We are so excited to be talking with Brooklyn Skye, author of
STRIPPED today!
New Adult (NA) is
currently a hot and heavily debated topic, can you give us your thoughts on
what is NA and what it isn’t?
People
have said New Adult straddles the line between Young Adult and Adult literature
which I think is a great way to think about it. For me, there came a point when
I was ready to read something a bit more mature—in content, voice, and
perspective—but I wasn’t ready to jump from reading about teens to women who were
already established in their lives (steady jobs, knowing exactly who they are,
etc.). This in-between time can be messy and heart-breaking, fun and exciting,
and shouldn’t be skipped over. To me, New Adult is about characters who are learning
to fly, so to speak. Exploring new freedoms and discovering that being “grown-up”
is kind of a lot of work! Much of the discussion about New Adult surrounds the
sustainability of the category, whether it will last in bookstores and I don’t
know the answer to that question. Though, I’d say from how NA has evolved in
the last six months, especially with the number of best-sellers in this category,
there people out there who want to read this kind of book. And that’s all that
really matters.
Let’s talk Quinn,
your main character from STRIPPED. She
does some pretty stubborn things throughout the story, which we think is hilarious.
Do you think that stubbornness is what your readers will find relatable about
Quinn?
Gosh,
I hope so. Some of my beta readers left comments like ‘Quinn is not right in
the head’ which is exactly what I was going for. The girl has been through a
lot and the culmination of these events has significantly skewed her thoughts. On
the flipside, Quinn is still just a girl trying to figure things out and I hope
readers will be able to connect with that side of her too.
How long did it
take you to write STRIPPED?
I
wrote the first draft of STRIPPED in five weeks. At the time (about a year and
a half ago), New Adult wasn’t an accepted category so even though most of the
story took place in a college setting, Quinn was in high school. Once it was
finished, I set it aside for a long while, frustrated because Quinn as a high
school senior did not work for me,
but I didn’t want to rewrite it as Adult either. Once books like Losing It and Easy started emerging as New Adult, I decided to rewrite it with
Quinn in college.
How do you
balance family and writing?
Oh
geez, pretty poorly. My best friend always says she can tell when I’m drafting
because my hip bones start to emerge (LOL, and at least it’s not the other way
around!) and my eyes glaze over like I’m in another place (it’s too difficult
to explain to her that I AM in another place). Revising is a bit easier to step
away from, but in general my characters grab hold of me and don’t let go until
their story is told.
How about some
book recommendations? What are you reading right now?
My TBR
list is much greater than I have time for lately, but some of the books on
there are:
Twisted Perfection by Abbi Glines
Faking It by Cora Carmack
Walking Disaster by Jamie McGuire
One Week Girlfriend by Monica Murphy
We just love Brooklyn’s energy. Thanks for answering our
questions and all the great NA book suggestions!! STRIPPED releases on May 14th
(NEXT TUESDAY!) and will be available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble! Don’t
forget to add it to Goodreads!
About Brooklyn
Skye:
Brooklyn
Skye was born in a small Southern California town where she quickly realized
writing was an escape from small-town life. Follow her on Twitter
(@brooklyn__skye) or visit her web site (http://brooklynskye.wordpress.com)
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