I’m also a sucker for AA chick lit – have a signed copy of Francis Ray’s “Like The First Time” that I’m itching to dig into when time permits.

Time, space and budget contraints have specifically changed my romance buying habits; these are the books that seem to be breeding behind my back. I seldom browse boookstores and have returned to reading Romantic Times and romance related websites to better select books that relate to my wips and/or contain what I consider intriguing content. I’m also buying more ebooks.

I’m white, and I admit I don’t read african-american romances, and until I read the ATBF article, I hadn’t really thought about WHY I don’t.

When I was a kid and a teenager I read about black characters all the time. I remember several of my all-time favorite books–”Striped Ice Cream” (Great first reader book! I even sought it out as an adult and re-read it.), “Wolf by the Ears”, and “My Name is not Angelica”–In these books I had NO problem identifying with the heroine or any of the other characters, and race just really wasn’t a consideration when I picked up books. In fact, one of my favorite series when I was young was the “Gymnasts” series and one of the several heroines of that series was black, and she was the one I identified most strongly with.

So why haven’t my childhood tastes grown into a love of reading AA romances? I have a couple of theories–
#1–I really only read historicals. When I read contemporaries, it’s only because I’ve “followed” a favorite historical author. I’m not a big fan of Chick-lit or most contemporaries, and I haven’t seen an AA romance that wasn’t one or the other.

#2 I have read some AA romances in the past, when they were an impulse buy at a check out, or when the UBS is having a deal and they’re not expensive. The ones I read just didn’t have themes to my liking. In the same way that I can’t stand reading about cowboys and small-town sherriffs I really dislike reading about bounty hunters or private investigators or cops–The AA romances I read all had heros who were in the army or law-enforcment or some other very “macho” proffession.

#3–I like Beta heros. Most (esp. older) Johanna Lindsey books have major Alpha-he-man, heros and I can’t stand them. The AA romances I read all had VERY ALPHA! heros, which is a turn-off for me

Does the color of the character’s skin matter to me? I can honestly say it doesn’t. One of my favorite romance books is a harlequin I also got when the UBS was thinning it’s stock, and it was an Native-American romance. The hero was smart, and sweet, and sensitive, and I fell in love with him right away. Race was actually a big part of the book–The heroine wanted to forget her heritage and go make a life for herself far away from where she grew up, and the Hero wanted to stay on the reservation as a teacher. It wasn’t preachy, and the conflict was affected because of their race, but only because it was such a part of their identities, and to me it didn’t overwhelm the overarching LOVE-story aspect. Their race wasn’t WHO they were, but a PART of who they were. I don’t have any problems identifying or enjoying this type of book.

So…can anyone point me to a historical with a nice beta hero who isn’t in law enforcement? Cause I’ll pick it up.

My one complaint, and this is with the book stores, is that it’s true that they don’t shelve AA romance with regular romance. I randomly browse in the romance section when I don’t have anything specific I’m looking for, and I’ll pick up anything that looks interesting…(Every once in a while I’ll even pick up a western if the plot seems good enough)–I admit it doesn’t occur to me to go seek out the AA romance in their own section–but if I were to pick one up that looked interesting in the romance section, I would read it.

Come to think of it, that’s how I picked up those children & YA books that are still favorites. They weren’t off in their own “African-American” section, they were with all the other books, and they called to me, and I loved them, end of story. That’s how it should be for AA romances too.

They did do their job, though, introducing me to some fabulous authors!

I’m reading an African American Chicklit right now–MADE OF HONOR by Marilynn Griffith–and I love the cultural aspect that comes through, it’s so sassy and cool.

And I’m thinking, If I’m ever published, I want other non-Asian readers to think the same thing about my novels. I want them to have fun reading and enjoy the culture and laugh and fall and love with the heroine, even though and especially because she’s from a different American racial subculture.

Camy Tang

Great comments. I could write a lot here, to reply to some of the things said. Agreeing on the white dude thing–never been really attracted to one, either. Still, for me, it’s not the hero’s skin color that makes me fall for him, but the way he treats the heroine.

And the comments about sweet deserts, well even diffent brands of chocolate have different quality and standards. Of course I don’t expect a reader to pick up every AA romance and fall in love–or even like–because the story may not do anything for them. Just as I prefer Hershey’s over Nestle, the authors voice and style has to also appeal. But I wouldn’t pass over a candy bar (or other sweet treat) just because it was one I was unfamilar with.

I’d ask the same thing about AA romance. Check out the covers, read the back, flip through the pages to get a feel for voice and style, just as you would any new (or new to you) author. And don’t paint them all with the same brush, if the first doesn’t hit home, just as you wouldn’t stop reading a genre if you read one or two wall bangers. I don’t like them all, either….but there are those that have kept me up all night until the final ‘I love you’.

Monica, I’m sorry to see the Big Girls go, too. That’s disappointing.

Alyssa, thank you. And thank you all who’ve taken the time to engage in this discussion.

Alison, your commentary is quite interesting. I’ll look for that essay. I’ve always wondered how BW/WM books do with white readers. Do they go over better? I just wrote one, the first white hero I’ve ever written. There’s no indication on the cover/back copy of the white hero, and it’s not written as a cross over but for a black line. I’m curious too.

I, too, have never read an african american romance. Not ‘intentionally’, or because I didn’t think I’d like them, it just never came up. It’s time for me to go looking for it, and bring it up.

Thanks again. Wonderful article.