If Wheels of Steel is e-published what do you think of it being a young adult story? Think Twilight, The Hunger Games and not Harry Potter.
If WOS was to be geared towards young adults it would have to lose all graphic sexual descriptions. So...I guess the real question is, would removing the sexual descriptions compromise the story?
no i do not think it would hurt the story at all
ReplyDeleteI feel like the story was of how love developed between these two characters and the sexual stuff was a part of that. The characters are 19 and 21 (if I remember correctly) so it is a young adult novel but it doesn't have to be so clean. After all, they're adults... That being said, I would be disappointed if you took out the graphic stuff just because it would be sad to see that part of their relationship changed; BUT I don't think it would really hurt the story if that's what you decided to do.
ReplyDeleteLeave the sex in. It allows readers to visualize how full life can be even if faced with a wheelchair.
ReplyDeleteDelores has a point. But the part where Top "tastes" Robin when there's evidence of blood near her nether region... I don't think the public is quite ready for that. And to add on to onto what Delores said, I'd say that at some point in time all men are dogs, whether they be in a wheelchair, on crutches or with their seeing-eye dog. lol jk
ReplyDelete-392OhMyGoodness
Okay not all men, but a vast majority of them...
ReplyDelete-392OhMyGoodness
imo i would leave it as it is. leaving them out wouldn't feel like WOS. that sexual journey is part of their development as a couple.
ReplyDeletebut in the end most will depends on which audience you want to reach. young adults to me are teens +16 till 20 something, some are mature enough to grasp the story, some will snicker and laugh at the sex scenes.
if you meant to publish for the 20+, well they'll have to take the sex with it imo, it's part of live, graphical and otherwise, even Top tasting her blood. some wile cringe at that, others will think "i did that too". it's a bit of a double edge sword.
i'd say lead yourself by all the feedback WOS has given you on the blog.
we ALL loved it and ALL felt so in tune emotional wise when things went wrong, or when they found each other.
the sex(es) are not the main reason why it is such a beautiful stories. But unfortunately it is part of the ways to understand their relationships in a better light. Dont leave it behind Pep. let your new readers experience the up and down as we did when we read it. Congrats babe, you are rock!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love WOS as written. It's a perfectly crafted story of two different but similar individuals growing up and in love. What I would suggest instead of re-writing it is to write a prequel. Let the readers read about Jason and Robin before they got to the point of the first interactions. Then the book would be Twilight/Hunger Games/Harry Potter type of book(s). Something someone could grow with in the reading.
ReplyDelete"Young Adult" is really a misnomer. The category ought to be labelled "Adolescent" or "Teen," but that label would pretty much guarantee that real adolescents wouldn't touch it. Even so, YA stories tend to be about adolescents and the problems they encounter in their transition to young adulthood. Most of those stories end as the lead characters take their first steps into actual adulthood.
ReplyDeleteTo rephrase your question, "If Wheels of Steel is e-published what do you think of it being an adolescent story? Think Twilight, The Hunger Games and not Harry Potter." ...
The WOS characters are already adults and, though young, are dealing with the problems and decisions encountered by actual adults of any age -- financial budgeting, medical care, sexual relationships, etc. -- tough decisions that their parents no longer have the legal authority to make for them.
Transforming the characters into adolescents who reach young adulthood near the end of the story would be a major rewrite. I'm not saying you shouldn't do it, but you shouldn't do it and expect it to be the same story about the same characters doing the same things as before.
-A.
i say if you chop too much you'll lose the value of the greatness that was the story. granted maybe a few things should be "edited" but not all. if they cant handle the nookie, they should go read something lame like most other wanna be romances. this was a good story of love and triumph, can't change that.
ReplyDeleteI think the graphic sexual scenes add some dimension that the story would miss if you took them out. A lot of people don't see handicapped people as sexual let alone highly sexual. The sex scenes are real and authentic and it helps paint the picture of everyone being able to love in a similar fashion.
ReplyDeleteThank you all for your feedback and I have decided to keep the adult content just as it is. There is an important element to the story that I'm afraid to tamper with. Even though I can reach a broader readership if it wasn't mature content but that content is what made the story so important.
ReplyDeleteThanks again for the valuable insight!