I have decided to take a week’s respite from writing the third book in my YA urban fantasy series, Split Blood, to catch up with author interview and guest post requests. I am looking forward to discussing my thoughts and opinions on love, sex and violence in YA books and how I have dealt with these themes in my own stories.
What is YA?
Many of my friends and family have asked me what YA books are, and
with the new introduction of the New Adult genre, the YA audience has become
even more specific.
My explanation used to be that YA books are aimed at young adults.
However, today I would say that YA audiences are split into two categories with
respect to storyline and levels of violence and profanity.
Personally, I would class a book that has no references to sex,
violence or profanity in it as suitable for pre-teens (9-12 years), but a story
like Split Blood: The Ancient Codex –
Part One I would class as suitable for ‘teen’ readers, as it tackles issues
that include sex, as well as challenging issues such as arranged marriages,
torture and murder.
I have read many articles arguing that some readers feel that YA
authors are pushing the limits of what they class as suitable storylines for YA
audience, with some so far as suggesting that books should have a visible
certification rating, like films, to warn readers that such story refer to
these sensitive topics.
As an author, I personally do not have a problem with this because
my books are aimed at the ‘teen’ end of the spectrum, and as a teacher from the
UK, I know that students aged between 13 and 15 years are taught sexual
education in their ‘Citizenship’ lessons, which are part of the UK curriculum.
Therefore, I would rather portray a sexual situation that contains respect, mutual
understanding and a loving relationship than a glorified situation in which a
character is in a sexual situation that is filled with dark undertones.
When does it
go too far?
I am not a big fan of books aimed at pre-teens or ‘teens’ in which
the sexual situations have sadistic elements (such as using force) or murder
scenes that show endless enjoyment being gained from preforming these acts,
because although I know that some characters are dark and it would be a part of
their personality to act in this way, I would personally prefer such stories to
be listed under the NA genre, as a college student would have a better grasp of
these topics due to their older age and greater experience (this is my opinion,
but I know that there are many teens who can understand and not be affected by
such storylines).
How far have I
taken it in my own books and why?
I don’t think I have taken such themes too far in my books
because, as I mentioned earlier, in the UK children receive lessons in sex
education from the age of 13-15 in school, and teenage pregnancy is also
studied in Citizenship lessons; therefore, this was a topic that I wanted to
approach, and hopefully I managed to do this delicately.
Louise Herman
Bio
Louise Herman is a North London Fantasy
author obsessed with pear drops sweets and 80s Fantasy films.
In between reading James Herbert novels and drinking too much coffee, she writes Young Adult Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance novels.
Louise Herman has currently written five YA Fantasy books to date (December 2015); The Orcus Games Prequel Trilogy and The Split Blood series, which take the reader on a journey of magic, mystery, obsession and forbidden love with seductively dark consequences.
For more information, please go to: www.louisehermanauthor.com
In between reading James Herbert novels and drinking too much coffee, she writes Young Adult Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance novels.
Louise Herman has currently written five YA Fantasy books to date (December 2015); The Orcus Games Prequel Trilogy and The Split Blood series, which take the reader on a journey of magic, mystery, obsession and forbidden love with seductively dark consequences.
For more information, please go to: www.louisehermanauthor.com
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