As an interracial romance writer and a woman in an interracial relationship, I find myself in a bit of a pickle. Do I want to make race a plot point or not? If I did I could possibly race awareness to different issues or situations that someone in an interracial relationship may face. and I would absolutely love to do that because that is beyond relevant and intensely important to me, now and in the future. Alas, so far, (I’m new to the literary world) I haven’t been that kind of writer.
Trust me when I say it is not a choice I make on purpose, I just let the story flow through me the way it does. In future books it could happen but in this particular book, The Trouble with playing Cupid it just honestly never came up. just like how it being non-erotic wasn’t premeditated.
That being said when I read interracial romance novels, which happens to be the kind I favor, I like reading how the authors address the issue. I like this because for some people race has always been a huge issue in their lives and it deserves, no it NEEDS to be talked about.
Not everyone has been as lucky as I have been to not have it shoved down their throats as if being black or being in an interracial relationship is a bad thing. I’ve only had to deal with it since being with Chris, my fiance. and only on rare occasions. Family and friends and strangers on the street have had their say but it has been so far apart that I can still count it on both hands. We’re surrounded by people who accept us, for which I am eternally grateful.
I was also fortunate enough that when I was on the dating scene, I never had to have the awkward race conversations. I’m black all day every day, and the guys who liked me (of varying non-black races) and who I liked back obviously knew this and we just carried on, and that’s how I envision the romance between my characters. Personally that is the reason why I am light on character’s physical descriptions.
I know I’m in the minority in this case, just like I’m in the minority for writing books with no sex in them. It doesn’t mean that I think sex or race is irrelevant, it just means that I suck at being a mature writer!
Either way, I applaud and appreciate the authors who address how people react to interracial couples or how it affects the people within the relationship, with candor. I wish I could be like them and maybe I will be as each book progresses.
