I found some Def Leppard CD’s at the local Disc Replay (so happy!), and even though it’s not one of my favorites, a segment of Don’t Shoot Shotgun has been on repeat in my head. This, somehow, has made me go back to the topic of target audiences.

(Maybe I’m wrong, maybe I’m right)

I’m struggling with that. I understand that you can’t proclaim, ‘But my book is for everyone!’, because logically it is not. How many books have I read that I’ve disliked or hated, but other reviewers have raved about? Or, conversely I thought were sheer literary brilliance but others ripped apart? Yet even with the logics right there, the thought of pigeonholing my novel and eliminating people who may also like it has me chewing at my finger nails. Wasn’t Harry Potter geared for young adults? Yet how many adults obsessed about it as well? Same for Twilight. I’ve also stumbled upon some YA novels that were perfect and everything I want in adult fiction but can’t always find: suspenseful, gritty, raw, real even though very fantasy, no sex yet still loads of sexual tension, with a much more realistic basis for a romance. But being categorized as YA keeps adults from finding them.

 (Dream on nightmare)

While I always intended mine for adults, it’s appropriate for older YA. And now there’s a new genre called New Adult, which could be a key placement as my protagonist is in her early 20’s, a new mother, struggling with the emotional backlash of her lover’s abandonment and her sense of self, and refiguring her understanding of her family history. Along with some very adult and fantastical dealings. But I wandered Barnes and Noble and couldn’t find any New Adult shelving. It might be too new yet. Also, I don’t want to eliminate my original target of adult women.

(She’s so dangerous….)

Alright. Sticking with adult for my target audience!