Marianna Gabrielle's new book, The Black Goddess, is an interesting mix of regency and multicultural romance. I'm pleased to welcome her to Coffee with Friends today as she blogs about why regency romance doesn't always have to be about upper class white characters.
Be sure to leave a comment and enter the rafflecopter for a chance to win an e-copy of the book
Be sure to leave a comment and enter the rafflecopter for a chance to win an e-copy of the book
We Need Diverse Romance
La Déesse Noire: The Black Goddess was such a great book to write, because I love the characters and the twisty plot, and I really love Regency England, but it was scary, too. The main character is an [East] Indian courtesan living in London. Her mentor is Indian, her best friend is a gay man, and all of them are treated much as one might expect in that time and place—badly—subject to racism and contempt and oppression from all sides, most especially from the dominant culture.
But here’s the scary part: I am white.
The topic of diversity in romance is a raging discussion these days, and rightly (finally!) so. White people are not the only ones who ever have (or deserve) happy endings; we aren’t the only ones who fall in love; we aren’t the only ones deserving of shelf space. But if you look at the mainstream selections in the genre (most other genres, too), you would think you were looking at a polar bear eating vanilla ice cream with his straight, albino girlfriend in a snow storm. Further, when you look at historical romance titles in general, there are acres of dukes and virginal debutantes, and relatively few poor people, LGBT characters, sex workers, people with disabilities… In short, we read about rich, pretty, straight, law-abiding white people and occasionally, their white servants.
I’ve written characters from marginalized groups in all of my books—slaves and free blacks, immigrants, people with mental illness or no education, poor people and criminals. I make a point of writing at least one LGBT character into every book, though sometimes I am the only one who knows. (While these groups may not consider themselves marginalized now, I write historical fiction. You can bet your bottom dollar they were marginalized in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.)
Every time I write a character from the non-dominant culture, I have to research the situations people with these characteristics might have found themselves in, the laws lined up against them, the way they spoke and dressed, the mores of the subcultures they occupied. And every time, I shake in my shoes hoping I didn’t get anything wrong. Hoping I won’t offend. Hoping it won’t appear I am appropriating someone else’s history for the sake of my own storytelling.
And yet, I do it anyway.
Not because diversity is a hot topic or because I am trying to prove a point (though I have been accused of both), but because our world is diverse. It always has been. Without me, these particular characters would have no voice. I might not get everything right. I might unintentionally offend. I might tell a story someone with similar experiences could tell better.
But even though I have not shared my characters’ experiences, history, or encounters with oppression, those experiences can be shared through me.
It doesn’t have to be mine, but next time you are shopping for books, make a point to buy one that centers on a person of color or a character with a disability or one in love with a same-sex partner. Give a hand to an author who is trying to change the paradigm, and in so doing, change it a little bit yourself.
#WeNeedDiverseRomance
#WeNeedDiverseBooks
Support the #WeNeedDiverseRomance movement by buying a t-shirt, only available for a limited time. http://buy.teespring.com/weneeddiverseromance-tee?
But here’s the scary part: I am white.
The topic of diversity in romance is a raging discussion these days, and rightly (finally!) so. White people are not the only ones who ever have (or deserve) happy endings; we aren’t the only ones who fall in love; we aren’t the only ones deserving of shelf space. But if you look at the mainstream selections in the genre (most other genres, too), you would think you were looking at a polar bear eating vanilla ice cream with his straight, albino girlfriend in a snow storm. Further, when you look at historical romance titles in general, there are acres of dukes and virginal debutantes, and relatively few poor people, LGBT characters, sex workers, people with disabilities… In short, we read about rich, pretty, straight, law-abiding white people and occasionally, their white servants.
I’ve written characters from marginalized groups in all of my books—slaves and free blacks, immigrants, people with mental illness or no education, poor people and criminals. I make a point of writing at least one LGBT character into every book, though sometimes I am the only one who knows. (While these groups may not consider themselves marginalized now, I write historical fiction. You can bet your bottom dollar they were marginalized in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.)
Every time I write a character from the non-dominant culture, I have to research the situations people with these characteristics might have found themselves in, the laws lined up against them, the way they spoke and dressed, the mores of the subcultures they occupied. And every time, I shake in my shoes hoping I didn’t get anything wrong. Hoping I won’t offend. Hoping it won’t appear I am appropriating someone else’s history for the sake of my own storytelling.
And yet, I do it anyway.
Not because diversity is a hot topic or because I am trying to prove a point (though I have been accused of both), but because our world is diverse. It always has been. Without me, these particular characters would have no voice. I might not get everything right. I might unintentionally offend. I might tell a story someone with similar experiences could tell better.
But even though I have not shared my characters’ experiences, history, or encounters with oppression, those experiences can be shared through me.
It doesn’t have to be mine, but next time you are shopping for books, make a point to buy one that centers on a person of color or a character with a disability or one in love with a same-sex partner. Give a hand to an author who is trying to change the paradigm, and in so doing, change it a little bit yourself.
#WeNeedDiverseRomance
#WeNeedDiverseBooks
Support the #WeNeedDiverseRomance movement by buying a t-shirt, only available for a limited time. http://buy.teespring.com/weneeddiverseromance-tee?
About the book
Sired by a British peer, born of a paramour to Indian royalty, Kali Matai has been destined from birth to enthrall England’s most powerful noblemen—though she hadn’t counted on becoming their pawn. Finding herself under the control of ruthless men, who will not be moved by her legendary allure, she has no choice but to use her beauty toward their malicious and clandestine ends.
When those she holds most dear are placed in peril by backroom political dealings, she enlists some of the most formidable lords in England to thwart her enemies. But even with the help of the prominent gentlemen she has captivated, securing Kali’s freedom, her family, and the man she loves, will require her protectors stop at nothing to fulfill her desires.
Amazon: http://amzn.to/19cKUjY
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1Fc31m3
Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/1K1vMGq
iTunes: http://apple.co/1E4ajHF
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1Bx1OCV
All Romance eBooks: http://bit.ly/1DeYx8O
Smashwords: http://bit.ly/1wmBxTE
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22885020
When those she holds most dear are placed in peril by backroom political dealings, she enlists some of the most formidable lords in England to thwart her enemies. But even with the help of the prominent gentlemen she has captivated, securing Kali’s freedom, her family, and the man she loves, will require her protectors stop at nothing to fulfill her desires.
Amazon: http://amzn.to/19cKUjY
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1Fc31m3
Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/1K1vMGq
iTunes: http://apple.co/1E4ajHF
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1Bx1OCV
All Romance eBooks: http://bit.ly/1DeYx8O
Smashwords: http://bit.ly/1wmBxTE
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22885020
Mariana Gabrielle is a pseudonym of Mari Christie, a professional writer, editor, and designer with almost twenty-five years’ experience. Published in dozens of nonfiction and poetry periodicals since 1989, she began writing mainstream historical fiction in 2009 and Regency romance in 2013. In all genres, she creates deeply scarred characters in uncommon circumstances who overcome self-imposed barriers to reach their full potential. She is a member of the Bluestocking Belles, the Writing Wenches, and the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers. Her first Regency romance, Royal Regard, was released in November 2014.
Find Mariana Here
Facebook Launch Party, June 10, noon - 8 pm EDT: https://www.facebook.com/events/1423746821261258/
Website and Blog: www.MarianaGabrielle.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MariChristieAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mchristieauthor
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/marichristie/
Amazon Author Central: http://www.amazon.com/author/marianagabrielle
Goodreads Author page: https://www.goodreads.com
Find Mariana Here
Facebook Launch Party, June 10, noon - 8 pm EDT: https://www.facebook.com/events/1423746821261258/
Website and Blog: www.MarianaGabrielle.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MariChristieAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mchristieauthor
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/marichristie/
Amazon Author Central: http://www.amazon.com/author/marianagabrielle
Goodreads Author page: https://www.goodreads.com
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