Realms of the Raven - Erotic Romance Author Maura Anderson

I was surfing blogs this morning and ended up going to the blog of author Monica Jackson. In the post for Feb 8, she talks a little about the issues black romance authors face in the industry, including the fact that black readership is simply smaller than non-black readership as a whole and what seems to be a segregation issue in anthologies and such.

After sitting and thinking about this for a while, then looking through my TBR pile, I wonder if I am even weirder than I thought.

I have books that contain all sorts of characters - white, black, asian, latino, american indian, middle eastern, etc. Heck, even aliens, werewolves and other paranormals. Honestly, it’s not something I use as a factor in whether or not I purchase a book.

To me it’s one of those non-issues. If the book is well written, shouldn’t it pull me into the head of whoever the character is? I hear from some of the authors that people won’t buy ‘x’ book because the author isn’t a white, middle-class woman. Or people won’t buy ‘y’ book because the couple is interracial.

I just don’t get it and I keep wondering why my reality seems so different from what I hear is the reality of the majority of the market. What’s the deal? LOL

I consider myself a pretty darned average person. I did grow up in science fiction fandom so I had a lot of very early exposure to a wide variety of people and interests. I grew up in a small southern California town where there was a large latino population. I work in the software industry which is highly diverse and in a hugely diverse company even in that industry. I’m a pagan, the community of which is also highly diverse. And I live in Seattle which is also very diverse. My boss at work (until I got this new job) is black, if that matters, my peer is Phillipino.

But what about other people? Do you have issues with romances written or staring people of ethnic origins different from your own? Does it play a role in whether you buy a book? If so, why? What about interracials?

Go Anon if you don’t want names, that’s okay. I’m honestly curious here.

Day job, that is! I was stressed because I really wanted it. After 4 hours of interviews yesterday, I was told verbally that I had it. Now I’m just waiting for HR to cough up the paperwork….

Yeehah!