Several weeks ago I received an email from an author I’d never met asking me if I’d like to participate in her multi-author panel during the 2007 Romantic Times Booklovers Convention. Since the convention is in Houston and I live in Houston I had already planned to attend, so I thought appearing on a panel might be fun. And then I read further and saw the topic of the panel.
Multicultural Romances
I wrote her back and said, “You know I’m white, right?” And then it hit me. If that was the first thing that came to mind, something was wrong, and what was wrong was that I had fallen into the trap of thinking the concept of “multicultural romance” – a marketing term – could only apply to books written by authors of color about characters of color. Why would I think such a thing when culture and color are not synonymous at all?
The author had come to me after reading an early copy of my December release from Kensington Brava. Her editor had sent her the book and suggested me as a possible panelist. You see, my book features a Caucasian heroine and a hero who is black. Note that I did not call him African-American.
Though he was born in the States and later schooled in the States, he spent most of his life on an island in the Caribbean and considers himself a “San Toriscan.” His ancestry is African, his citizenship dual, but his cultural influence is that of the island.
It shows in his pattern of speech. It shows in the folklore he relates to the young girl he mentors. It shows in his outlook on life which is at odds with that of the heroine. And that’s what makes the book multicultural.
I live and work in the fourth largest city in the States. I ride the Metro into downtown every day along with people of European, African, Asian, Indian, and Latin American ethnicities. It would be disingenuous of me not to include the world I know when writing about that world in my books. In fact, it would never occur to me not to.
In one of my books I wrote a secondary romance between an African-American couple. He grew up on the streets. She grew up in the church. (Talk about a cultural difference!) I wrote another secondary romance between an Asian female and a male character from El Salvador who had crossed the border illegally as a teen. I wrote a primary romance between a Caucasian hero and a second generation Asian-American heroine, and have had many readers write and ask for her brother’s story.
I know from reader mail that the culture – and color – of my readership is just as diverse as that of my characters. But my stories are not about color or culture. They are about romance. I don’t write from a soapbox, or stand on any platform. I write about human beings falling in love, and willing to face adversity brought on by their differences. I write about people like the ones I work with and talk to on a daily basis. Close your eyes, eavesdrop on our conversations, and you won’t be able to tell who is black, who is white, and who is a bit of both.
Will my characters encounter difficulties because of their backgrounds? Sure they will. Izzy and Baron did in WICKED GAMES. Hector and Angie did in INFATUATION. Ezra and Alexa did in BEYOND A SHADOW. But issues of culture or ethnicity or skin color are not the crux of these characters’ stories. Love is, because love is the core of multicultural romance.
Related posts:
I loved Hector and Angie! One of the reasons is because despite their cultural differences, they had a lot in common that brought them together. It didn’t matter where they were from as far as compatibility goes; they shared traits and experiences that made them understand each other.
I have to admit that I actually enjoyed their story a bit more than the main characters (which I enjoyed a lot), partly because it wasn’t a quick and easy HEA. And I also felt it was similar to what I see around me – friends, coworkers, family – who get together and try to make a relationship work. Real life is diverse – why shouldn’t our books also be?
[...] Alison talks about multi-culturalism in romance on Romancing The Blog. [...]
Even if the main characters aren’t of non-caucasian ancestries, it is great to see multi-cultural characters in books. There are still mono-places around the U.S., but most of us live surrounded by many cultures. I make sure I have characters of different ethnicities, religions etc. sharing the world with my main characters because that’s how I live. Not only my friends but my spouse are multi-ethnic. I’m looking forward to writing the sequel to the latest book I sold, because I have a non-Caucasian hero for the first time in that one!
I’m glad you actually included other ethnic groups when you took a deeper look at the term multicultural romance. People seem to forget the ‘multi’ part of that word. You’ll make a good addition to that panel.
Great post Alison. It pulled me out of lurk mode. As someone who is “a bit of both,” I read this saying “hear hear” to myself.
I live in Toronto, the 5th largest city in North America, and my books (not published) reflect the multiculturalism that surrounds me. I’m always amazed at books that have a big city setting and everyone is white.
Kimber An – one that comes to mind is Suzanne Brockmann. I also read a Harlequin Intrigue within the last year that had black heroine and a white hero. And they were on the cover! Sorry, I can’t remember the name or the author, but you may be able to find it on eHarlequin’s book store.
My book Things To Do has several characters from a variety of backgrounds. I live in the Uk and have friends from all kinds of backgrounds. To me, as a contemporary writer, my stories have to reflect the world that I know. Hopefully that makes it realistic for readers.
Terrific post!
Great post Alison. I’ll be looking for those books.
But, an admonition about the panel, be prepared to discuss how it feels to be free to write black characters and not be hampered as far as wide distribution and majority readership as any black romance author is, regardless of their citizenship.
Wayne Jordan is a black man from the Islands and he can’t dream of writing the same character you did with the same distribution and advantages a nonblack author would get.
Why aren’t these readers who crave multiculturalism in their romance reading our books which are already genuine multicultural? My friend Donna Hill wrote a romance where the hero was raised in Japan. How many have heard of that one? There are already many romances out there with African heroes or ones from the Islands.
I have a novella excerpt posted on my blog with a Jewish hero. I get no props for branching out and writing him. It doesn’t matter how many white secondary characters I write, my distribution will still be as limited through the same publisher as yours is huge–because of MY race.
Authors who are aware enough to write realistic multiculturalism should also be aware about the automatic privilege and advantages they enjoy other authors. Another popular author who’s written black characters also told me she only writes about people falling in love. She seemed unaware she’s only able to blithely dismiss race and “just write about people falling in love” because she’s white.
Race in romance is way more than merely writing human beings falling in love, IMO.
[...] Alison Kent has a great post on RTB about writing multiculturally. Alison is a white author, no trouble finding her books in the stores, readers. [...]
I second Monica on the main subject that needs to be addressed, and I too will be looking out for those books. The main thing that does get me is the fact that we do live in a multicultural society, but the mainstream romance genre tends to feature white characters, and if multicultural characters are introduced, it’s for some sort of “exotic” angle (that more often than not, is stereotypical. HP’s Shieks and Italians anyone?), or the multicultural characters could really be “Anglo-Saxon”. But then again, the social levels of working-class, blue-collar, non-titled, middle-class, etc are often underepresented (esp in historicals).
[...] Over at RTB, Alison Kent discusses the concept of the multi-cultural romance. Posted by Camilla @ 4:48 pm | Camilla’s Posts [...]
I may get razzed for this, but I’m reminded of the old days of cinema, when non-white characters were portrayed by whites in black, yellow, and red face. Mickey Rooney’s awful portrayal of the Asian in Breakfast at Tiffany’s comes to mind. The so-called Indians in the early westerns come to mind too.
My point is that these ‘non-white’ characters were accepted by the general population because they came to us via WHITE actors. Black music was redistributed back in the fifties and re-sung by whites, whereas white audiences were initially standoffish about black music, until whites began singing and recording it.
To me, it’s the same with fiction. Suzanne Brockmann and other white authors are free to write black characters and are lauded for it. Many white readers have no problems reading these characters because the author penning them is like them. White.
But let a black author try the same thing?
Don’t hate me for speaking the truth. Denial isn’t just a river.
Gracie
And I didn’t think to mention the cultural differences in the characters when I blogged about the book.
The Harlequin Intrigue this year was PROTECTIVE MEASURES by Dana Marton.
wj
Protective Measures: Black heroine, white hero, white author.
I think Harlequin segregates because of business bottom lines. They tried to integrate black authors into their existing lines before Kimani, but the white Harlequin readers left our books on the shelves in comparison. We simply sell better when marketed only to our own race. Lower distribution, lower potential as an author, but at least black readers will buy our books.
It does seem interesting that white readers seem to readily accept black characters as long as they are written by an author they know is white.
The romance readers who’ve stated publicly that they won’t read black romance (and several have) are referring to books written by black authors. I savvy they consider us naturally inferior to any white author.
Where is the very long post I made!!! Somehow it seesm to have disappeared.
Allison, a great post.
Of course, I’m always heartened when I read post like this that support “the ugly step-sisters” of romance since that’s how I believe we’re seem by most of the reading public (even some blacks). I’m not even sure if we’re going to ever make the Cinderella list…
What I find sad about this situation, and I won’t talk much about that here since I’ve expressed by views else where about this.
I do fine it amusing (I say sarcastically) that when a black author writes a interracial book, it’s placed in the African-American section and when a white author writes her book’s placed in the general romance secton.
But that’s marketing I’m told!
Marketing, my ass…
Opps, was I supported to say that or not!
wj
Interesting post, Alison!
And just jumping in to say that Sharon Cullars writes multi-racial characters for Brava, and I always find her books mixed in with “white author” romance. Same with Mia Zachary.
A lot of black authors write interracial or beyond AA cultural romance. Many.
Wayne, I don’t think majority romance readers consider us to be writing in the romance genre, which you can see readily if you look at their large review sites. Even at the romance reader sites and blogs, in no way are black authors treated as other romance authors are treated.
Hispanics, Asians and east Indians in romance aren’t treated the way black authors are, but are included in the genre.
I’m sure many more black authors than you are figuratively biting their tongues and sitting on their fingers
Mia Zachery writes for Blaze so her novels will always be with the Blaze novels. Just like we can find Brenda Jackson’s Desire novels right with the other Desire novels. What we are hard pressed to find are her other novels in the romance section. And if I’m not mistaken, the majority of the characters Mia writes about are white. I haven’t read one of her novels as of yet with a lead character that was black. But that’s really not the point. I think what Monica and Wayne are saying goes beyond that. I’ve seen a few black authors in the romance section with the other romances as well. But for the most part they are segregated by the race of the author. We could always find exceptions. Heck, I’ve seen some white authors mistakenly placed in the black section because the characters or images on their covers look a little dark. There will always be some exceptions. But these things have to be highlighted when we start thinking about the wonderful points that Allison has mentioned in her post. We live in a world where people of different cultures mix and co-exist every day. We live in a world where some of us have been brave enough to love outside of our race or culture. We work and live next to one another. At the end of the day, love really doesn’t have a color or a culture. So why is it that those of us who claim to live for the reading of a great romance novel stop short at reading outside of our comfort zones, at least when the author isn’t the race we identify with. And when I say “those of us,” I mean mostly white folk, because black women have been reading white romance novels for years and still do.
“A lot of black authors write interracial or beyond AA cultural romance. Many.”
Oh, I’m sure there are! I’m just saying that when I look for one of their specific titles, I don’t have to make any extra steps to a special section. In fact, on Monday I went to Borders and found almost an entire shelf full of Monica Jackson novels mixed in with the rest of the romance. Donna Hill’s titles were prominently placed there as well.
Seems to me that either publishers or book stores need to deal with this issue of segregating books, but I’ve heard some authors say that they WANT their books in separate areas. So this seems like a really sticky issue.
It is very sticky, especially since you note that since nonblack readers don’t treat us as romance authors, and it’s a fact we sell much better when segregated where blacks can readily find our books.
So some can go with the practicality, our books sell better in all-black segregated section and most whites are not going to buy our books even if they are mixed in with theirs (I was told that the reason blacks must almost always be clearly on the cover of our books is that there is a very high return rate if whites buy them and discover the author is black).
But some go with principle, as I do. I think segregation and treating people differently because of their race is wrong. Period. Sales, money, whatever doesn’t matter.
Monica:
Is there a reason why we, black authors, don’t submit our books to white romance sites to be reviewed. I tend not too since, I want my book to be seen as a romance and not a black book.
I remember when I first book was released I submitted to a website and received a very average grade from one website. Ironically, I was told that the book would have been better if it were a full novel instead of a novella since because of its length the story didn’t worl. Capture the Sunrise was a full length single title novel (80,000+). I did inform the reviewer of that, however, no change was made to the review.
Wayne
Saw my name and thought I’d pipe in. Yes, AGAIN was mostly shelved with the mainstream romance books and in only a few exceptions was shelved in Af-Am. Ironically, this may have curbed some sales. Although I don’t have a demographic breakdown of my sales, my editor informed me that my book mostly sold to Af-Am women. In other words, it really didn’t cross over despite its location.
Monica, you bring up an interesting point about race neutral covers. AGAIN had a beautiful Af-Am woman on the cover and although she was partially nude, the cover was tasteful and didn’t scream “hootchie.” I sent an ARC to Larissa to kind of test the waters (shoutout to Larissa) and she loved the book; I got the impression from a discussion with my editor that feedback from some readers she queried indicated they weren’t “feeling” the book (even though said book was included on the reading list for the IMPAC Dublin 2008 international literary award).
My next book features a Caucasian shirtless male. And again, it will be shelved in mainstream. What do you think my returns are going to be when they realize the heroine is black? Should be an interesting bit of research.
You know, I think a lot of the issue has a lot to do with people just being confused.
Did you happen to catch the week-long Good Morning America segment on race that they did recently? They were trying to open a dialogue so that both blacks and whites could ask each other questions and learn without anyone getting huffy.
Questions like, “do I say black, African-American, colored…?”
The answers varied.
Questions about “black-only” areas came up as well, like Black Entertainment Television. A lot of white readers are probably thinking that if black programming on a special channel is desirable, why wouldn’t black books not go in a special area of a book store?
Personally, to me, romance is romance, and it should all go in the romance area. But I can see how confusion runs rampant and probably keeps white readers from questioning why black-authored books would go into a special area.
Anyway, I thought the GMA segment was great, and I hope it helped people feel more comfortable about talking about race, because until we talk openly and honestly, no changes will ever be made.
Sharon…I DID love Again! And thanks again for the ARC! I’ve recommended the book to several readers, and bought two copies as gifts. The cover was gorgeous!
Looking forward to the shirtless man book!
Wayne wrote:
“Is there a reason why we, black authors, don’t submit our books to white romance sites to be reviewed. I tend not too since, I want my book to be seen as a romance and not a black book.”
I posted this once before and didn’t get a lot of response, but let me try again. I am reviewing romances for BookPage, which is a book review organ distributed mainly at libraries. I get dozens of ARCs every month, but only one or two per month are AA romances of any sort. So maybe one thing that needs to happen to raise the visibility of black romances in the review world is to make sure the books are getting out to reviewers to READ in the first place.
Get on your editors, or send them out yourself.
And send them to BookPage. I like reading black romances and I want to be able to choose between titles.
Barbara Samuel
Thank you, Barbara. I certainly will be sending my upcoming titles.
Wayne, I can see how some black authors might still hesitate to send books to majority romance sites and blogs that exclude black authors from the genre. .
I remember what happened to me as a new author. I submitted my second book to AAR with disastrous results. My ire was raised not because of a bad review, but because my book was in no way treated the same as they treat their other romances. It was expected to be something more than a romance just because I was black.
Other black authors told me I should have checked with them first and they would have told me never to submit to AAR in the first place. AAR has recently been making efforts to consider black romance as a part of the genre, but a glance at their review and discussion boards clearly show their visitors don’t.
Now there are review sites specifically for black authors. Wayne runs one. They are necessary for the same reason BET, Ebony Magazine, Miss Black America and other all-black venues exist. We were once excluded from the white venues, so we had to create our own.
Do I think we’ll be considered a part of the romance genre anytime in the near future? Nope. But we do have a large cadre of devoted readers. Should we be practical and cultivate them rather than addressing principle and banging our heads against the racially closed door of the romance genre?
I can only hope that the author of this lovely piece, who wrote quite clearly that the skin color of a character or the skin color of a book’s author has nothing to do with the core of romance, and making the very point that seems to be at issue here, isn’t insulted at the way her essay has been hijacked.
Ruth,
Why should she be insulted? Isn’t the point of these kinds of commentaries to spark conversation? It seems odd to me that you would say this since I’ve noticed many times on this site that conversations get sparked and go off in a variety of directions. In fact, in my opinion it is a sign of a great post is when people to take the writer’s initial ideas and engage with them and add things to the discussion that the writer might not have thought of or mentioned. It’s called dialogue.
Well, see, that’s the way these tete-a-tetes usually go.
Things rarely stay on topic.
Whenever you get a bunch of writers together, everyone starts adding their own favorite veggies and spices to the stew. That’s how healthy dialogues go. They evolve and morph.
BTW, I’m enjoying the discussion. The comments have been very insightful.
What Gwyneth Bolton said.
She posted about multicultural romance. She did not make it a marketing issue, or a shelving issue. She posted about the joy of characters falling in love no matter what their background or skin color.
I read books with characters of all colors and cultures regularly no matter who the author is. But when an author starts saying that nonblack readers don’t treat black authors as romance authors, I find that personally insulting, because it’s assuming a lot about many of us who do read widely without a care as to an author’s race.
I would, in fact, wager that most readers who pick up books from the shelf have no idea of the author’s skin color unless there is a picture on the cover, and I would wager that most of us don’t care. No reader I know does. We read everything, and I think we are quite representative of the majority.
Ruth W. You completely missed the point.
Alison NEVER has to make multicultural romance a shelving or marketing issue because she’s white and ONLY because she’s white. Only nonblack authors get to ONLY consider the joy of characters falling in love no matter what their background or skin color.
But if you don’t get it, you probably aren’t, and by your response I don’t think you care about anything but your comfort level.
Have you looked at the romance sites and blogs? You truly think nonblack readers treat black romance authors as if we’re writing in the genre? Please note these majority romance sites because I must have missed them.
But maybe you do read black romance just the same as you read white romance. Maybe you know who writes romantic comedy, who wrote the novel with African royalty, who writes a lot of characters from the Islands. You know which author(s) is British, and the ones who write great romantic suspense in addition to straight romance? I’m sure you know who delivers the sizzle without fail. You’re aware of who write black cowboy romances and who usually writes interracial romances. You know the several black authors who write historical other than Beverly Jenkins, right? Who are your favorite black authors? Who knows, since you treat black romance authors so equally, you might have plenty, the same as you have favorite white authors.
Gwuyneth, don’t be discouraged. There’s no need to emotionally invest in the ethnocentric romance genre, you have your own readers–but it never hurts to hold up a mirror so folks can see the reflection they cast.
Monica – I do not visit any romance sites but this one. None of my reading friends or reading group members do either. We may visit the occasional author site, but reviews mean nothing. We make up our own minds based on plots that interest us. And I can not give you any favorite black or white authors because I don’t know the race of most of the authors I read, and I don’t care because they all tell good stories. I just read.
Ruth,
I really wish the majority of readers were like you, or at least, I wish the publishers wouldn’t continue to hold on to the archaic notion that white readers care about an author’s skin color.
For instance, one publisher believed this so wholeheartedly that they tried to force one of their black writers to change her white characters skin color to black. Yes, they sure did. Now why would they do that if they thought readers didn’t care?
If the majority of white readers were like you, Ruth, then the stats Monica Jackson mentioned about the rate of return on black authored books by white readers (that’s assuming these stats are correct) wouldn’t be a factor to publishers either. Nothing like buying a book, taking it home only to discover that {{{gasp}}} the writer isn’t who you thought he/she was.
Unfortunately, Ruth, from these two examples (and there are others) many white readers do care about the skin color of an author, or at least, this is what publishers think. How can we correct this unfortunate notion? Hmmmm. Let me think.
Perhaps if more readers like yourself would let them know how you really feel, then authors like the one I mentioned wouldn’t have to crayola her characters brown, and publishers would stop thinking white readers care if they see a black face on the back of a book jacket.
Just sayin’.
Gracie
Hey Alison,
But issues of culture or ethnicity or skin color are not the crux of these characters’ stories. Love is, because love is the core of multicultural romance.
Okay, so you know I’m feelin’ you on this, chica
. As you know, I primarily write interracial and multicultural romance. I dig it. I love to read about differences in culture how two folks come together, totally lovin’ one another, despite whatever odds they had, race, class, culture or whatever. Oh, and uh…I like to write it HOT.
I’m glad that my publishers, particularly Kensington, as well as Ellora’s Cave, allow me to write it as I want, I have free reign
My choice is to write multicultural and interracial romance because the world we live in isn’t lilly white, and neither is it black world. It’s a blending of so many races, cultures, nationalities, that to deny this, ignore it in romance and pretend as though it doesn’t exist, is ludicrous in my opinon. But hell…whatever floats each writers boat, cause like big momma said, everything ain’t for everybody. So I write what is in my heart, I write my passion.
Thanks chica for agreeing to be on my panel, btw. It’ll be the bomb fo sho! Oh and btw, Beyond the Shadow was hot to DEATH, loved it. But for your next multicultural romance, how about you and I talk about collaborating on an erotic multicultural romance with a beautiful black woman and a fine ass white man…what say you?
See you in Houston, mami
Much love,
Kim
I was on deadline and missed this when it went up.
I’ve been a partner in an interracial marriage for 26 years and the father of three racially blended children for 24, 21, and 15 years. And I am still learning about race in this country. (There are a couple of posts about this over in my live journal, and I have a whole lot more I mean to write some day.)
There’s a lot I can say on this, (In fact I just deleted a long and meandering post.) But I think a lot has been said already.
Marketing of books by the race of the author is not fair and it’s not right. BUT I understand the bottom line reasons why book publishers and sellers do it.
People are creatures of habit. Most white readers will go to the aisles they’re familiar with — not because they’re avoiding writers of color, but because that’s where they always go. If nonwhite authors were presented on the same aisle — without additional grapics a white art director thinks reflects the cultural identity they have in their heads for the “minority market” — white readers would pick them up. I make a point of seeking out nonwhite writers, and I can say the African American aisles are completely unkown territory to most white readers. A white shopper in B&N is unlikely to know where they are. We trust what we are familiar with. The risk is in taking the chance — and making the effort — to explore that which is not familiar.
As a white writer, I worry about authentic representaion of black characters. Some of this concern stems from my lack of inside-the-skin experience. Part of it is cultural limitations I perceive as deliniating what I can and can not say. Because 90% of my social contacts are within the black — and southern black — community. I know a lot of words and phrases common to this culture I can’t use. The minute they came out of my mouth — or my keyboard — I’d be labeled a racist.
I am a strong advocate of multicultural stories of all genre and mainstream. I’m also an advocate of “colorblind” marketing. And I’ve been beaten up from both sides of the question for my lack of understanding about how the world really works.
‘lack of inside-the-skin experience’ That’s a phrase I’ll remember!:wink:
Got to say I loved reading your article and that I absoluty love to read about multiculture relationships. Its interesting see them grow and to love and to fight for there love. To me those are the best romances in the world when you mix with other cultures its a challenge but hey you can’t fight love.:grin:
As a lifelong reader who’s black, I will read ANYTHING and can enjoy it even if the chracters don’t look like me. Some of my all-time favourite characters like Menolly of Pern (Anne McCaffrey’s spunky young heroine) and Jamie Fraser (Diana Gabaldon’s greatest creation, next to Claire of course) are NOT black, and yet both possess qualities that I find universally appealing.
To be perfectly frank, I find it the height of sheer ignorance that many white readers cannot or will not give the same benefit of the doubt to writers of colour/multicultural romances. I mean if the book is a ROMANCE, then what’s the problem folks? In the end it’s all about LOVE, right?
Perhaps there are some reasons for this discomfort. Perhaps many white readers are so super-saturated in stereotyped notions that black culture (a la BET and MTV) that they may believe love/strong and stable relationships do not exist in black culture. Nothing could be farther from the truth and ironically, many of the writers of multicultural romances are in secure and stable and loving relationships themselves. Perhaps there’s some internalized racism going on – a belief that anything written by a black author has to be second or third-rate.
Either way, my patience with such stupidity (and yes folks, it IS stupidity) is at an end. We’re headed into 2007 and it’s time to get with the program. If it’s truly about the romance, then leave the excuses at the door.