It’s hard to believe that I used to write young adult fiction, eh?

Well, it’s understandable why not many of you know about it since my website clearly states that I’m a thriller and suspense author.

So, some of you think I must be a thriller and suspense author from the beginning.

It’s sad to say the answer is no.

Funnily enough, I used to have this belief that I didn’t want to confine myself to a specific genre.

I prefer to write whatever my muses lead me.

You can think the way I prefer to write my books isn’t that much different from the way I write a blog post.

If my next book is going to be a baseball novel, then so be it.

That seems to be the case with the next book I write after my first book came out, Twisted Destiny.

Unlike my first book, The Diary of Modern Cinderella, Twisted Destiny is a basketball novel.

With me who prefers to write whatever strikes me fancy, calling myself a young adult fiction author suits me well.

What in the world is young adult fiction?

Head over to any bookstore and you’ll see a dedicated section for young adult novels, also known as YA novels for short.

So, what in the world are young adults, anyway?

Does the young adult in this context refer to people who just turn into adults?

Well, that’s coming of age, mind you.

Young adult is what we refer to as books targeting teen readers. And the main characters in the story are in their teens as well.

But here I am, thinking that the young adult must be referring to those who are just entering adulthood.

Since the characters in The Diary of Modern Cinderella and Twisted Destiny are in their teens, the books sure do fit into the YA category like a glove.

Why writing YA seems perfect for me until it isn’t

Take a look at any of your favorite mangaka who have many different series under their belts, you’ll notice that most of them span into many different genres.

Sure, they tend to have this signature style in all their manga.

But it doesn’t matter what genre the series falls into as long as their signature style remains intact.

It can be their unique storytelling or simply their art style.

Take Akira Amano for example.

If you’re familiar with her previous work, then you know that her previous work is nothing like her current work, Ron Kamonohashi, since Ron Kamonohashi is a detective manga.

Despite her current work being in a different genre, you can still see her signature style where she loves to inject goofy scenes amidst the seriousness.

Considering that a handful of mangaka I know seem to have series spanning across many different genres, it makes sense why I’m also following in the same footsteps.

Rather than focusing on writing the novel in a specific genre, I let my muse dictate my next book.

As much as I love following my muse, I realize this approach ends up backfiring me.

I have a hard time describing what sort of YA novels are to non-readers. And they seem to have this strange perception too when they find out that I write YA novels.

Thankfully, they’re not that negative, I assure you. But it can feel rather unsettling when the kind of book you write is nothing like what they have in mind.

YA is the equivalent of shounen and shoujo manga and anime

I remember this Answerman question ages ago where someone asked why many anime seem to take place in high school and nowhere else.

To be frank, I couldn’t care less about the story in the anime or manga taking place in high school and the characters are in the high school age.

But seeing this question makes me wonder about the same thing too.

Why the stories must take place in high school or at the very least the main character is in high school age?

Is there a specific reason why the story must be taking place in high school?

Spoiler – there’s no specific reason why the story centers around high school or the main characters are in the high school age.

It can simply be about the mangaka doing it for nostalgic reasons, according to Justin.

Of course, that was only an assumption on Justin’s side.

The mangaka may have a different reason why the story is taking place in high school, not in the office or any other workplace.

And their reason may have nothing to do with the nostalgic feeling at all.

My answer to that question?

It’s more likely to do with the broad appeal.

Remember that the shounen and shoujo manga aren’t just for the younger audience. They even appeal to the older demographic too.

Is that also the reason why I choose to write young adult fiction?

Well, I admit that was part of it.

But it’s more like I didn’t know any better.

Do I love the YA category as a reader?

Sadly, not so much.

The only reason why I tell people that I write YA novels has a lot to do with the characters in my books being in their teens, nothing else.

Did I regret writing in the YA category?

Believe it or not, I didn’t regret starting as a YA author.

If anything, I’m thankful for it.

I wouldn’t discover how much I enjoy writing a thriller novel a lot more if it’s not because of the YA fiction.

It even spills to my anime preference too where I tend to stay away from anything that falls into the fantasy genre.

For whatever reason, I prefer a story that has a sense of reality since that’s what I enjoy the most.

Will I be switching to a different genre again down the road?

To be honest, I don’t have the answer to that considering that I don’t know what the future holds for me.

But for now, I don’t see myself quitting writing in the thriller genre.

And if there’s a muse hitting me and it’s not a thriller novel?

That’s okay too. I just let the muse do its thing instead of trying to suppress it.

Instead of doing the rebranding again, I just let another genre be added to my repertoire since they’re still my body of work.

Besides, there are plenty of authors who write in multiple genres, anyway.

If I ever going to start writing a book in a different genre, then so be it.

P.S. If you’re like me back in the old days, you probably couldn’t care less about the genre.

The only thing you care about is the story is intriguing enough for you to watch the anime or read the manga and light novel till the end.

And if an intriguing story is what you seek, then I highly recommend you have a look at my thriller light novel series, Trigger Locked.

Want to give the book a try? You can have a look at it on my Payhip store.

If the book caught your fancy, use the coupon code SEKINAMAYUBLOG to get 25% off on your purchase:

Trigger Locked Book 1: The Mind Control Assassins