ESCAPING REALITY and Defining the New Adult genre

If you're old school like me, you are scratching your head trying to figure out what New Adult (NA) literature is.  At first it was explained to me as YA, but a bit more grown up.  That worked for me:  a bunch of young 20 year old college kids as characters.  But then I found out that Beautiful Disaster was labeled as NA.  That sounded like a LOT MORE grown up.   I was back to square one.  So when steamy romance writer Lisa Renee Jones announced her first New Adult title, I had to know.  You see, I had avoided reviewing NA books since I didn't have a firm understanding of the genre.  But I would be reading The Secret Life of Amy Benson and writing a review.  Somewhere between fleeing forest fires and arriving at RWA, Lisa found time to explain it to me.

"The difference in New Adult and Adult is the coming of age storyline. For instance with Escaping Reality Amy is not only 24 vs Sara's late 20's because she was forced into hiding at 18 and unable to truly live, she is truly sheltered and learning to live. The thing I love about New Adult is the angst and overcoming adversity that is always present. Of course, I favor those things anyway as most of my INSIDE OUT readers and even my Tall, Dark and Deadly readers (Blake!) know. In New Adult, sometimes an older character helps advance the growth of the younger character as in Liam(31) and Amy. Often both characters are young and growing together though." - Lisa Renee Jones

Armed with this definition, I created my definition:

• young, but past the age of traditional YA teens
• delayed Coming of Age storyline/learning to live
• angst (probably held over from teen not coming of age yet)
• overcoming adversity
• optional: mentor/teacher or partner in growth

And then I read ESCAPING REALITY, the first book in The Secret Life of Amy Benson storyline by Lisa Renee Jones.  In one day.

Conclusions?  Lisa's romance is still steamy and she is still the queen of the cliff hanger.  Nothing was diluted.  In fact, the added pressure on the heroine may have even upped the ante as she is overcoming adversity and learning to live at the same time.

Escaping Reality Blurb 

(releasing AMZ July 22)

 Infinite possibilities….

Infinite passion…..

Infinite danger….

His touch spirals through me, warm and sweet, wicked and hot. I shouldn’t trust him. I shouldn’t tell him my secrets. But how do I not when he is the reason I breath? He is what I need.

 At the young age of eighteen, tragedy and a dark secret force Lara to flee all she has known and loves to start a new life. Now years later, with a new identity as Amy, she’s finally dared to believe she is forgotten–even if she cannot forget. But just when she lets down her guard down, the ghost’s of her past are quick to punish her, forcing her back on the run.   

On a plane, struggling to face the devastation of losing everything again and starting over, Amy meets Liam Stone, a darkly entrancing recluse billionaire, who is also a brilliant, and famous, prodigy architect. A man who knows what he wants and goes after it. And what he wants is Amy. Refusing to take “no” as an answer, he sweeps her into a passionate affair, pushing her to her erotic limits. He wants to possess her. He makes her want to be possessed. Liam demands everything from her, accepting nothing less. But what if she is too devastated by tragedy to know when he wants more than she should give? And what if there is more to Liam than meets the eyes? 

 


Whatever Liam is, I WANT TO LICK HIS TATTOO!!

 

pearls' Review

You are on the edge of your seat from page 1.  Amy (if that is her real name) is in danger.  You don't know why or from whom, but it is grave danger.  She is (one again) on the run.  And she is just as clueless as the reader. The reader and Amy decipher the clues together.  Liam is the right guy in the right place at the right time.  Coincidence or Fate?  Either way he promises to teach her to control her fear rather letting it control her.  By the end of the story, we have more questions than answers to her plight, but Amy has matured into a woman no longer content to let others shelter her.  She wants the answers and is willing to swim with the sharks to get them.  Her angst and paranoia have grown into determination. A wild ride for the reader, full of mysteries and danger and steamy scenes.

Meet Lisa Renée

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Lisa Renee Jones is the author of the highly acclaimed INSIDE OUT TRILOGY which has sold to more than ten countries for translation with negotiations in process for more, and has now been optioned by STARZ Network for a cable television show, to be produced by Suzanne Todd (Alice in Wonderland).

Since beginning her publishing career in 2007, Lisa has published more than 30 books with publishers such as Simon and Schuster, Avon, Kensington, Harlequin, NAL, Berkley and Elloras Cave, as well as crafting a successful indie career. Booklist says that Jones suspense truly sizzles with an energy similar to FBI tales with a paranormal twist by Julie Garwood or Suzanne Brockmann.

Prior to publishing, Lisa owned multi-state staffing agency that was recognized many times by The Austin Business Journal and also praised by Dallas Women Magazine. In 1998 LRJ was listed as the #7 growing women owned business in Entrepreneur Magazine.

Lisa loves to hear from her readers. You can reach her through her website and she is active on twitter and Facebook daily.

Connect with Lisa:

Website:  http://www.lisareneejones.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LisaReneeJones

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLisaReneeJones?fref=ts

Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/73977.Lisa_Renee_Jones

TOUR GIVEAWAY:

Lisa is giving away a canvas bag with Escaping Reality on one side and Revealing Us on the other side, and a package of signed INSIDE OUT and ESCAPING REALITY goodies to one lucky winner when the tour ends.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

In My Mother’s Footsteps by Forbes Arnone

Author Guest Blog by Forbes Amone

A lot of people ask me where I find inspiration. My true belief is fiction contains a fair amount of truth. In my books, the stories are always based around a real life experience of mine. I like to take on complete memory and work it into my stories then add in a few other elements. In, In My Mother’s Footsteps, like Anela, I lived in Sausalito, California for a short time and traveled to Oahu, Hawaii. The sightseeing Anela did resulted from some of my family’s favorite places to visit. I like to put just a little bit of myself into every story.  Just like in this scene, Anela and her love interest, Christian, went to our favorite shrimp truck in the North Shore. 

We drove in comfortable silence until we arrived at Giovanni's Shrimp truck.

Parked in the middle of what looked like the front yard of somebody’s home and surrounded by several plumeria trees, sat the food truck. The shock of it being an actual automobile and the instantaneous doubt of the quality of food they served diminished at the number of people waiting in line. The ones that weren't in line were signing their names all over the truck.

How exciting!

What surprised me even more was that the crowds gathered there to eat weren’t just tourists, there were tons of locals.

“Have you eaten here before?” I asked as we walked toward the truck.

“All the time. It's delicious, but I must warn you, it's not conducive for kissing.” Christian laughed and gestured toward the picnic tables. It was a good look on him. “Go find us a seat and I'll get the food.”

I found one of the only empty tables under the shade of a beautiful plumeria tree and watched as Christian made his way through the line to order our food. Stuffing our soda cans into the front pockets of his shorts, he carried our plates of food over to the table. The scent of garlic wafted through the air when he placed everything on the table. It smelled so good.

“Thank you,” I said with a big smile.

“You're welcome.”

My plate was filled with a mound of rice, covered in shrimp, and all of it smothered in a garlic sauce. Christian brought a few extra paper plates to house the shrimp shells as we removed them. It was a messy affair, but one that proved to be worth it. The food was delicious. I moaned in delight as the buttery garlic touched my tongue and licked my fingers without shame.

“Oh my god, this is so good!” I exclaimed, humming in delight.

Christian shook his head with a slight chuckle, but seemed to enjoy it just as much as me.

“We are going to stink after this,” I snickered with a finger in my mouth.

Blurb

Anela Alborn’s life is a lie. After growing up without the love of a father, her mother reveals his identity. Tragedy strikes and she sets off on an adventure that leads to more than she could ever imagine. Bumping into Christian Sivers distracts her from the real man of her dreams, her father. Will he live up to her dreams? And does she follow in her mother’s footsteps?

Excerpt

My brown, wooden, antiquated cottage sat on top of a hill in Sausalito. The shingles were bleached out from exposure to the sun’s rays. A beautiful, naturally-worn deck wound around the small chalet and gave me one of the best views in town. The bold, red peaks of the Golden Gate Bridge were visible through the light haze of fog over the ocean. With the hot sun working overtime to clear the sky, the fog always seemed to linger around the tops of the bridge. To my left, I could look down and see the rocky shore that the tourists often frequented. The slick brown and black seals liked to sunbathe on the boulders at the water’s edge. People would gather to take pictures or have lunch in one of the quaint restaurants that overlooked the choppy, aqua-blue ocean.

I had grown up in Sausalito my entire life. With the exception of when I went to Berkley, I hadn’t adventured into the city much. Sometimes, I'd take the ferry to Angel Island with my mountain bike and take leisurely rides or run the hills. I hadn't done that since I ran out of my mother's house, either.

Now that I had packed up all of her belongings — with the exception a few things I wanted to keep — I was exhausted. As I sat on the deck of my small cottage and stared out into the vast ocean, I felt anxious about the file that sat on my lap. Lennie had given it to me at his office three days before and I had yet to open it. The fear at what I'd find seeped in and turned my stomach.

Focusing my attention, I looked down at the folder and decided the time had come to face whatever was inside. My hands trembled as I lifted the two metal prongs and opened the flap. I tipped the folder upside down to empty the contents, finding the usual white sheets of paper that were full of legal jargon. How I wished I didn't know what they meant. Sifting through it all, I found a copy of the deed to the house, which stated that it had been transferred to my name. Also, there was the pink slip to my mother's car to be filled out and mailed to the Department of Motor Vehicles, and a small envelope with my mother's messy, artsy script on the front. One word had been written on it: Anela.

Author Bio--

Jennifer Garcia’s (aka Forbes Arnone) love of travel began when she traveled to the West Coast to visit her father at the age of three. Her home until she was sixteen was a small coastal town near Boston. She currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband, two sons, and two dogs.

Her lifelong love for reading and writing was put aside for many years while she made her way in the world and nurtured her young family. Even though she is older, and life never seems to settle, she’s finding her way while attending college full-time in pursuit of a B.A. in English Literature. She also runs a business, and is still caring for her family. Believing she can do it all, with the help of her family, she worked on her first novel during the late hours of the night while balancing the rest of her life during the day. Her hard work paid off, as her first novel, My Mr. Manny, will be published August 2013.

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