What Genre? New Adult!

When I started writing Heaven Knows This Time I didn't really have any specific genre in mind, the story just followed it's natural course and I didn't really think about what kind of person would be reading it.  I guess this was a little naive of me as when I came to publish it I wasn't sure what category to put it in.

Was it romance?  The story is one of of love and relationships but it wasn't exactly a typical romance novel.

Was it chick lit?  The main character is female but she's in her mid teens and hardly a Bridgit Jones kind of girl.

Was it young adult?  Most of the characters are teenagers but the story included swearing, sex, drug use and suicide, which is not exactly suitable for younger readers.

I felt like my novel didn't quite fit anywhere until I stumbled across a website http://naalley.blogspot.co.uk/ and I had a light bulb moment.  I'd written a New Adult novel!

New Adult is an emerging genre catering to 18-25 year olds who are looking for something more mature than young adult books but wanting something more relevant to their age group than mainstream adult fiction.

I'm so glad Heaven Knows This Time finally has a genre :)

Clair