New Adult Book Club discussion

Hi Ava,

Thank you and New Adult Book Club for having me!

Also, as a special show of appreciation to the club for hosting me, my publisher (Belle Books/ImaJinn Books) has put A Beastly Scandal on sale for $0.99 on Amazon until Jan 16th.


I look forward to chatting with all of you.

Hi Shereen,

I also enjoy the kind of journey you describe for your characters. You write an interesting mix of subgenres. How did you discover fairytale and Regency new adult?

Lynn wrote: "Hi Shereen,

I also enjoy the kind of journey you describe for your characters. You write an interesting mix of subgenres. How did you discover fairytale and Regency new adult?"

Hi Lynn,

My bio makes me think I'm long-winded, which is unusual, since my books are on the short side. :) Keeping that in mind, I'll give you two answers: short and long.

SHORT ANSWER
I didn't find Fairytale Regency NA, it found me.

LONG ANSWER
At university, I found myself surrounded by a lot of literary students. I was the only one writing genre fiction. I would describe my u-experience as lonely, discouraging and heartbreaking. But it taught me how to write a LOT, write CONSISTENTLY, and write ON DEMAND.

I never worry about writer's block anymore. Anyway, one of my writing professors once said, "Shereen, you don't know what kind of writer you are, so a good way to explore that is to try a few different genres."

So that's what I did. For every class project, I'd present a different genre short story, from SF, to Fantasy, to westerns. The only thing I didn't write was a romance, because I instinctively knew I'd be clobbered if I tried that with this "elite" group of writers.

If nothing else, I kept my classmates entertained, sometimes shocked, and one girl was so upset, she yelled at me and made me cry, but they were never bored. Meanwhile, the number murders, killings and dismemberment in my stories rose at an astronomical rate until I graduated. I see those classes now as writing therapy sessions. :) I'm unsure if I was cured or became a lost cause.

Once I graduated, I kept following his advice, and the novels I chose to write were for my own enjoyment. Since I loved reading fantasy and YA, my first book, still unpublished, was a fantasy YA called Heir to the Kingdom. Love that book! One day it will be published.

Then followed a couple of contemporary romances. Next was an adult fantasy. Mind you, all of these are still unpublished. I finished 11 novels in all before receiving my first novel contract, for this 4 book series.

Anyway, finally I worked up the courage to write a Regency. And it took a lot of courage because I adored Regency romances. I devoured them as a young adult, I was in awe of Regency authors, and I had read one in particular that blew my mind (Kate and Cecelia, co-written by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer), because it combined magic (essentially fantasy elements which I love) WITH Regency! That was unheard of!

Still, attempting to write that first Regency romance frightened me so much (because I didn't think I could do a Regency justice), I fell back on what I knew and enjoyed, which were fantasy and fairy tales. I thought, why not weave those into a Regency. And thus was born this series, the first of which is called A Beastly Scandal. :) And writing NA themes, well, that's just second nature.

I see from your bio, Lynn, that you write YA historicals. Which sounds a skip away from what I write. :) Best of luck with Fools Gold!