way to give back to the community.

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  14. That's super cool, EJ!! What a great thing to be able to do. :D

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  15. Will miss you for A-Z...but what exciting things you have coming up. So happy for you and your new NA blogging adventure and can't wait to read more Moonsong books. :) Best to you, always!!!!

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  16. First, congratulations! That's great news and I'm happy to see NA lit thriving (thanks to people like you and the team at NA Alley!). Maybe one day I can say that I've published a NA novel . . . *sighs longingly* Anyway, enjoy your quite time in April, sounds like you have a lot on your plate but I wish you the best of luck with it all. (:

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  17. Congratulations again on your NA accomplishment, EJ! You deserve it and are an amazing ambassador for the genre. And thanks again for having me on your site, it was a lot of fun.

    Can't wait for the next Moonsongs! :) Wishing you the best with your relocation plans, I hope your move will go as smoothly as possible.

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  18. We'll miss your A to Z posting participation, but truly appreciate the support. Thanks!

    Lee
    Wrote By Rote
    An A to Z Co-host blog

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  19. You support everyone so much. Can't wait for your next book. It's a great series you're writing.

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  20. Some of the bloggers I follow do the A-Z posts. It's a difficult time of the year for me to undertake it, so I just keep to my own schedule of blog posts.

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“Much unhappiness has come into the world because of bewilderment and things left unsaid.” ― Fyodor Dostoyevsky

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