February is Black History Month. In a rare moment of serendipity, a new entry into the annals of black history was written. Tony Dungy, the head football coach of the Indianapolis Colts became the first black coach to win a Superbowl. This history making event had actually been predetermined two weeks earlier when Lovie Smith's Bears won the NFC Championship and Tony Dungy's Colts won the AFC Championship. A black head coach was going to be crowned during the Superbowl. The question was only which one.
In 2002, the NFL adopted the “Rooney Rule” which required all teams to consider a full complement of races when making hiring decisions. In practice, it is widely acknowledged that you must interview one minority candidate for each position. The rule was given teeth when the NFL fined the Detroit Lions $200,000.00 when it choose to hire Steve Marucci as its next head coach without interviewing any minority candidates.
Some inside sports decried this fine because Detriot had wanted Marucci and only Marucci. Why drag some poor African American coach up for a cursory and token interview? Yet, since the Rooney Rule was implemented, the number of minority coaches has tripled to six. Affirmative action seems to be working within the NFL. Should there be some type of similar affirmative action in romance?
A week ago, a fellow blogger asked me why I didn't read more African American romance. This was days before a certain scuffle on the internet erupted. Said blogger got me to thinking and I have been going over this in my mind for days now and this is the distilled results.
When I examined my reading habits I know that I don't particularly care what color the characters are. I've read characters that are Black, Asian, Hispanic, Native American, Muslim. I've read authors that are Black, Asian, Hispanic, Native American and Muslim. It is the packaging, then, that must be holding me back.
If I am making race based decisions as a reader, is that wrong? For example, I am Asian. I have lived a unique life as an Asian American and I have found I like to read stories that reflect that experience. There are certain commonalities. When I was perusing the Little Brown catalog for young readers last year, I saw a book entitled: Nothing But the Truth (and a Few White Lies) by Justina Chen Headley. It was a story about a teenaged girl dealing with only in parts: part white, part Asian and never a whole. That story resonated with me, along with stories from Cara Lockwood.
Is it racist of me to gravitate toward themes and stories which have similarities to my own experience?
If I read characters that are of different cultures and ethnicities, does that make me non racist? I.e., I have read Howl by Raine Weaver featuring an African American heroine. I haven't reviewed that book because I haven't read the rest of the anthology, but it was quite good. I enjoyed the Kyra Moray series featuring an interracial couple and another Deanna Lee book, Undressing Mercy, featuring an interracial couple. Alison Kent's Beyond a Shadow featured a mixed couple. The hero is not African American but rather Caribbean. Suzanne Brockmann wrote Harvard’s Education, the first featuring black couple to grace the covers of a category romance novel. Shelly Laurentson's The Distressing Damsel features a woman with “soft brown skin” and “[b]ig brown eyes.”
Of the above books, only Ms. Weaver and Ms. Laurentson are African American. So is it that I am intentionally excluding African American authors from my reading list? I honestly don't know that many African American authors. I bought and read Kayla Perrin’s Getting Even. I know that Sharon Cullars is and I bought her Aphrodisia, Again, during the great Aphro purchase of 2006 but haven't read it along with three other Aphrodisia's such as Vivi Anna's Hell Kat. I've bought some Brenda Jackson but haven't read her along with Jo Leigh. I don't know that I can honestly say that I've consciously chosen not to read African American authors.
Should I be seeking them out? What about the poor Asian midlist authors such as Jade Lee and Gennita Low? Shouldn't I support these ladies? And didn't I show just how racist I am not by supporting Nalini Singh? She's Indian and her heroine is some mongrel mixed race person.
When I was first asked, my knee jerk response was that I was lazy. I didn't see any romances featuring African Americans in the regular romance aisle. I read a lot of paranormals and don't see any paranormals featuring African Americans. Surely, if the books were side by side, I would make my decision based on blurb alone. I felt confident in myself recalling the Avon books I had been sent this month. Gimme an O by Kayla Perrin featured a philandering married man as the hero and a sex therapist as a heroine. Infidelity and already married? No thanks. How about Hot Boyz by Marissa Monteilh featuring three perfect dreams that are shattered and a family shaken to its core with legacies of loss and obligation, tragedy and madness, threatening everything the Wilson brothers have worked for. Doesn't sound like a romance. (note that these are all marked “Fiction” on the spine).
Then I got to thinking. What about the ebooks, Jane? Every month I cruise Fictionwise, Ereader, and Harlequin looking for new books. I would look at the “Luna” line. More recently I looked at the Blaze line or the Nocturne line. Never once have I looked at the Kimani Press line.
Why not? Ultimately it came down to this and I cringe when I read it in print. I made the assumption that the themes of these books would be more urban in nature or more like the Toni Morrison books I’ve read which have all been very women’s fiction-y. I felt awful when I reached this conclusion.
Surely, I can't be racist. My second mother, one to whom I send flowers to every mother's day and has been an influential part of my life since college, is African American. Nearly every African American I have been exposed to has been college educated and professional. So why would I assume that the stories in the books published under the Kimani imprint be any different than their stories or my story, frankly? It’s a bit lowering. No, shameful, to have examined myself and found this. (of course, I do have preconceived notions about Harlequin Presents line too).
Obviously I was making a race based assumption and a wrong one at that. Last night I perused the blurbs for about 15 Kimani Press books. They sounded like every other category romance out there. Some filled with babies. Others filled with CIA operatives. Some with Deserts and Sheiks. (The latter one I bought).
The fact it is that publishers aren't marketing to me but that is because I am not buying. If more non African American readers began buying books featuring African Americans wouldn't the publishers market those books to everyone, instead of special group of individuals. Ned says that the decision to put African Americans in their own special place is akin to going to the movie theatre and having a camera identify you as white and then exclude movies like Drum Line or Stomp the Yard. If you wanted to see those movies, you would have to go to a special section of the theatre, plus you have to actually know that it exists. That is so ridiculous.
This is a double edged sword though. Are African American authors going to lose sales at a greater rate of gaining sales by moving to the main romance section.
Ultimately the question is whether we as readers, booksellers, bloggers, word of mouth purveyors have a moral obligation to read outside our ethnicities. Should we institute the Rooney Rule and read one author a month that is not Caucasion. Wouldn't that go a long way in abrogating race based assumptions? I know that I, personally, am going to make a greater effort to read other ethnicities, including but not limited to, African American authors. But, I am still not reading the Kayla Perrin book.
Janine commented to me
Fantasies are not always politically correct. If a reader prefers to read about dominant alpha heroes, does that mean she is sexist? If a reader prefers to read about British aristocrats, does that mean that she supports a class system and opposes democracy and equality? If a reader doesn’t seek out books with Jewish characters, does that make her anti-Semitic? I don’t mean these as rhetorical questions, I think they are worth asking.
Something else to think about is that it can be tough to find a truly great book, regardless of its author’s race or religion. In search of that great book we online readers often rely on the recommendations of other readers and review sites, as well as on bestseller lists. If we don’t get recommendations for books by minority authors, or see those authors on bestseller lists, we may end up not buying or reading their books, without any conscious intent to avoid them. Is what’s needed here a kind of affirmative action program for minority authors? Would something like that work in the context of a recreational activity like reading, that people do for fun?
Jayne responded:
Speaking for myself, I don’t actively go out looking for AA authors but I don’t try to avoid their books either. If a plot or hook interested me, I’d read one. But I’m not going on some quota system for something which, as Janine points out, is a recreational activity for me. This is supposed to be fun time. If we were a professional review site, then maybe we would need to insure that we cover a broader spectrum.
Karen Scott is running a survey of race in romance and is seeking out African American authors to answer it. I hope she gets her 100 participants as I am truly interested in what the survey will reveal.
“Ultimately the question is whether we as readers, booksellers, bloggers, word of mouth purveyors have a moral obligation to read outside our ethnicities. Should we institute the Rooney Rule and read one author a month that is not Caucasion.”
No, uh huh, never no way. I get the heebie jeebies just….wait a min…this is so cool, you can see what you type as you type in the preview….no way…nice.
Back to the scheduled program: Ok, I actually just re-read your comment and my ‘uh huh no way’ is with specific reference to readers who I strongly feel can read whatever the hell they want.
A lot of commenters on Karen/Monica/MrsG’s blogs have been saying: I didn’t even know there was an AA section in the bookstores, maybe I’ll go over there.
If they really are interested in reading books featuring AA (or just plain black) characters then fine - but to think you have to traipse over the aisle on some sort of moral obligation - actually *pay* for a book based on this presumed moral obligation? No way.
I’ve never heard about that Rooney Rule and I don’t follow American football but that’s basically affirmative action in sports right? As a Caribbean person (where the society is very different and it doesn’t signify as much to be afro cbean or indo cbean or white as to simply be Caribbean) my knee jerk reaction to affirmative action is a ‘gee, thanks but no thanks. I’ll get the job by my own damn self’.
But however useful it has been shown to be in schools, workplaces and now sport - any derivative of affirmative action has no place giving orders in a person’s mind. I’ll go so far as to say white people don’t even have to make any effort to go out and read an AA or hispanic or asian-american book and they can still easily avoid the ‘racist’ label.
Now if someone shoves a book by Kayla Perrin (sans infidelity) in your face and you’re in the toilet with nary the back of a nail polish bottle to read, and you’ve been hankering after some romance after a month long binge on mystery - and you still ‘don’t want to read it’. Then that person needs to question themselves.
They still don’t need to read one ‘different ethnicity’ book per month though because the goal should be to treat all romance books as just that - romance - without consideration for the race of the character or the author. But of course, we must walk before we run.
Booksellers/Publishers now, don’t have a moral obligation to do anything but pay tithes to the God of Profit. They should have a legal obligation however, to ensure their operational practices are not discriminatory.
Bloggers are readers with some techno savvy so I would say: see above for what I think they ’should’ do when it comes to reviewing books. Of course, if they start getting sponsorship from companies and then all of a sudden you see them on Access Hollywood (or whatever) giving their ‘pick of the week’ and years go by and not a ‘un-white’ author in sight - well then they as well will fall under the ‘legal obligation’ umbrella.
This is Dalia’s World of Law however - it ain’t like that in real life. Also, in real life, I am a person of few words.
Sharon Cullars AGAIN is a Brava, not Aphrodisia - just fyi. And Jo Leigh is not African American.
Should we institute the Rooney Rule and read one author a month that is not Caucasion.
This would require readers pay attention to or purposefully dig out info on authors. Not everyone will, not everyone wants to, not everyone cares about the color or ethnicity of the person behind the book. They want to get lost in the story, and it doesn’t matter who wrote it!
I exchange books with four women I work with. Only once in all the years of doing so has the issue of race come up and it was because of the ethnic slang / tone / vocabulary the author used. It put off my co-worker enough that she retired the novella unread.
In other words, it was the story, not the author, that failed for her. She went into it expecting to enjoy it as much as the others in the anthology and never gave a second thought to the creator until the creation didn’t deliver.
No Affirmative Action needed. Why even bring it up? Asians, Latinos, Blacks, etc. in America have been reading romances written about and by whites ever since the modern romance has existed. Is that Affirmative Action? I’m not an African-American writer but an African-American reader. I’ve been reading romance for 34 years. Since I was 13-years old. All of those romances were written by and about white women until a few years ago. Was that Affirmative Action on my part? In fact, most of the T.V. shows, the movies I’ve watched, and books of all genres that I’ve read have been by and about whites. I don’t doubt that this holds true for most Americans who aren’t white.
I don’t think it would be productive to EXPECT anything of readers. There’s no obligation to read for pleasure anything you don’t want to. I just wonder why the interest isn’t there. When I was young I didn’t have much choice but to read and watch shows and movies about people who don’t look like me. In my frustration I’ve commented that I feel foolish for spending so many thousands of dollars on books by whites when white readers don’t reciprocate the interest in A-A romance writers. Of course that’s ridiculous but it was how I felt in the heat of the moment. I was just unpleasantly surprised and dismayed that now that romances by and about people of other races and ethnicities are available, romance readers in general wouldn’t be as interested as I am.
I’m Asian America, and as a reader I don’t see why I should have to buy certain ethnic books in order to avoid being called racist. I read fiction for pleasure. So I’m going to read whatever makes me happy, instead of looking at author photos and let them determine what I read. I’ve never picked up a book because it had a white author. And I’ve never put a book back on the shelf because it was written by a black author. The author’s race is irrelevant to me as a reader.
Yeah, I knew that Jo Leigh was not African American. My point was that I have purchased a lot of books and not read them, regardless of the race of the author. Again was a Brava, huh? For some reason I thought it was an Aphrodisia.
I don’t choose my reading selections by the author photo. If it’s an unknown to me author, I’ll pick the book off the shelf if the cover or title interests, if the cover copy appeals. As my husband owns an indie bookstore, I get my books there. He doesn’t have an AA section. Books are shelved by genre.
Storyline and writing style are what pulls me in–or tosses me out. The ethnic flavor of the author doesn’t matter–it wouldn’t occur to be to pick up–or not pick up–a book based on the writer’s skin tone.
“Are African American authors going to lose sales at a greater rate of gaining sales by moving to the main romance section?”
See - this is the line that shocks me. Why are they separate to begin with?!
Barbara B, my using the phrase ‘affirmative action’ is in response to the ’should romance have a rooney rule’ which as described in the article, seemed affirmative actioney to me.
Perhaps I misunderstood the nature of this Rooney Rule?
I don’t see how this is going to happen - but maybe some science in bookselling person could school me.
In the main romance section the books are available to a much larger swathe of the buying public so just by entering those hallowed halls, the books hsould see a spike in sales.
A-A readers aren’t going to get cooties by heading over there and even if there may be readers who feel ‘weird’ (I have no idea why though) going into the main romance section, they’ll get over it quick. It’s either cross the aisle or don’t read your romance books. I think everyone is going to cross the aisle.
If you are in the African American section, you are only one of a few other romance authors. Further, those in the know, go there with the purpose of purchasing African American literature. The audience is already there.
A debut or midlist author shelved in the main romance section competes with 400+ other titles but has a much bigger audience. Which is going to be better?
Ah, ok. I get you now. But I still think it can only be good to have them in the main romance section.
Because - well, first of all, though there’re not as many black romance books as white-authored romance books, there’s still quite a lot. So even in the AA section you have competition. Not as much but it’s there.
The readership who only want to read black romance will most likely stand in the aisles and look for their black romance in between everything else. So the niche readership isn’t going away no importa the location. What’s going to happen is (yay, good thing) cross selling.
So Kayla Perrin, someone’s auto buy, continues to be someone’s auto buy and then on their way to clutching the Perrin, they notice Julia Quinn’s debut foray into contemp romance (I’m just imagining here). They read the back, they decide to give it a try.
Same way: JQ is an auto buy for someone else. They pass by Perrin and decide to give it a try. So now, KP still got her usual ‘black romance reader sale’ but now she also has a ‘new reader’ sale.
Dalia, I hadn’t read your response when I made mine. I was responding to
the Dear Author posted commentary. In general I’m ambivalent about Affirmative Action. It really shouldn’t be necessary for ANY qualified candidates to have a shot at a job. But seemingly it is. It’s a very sad commentary on our society that fairness has to be legislated.
That being said, I very much doubt if there are any A-A authors who think Affirmative Action for A-A romance readers would be a good thing. I certainly hope there aren’t. Leisure reading is highly personal and if you’re not interested in something, you just aren’t.
I posted on my blog that I’m Ignorant and Abnormal because I seriously had no idea that this was an issue. And quite frankly, I don’t care what color the author is, if he/she delivers a great story, I read it. It’s that cut and dried for me.
I also discussed this with a friend. Really the issue of AA authors having their own section in bookstores really isn’t the readers’ doing so we can offer no solutions, but rather it is the publisher’s and the marketing dept. of said publishers that have chosen to go this route and thus, in my opinion, are the only ones that can rectify this issue.
Just my 2 cents which doesn’t amount to much *G*
I’m an avid reader and I have nothing against the author’s race. Race just doesn’t play a role in my decision when I’m after a good story.
It’s these loyal readers who will complain most vocally if AA books are shelved with the rest. They have to go through 400+ titles and authors to find AA authors. If AA books are shelved separately there’s no need for them to look at every author photo.
[quote comment="22950"]I’m an avid reader and I have nothing against the author’s race. Race just doesn’t play a role in my decision when I’m after a good story.[/quote]
That sums up my reading as well. I go by writing more than anything else, including title, blurb, or cover art. Often I’ll skim the first chapter in the bookstore and if the author doesn’t hook me with her writing then, I don’t have any hope it will get better. So back on the shelf it goes. I don’t look at author bios or anything like that. As someone else mentioned, I rather prefer not knowing too much about the authors who write my favorite books. Sometimes when I’ve visited an favorite author blogs, I’ve found them acting like fools and it cuts into my ability to enjoy their stories.
For all those readers who say that they go by blurb, how many African American authors’ blurbs are you reading? I mean, if they aren’t in the regular romance aisle, are you making a trip to the AA section? I am not. I don’t even know where that section is in my bookstore. I am not reading the blurbs on HQN’s website for the Kimani Press. The AA authors aren’t really on my radar unless they are in the regular romance section (like Cullars book).
I’m sure there will be complaints from people but tant pis tough titties for them. It’s not only non-black readers who need a change in attitude.
They still don’t need to read one ‘different ethnicity’ book per month though because the goal should be to treat all romance books as just that - romance - without consideration for the race of the character or the author. But of course, we must walk before we run
This is pretty much how I feel on it. Karen said, a romance is a romance is a romance. Do I think readers should feel obligated to read books based on skin color? No and I think doing so would be doing the authors a disservice, because the reader might have picked the book up to meet her ‘moral’ obligations instead of picking it up for the reason she buys anything else… because it’s a damn good book.
I do feel that romances should be shelved with romances and it irritates me to think that somebody might return a book just because of race.
Before I actually post something more relevent to your initial post I thought I’d comment on…
[quote comment="22944"]“Are African American authors going to lose sales at a greater rate of gaining sales by moving to the main romance section?”
See - this is the line that shocks me. Why are they separate to begin with?![/quote]
I think this is one of the main questions that needs to be addressed. Publishers and booksellers need to explain why these books are marketed differently.
The two bookstore I frequent don’t do this, but our local Wal*Marts do have a separate AA sections. Not that long ago I was in one and there were a couple of young (early 20’s) African American women picking out books. Being nosy I asked if they were offended that the AA books were housed separately from the rest of the books. One said yes and one said no. And they started to argue one saying it’s a form of segregation and the other saying she doesn’t wont to dig through all those books to find books for African American readers. I figured I stirred up enough trouble and didn’t ask any more questions.
Publishers and booksellers make a decision as to whom they are marketing. On one side you have readers like Barbara B…
who has read romance so long she remembers when there weren’t books written about African American characters and then there are younger readers who have always had African American books to choose from.
Just like the discussion about where to shelve paranormals, the discussion comes down to profits and where these publishers and booksellers feel they will make the most money.
ARGH!!!! I had this really great and intecllectual comment all typed up, and hit a wrong button and the comment got lost! Doesn’t that just figure? For once in my life I sound smart and lost the proof!
Anyway, basically what I was typing was to the effect that good books are good books, and true readers aren’t going to care the color of skin the author wears.
I have never noticed a seperate AA section at the bookstore I frequent when I go out of town, and at Wal-Mart here in town, LA Banks is shelved with the rest of the Vampire books. If there were to be a seperate section of the stores I most frequent, I have no clue if I would peruse it or not. If I’m in the mood for a Romance, I go to the Romance section and spend enough time looking, I don’t want to have to go to another section to finish that search. So probably, no I wouldn’t make a trip down that aisle. I always have kids in tow when I’m at the bookstore, so my time is limited. If AA authors are shelved different I may be missing so damn fine books, BUT, if they were shelved with the other books in the genre I’m looking for, they will get equal consideration.
And yes, AA authors are going to have more competition if they are in the Romance section, but you know what? Big deal! Write a damn fine book and you’ll stand out regaurdless. That’s what it’s about. Good writing, that I can relate to. Period.
I posted the survey link yesterday, because I too, am curious about the results. I’m not going to look specifically for AA authors, just like I’m not going to specifically look for white authors or any other ethnic authors. Sorry. It just aint gonna happen.
When Caridad Ferrer was my FAB pick and I interviewed her about Adios, I asked a few questions, and her answers were wonderful, you can see them here, if you are interested. She wrote a wonderful book about a Latino teenager, that has mass appeal for all cultures. She acknowledges there is a fine line to walk, so you don’t alienate non-latino readers, but she found the balance. And that’s really what it comes down to.
By seperating these AA books, I feel like they are specifically telling me - “You are white, these books aren’t for you.” And that kind of upsets me. Just my opinion of course and I do hope I have offended no one.
[quote comment="22953"]For all those readers who say that they go by blurb, how many African American authors’ blurbs are you reading?[/quote]
I don’t browse store shelves anyway, so my recs come from online reviews, blogs, links that take me from one place to another. I bought Beverly Jenkins SEXY DANGEROUS (is that right?) based on the blurb.
I think the race debates are very good for the genre as a whole, because it forces complacent readers to think outside their comfort zones. I am at times a lazy book buyer. I stick to favorite authors and then pick up recommendations from other bloggers. So debates about AA books or paranormals or erotic romances forces me to think outside my little box and that can only add more books to my growing TBR pile, and that’s not a bad thing.
PS…
Actually, this isn’t true. When Harlequin started it’s “American” line back in the late 80’s it was much more multicultural than it eventually ended up being, featuring not only white couples but also African American and Asian couples.
Harvard’s Education (Sil. Int. Mom. 884, Oct ‘98) wasn’t the first category romance with an AA couple on the cover. I believe it was Joyce McGill’s Unforgiveable (Sil. Int. Mom. 441, Aug ‘92). McGill, AKA Chassie West, is African American and had at least two other SIM books with Caucasian couples as H&H: 347, Through the Looking Glass and 368, A Loving Touch. I checked the facts at FictionDatabase.com.
Under her West name, she has written mystery/suspense books: Sunrise, Loss of Innocence, Killing Kin, Killer Riches, and Killer Chameleon. There may be others.
Also I remember a very old Harlequin book; I think it was a Presents. It featured a British family, originally from the Caribbean. The story centered around the daughter’s romantic and career experiences. It wasn’t made clear until nearly the end that the family had a mixed racial heritage. I don’t remember the author or the title.
[quote comment="22964"] I believe it was Joyce McGill’s Unforgiveable (Sil. Int. Mom. 441, Aug ‘92). [/quote]
Adam and Eva by Sandra Kitt was a 1984 release from Harlequin American.
It seems like I always have something to say when the race issue comes up. It’s a button, I know this. I will not rant, promise. :)
I absolutely don’t think that anyone should feel obligated to read books by African American or Asian American or Latin American authors if those books don’t ordinarily fall into their reading preferences. No, I don’t feel that anyone *has* to go buy the latest Kimani release and I hope that no one ever says they should.
Just like no one is telling readers of other minorities that they *have* to read books written about white couples or by white authors. I am aware that the choice hasn’t always been as easy to make as it is now, but required pleasure reading based on race is just silly.
I’m an ethnic-mutt writer, for what it’s worth, and I wouldn’t want someone to read my books just because my skin happens to be a certain shade or my eyes a certain shape. Read them because they sound like something you’d enjoy.
I was going to mention Sandra Kitt, too. I think she was one of the first if not the first Harlequin AA author. I love her books. The Color of Love is one of the best I’ve read that featured an interracial romance. Highly recommend that title. Sorry to go off tangent, you have an interesting commentary on racism and publishing and there is a problem with marketing them but a good book is a good book regardless of race. I don’t think marketing issues are strictly the problem for AA romances and authors. There are a lot of authors whose books don’t get marketed much. Carry on.
Since Keishon went off on a tangent so will I–LOL.
Allison Kent said:
I picked this up because of Rosario’s review, it was one of her top 10 picks from 2006. It was very good and I’ve now started looking for her backlist found 2 historicals at my local UBS (read one last night, and it was good too) and will probably order the other 3 from the Sexy/Dangerous series from B&N.
Does anyone remember a book from the Harlequin American line featuring an Asian American couple, he was 1/2 Japanese and 1/2 Chinese and a Vietnam Veteran, she was Chinese and I think she was the daughter of his superior officer in Vietnam. It’s been years since I read this book, loaned it to someone and never got it back. I can’t remember the title or the author.
Sorry for interupting–I’m done.
Should readers feel OBLIGATED to purchase books by non-Caucasian writers?
No.
Read the blurb. Skim the pages. If someone has recommended it to you as a good read, check it out. If it looks like a good book, buy it.
Don’t read a book because you think it’s the pc thing to do. Read it because it’s worth reading.
But if you’re AVOIDING books because they’re written by non-Caucasian authors, or because you’re pre-disposed to think they’re inferior or wouldn’t interest you because you couldn’t possibly have anything in common with those characters–you have a problem you need to address.
And NO, the AA romances should NOT be shelved in their own little separate-but-equal section of the bookstores. That chaps my hide. If it’s a romance, put it in the romance section. Period.
And if black romance readers enter a bookstore and don’t find that separate little section–guess what? They’ll look in the romance section. And possibly find books by non-AA writers they might want to read in the bargain.
I was going to type a response to the original post, but Raine said EVERYTHING I would have said. Thanks, Raine for saying me the work. My wrists (carpal tunnel is a b****) thank you too. :-)
Oops, typos are my speciality. That’s “saving” not “saying.”
I think readers should not read by race, period. Book choice should be made by content. What I dislike is when books are treated differently solely because of the race of the author, whether it’s shelving, reviewing, highlighting, etc. That’s I’ve been speaking out against for ten years.
The AA book niche is lucrative and supported by loyal readers who don’t want to see our books mixed. I still think it’s wrong. I also think it’s wrong that white readers would be expected to take extra steps to seek out our books as if they’re going to the jungle on some sort of reading safari. But unfortunately, because of the segregation situation they might have to take a few extra steps if they want to find some fresh authors. The books aren’t that different by content and all I’ve ever asked is they be regarded that way and not excluded.
P.S. A (black) ethnic tone is not always a bad thing, is it (as long as you can understand it)? I’ve read British romances and they have a certain tone and rhythm to the words that’s slightly different too. So does historical. Eric Jerome Dickey’s book Milk in My Coffee featuring a white heroine and black hero had a strong ethnic tone that didn’t detract from the story, IMO. It doesn’t bother me to read books that fall outside of my personal ethnicity or experience because otherwise my reading would be sorely limited.
Segregating books by the race of the author is offensive and I can understand why you’ve fought against this, but…
I’m totally confused now, maybe I’m reading this wrong but who are the “loyal readers” of the “AA book niche” and why don’t they want to see “our books mixed”? Are you saying there are people within the African-American community that prefers this and if so why?
Tara Marie,
Yes, I am.
Some AA readers state they want to be able to browse only black-authored books in the bookstores.
I admit I’m guilty of being not as confrontative with the readers who buy my books and support me as an author (will accept wuss title) But I feel segregation for these reasons is just as wrong.
So my experience in Wal*Mart wasn’t all that off, the young lady who prefered the separate section is perhaps the rule rather than the exception.
Then maybe someone should be surveying AA readers about what they would prefer and why.
Surveys have been done. I’m saying they’re irrelevant because racism is wrong whomever wants to perpetrate it.
What if white readers said they only wanted to browse white books (pretty much the status quo, but still). I’d say that was wrong too, so it’s just as wrong as when black readers say it.
That made me laugh out loud. Reading safari?
To clarify what you mean about ethnic tone, you mean a different word usage, difference in speech pattern, etc, yes?
I will say that no matter what we’re talking about, if it’s an ethnic tone, Scottish brogue, or some other different speech pattern, I don’t mind it as long as it doesn’t take over the book. By that I mean, if I have to think so hard to distinguish the meaning behind the dialogue, that I feel as though I need a translator, then it will put me off the book because it takes me out of the story to have to stop and wonder what they’re saying.
Some readers want even less than that. Basically just a flavor of an accent. I have two examples of this. One is a book from Samhain that I asked some readers to take a peek at before it was released. Set in Scotland, the characters had a brogue. Clearly it would have been impossible for the author to write completely authentically, but she had an author friend (who happens to reside in Scotland) go over her dialogue and make it as authentic as possible. Two test readers said they disliked how heavy the dialect was and would have preferred to see a more modern, easier to understand dialogue. I didn’t get the sense that it was any particular prejudice against the brogue itself, but more the feeling that they wanted the reading to be easy for them. I would surmise (and obviously this is purely conjecture) that many “white” readers feel this way about AA romance with an ethnic tone. It’s not something they’re easily familiar or comfortable with, so it makes something they’re reading for pleasure, for fantasy or to escape, a little harder to sink into.
I read a book, a historical paranormal vampire set in Scotland a few months back, and some of the characters spoke in what seemed to be (seemed since I’m no expert) a very authentic brogue/dialect. It was so thick and so heavy, it made my head hurt to read that dialogue and try to guess what was being said. Months later, I don’t remember anything about that story except how overwhelmingly hard it was to read those bits. I wonder if that’s how some readers feel when they pick up an AA romance and come across one that has heavy ethnic slang and language usage. If an experience like that can…hm. Taint? their views of all AA romance. Letting one book color their views of AA romance as a whole?
What do you say, Monica, to a reader who’s had that experience with AA romance and feels that it’s not a comfortable fit for her (or him) for that reason?
Angie, I think readers would be able to detect ethnicity in very few AA romances. Most are about middle-class professionals with nary a tinge of Ebonics in their conversation.
Street lit is another matter and since it’s all shelved together and you don’t know the authors, you might accidentally get one.
L.A. Banks has a street tone to her paranormals. They’re set in the streets, so it’s appropriate. They also aren’t marketed as romance.
I don’t like it either if it jars me or is hard to understand (I probably know as few crack hoes, drug dealers, gangstas and other people on the streets as most readers here). Usually the street tone isn’t that hard to understand (just a few terms sprinkled here and there, and no dialectic rendering) and is there to add spice and an exotic or hip-hop flavor. Remember that hip-hop is considered cool and I hear (with a cringe) young white guys trying to “sound black” frequently.
Sometimes I’ll write raunchy dialog for the spice reason (Mr. Right Now, but you won’t find it in my romance).
I think readers judging AA romance on a few books is silly as me judging all paranormal romances, e-book romances or erotic romances on a few books. Judging a sub-genre on a novella is laughable.
Be Aware
Please Be Aware that African Americans are still struggling to be judged by the content of our character/book and not the color of our skin or our characters skin. As a would be published author of color, I would like more readers to be aware that just because there is a picture of an African American on the cover of a novel or that an author of a book is black that the book is about ‘fill in your stereotype of choice’. If you run across such a book don’t just put it down or pass it by automatically, give it a minute and read the description on the back, that’s all I ask.
I don’t believe that a lot readers are consciously choosing not to read African American Authors but racism is pervasive in this country and while it is not as blatant as the days of Jim Crow it still exists and influences our lives.
I would like readers to be aware that their bookstore my have a separate African American section that contains romance, mystery and fiction. I you are looking for a good read you may find one there, just another option. If you think that it is stupid or you resent the fact that you would have to travel to two separate sections to see all of your romance choices, don’t just ignore the second smaller section. Let management know, if enough consumers complain they just might do something about it.
I would like readers to be aware that just because they did not enjoy one individual AA author that this does not mean that they will not enjoy another AA author. I would think this would be obvious but I have read enough blog comments to know that this is not the case. African Americans do not have a group mind, all share the same opinion or possess the same voice or level of writing talent.
Just be aware that due to racism, negative stereotyping, and book segregation that your choices as a reader may be limited and that you might be missing a great book or discovering an author you might enjoy or that speaks to your heart.
African Americans do not have a group mind, all share the same opinion or possess the same voice or level of writing talent.
Excellent point.
Read those comments painting all AA romance with the same brush because of some isolated reading experiences in the light as you would them saying the same thing about any sub genre or even romance as a whole. How many of us have heard, “I tried to read a couple romances but they were crap, so that proves …” All it proves is they picked two crappy romances!
I suggest choosing AA romances on the basis of their content as you would anything else. There’s Amazon and a host of black review sites with summaries of the new releases.
First, I think that if I tried two or three Kimani Press books and didn’t like them, I would be justified in saying those books don’t work for me just like I would about any other category romance line.
Now, about the other books outside o Kimani Press, where do I ind those? You say, pick Amazon, but if I don’t know the name and the title, how do I go to Amazon. Do I look in the Multicultural setting? And for black romance review sites, how many of them are like the RT reviews or the reviews that don’t give anything but a good grade? Can you recommend any of those?
How much effort must a reader to expend to broaden her horizons. That is really what I am grappling with.
Jane, I agree as far as AA romance category lines. Kimani has two, Arabesque and the short one. Dafina has one. Avon puts out a few, but I’d go by author there since they are single titles.
I’d start with the black review sites. They do tend not to be as critical as AAR and the newer romance review sites, but they will give you info on the book’s content, then you can go and search Amazon or other places for more opinions if you want. There are several:
http://www.blackbookreviews.net/ (rawsistaz have message boards)
http://reviews.aalbc.com/ (message boards too)
http://www.blackbutterflyreview.com/ (a lot of romance)
http://romanceincolor.com/ (all romance)
http://www.thegritsbookclub.com/
Black Expressions Book Club have message boards attached that give quite frank commentary. (It’s a book club like Book-of-the-Month)
And that’s just a start. They’re a lot more I’m afraid I left out.
I meant to add this. There are a LOT more self-published black books and most are like any other self-published books. ‘Nuff said.
Nope, you’re not going to find high level critical commentary on black romance. We’re just not there yet.
I wouldn’t go to a whole lot of trouble, maybe just checking the latest from http://www.blackbookreviews.net or the imprints you like (I left out a ton) or checking the latest from the big pubs (they all have black imprints). St Martin’s has a new site up just for their AA books.
That’s about the amount of trouble I take for e-books :-)
Of course it’s wrong, that was going to be my next point. How does anyone combat this? I don’t think pushing the publishing industry to do the right thing is going to work. Their first priority is making money.
There’s flavoring and then there’s… HOLY CRAP, I DROPPED MY WHOLE BOTTLE OF SPICE ON MY CASSEROLE. Just ask JR Ward.
I messed up my comments, sniff. Have sent plea to Jane for fix.
Tara Marie,
IMO, readers ultimately control publishers because you are the ones spending the money.
That’s why I harangued romance readers (note past tense) to include romance by black authors. Right now a quick perusal of the romance community only notes our exclusion.
You have immense power by virtue of the $$$’s you spend. If romance readers let it be known they’re willing to read books of all ethnicities, including blacks, you would be provided with them and where you can easily obtain them too. You are publishing’s bread and butter and they pay attention to you.
See what happened when the industry saw that romance readers were willing to support erotic romance e-books such as Ellora’s Cave?
Jane cannot fix comments cuz her phone does not have copy and paste ability. will fix later. sorry.
This I completely agree with, but what happens to the niche AA market that prefers the segregated section, do they become irrelevent in the larger picture or are they going to complain that they’re being somehow disenfranchised?
[...] since there are two blogs posting it seems odd for me to comment - without addressing why I have been quiet. I sort of [...]
I still think the AA niche should be preserved for books with an AA theme and content, such as street lit.
Genre should go into its genre. This might actually hurt our bottom lines. Some would definitely be opposed. We’d be thrown into hella competition with a godawful # of books. Actually AA sells quite well. Black readers buy a LOT of books.
But right is still right, whoever is bitching.
I guess my question for the day is…what makes you think I’m not African-American?
I GUESS I DONT KNOW. I DIDNT KNOW WEaVER WAS UNTIL I SAW HER NAME ON KAREN S BLOG. SOrRRY FOR THE CAPS. MY PHONE SUCKS.
Good god, there’s already 43 comments! That’s what I get for running errands before doing my browsing. Oh, well, I refuse to read everything before adding my one and a half cents because one way or another it would’ve been said before anyway. ;p
Here’s the thing, I’ve stayed as far away from this entire discussion as possible because I’m not sure how to respond and yet it’s an issue that’s bugged me for awhile now. On the one hand, the ethnicity of a book’s author isn’t going to keep me from buying and reading it. Nor is the ethnicity of the characters going to keep me away from it. The same, however, cannot be said of the plot or the setting. Or rather how it’s promoted. Or maybe described would be a better term there.
Here’s the thing, if those ethnicity issues are promoted as being “THE POINT” why should I, a white, middle-aged, er, prime of life reader, want to read it? I’m not saying I won’t every time. I’m saying you have to convince me to want to and to do that, you have to couch the decription in terms I already look for in the rest of my reads to begin with. For example, I love best friend stories. I would happily read a best friend story about ANY combination couple and not blink and eye that their background, whatever it is, was an important issue in the story - as long as I knew up front I was getting a best friend story.
Just tell me what the doggone books are about - period - and I will find the ones I want to read.
The Ja(y)nes have hosted that discussion before–LOL.
The simple solution would be stock them in both sections. Everybody’s happy and everybody can find what they’re looking for. But, we’ve had that discussion before too.
Thanks for pointing that out. For a minute there, I thought you were yelling at me. :-D
I think people should read what they want. Part of it might be a promotional issue as well. If someone gets word to me about a book that’s right down my alley, chances are, I’m going to buy it.
But I can’t unless I hear about it.
You shouldn’t. But AA romance isn’t about ethnicity. It’s about romance. That’s the entirety of the point. If a novel is mainly about ethnicity it would be mainstream. Evelyn Palfrey, who is/was a judge, writes solid romances with middle-aged heroines that I’m sure you could relate to. Some readers here would probably love her books.
Exactly! That’s why I wish the romance review and romance sites would include our books like any other romance. My point for years. How are you going to know what you like if an entire segment of books are ignored? How many reviews of Evelyn Palfrey’s books can you find in the romance community?