Honestly? The reason I moved to writing adult fantasy is because YA burned me out. Too many readers asking why my books aren't "sexier". Too many wanting "tropes" instead of what my book is actually about,

and then complaining when the "tropes" they like aren't white in my book

And while there's a bigger push now than when I started, patterns have shifted from white-led books to books that "feel" POC. Which means to most readers, there is no difference between books written by actual POC, and just POC-led books. Both are treated as genuine.

And it feels like an aesthetic. Most don't bother differentiating between POC authors who rely on their lived experiences to write YA books & authors just in it for the marketing. The problem is that YA became inadvertently marketed this way. If it *looks* diverse, get in here!

I write YA because I never got to read books as a teenager that acted or looked like me.

But now, adult fantasy is more appealing to me specifically because it feels like I'm not analyzed for who I am first before writing what I have. And it feels a lot more freeing.

They have forgotten, yup. I have talked to teenage readers who feel like the adults are pushing them out of YA spaces, and that's why it's starting to feel like I'm not even writing for teenagers anymore, based on what people seem to want this market. https://twitter.com/ahistorybookpge/status/1388303517664874500?s=20

**from this market

Good news! Adult fantasy books *are* sexier! My vampire book will be! But if you're disappointed that my love interests aren't white tough balls because my vampire deuteragonists STILL aren't white, and in fact neither is my short king vampire hunter