Guest Post & Giveaway with D.T Dyllin

We have the lovely D.T Dyllin joining us today. She's bringing it back old school style to talk about the genre Young Adult and what exactly constitutes a YA novel. So without further ado, we hand the mic... er, I mean blog over to D.T... Take it away!

D.T. Dyllin was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania but now lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with her husband and two very spoiled GSDs. She's a cynical-optimist, chocolate-holic, sarcasm addict, paranormal believer, self imposed insomniac, Sci-Fi geek and an animal lover.
Enemy Through The Gates is her debut novel.

For more information about this D.T check out her website.  

You can also find her on Twitter, Facebook and Goodreads.

Young Adult or Adult?...that is the question.

Whether ‘tis nobler to disregard what is considered Young Adult, thus allowing realism to stand and thereby suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune or;

Oppose vast troubles, by means of alignment with common regard in making my book adult where content will be over-looked, and thus end them:

Thus, conscience does make cowards of us all and so too the native hue of resolution…And yet, despite my turmoil, perchance there is a solution offered now in ‘New Adult’

This may well be the answer to the dilemma for which I have long begged an answer. Therein, a new hope doth quicken my pulse and my eyes beam alight with the reflection of innumerable stars adorning the vast night sky.

Alright, so I’m on a bit of a Shakespeare kick lately…again. And if you haven’t already figured it out, today I’m going to talk about where ‘Enemy Through The Gates’ falls as a genre. When I first set out writing it, I thought it was a no brainer because the main characters are eighteen years old and still in high school. Young Adult was the clear genre choice. But wait…how can I possibly have such things as sex in a YA book? Oh the horror! Really…two eighteen year olds who have known each other almost their entire lives, and are completely in with each other…are only going to hold hands? Maybe make out? Seriously? Has anyone else ever seen the show ’16 and Pregnant’? Hmmm…so moving along.

‘Enemy Through The Gates’ just didn’t feel adult enough for me either. So, I thought the best bet would be to go with YA but give it a 17+ recommendation. Then, low and behold! I began to hear rumors of a new genre…New Adult. (Cue the manna from Heaven music.) Now I’m thinking…maybe this new genre would fit ‘Enemy Through The Gates’…perfectly. Lord knows, at the time I felt like Goldie Locks…”This genre’s too young, and this genre’s too old.” I began to hope that with the introduction of this new genre I would get my “Oooh…this genre’s j-u-u-st right.”

Instead, it made me question everything. Why do we need a new genre? Aren’t things confusing enough as it is? It made me think about the basic definition of young adult. According to Wikipedia, Young Adult is defined as: Young adult (psychology), persons aged 20 to 40; Young-adult fiction, works targeted at ages 14 to 21.

After reading that I became more confused. Time to look up what Wikipedia had to say about Adult. Here it is: An adult is a human being or living organism that is of relatively mature age, typically associated with sexual maturity and the attainment of reproductive age. In human context, the term has other subordinate meanings associated with social and legal concepts; for example, a legal adult is a legal concept for a person who has attained the age of majority and is therefore regarded as independent, self-sufficient, and responsible (contrast with "minor"). Adulthood can be defined in terms of physiology, psychological adult development, law, personal character, or social status.

These different aspects of adulthood are often inconsistent and contradictory. A person may be biologically an adult, and have adult behavior but still be treated as a child if they are under the legal age of majority. Conversely, one may legally be an adult but possess none of the maturity and responsibility that may define adult character.

Hmmm…that didn’t help much in regards to sorting out my confusion either. So…to make a long story short…I decided to just say F*&$ it.

Part of why I decided to give it a go as an indie author was so I could define things for myself, play by my own rules. ‘Enemy Through The Gates’ might be considered a touch on the scandalous side for what’s usually found on the YA bookshelves, but I’m okay with that.

And parents, who are you kidding? Unless your kid is under constant surveillance, I wouldn’t be surprised to find them reading material like ‘50 Shades of Grey’. I know I would have been one of the first in line to read something taboo for my age when I was a teen. Hell, I was reading Anne Rice in middle school!

So, call my book Young Adult, Adult, or New Adult…whatever…I really don’t care. No matter what you define the genre as, when you open up and read it, the words are still going to be the same on the inside. Or let me put this another way… A Rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

Time for a heartfelt “Thank You” to Book Sniffers Anonymous for hosting me on their site today! Although they might be anonymous in their book sniffing enjoyment, I’m loud and proud about loving the scent of a new book! Everyone out there…grab the nearest book and inhale…come on…I know you want to! Hehe

P.J. Stone, like most eighteen-year-old girls, is a little boy crazy and somewhat obsessed with finding the perfect boyfriend. After a traumatic night at a friend’s party, P. J. realizes what she truly wants has been right under her nose all along. Bryn O’Bannon, her best friend and partner in crime since age five, is head over heels in love with her, and she feels the same about him.

But P.J.’s life isn’t that simple. She’s a member of a separate society that exists secretly among the rest of the world; the society raises gifted individuals to protect the world from interdimensional interlopers, and P. J. was taught to put duty before her heart. She is expected to choose a suitable mate in order to perpetuate the Seer line. Unfortunately, Bryn is a Guardian and is forbidden to date—let alone mate with—a Seer such as herself.

As if figuring out her love life isn’t complicated enough, P.J. begins having visions of a threat to her world only she is able to perceive. Now, she must concoct and execute a plan to avert world disaster while at the same time avoiding the dissolution of her love life.

Check out my review for Enemy Through The Gates. 

We have TWO awesome giveaways, one for US only and another for International readers! D.T. was cool enough to offer up not only a signed copy of her book but some swag as well!

U.S Giveaway

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

International Giveaway

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