This quarter's Indie Ignites releases

Welcome to the third installment of 2014's Indie Ignites quarterly releases! Things have slowed down on the publication front which means... a whole lot of us are writing our tails off!!! Yay! Check out our upcoming releases, below.

July

Endre (Sweet NA) -- July 16th

(The Elsker Saga, #2)

Blurb: Sometimes, finding your destiny means doing the exact opposite of what The Fates have planned.

Winning the heart of an immortal assassin was a dream come true for Kristia Tostenson. Now she’s knee deep in wedding plans, goddess lessons, and stolen kisses. But her decision to become immortal could end in heartbreak -- not only for Kristia, but for the god who loves her. Because while Ull would do anything to protect his bride, even the God of Winter is powerless against the Norse apocalypse. Ragnarok is coming. And the gods aren’t even close to ready.

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The Horde Without End (NA) -- July 24th

(The World Without End, #2)

Blurb: It was supposed to be over…

Returning from Haven 18 was supposed to be the end. But nothing is ever easy—and in a world full of zombies, finding the missing is next to impossible. There are breadcrumbs. Tiny clues. But what are a few tiny clues in a world of the dead?

Nurrin is desperate to find her brother, but that will mean trusting Finn O’Malley. A man shrouded in secrets, who kills as easily as breathing. And the more she learns about him, the more questions she has. But she has learned one thing—the zombies are changing. Adapting. And this time, the Haven walls won’t keep them out.

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August

A Sliver of Hope (YA) -- August 5th

(Angel Sight, #2)

Blurb: After the events in A SHIMMER OF ANGELS, Rayna struggles to piece her life back together, but hiding in plain sight from the police, the SS Crazy, and the Fallen isn't a foolproof plan. Something Kade, the World's Worst Roommate, reminds her of everyday.

The late nights of trying—and failing—to teach Ray how to protect herself against the Fallen are getting to Kade, changing him in ways he doesn't like, and after a family emergency sends Ray back into Cam’s arms, Kade decides he's had enough.

The news of Rayna's resurfacing brings angels and Fallen to San Francisco by the dozens, all eyes scouring the city for the girl with the gray wings. Rayna will need both Kade and Cam's help to ensure her family's safety, navigate the new dangers—and enemies—springing up all over the city, and managing the surprises that arise with her new set of wings.

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September

Tro (sweet NA) -- September 4th

by S.T. Bende

(The Elsker Saga, #3)

Blurb: Finding her destiny nearly cost her everything. Kristia knows she can handle whatever The Fates throw at her next--including her long-awaited honeymoon with the God of Winter. But as things heat up between Kristia and Ull, a frost settles over Asgard. An unexpected death marks the beginning of the end, much earlier than anyone expected. Kristia’s barely begun to understand what she’s capable of, and controlling her powers seems completely out of her grasp. With her new family fighting for their lives, and Ull fighting for their future, Kristia has to make a devastating choice: preserve the life she loves, or protect the god she can’t live without?

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Open Thy Heart (YA) -- September 15th

(Flora, #2)

Blurb: The secrets just keep coming.

It’s summer in Shaver and, frankly, Dahlia Kennedy is bored. Even though she and Eva are throwing a party for David and she gets to visit Rowan in Ambrosia easier on account of summer hours, it seems like senior year is never going to come. Worse yet, it’s looking like the one thing she’s planned on doing for forever isn’t going to happen.

Cue Dahlia’s Embarrassing Incident: the tipping point that seems to shift everything into a new direction. David’s acting weird. Something happens to Rowan. Dahlia’s forced to ask the least likely person ever for help. A secret is blown wide open.

Conflict between the Lennox Rochforts and the Townsends grows more and more out of control until so much is going on in Ambrosia, Dahlia can barely keep up with life at home. Frustrated with trying to keep track of who knows what, Dahlia continues fighting to help the people she loves, and slowly, the truth is exposed.

Crazy thing is, she had no idea about any of it. And it changes everything she’s ever known.

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The Future of New Adult

Hei hei, y'all. It's ST. And I want to talk about New Adult. Specifically, I want to know where you think it's heading. Because it feels like things are changing these days, and I'd love to hear what you have to say about it.

We all know NA has the corner on steamy contemporary romances. We adore these stories. A good chunk of the #NALitChat crew and half of the Igniteers write these stories, and they rock at it! Even the publishing industry, who warmed fairly slowly to NA as a category, has embraced the steamy contemps. One agent recently told me that she didn't know if she could sell an NA that wasn't a contemporary romance. It seems New Adult has carved out a little niche and happily set up camp. And in a lot of ways, that's awesome! We have a camp!! And don't you worry, I've got s'mores for everybody!!

But I've been hearing a LOT of talk from readers and bloggers lately, and they want more. NA readers are starting to want the same diversity in genres as their YA and Adult counterparts. They love their contemporary romance, and they love their sexy time, but they want more options in their NA buffet. Chelsea Fine just penned an amazing blog post about "The Giant Sexball", and Addison Moore wrote a phenomenal piece for Delphina Reads talking about Great Sexpectations in NA. And between those remarkable articles, and the comments I've heard in the last few weeks, readers are ready for a little something extra.

So what's it going to be?

Tonight, Kristie Cook's NA hero Tristan Knight won his match in NA Alley's #NACrushTourney14. He's the ONLY paranormal hero left standing in the tourney -- the ONE other non-contemporary hero of the thirty entrants was eliminated last week. (That other hero was our little old Ull! *beams*) Tristan's win was a massive victory for New Adult as a category, because it showed that that readers are excited to embrace something outside the box.  Tristan's supernatural in all the best ways -- he's the hero of Kristie's otherworldly paranormal romance that has completely sucked in yours truly, along with over 200,000 other readers. And more and more outside-the-box NA stories are coming out every day. #pnrNA like Kristie's Soul Savers Series; #sweetNA like Amy Evans' Jellybean Kisses; #scifiNA like SJ Pajonas' Nojiku Series; and #specficNA like PK Hrezo's Butterman (Time) Travel Series. As an author who writes outside the box, I'm super excited when I see readers responding so favorably to these kinds of books! New Adult is so new, and we're so lucky to be writing in a category that's just beginning to define itself. So long as authors are supportive of one another, and so long as readers keep asking for more, there's no limit to where we can take this category. Time travel? Sci fi? Sweet romances? Paranormal? Fantasy? Absolutely!! At least, I really, really, really hope so. Because I want more too -- I love my steamy contemps, but I also love my angel/demon/warrior prince. And my Norse gods. And my time traveling boy banders. And if that makes me greedy, I'm totally cool with that. Because I brought enough s'mores for everybody. :)

Tell me -- what do YOU want to see more of in New Adult books? Do you think there's room to grow?