u/CheriRadke

Asking because I'm an author, and a surprising number of Goodreads reviewers have expressed confusion over my book's Adult categorization, which was assigned by the publisher.

This has been confusing to me in turn, since the book has a 40-year-old protagonist whose age is quite necessary for the story, so it absolutely could not have been categorized as YA (which requires a teen protagonist!). I've been so puzzled what exactly people think an adult title is supposed to be like, since the reviewers are mostly nonspecific about it.

Finally it clicked that people are phrasing their confusion as if they think Adult vs YA vs MG is a content warning system like MPAA ratings. Certainly if the book were a film, it would be rated PG-13. Is that what people think?

Hello, r/ Fantasy! AN ACCIDENT OF DRAGONS is my debut novel, and it just came out on Tuesday! Seeing my book in stores for the first time this week has been wild, and I'm still overwhelmed with it all. I live in northern California with my husband and cat, and when I'm not reading or writing, I love hiking and being outdoors.

Book Summary:

>In theory, the dragoness of Summer can make any resident on her island the ruler, if the previous Lord Summer is so careless as to die without an heir. In practice, absolutely no one expected her to choose Teddy, the last lord's middle-aged fancy man. With his quick wit, heaps of charisma, and excellent dress sense, Teddy brings plenty of virtues to his new role, but statecraft, pedigree, and decorum are not among them. That's all right: he's done his duty to the island, and his five-year-old daughter, Zinnia, will make a brilliant Lady Summer when her time comes.

>Except when a ship of desperate mainlander thieves arrives, Zinnia's caught in the fracas and taken hostage. Teddy jumps into the rescue mission without delay, even though his days of adventures on the mainland are long buried with his lover. But his sailors have never seen their destination, and worse, the hard-liner admiral who leads them thinks Teddy's a worthless dandy. Against a conniving robber baron, a sorceress who's tamed her own dragon, and ordinary people with everything to lose, the crew faces terrible odds. But with all he loves in danger, Teddy must prove there's more to him than he'd ever intended to show.

My instagram is here: https://www.instagram.com/cheriradke/

Book landing page here: https://www.kensingtonbooks.com/cheriradke/

Picture of me and a cat tax:

https://preview.redd.it/je4drroq7cyg1.jpg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=faa02f7a8ca46363c5853b71f298e1cd68ffe65c

https://preview.redd.it/zwtfmtoq7cyg1.jpg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=58970015239ec0013c12e37a66d280ba3ba76ea4

EDIT: For anyone who might discover this post late (or if you come up with a question after reading the book and wish to come back), feel free to ask questions anytime! I am an actual redditor, and I intend to keep this account active, so I'll see questions whenever.