I was called a racist 21 times in that post and comments. Other blogs are even worse. So happy the US Govt has decided hate blogs, and stealing intellectual content is okay, so long as the lazy uncreative bloggers can have something to copy and bash. (and I’m a blogger myself. It’s just that I don’t steal.) It’s NOT fair use, and it IS defaming. I’m just having a hard time finding the right laws to quote to prove my point to the bloggers and the ISPs.

When the AA imprints were created, then was the time, to say, no, we don’t want our own separate AA imprint, we want to be marketed, shelved and sold, with all the other non AA writers. Now the AA writers are calling the same practice, of which they embraced years, as racist. If it is wrong now, it was wrong back then. If you going to stand on principle, stand on it, ALL the time.

NO. This is PROGRESS. It is not hypocrisy at all to allow for changes in ideas and practices over time. Take women’s education – at first, women were very happy to get a higher education at all, so what if they couldn’t go to the same colleges and universities as boys and were segregated into women’s only colleges. But then PROGRESS happened (gross oversimplification) and women were no longer content with this situation, but wanted to be able to attend Yale, Columbia, etc. This is the exact same situation.

When you first have an opportunity, you take it – but then your dreams get bigger and you know better what is at stake and you fight for those visions instead. And this is how changes come about.

I am an African American Romance Writer who probably spends more time reading than anything else. I don’t choose my reading material based on the characters ethnicity, but by the author’s ability to transport me to another world and experience.

I was raised on a small island and can remember days spent fleeing Russia, courtesy of Danielle Steel and Zoya and dancing the jive with Malcolm Little before he became Malcolm X. You see, my parents read everything, and I do as well.

These days, when I am not chained to my laptop, I find myself transported to incredible places created by James Patterson, Nora Roberts, Dyanne Davis, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Gwynne Forrester and Jodi Picoult. And believe me, those are just a few on my list.

Now I know that my two cents may not mean much to a whole lot of people, but I’m willing to bet that there are probably more individuals out there just like me who wish that they hadn’t left ‘Nineteen Minutes’ in a hotel room last month two chapters before finishing it.

I hope that one day someone will buy my book because they have heard that I too offer a reprieve from a hectic day or from a life they want to escape. And I hope that they find the book among all the other authors that I admire.

Wondering if it’s a demographics thing. I’m thinking the Walmart closest to where I live, about 10 miles away, give or take, has a separate section for AA books. The area around the store is pretty diverse, Hispanic, black, white.
Now, to paraphrase Gennita, another local Walmart, right smack dab in the middle of white surburbia, their books are all mixed.
Does it have to do with the area’s demographics? Interesting to see how it is at other locations.

I probably live in the weirdest city in California, demographics wise. It’s a good size city split into separate areas, Downtown, East Village, Los Alamitos, Belmont Heights, Belmont Shore, Bixby Hills, Bixby Knolls, Naples, The Wrigley, The Northside, Signal Hill, Lakewood outskirts, and on and on.

Downtown is…Well they are trying to clean up downtown. They’re building million dollar condos and slowly but surely trying to encourage the huge population of transients to relocate. There are three Wal-marts in the city. One on the outskirts of Lakewood, one off of the 605 at the Carson Town Center and the one downtown.

The weird thing is all of the areas have a significant AA population but the Wal-marts that aren’t downtown are in areas that would be considered upper middle, middle class while the downtown Wal-mart is closer to the neighborhoods that could be considered less than desirable.

Yet the Downtown Wal-mart is not only adjacent to the beach, it’s also adjacent to Ocean St. and 2nd which both lead into Belmont Shore and Los Alamitos which are trendy upper middle and upper upper middle class neighborhoods. So I’m confused by it all. I do think that more AA’s from the “less than desirable” neighborhoods frequent the downtown Wal-mart and that’s who they may cater too.

And no I am NOT saying that only AA’s from bad neighbors read AA. To me the books the Wal-mart store downtown stocks are NOT AA. They are what I will politely call urban lit. There aren’t any normal AA books in the section. Last night I only found one normal AA book, a historical by Beverly Jenkins, and it was on the bestseller aisle away from the urban lit.

Rofmao! That is too cute! It’s like the time my friend’s baby tried to lift up my shirt when she was weaning him. In front of the cashier. And my friend told the cashier I was her wet nurse and I was available because I had enough for her baby and 8 others.

I weaned my oldest when she was 6 months old and decided to try and take a bite out of me.

The younger two, a little longer. My cut off point? They never bit me, but when they decided to start trying to undress mama in public, they were weaned. My son started that little trick when he was 9 months. The baby, though, she didn’t start until she was a year. :| Become a mama, and dignity goes out the window.

When I visit the Wal-mart near my sister’s house there is no AA section. All the books are happily integrated. So you have to wonder why? I’ve asked the store GM at the downtown Wal-mart in my city and he promised to call me with an answer after he spoke with corporate. I’m still waiting for the call. *shrugs*

Wondering if it’s a demographics thing. I’m thinking the Walmart closest to where I live, about 10 miles away, give or take, has a separate section for AA books. The area around the store is pretty diverse, Hispanic, black, white.

Now, to paraphrase Gennita, another local Walmart, right smack dab in the middle of white surburbia, their books are all mixed.

Does it have to do with the area’s demographics? Interesting to see how it is at other locations.

Report: I went to two Walmarts today. I found it very interesting that one Walmart, in white surburbia, has its AA books mixed with the regular romance books while the other Walmart, which was close to the black college and community in town, had its own AA section. In my forty-five minutes or so shopping in the latter Walmart, quite a number of AA readers went by to browse.

You know this is interesting. I went to Wal-mart downtown tonight (the same Wal-mart where the cashier warned a friend and I not to come to into the store on the 1st and 15th because that was when a lot of the customers received their government assistant checks.) and noticed the same thing. There was a huge section of AA and literally 10 non AA books.
When I visit the Wal-mart near my sister’s house there is no AA section. All the books are happily integrated. So you have to wonder why? I’ve asked the store GM at the downtown Wal-mart in my city and he promised to call me with an answer after he spoke with corporate. I’m still waiting for the call. *shrugs*

*G* okay, totally unrelated to racism in publishing, to big spankable asses, to opinion v fact, to publishing, reviewing… it’s just plain cute.
At least it is now with about five and half years distance. When my oldest was about 3, and my son was about six months, we were walking around the mall. My daughter, the 3 year old, walks up to two nice looking guys, about my age, and flips up her shirt.
What does she say, you ask?
My mama has really big boobies. I don’t.
This is what happens I guess when you breastfeed and try to be honest to young children about just what you are doing…. it’s funny now. But then, man, I was so emabarassed….

Rofmao! That is too cute! It’s like the time my friend’s baby tried to lift up my shirt when she was weaning him. In front of the cashier. And my friend told the cashier I was her wet nurse and I was available because I had enough for her baby and 8 others.

Gwynne has a master’s in sociology and worked for the UN and has been widely published as a demographer.

I would be interested in knowing if someone pick it up just for the cover then stopped reading when they discovered the heroine was black.

I’m reading it right now, Seressia (it’s the book I’m not finishing while I’m participating in this discussion — review to follow, eventually). And I have to tell you, the cover fascinates me because a) the stomach seems androgynous to me (a bit fleshy) despite the obvious briefs, b) the race seems ambiguous to me because the guy’s stomach looks more brown to me than white (even though I know the hero is white), and c) the kiss cracks me up. I thought it was intentionally ambiguous, which I liked. Although I didn’t buy it because of the cover. I’m very glad it’s selling well, though.

To BlkLitRdr: My first novel was an interracial romance, published in 2000. I sold it to the first company that said yes, who happened to be black-owned. I assumed (there’s that word again) that the book would be shelved with all the other romances because hey–it WAS a romance and that was the section of the store I went to for books.

The first cover for the trade edition had a BW and WM on the cover with a pink flowery tree background, and its back cover copy starts like this: “White hot chocolate meets vanilla shake, sparks fly…” or something like that. It was reissued this year with just a white man’s torso with a kiss imprint on his skin. It’s been selling like hotcakes, but I don’t know if that’s from the cover, the mass market size, or the fact that it’s in Wal-Mart. I would be interested in knowing if someone pick it up just for the cover then stopped reading when they discovered the heroine was black.

I’ve dealt with race in my IR books, but the h/h don’t get all hung up over it (they have other issues, lol) I’ve had diverse casts, multiracial characters. I’ve written to Queen Latifah about AA romances, but not Oprah. Again, I’ve talked to Sue Grimshaw and Sean Bentley with Borders. But I still think discussion has had the most promise.

Shilo, I think kids do it on purpose. It’s like the time my other godbaby pulled down my shirt and yelled, Your sou sou (breasts) is showing

*G* okay, totally unrelated to racism in publishing, to big spankable asses, to opinion v fact, to publishing, reviewing… it’s just plain cute.

At least it is now with about five and half years distance. When my oldest was about 3, and my son was about six months, we were walking around the mall. My daughter, the 3 year old, walks up to two nice looking guys, about my age, and flips up her shirt.

What does she say, you ask?

My mama has really big boobies. I don’t.

This is what happens I guess when you breastfeed and try to be honest to young children about just what you are doing…. it’s funny now. But then, man, I was so emabarassed….

Whenever we get into these discussions, I always feel very conflicted because I am a white girl who has been dating a black guy for over four years. Naturally, I find it hard to believe that I could be accused of being in the group that doesn’t find black men sexually attractive. I’m sure this is going to come out all wrong, so please forgive me, but here goes. I have often felt like in the eyes of some black women, I’m the enemy. Because I’m with one of “their” men. That the fact that he is with me and not them is a slight to them or to all black women everywhere. One one level I think I can understand this but on another, it confuses me (and frankly hurts me). Because if I’m willing and happy to be in a loving committed relationship with someone of their race, doesn’t that show that I’m accepting that race? If we get married, spend our lives together, have kids and mix our DNA together, isn’t that saying something? And in the end, aren’t we just proving that we’re two humans and that love transcends things like skin color (and in our particular case: culture, language, nationality, and religion)? And really isn’t that what the whole idea of romance is all about?

And on the subject of AA romance, is it really shallow of me to admit that I picked up a Beverly Jenkins book at my library the other day because it featured a hot black man on the cover?

Ok, those are all kind of random and I apologize in advance if I offend any sisters.

Perhaps you can get Oprah to champion the cause of desegregating AA books–romance or other genres–if someone can bring it to her attention. A segment on her show might bring awareness.

Yay, 500.

Do we get a prize? :D

Regarding Big Spankable Asses: I’ve been on several forums, some of them not romance book-related, that have made fun of that cover. Not sure whether the buzz of that title and cover meant more sales.

Oprah: I think her words, when she was questioned by one of the women in the audience about not recommending romances, were, “Honey, that’s not real life.” Like Frey’s book was real. Uh-huh.

Report: I went to two Walmarts today. I found it very interesting that one Walmart, in white surburbia, has its AA books mixed with the regular romance books while the other Walmart, which was close to the black college and community in town, had its own AA section. In my forty-five minutes or so shopping in the latter Walmart, quite a number of AA readers went by to browse.

I’ve no idea what that means exactly, but still, interesting. Sorry, no big spankable asses allowed in any Walmarts, of course. Ha.

Actually you just flat out said it, and with less test, so I thank you for that.

Seressia, I actually started that line of argument in the double digits, lol, and said it explicitly at 275, but as several people said, I write long-ass posts and often am too lazy to make a lot of paragraphs. So thanks for hanging in there. ‘)

I personally think something positive will come from this whole thing but then again I just got a UPS delivery so I’m riding on a serious purse high. (Yes, I know I’m a dork.) And you know what, it doesnt effect me now and it may never effect me personally but as long as it effects anyone, anyone (black, white, purple) it is something we all need to be concerned about.

Regarding Ross’ relationship with Aisha Tyler on Friends. I think it’s sad that they could find a lost monkey in NYC in 22 minutes, but it took 10 years to have a recurring black character, not to mention as a love interest.

Please don’t hate me, but I never understood why Friends needed to have a recurring black character.

Snicker. A boom boom. Cute. I’m just going to have to make my book store runs either alone, or with the DH for a few weeks because I can guarantree my six year old son would see it… and very loudly ask what a big spankable ass is.

Shilo, I think kids do it on purpose. It’s like the time my other godbaby pulled down my shirt and yelled, Your sou sou (breasts) is showing. LMAO. Umm yes, Lana it’s showing because you just pulled my shirt down thank you very much!

Eh, I don’t see Oprah ever doing anything to promote romance, regardless of who wrote it, whether the book was targeted at the black community, at women in general, or green skinned aliens from the planet Flatajah.

LMAO. Flatajah. I don’t know why they cracked me up.

Yeah my 2 year old godchild saw the cover too. She said, QUITE LOUDLY, tia tia look a boom boom. And I said, yes baby it is a boom boom and we went on our merry way

Snicker. A boom boom. ;) Cute. I’m just going to have to make my book store runs either alone, or with the DH for a few weeks because I can guarantree my six year old son would see it… and very loudly ask what a big spankable ass is.

I actually didn’t know she didn’t like romance. Then again, I don’t watch her all that often. But I figured if presented with a really good one, she would think about it to promote good will or something.

Eh, I don’t see Oprah ever doing anything to promote romance, regardless of who wrote it, whether the book was targeted at the black community, at women in general, or green skinned aliens from the planet Flatajah.

Oprah pretty much does the ‘literary’ thing. I could be wrong, but aren’t there quotes out there where she was pretty much down on romance books in general?