Romance books show more diversity
Authors trying to ‘reflect the world we live in’
Everyone deserves a happily ever after, regardless of race, cultural background, sexual identity or physical ability.
Some romance novelists are making that happen, taking their publishers along for the ride when it comes to diversifying their offerings.
Avon Books has seen an exponential increase in the number of inclusive romances published, said Pamela Jaffee, senior director of publicity and brand development, and the company is actively working to further increase representation in the books it publishes.
“I’m glad to see it,” said Ushma Patel, 29, of Cary, N.C. “I’ve seen it come more from authors of color putting their books out there. I am reading those books a lot more. I’m Indian, and I like reading a book that has a character that I can relate to, even in a small way.”
Young adult novelist Julie Kagawa features a half-Japanese heroine in her 2018 book “Shadow of the Fox” (Harlequin Teen).
Cat Sebastian’s latest, “A Duke in Disguise: The Regency Impostors,” features a radical, bisexual bookselling heroine and a sensitive, epileptic illustrator (Avon).
Eva Leigh’s “Dare to Love a Duke: The London Underground” follows the story of a former sex worker (Avon).
Alyssa Cole’s “Can’t Escape Love: A Reluctant Royals Novella” centers on a heroine who uses a wheelchair.
Tracey Livesay’s “Love on My Mind” has a hero living with Asperger’s syndrome.
River Forest resident Katie Stutz, who works at Naperville publisher Sourcebooks, credits a 2018 report by Culver City, Calif., bookstore The Ripped Bodice for putting a spotlight on diversity and inclusion in the industry. The bookstore’s “The State of Racial Diversity in Romance Publishing” tracks the genre’s publications written by authors of color.
Stutz said that since seeing the report, she has pushed herself to read outside of what she has in the past.
“Readers are speaking up about what they want to see in the world,” said Mia Sosa, author of the Latinx and African-American love story “Crashing Into Her: Love on Cue.”
“I’ve seen calls for stories where the main characters are older, stories where one or more of the characters are divorced. You wouldn’t think that’s out of the box — because in my mind it’s not out of the box — but for romance publishing, it is.”
Marissa Backlin and her mother, Roseann, are slated to open a romance bookstore in Tinley Park in June. As a special education teacher, Marissa said she would love to see more stories featuring people with disabilities that aren’t all about pain, tragedy and ableism.
“Alisha Rai and her ‘Forbidden Hearts’ series had characters that had depression and anxiety, and it was really well written,” Backlin said. “There are ways to write these topics well, and I’m glad authors are challenging themselves. Because readers see that, and they feel seen.”
Tracey Livesay’s young son has Asperger’s, and she wanted to write a story that would give someone like him a happily-ever-after 20 years down the line.
She said her then-editor didn’t think a man on the spectrum was sexy. She persevered, arguing she couldn’t be the only one wanting to read that type of story, and Avon Books picked it up.
“Publishing wasn’t saying, ‘Let’s reflect the world we live in.’ It was authors, who usually are readers, who are reading these books for years and wanting to see themselves in the genre that they love and knowing that their stories are just as valid as what they’re reading,” Livesay said. “Publishers are being dragged, kicking and screaming, but it’s happening.”
Two of Nisha Sharma’s books — including her latest, “The Takeover Effect” — feature South Asian characters who are unapologetic about being from an immigrant family. Sharma immerses readers in a culture without explaining it and said writing the book “felt like I was coming home.”
For the authors pushing for change, it’s an uphill battle but worth the climb. Eva Leigh said her novel about the marriage between a duke and former sex worker garnered mostly positive reaction, but some said a “happily ever after” for such characters would be impossible.
“That coded, dog-whistle kind of language where we can go this far, but no further, should have people questioning their bias as to why you can have a wallflower dairy maid marry a duke, but somebody who was a former sex worker couldn’t,” Leigh said.
“Rebel” author Beverly Jenkins said this kind of gatekeeping sometimes comes from readers and other times publishers. Sharma agrees, pointing to the fact that readers like a certain type of South Asian story, and when novels don’t follow that stereotypical narrative, they get agitated.
Consumers and publishers are accustomed to seeing romance through a “white lens,” making it hard to move the needle on representation in the genre, said author Cat Sebastian. But she’s hopeful that as more diverse characters and cultures are portrayed, publishers will catch on, and the genre will become a more inclusive universe for readers.
“I think we’re going to see more people coming at parts of history that we thought that we heard all we need to hear about it,” she said. “But we’re really just waiting to hear from a new voice.”
“Publishing wasn’t saying, ‘Let’s reflect the world we live in.’ It was authors, who usually are readers, who are reading these books for years and wanting to see themselves in the genre that they love.” — Tracey Livesay, author of ‘Love on My Mind’