Emerald Barnes comes a calling

Thank you, Penny, for hosting me today!  I appreciate you letting me come and talk about YA characters!

A lot of YA literature has main characters who vary greatly but are still very similar.  They’re all insecure, just like teens, and they all have to deal with not only being an awkward teenager but having to face very adult matters.  

It’s no secret that the YA genre has taken the world by storm lately.  But why is that genre so popular? 

I think it has to do with the reason I write and read YA fiction.  It’s fun.  You get to experience first kisses all over again.  You get to be with characters on their journey of self-discovery, and you get to laugh at someone else who was as awkward, if not more, than you were at that age.  If you’re a young adult, you get to see someone else being humiliated or finding that totally yummy guy or gorgeous girl you always dreamed about having!  But with each YA story, there’s a similarity, and it has to do with what the characters go through.  I think that’s fine too.  It’s the reason why the genre is so popular!  

Most of my main characters are vulnerable.  They want to be normal, but I wanted to make their life too hectic to be normal.  (I think that is always what makes a good story.)  I wanted my characters to find themselves searching for that normality in life, and I find that very relatable. 

But then again, there are characters who are so unlike the normal teenager.  And that’s fine!  I think it gives the readers another life to experience. 

So whether your characters are shy and timid or outspoken and adventurous, I think they all end up being somewhat similar.  Because they’re teenagers.  They all go through awkward periods, and I think they all are trying to find their place in the world.

They feel out of place, awkward, and unworthy of that cutie’s crush.  They all have to face their past or future head on, and they discover something about themselves.  Again, it’s a similar theme that each character has to face. 

But there’s nothing wrong with that!  It’s part of writing in the YA genre.  So don’t be afraid if your characters seem similar.  Chances are, they are, but it’s because it’s realistic. 

My new release, Read Me Dead, is available on Amazon, but if you comment you can win a copy along with a copy of my first novella, Piercing Through the Darkness!

You can connect with me here:

Website: http://www.emeraldbarnes.us

Blog: http://ebarnes23.wordpress.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/fanpageforemeraldbarnes

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/emeraldbarnes

Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/emerald_barnes

Google + : https://plus.google.com/101744242812023382698/posts

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Emerald-Barnes/e/B004PL38QS/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

Buy Links:

Piercing Through the Darkness: http://www.amazon.com/Piercing-Through-the-Darkness-ebook/dp/B004P1IYLW/

Read Me Dead: http://www.amazon.com/Read-Me-Dead-ebook/dp/B007WMQK3A/

 

Read Me Dead a YA Romantic Suspense

Alexia Wheaton’s problems go beyond picking a dress and a date for homecoming.

 For seven years, Alex has lived with a painful memory - her parents' horrific murder. As the sole witness, she has kept quiet to protect herself, but when the local newspaper reveals her secret, Alex is plagued with fear that her parents' murderer will soon find her - and silence her forever.

 Alex is catapulted into a race against time to save her own life and bring her parents' murderer to justice. 

Piercing Through the Darkness, a YA suspense/thriller

It’s on the edge of her memory like a word on the tip of her tongue, but Kandi can’t remember what it is to save her life.

Despite being a cop, Jimmy can’t protect Kandi from the one thing that haunts her. She’s in danger and doesn’t even know it. After it happened, her brain repressed her memories of the accident, and now, she’s taking a Biology class under a man who wants to see her dead. The memories have started coming back, and it feels like she’s miles away from him. How can he protect her when she doesn’t even know she needs protecting?

Can these characters pierce their way through the darkness?