Podcast Summary: "Nic Stone on Making the Jump from YA to Adult Fiction"

Bad On Paper
Hosts: Becca Freeman & Olivia Muenter
Guest: Nic Stone
Date: October 15, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Becca and Olivia sit down with acclaimed author Nic Stone to discuss her transition from writing young adult (YA) fiction to releasing her debut adult novel, Boomtown—a genre-bending thriller set in an Atlanta strip club. The conversation delves into Nic’s creative process, the social themes explored in her new book, differences between publishing and promoting YA vs. adult fiction, and her desire to break stigmas around sex work.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Nic Stone’s Author Origin Story

• Delayed Start in Writing:
  • Nic didn’t always know she’d be a writer; she started writing at 27, despite always loving books and stories.
    • "I started writing when I was 27. I'm like, 40... But the more that I write, the more I realize I probably always wanted to." – Nic Stone [10:57]
• YA as a Starting Point:
  • She gravitated to children’s books because adolescence was a period she finally understood.
  • She wrote the books she wished she’d had as a young girl.
• Pivot to Adult Fiction:
  • Recently, Nic recognized it was time for a new challenge.
    • "We are 39. We could totally do this for grownups too." [11:39]
  • Ongoing bans of her YA books inspired her to write something unbannable:
    • "So I get banned a lot in the children's literature space. So this is my, like, big middle finger that's like, oh, okay, sure. Ban my books about kids. ... I'll just write about strippers... this won't be in high schools anyway..." – Nic Stone [12:08-12:16]

"Boomtown": Concept, Themes & Structure

• Book Pitch:
  • Boomtown = P. Valley meets Gone Girl.
    • "It follows an erotic dancer who decides to investigate after two of her colleagues go missing within, like, a year of each other." – Nic Stone [12:29]
  • While marketed as a thriller, Nic emphasizes it has a literary bent and defies thriller conventions.
• Personal Inspiration:
  • Grew up with exposure to dancers through her dad (police officer handling dancer permits).
  • Trained exotic dancers as a personal trainer.
• Challenging Stigmas:
  • The novel explores the humanity and complexity of sex workers, especially Black women.
    • "There's almost this notion that it's okay to dehumanize these women because of what they decide to do for a living. And I just think that's complete bullshit." – Nic Stone [14:02]
• Social Commentary:
  • Book inspired partly by the media’s uneven attention to missing persons (e.g., Gabby Petito vs. missing Black women).
  • Themes of power, privilege, self-empowerment, and control over one’s body.

Transitioning from YA to Adult Fiction

• Creative Process:
  • Ideas percolate for years; each project gets its own composition notebook.
    • "I think about everything for a long time before I sit down and start writing." – Nic Stone [15:22]
• Freedom & Learning Curve:
  • Writing for adults means fewer restrictions (no need for tidy endings or curriculum suitability).
    • "I can just write for the sake of entertaining. Like, there doesn't have to be a lesson." [16:08]
  • Learning to embrace an unrestricted, “grown” perspective in her writing.
• Publishing Side:
  • Although the adult novel is with a different publishing house, Nic is buoyed by support from her team and existing track record.
    • "It's okay if I'm debuting to them. I have a really solid team behind me who believes in me..." [19:04]

Research and Portrayal of Sex Work

• Immersive Research:
  • Visited strip clubs, interviewed dancers both on and off the job.
    • "Writing off my strip club visits was absolutely delightful. It's research. I was doing research." – Nic Stone [21:04]
  • Found dancers open and eager to share their experiences—valued the nonjudgmental space.
• Perspectives & Stereotypes:
  • Sought to portray sex workers as empowered, multidimensional people rather than default victims.
    • "It was a lot of fun doing this research. Also really enlightening... women who use their bodies to make a living catch a really bad rap... For me, this is a book that is not only about power and privilege, but it's also about... Self empowerment and living in the body that belongs to you and taking ownership of that body in spite of circumstances that tell you you're not allowed to." [21:27-22:04]

Novel Structure & Writing Techniques

• Multiple POVs & Nonlinear Timelines:
  • The story unfolds through multiple perspectives (at least five), alternating between past (Lucky’s POV) and present (Lyric’s POV).
    • "I don't know how to write a straightforward book. I've never succeeded at it." – Nic Stone [24:46]
  • Inspired by Jennifer Egan's A Visit from the Goon Squad.
  • Nic is a meticulous outliner; she builds her novels like puzzles.
    • "Plot puzzles are my most favorite thing." [27:30]

Thematic Discussion: Compassion, Empathy, and Power

• Women Making Hard Choices:
  • At its core, Boomtown is about women doing the best they can with limited choices.
    • "Everyone that you meet is doing the best they can with what they have. ... all of these women, every single woman in this book has some kind of hardship..." – Nic Stone [31:16]
  • Hopes the book fosters more empathetic readings of people’s lives beyond surface judgments.
• Refusing Objectification:
  • Men in club scenes are intentionally anonymous; focus is on the women’s agency and interiority.
    • "It is super important to me that when people read this book, they recognize that every single woman who makes a conscious decision to engage in sex work, she knows what she's doing, right?" – Nic Stone [36:54]
  • Acknowledges the collaborative role of her editor and beta reader in ensuring the women’s empowerment rings true.

Additional Notable Discussions

• Male Feminist Editor:
  • Nic explicitly calls out and appreciates having a male editor who is a true feminist and supports Black culture.
    • "He's the goatist of goats." [38:07]
• Breast Cancer Plotline:
  • Explores issues often left unaddressed, including the intersection of sex work and health struggles like cancer.
    • "It just made sense for me as a writer to make sure it's clear that these women's lives are very complex... And that is at the core of the story." – Nic Stone [40:26-41:37]
• Teens Reading Adult Books:
  • Nic predicts Boomtown may find an audience with teen girls, citing her own experience "reading up" as a teenager.
• Marketing and Audience Differences:
  • Marketing adult fiction feels “boxless”—more spontaneous and wide-ranging, compared to targeted school-gatekeeper marketing for YA.
    • "There's just. There's no, like, rails. ... I'm like, what is this? So we're just, we're going to see how this goes. I don't know." – Nic Stone [46:01]
• Audiobook:
  • Features a full cast of five narrators, including Nic herself (whose POV remains a spoiler).
    • "I do one of the POVs." [48:24]
• Future Projects:
  • More adult and children's books forthcoming; sees this as "expansion" not "transition."
    • "The next adult book is 2027 and there will be another adult thriller. Ready? Thrillerary. It's like a thrillerary novel." – Nic Stone [49:06]

Memorable Quotes

• On Breaking Stigma:
  • "There's almost this notion that it's okay to dehumanize these women because of what they decide to do for a living. And I just think that's complete bullshit." – Nic Stone [14:02]
• On Creative Process:
  • "Plot puzzles are my most favorite thing... That part of the creative process when it comes to writing is my absolute favorite...when, like, something clicks and you're like, that's it." – Nic Stone [27:30]
• On Empowerment:
  • "What we can control is how we think about things, the stories we tell ourselves about things." – Nic Stone [36:54]
• On Audience:
  • "I do think that there will be some high school kids, some girls specifically who are, who get really into this. Like I just have a hunch about it and I kind of hope it happens just because I want people to read what they want to read." – Nic Stone [43:10]
• On Making Up Words (about 'thrillerary'):
  • "Thriller but it's literary—thrillerary." – Nic Stone [49:30]

Important Timestamps

• Nic’s Author Story: [10:57–12:16]
• Boomtown’s Inspiration & Pitch: [12:29–15:00]
• Switching to Adult Fiction: [15:22–16:43]
• Publishing/Marketing Differences: [17:09–19:04] / [46:01–47:51]
• Researching Strip Club Life: [21:04–24:19]
• Narrative Structure: [24:46–28:46]
• Themes of Choice & Empathy: [31:16–33:52]
• Portraying Power in the Club: [34:57–37:50]
• Breast Cancer Storyline: [38:29–42:03]
• Teen vs Adult Readership: [42:42–45:36]
• Audiobook Details: [48:24–48:44]
• What’s Next for Nic: [49:06–49:31]

Notable Moments

• Nic’s playful yet passionate calling out of book bans and stigmas.
• The candid look into both the business and emotional side of changing literary genres.
• Honest discussion about the realities and perceptions of sex work in fiction and in society.
• Nic’s collaboration with a feminist male editor.
• Introduction of the "thrillerary" genre term.

Conclusion

This episode offers a behind-the-scenes look at both the thematic depth and the industry realities of making the leap from YA to adult fiction. Nic Stone shares not only her creative journey with Boomtown but also the threads of empowerment and resistance that run through her work—and her life. The conversation is packed with candid, funny, and insightful moments for readers and aspiring writers alike.