Interracial Romance http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505 Princess_Jai As a huge fan of romance I've developed a liking for Interracial Romances. Now I know it's not huge in the publishing world but as an avid reader/writer of African American romance, are there any others who are interesting in interracial romances. Even if the couple aren't interracial just diversity in stories in general? Mon, 17 Oct 2011 22:41:28 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_104793 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_104793 RionaDaidouji I'd have no problems with it. One of my favourite book series as a kid was Animorphs, which included not only interracial romance, but interspecies as well. (....with aliens. That's probably an important detail to include) So yeah, I'm all for it, and would certainly read it! Mon, 17 Oct 2011 22:46:26 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_104860 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_104860 JezBibi Interracial romance is what I write, almost exclusively -- those were the stories I wanted most to read, and when I started reading romance, they were very difficult to find. I think things are starting to change now, though. Interracial romance is getting to be a pretty hefty chunk of the electronic market, even if "traditional" New York publishing isn't ready for it just yet. Have you been to look at the Interracial Multicultural Romance Readers' Book Club at imrrbookclub.multiply.com? JB Tue, 18 Oct 2011 07:50:54 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_107948 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_107948 Tesla.Ana I always write with an ensemble of main characters of different nationalities and races. My current novel has an AMBW couple as the main characters. It'd be interesting to see who else is writing this couple specifically. Tue, 18 Oct 2011 10:17:17 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_109109 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_109109 Nichelle I love interracial romances, esp AA women and white men, unfortunately there aren't enough out there and the few that exists aren't as good as I would hope. My plan for this year's NaNo is to write my own. I keep getting pulled towards a supernatural theme though. Tue, 18 Oct 2011 11:43:49 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_109964 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_109964 Princess_Jai @JezBibi I know it seems it's becoming popular in the ebook industry and maybe small print houses but not the big dogs in New York. I think it's getting to the point where interracial romances it's becoming exclusively for me to write as well although I occasionally write African American romances. And no I haven't gone to that Book Club but I'll definitely be checking it out :) @Nichelle, you know what they say if you're unsatisfied write your own novel. Have you read stories on ValentChamber and The Sweetest Taboo I have a few stories up over there and the authors are pretty good. There's nothing wrong with a supernatural theme, I like them. @Tesla oh yeah I written a couple of stories with that pairing and it seems to be scarce in the stores. @Riona I love the animorphs. That's my inspiration for a series of books I plan to write hopefully in the near future. Tue, 18 Oct 2011 14:08:46 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_111613 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_111613 Aklo Now that I think of it, I think every story I've ever written that had a romance in it, is was interracial, intercultural and/or interspecies. Not for any particular reason, and not even on purpose, but I guess it's just more interesting - in real life as well ;) Tue, 18 Oct 2011 15:23:15 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_112848 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_112848 skatepixie You also don't see much Asian romance, in general. "Diverse" typically just means "African American." And yeah, I know, Asians are a tiny minority, but I'm married to one so I guess I notice the lack more? Tue, 18 Oct 2011 16:42:00 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_114052 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_114052 vampyre_smiles Until a similar thread on the old boards, I didn't even think about it, but I have quite a few interracial relationships in one book. Not really a romance genre writer myself, but I do peek in here now and again for romance subplots. But yeah, I don't think about it one way or another. Love is love, ya know? Tue, 18 Oct 2011 18:08:41 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_115496 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_115496 Princess_Jai @skatepixie, you're right you don't see much Asian romance, Middle Eastern Romance, or Latino Romance (although they're the largest minority group in the united States) When I was younger the majority of the books I read in school were about Caucasian characters and it's kind of gotten to the point where some of my friends assume the characters are Caucasian unless stated otherwise. @vampyre_smiles you're so right. Love has no boundaries, accepts all, and sees no color but sadly many people even today have a problem with interracial couples. @Aklo, yeah I know. It's just something about interracial or even interspecies that's more interesting than the status quo Tue, 18 Oct 2011 23:12:17 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_119657 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_119657 Artisteri I can't say specifically that I write interracial romance, but I love and always write characters coming together from very different backgrounds. Sometimes it's across continents, sometimes across races, but the important thing is that I love seeing two people learn so many new things together, each sharing the other's customs, or having to translate behaviors, and also speaking other languages. I love that, I think it's too dull to imagine a couple with backgrounds that are too similar (now maybe that would be a test of writing for me to try just once...) Wed, 19 Oct 2011 01:17:01 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_120961 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_120961 Taisch Yeah...I've noticed the lack of Asians, too (being Asian-American myself) in English language romances (though they've become more common in fantasy novels). So everyone in my NaNo is Asian with interracial romances between people of different Asian/fantasy/demonic origins. One character has a half-Indian/half-Shambhalan parent, for no particular plot reason, it's just that that was where her grandmother was from. Hrmph! My FMC had a failed interracial marriage. The racial difference did play a part in their problems, including difficulties with the expectations of the in-laws. Even though these were fantasy/magical issues in this case, it happens even in real life (happened to me before), so I feel it's not realistic to just ignore the potential conflicts. Even when people don't worry about skin color, they still have ideas about "correct behavior" that vary from culture to culture, and can get pretty negative when someone doesn't conform to that ideal. Wed, 19 Oct 2011 07:05:54 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_123015 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_123015 RionaDaidouji Hm.... You know, thinking on it... More than ones, when coming up with characters, I've had some Japanese characters spring to mind as possible love interests or even as main characters. But then I always think "God, I look like an anime fangirl sticking all these Japanese characters in here!", and ended up removing most of them. (Though not all) So... Can we blame anime on this one? lol. Obviously, that shouldn't stop me from including Korean, Chinese, or Indonesian characters, but I know less about those cultures, so it would be trickier to write. That being said, the Japanese characters who HAVE made it in are usually in interracial romances, so there's that. Wed, 19 Oct 2011 08:33:07 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_123800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_123800 darby I'm all for more diversity in fiction, particularly in genre fiction. My story is set in a medieval fantasy world, but all the characters are essentially either Native North American or East Asian, and my main couple are essentially Okanagan and Japanese respectively. I'm finding there's some interesting culture clashes to play with in terms of my main couple. For instance, they have very different ideas about what, if anything, being in a same-sex relationship has to do with gender. Also, one character comes from a very high-context culture and is certain that his subtle slips have broadcast to the world that he's in love, while the other comes from a very low-context culture and is completely oblivious, because to him, if there hasn't been a declaration, it must not exist. Wed, 19 Oct 2011 13:05:32 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_127261 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_127261 Diane Keys Interracial romances are becoming more mainstream in real life, and I believe it will eventually reflect in the large publishing houses. One thing I don't like are the "diverse" romances where you can't forget for even one chapter that the main characters are a specific race/nationality. I'm talking, "You hate me because I'm _____. Well, I will overcome!" And I'm talking....EVERY....CHAPTER. We get it already. Move on. Thu, 20 Oct 2011 21:18:23 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_150493 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_150493 Aklo It also seems that their families and/or friends always object. I'm sure that happens sometimes, but personally I've not experienced it, and I'm sure there's many other mixed race couples for whom it's never been much of an issue. Fri, 21 Oct 2011 06:13:49 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_154592 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_154592 spectacledotter TECHNICALLY I'm writing interracial romance as the FMC is biracial (her father is black South African, her mother is white) and the MMC is Irish descent--meaning white. That never occurred to me as a problem, though. They're both Canadians, went my thinking, so I can write them both, right? (Being from Canada though I live in the States.) I was actually worried that her being biracial would be unacceptable in a market sort of way. I figure though, if it's not a standard already, maybe it's our job to make it one. Fri, 21 Oct 2011 07:56:42 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_155124 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_155124 Sidney Bristol I'm working on what I hope will be a six book series for my publisher. I roughly outlined the characters and then realized ...... they were all so white. Granted, I didn't make every book interracial, but I did want to do specific non-white types. I think those are the books in the series I'm most excited to write about. I have a sci fi zombie hunter book with a aa/hero and a w/heroine. As a white woman though, I felt awkward trying to write an aa/heroine though when I tried. I think that books need to reflect the different skin tones, and I get excited about bookd featuring different races. Fri, 21 Oct 2011 08:33:29 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_155386 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_155386 Dallas Laine I love interracial romances. Excluding fan fiction and a few short stories, I think that's all I've written. While some of the published ones aren't that good, some of the ones on The Sweetest Taboo and ValentChamber are really, really good. I like those a lot. I don't really know how I got so interested in IR romance. I mean I guess because I 1) wanted to write about more black female character and b) wanted to write about guys similar to what I am/was interested in. I typically wrote BW/WM, but for Nano this year I'm writing BW/AM(Asian Man). And as far writers who are published, there are some good ones out there. For example, Billy London, Sienna Mynx, and Violette Dubrinsky are all really good writers of Multicultural/Interracial romances. A lot of people like Marilyn Lee, Marie Rochelle, and Koko Brown(I think that's her name) too. I'm sure all of them have website, or at the very least, Facebook pages. Fri, 21 Oct 2011 13:24:51 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_158493 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_158493 skatepixie Yeah in my experence it's more subtle. My husband's parents never said, "omg don't marry a white girl, son." On the other hand, they have made life hard for me and expect me to fit into their culture instantly. They seem to expect that if there is a Filipino way to do it -- I'll do it that way, my own background and preferences be darned. I don't regret getting married or anything -- but there's been a lot of drama about it. Fri, 21 Oct 2011 19:50:26 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_163239 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_163239 RuthMadison My story for Nano has an interracial aspect. I will probably come in here looking for advice sometimes! Fri, 21 Oct 2011 20:26:20 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_163632 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_163632 Aklo That has more to do with culture than race, though. Sat, 22 Oct 2011 11:22:25 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_170450 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_170450 burroburrito umm. Ever since I read "Kindred" by Octavia Butler(This book is soooosad!) , I now have a liking to interracial romance in books. ( I am not gonna lie, those books used to scare me away). but I been thinking about doing something like this for nano.. Sun, 23 Oct 2011 01:04:53 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_179884 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_179884 RuthMadison My Nano story this time has a AA woman and white man! :) It's great to write the stories that you want to read. Sun, 23 Oct 2011 14:16:14 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_185687 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_185687 RuthMadison I've noticed that too. I have a couple of stories with Indian main characters. Sun, 23 Oct 2011 14:17:31 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_185702 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_185702 RuthMadison That is an awesome book Sun, 23 Oct 2011 14:33:57 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_185924 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_185924 RuthMadison Yes, I agree "if it's not a standard already, maybe it's our job to make it one." Sun, 23 Oct 2011 14:34:24 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_185930 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_185930 burroburrito I know! It's hard to get my head around the book, actually. how somone can write something like that good? Sun, 23 Oct 2011 16:03:48 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_187060 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_187060 RuthMadison Makes me insanely jealous :) Sun, 23 Oct 2011 16:40:30 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_187533 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_187533 Princess_Jai Glad to see I'm not the only one writing an interracial story for Nano this year. I've known Dallas Laine from The Sweetest Taboo and she's a good writer as well :) Go for it sweetie I love Am/Bw stories. This Nano I wanted to do something different, being biracial myself my FMC is half African (probably Congolese) and half Asian (most likely Japanese woohoo go Anime :D lol) Anyway my MMC well I was thinking of making him half African American and half Latino. Either way it's still interracial Octavia Butler such a powerful writer. I would definitely recommend Valent Chamber (that's an open forum) and The Sweetest Taboo (not an open forum) for anyone interested in good Interracial stories for free. Those authors are very talented and I have a few works up over there myself. Sun, 23 Oct 2011 22:44:56 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_192760 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_192760 skatepixie Yeah for sure. Unless it's African American romance, though, the two tend to go hand-in-hand -- especially when it comes to Asians. Sun, 23 Oct 2011 23:29:49 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_193325 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_193325 skatepixie Dang the lack of edit button but I do get what you're saying there. I mean, even country girl and city boy is a culture clash thing -- similar themes, just other cultures. :-) Sun, 23 Oct 2011 23:30:53 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_193343 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_193343 bronsautracks latinooooo men. i love any romance involving any man from south of the border. omnomnom so yummy. spaniards and portuguese are okay too. my husband is brazilian <3 my story involves a lot of latin lovers. Mon, 24 Oct 2011 15:06:02 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_202003 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_202003 Princess_Jai My MMC's mother is from Argentina I love latino men as well but I do like black men which is why I decided to make him biracial. it still counts as interracial, I like BW/WM but I like to do things differently. Mon, 24 Oct 2011 15:29:09 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_202397 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_202397 Princess_Jai Also if anyone would like to share plots feel free to do so :) Fri, 28 Oct 2011 17:32:37 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_270435 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_270435 Dallas Laine Ah, thanks for the confidence. :D Princess_Jai is a great writer too; she's done a few AM/BW herself. I hope I can get a chance to read your story though. I'm thinking about doing a one-short or short involving a Japanese guy and black woman at some point. I don't know if I'll get it posted before Nano starts. Fri, 28 Oct 2011 18:41:42 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_271354 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_271354 Princess_Jai No prob :) I mean it's going to be a challenge writing 50K in a month especially with school going on. Fri, 28 Oct 2011 18:47:32 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_271444 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_271444 Dallas Laine Well, mine is about a former med student who opens up a tea shop, and she meets a South Korean guy(and his band mates) who is in a K-Pop group. He and his bandmates are visiting the U.S. to go to a convention to promote their newest album and a television drama that they did in South Korea. I'm going for a drama or an anime that they did voice overs for. I can't decide yet. Anyway, the girl started her tea shop after dropping out of med school, which she did because she saw a patient(that wasn't hers) die horrifically and she couldn't get over it. Her parents are livid over it, because they wanted her to be a doctor( and eventually marry one); so, this causes a lot of tension between them. The mother is mad, but isn't as mad as the father. The K-Pop guy wants to break away from the "kiddy-stuff" and do less "teeny-bopper stuff"(either with or without his group; I'm thinking of doing with though. However, their music production company(the word escapes me right now) doesn't want that obviously, because they don't know how well it will sell and they want to milk the group for all they are worth. At the same time though, he feels afraid to take that risk because that group(or rather what they are currently doing) is really all he knows, and like the producers/management, he doesn't know how successful they'd be. The reason why this is a problem is because he needs the money he is making for his family, more specifically his sick mother, so, he can pay the bills. And throughout the story, things happen that kind of end up pushing the girl to finish med school and the guy's group to doing non-teen-aimed music. Also her friend and one his friends get together, and something happens between them(and with the MC guy for that matter) that acts as a catalyst to send her med school. I know that was long, and by now I should I have a good summary....but yeah. Haha. Fri, 28 Oct 2011 18:55:23 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_271562 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_271562 Princess_Jai Wow that sounds interesting :) I like it. Well here's mine and I promise this is what happens when you watch too much anime :P My story is about a young man named Keani Jeffries. Instead of going away to college after graduating high school, he stays home for a year and becomes an apprentice at the jet factory his father works at. (This is the part I'm having trouble with tying together) He gets scouted to replace a deceased member of the sky fighting team the Night Hawks based on his knowledge of jets (from playing video games) He doesn't get along with his teammates but befriends a girl called Nine who is the exact opposite of him when it comes to knowing her purpose in life. Their friendship blossoms into a romance after they both deal with the emotional traumas of participating in a deadly sport while discovering Nine's hurtful secrets. Well, like I said earlier (or maybe not) I suck at summaries lol Fri, 28 Oct 2011 20:54:25 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_273155 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_273155 Dallas Laine It's sounds interesting to me. I like it. Fri, 28 Oct 2011 21:55:28 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_274040 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_274040 Princess_Jai Thanks, this is probably one of my most challenging stories besides the one I might do for camp if they have it this upcoming summer. Fri, 28 Oct 2011 23:05:23 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_275046 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_275046 Dallas Laine How long does the camp story have to be? I may use the short I'm working on for camp, if I want to. Sat, 29 Oct 2011 13:59:25 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_284313 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_284313 Princess_Jai I have no clue, it may be about the same I never done camp Sat, 29 Oct 2011 17:23:11 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_287617 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_287617 Tesla.Ana I really like the plots for all of your novels. I'm fairly new to the romance genre and this forum has saved my life. My novel is about: A 19-year-old Chinese-American man is trying to make it big as a Hollywood actor, but even after working his hardest and doing everything he could possibly do, he's still still cast in stereotyped roles. After the death of his mother, he loses his drive to become an actor (a dream he had ever since he was a child) and falls off the Hollywood scene. It's around this time that he reevaluates his life, has a short affair with a popular Hollywood actress, and tries to decide what his options are. Meanwhile, an African-American woman (19) woman is going to California in order to get into journalism. Supporting her is a large sum of money that she is using to go through school and support her mother. She also has ideas about becoming an actress, but even though many people suggest that she should audition for roles, she doubts her chances and continues to pursue journalism. The two meet during a gathering (I have no idea where that will be, yet) and she becomes interested in becoming his biographer (ignoring the fact that he's only 19). He's less than enthusiastic about the idea because he's afraid she'll decrease his chances of becoming a star, now that he's back on the scene. She begins to admire him from afar and tries many times to get cast in a movie with him, but is constantly rejected. Keeping to her journalist dream, she writes and sends in anonymous reviews and endorsements for him, hoping to help his career. When she finally decides to audition for a role, she gets the part, although it's not the most ideal part she'd want. She's cast alongside him, though. In the film, he's the "exotic forbidden lover" to the female character. Even though they have next to no scenes with each other, they gradually fall in love. Sun, 30 Oct 2011 16:23:48 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_303907 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_303907 Dallas Laine Sounds interesting. Sun, 30 Oct 2011 16:50:07 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_304491 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_304491 Princess_Jai Yay a AM/BW story :) I love that idea a lot. Not a lot of those stories out there let alone interracial. I don't know why but I see more m/m stories than I do interracial stories on the market. But of course LGBT romances can be interracial as well. Sun, 30 Oct 2011 16:50:43 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_304507 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_304507 Tesla.Ana That's true. I live in a pretty homogeneous small town and the school and public libraries don't have much variety. In fact, there's a tiny section of books that have African American protagonists that doesn't have any check-out dates on them. Either the books are that popular, or no one is reading them. It's a shame because the books are actually quite good. And don't even get me started on any books with Asian protagonists. There's no more than 10 of those in the school library. Sun, 30 Oct 2011 19:15:27 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_307669 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_307669 Princess_Jai Yeah, my literature class actually had a good discussion about that. Everyone automatically assume when they read a book the protagonists are Caucasian. Books with minorities as the leading characters aren't ever on the reading lists for the curriculum. I don't mind reading about those characters but I do wish to see more diversity in books especially romance. Sun, 30 Oct 2011 20:05:03 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_308771 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_308771 Tesla.Ana Change of plans, my novel isn't going to be focusing just on any type of romantic relationship, it's going to be about this science fiction idea that's been floating around for while. The main couple is still going to be AM/BW, just not in this universe. Mon, 31 Oct 2011 15:16:37 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_329961 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_329961 Jammi Yeah, I think that's one of the reasons I never used to read African American books or interracial romances even though I'm black. It got on my last nerve, lol, I don't mind it as a conflict but there has to be more then just that. Mon, 31 Oct 2011 15:43:26 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_330598 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_330598 Jammi I'm doing interracial as well, so far I've done mainly BW/WM, although I have an idea bouncing around my head for a BW/AM (Japanese or Korean although he may be white/asian) story. My only thing with doing a BW/AM is that I'm not as comfortable with the cultural aspect even though he was born and raised in Canada I know that unless you're like third generation Canadian you're parents cultures have a huge impact as well as the community you live in, so I don't want to do something there and then it's unrealistic. My nano novel is going to be BW/WM although since she's Nicaraguan there's also a strong Latin flavour to it. There's also a side story of a BW/HM [Puerto Rican] that was part of a first book that I'm about five chapters from finishing and I'm actually hoping to get a huge chunk of those chapters done this month as well if possible. Mon, 31 Oct 2011 15:55:09 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_330876 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_330876 Princess_Jai My novel has a science fiction aspect as well. Mon, 31 Oct 2011 16:27:42 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_331699 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_331699 Princess_Jai Hi Jammi :) It's JLeshay nice to see you're doing Nano as well. So Missy's story is going to be the Nano novel? Mon, 31 Oct 2011 16:29:04 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_331737 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_331737 Jammi Lol, I just sent you message asking you if you were you, haha. And yeah, Missy's novel is going to be the nanonovel. Not sure if I'm going to win this year since I also want to use nano to finish IWOAK as well, but we'll see. Mon, 31 Oct 2011 16:37:56 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_331913 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_331913 Princess_Jai Aw well I guess my dp gave it away lol Mon, 31 Oct 2011 17:09:26 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_332761 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_332761 KenraDaniels I write Paranormal, and my races are fictional, but the series I'm working on now is interracial. The characters are dealing with many of the same issues interracial human couples face, like prejudice and bigotry, cultural differences, and fear of the reactions of loved ones. Ensuring that each couple runs into different obstacles through the series has been challenging. I didn't set out to write interracial relationships, but it worked out that way, and I'm glad it did. It adds another facet to the romances, and provides another source of internal conflict. Mon, 31 Oct 2011 21:30:52 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_339247 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_339247 Dallas Laine Well, how is everyone's Nano going? Having any trouble yet? Sat, 05 Nov 2011 10:04:32 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_490659 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_490659 JoyceHeatherington I am interested because I have friends who are interracial marriages. This is such an awesome idea! Sat, 05 Nov 2011 21:17:48 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_508408 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_508408 Princess_Jai Yeah, I love to see diversity in stories and interracial relationships are beautiful. Sat, 05 Nov 2011 21:21:33 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_508507 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_508507 Dallas Laine So, has anyone here ever done a Historical Interracial romance? I myself haven't, but I have seen them. Some of them look really good. I know that Sienna Mynx does a lot of them. And there are some writers out there that do an alternative universe type of thing. Sat, 05 Nov 2011 21:46:35 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_509238 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_509238 Princess_Jai Well I have done a historical romance that took place during slavery times and during the Jim Crow days. Also, I have plans to write a series that is based in some sort of alternate universe type setting because it's setting is a fictional country filled with many diverse people who have problems but skin color isn't an issue. Sat, 05 Nov 2011 22:05:50 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_509771 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_509771 lambauman Gee, I just discover this thread. Where have I been all this time? This is my first NaNo and I am writing paranormal romance pairing a Chinese fox fairy with an American werewolf. How about that for interracial? (More like inter-species, LOL.) In the story, the girl really didn't care about race. It was the wolf aspect that bothers her the most, since her entire fox family was eaten by wolves back in ancient China 500 years ago. (Forgiveness, redemption,....nah, it is just a typical boy-meets-girl plot.) In real life I am Chinese married to Caucasian, and I am all for diversity. In romance novels I usually find more diversity in the paranormal sub-genre. I guess when it comes to the difference between, say, vampires and werewolfs and other supernatural folks, race really isn't much of an issue. Everything is relative. ^_- Sat, 05 Nov 2011 23:42:40 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_512415 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_512415 Mackenzi. I love interracial romance stories, they are so attractive and yet natural to me. I'm biracial myself, so growing up with my parents in such a relationship made it seem like the common thing to me. Now it bothers me when in movies and books, if every one of the couples are paired up by race. It feels fake and scripted. So most of the romances (romantic subplots that is) I write are interracial. Sun, 06 Nov 2011 00:26:43 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_513402 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_513402 Harlow I'm writing an interracial romance - between a White Englishman of Italian Descent and a Creole of Color (Afrian-American) woman. Sun, 06 Nov 2011 00:45:39 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_513801 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_513801 Princess_Jai Yep, that's interracial and interspecies which is cool :) and sounds very interesting too. Sun, 06 Nov 2011 10:44:31 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_522876 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_522876 Princess_Jai Cool, I'm biracial too (interracial may be more appropriate I suppose) When races are paired up it does seem kind of natural to me because there are more non interracial relationships than there are interracial relationships in reality, and that's okay. I just like interracial relationships because I like diversity altogether. I don't believe in separate races I believe in one race and that's the human race. Sun, 06 Nov 2011 10:46:46 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_522918 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=2#forum_thread_comment_522918 Princess_Jai Wow, cool. My dad's an Englishman (not of Italian descent but he is 1/4 Filipino) and I dated a Creole guy once. They're mixed with African, French, and or Spanish descent. Sun, 06 Nov 2011 10:48:31 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_522963 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_522963 Jammi How's everyone doing now that a full week has passed? Any plot twists you weren't expecting? Anyone ahead of their daily goal? I'm already so far behind it's ridiculous, lol, though I have managed to push out almost 4000 words in one day. Hoping to get back on track this weekend. Mon, 07 Nov 2011 23:35:27 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_568449 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_568449 danew That is one of my favorite books! Thu, 10 Nov 2011 16:37:34 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_626258 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=1#forum_thread_comment_626258 Liz10 I'm writing an inter-racial romance (actually 2 of my couples are inter-racial). I was inspired by the fight for same sex marriage and the passage of NY's same sex marriage law this summer. I kept thinking about how similar it is to the fight against ant-miscegenation laws back in the 1960's, which is one of the time periods I have set my novel in (it is a time travel romance, so one of my couple is from the present and is traveling to 1964 to prevent the murders of my other couple). Fri, 11 Nov 2011 01:19:32 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_634637 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_634637 Lix H. I suppose I'm writing an interracial romance - my main character is black and her love interest is of South Asian descent. Race doesn't really come up in the romance part of the story, though, and only a little bit outside of that. Fri, 11 Nov 2011 09:43:17 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_638847 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_638847 Lix H. Oh, and the Crown Prince in my novel is engaged to a black lady, which is how race comes up in the plot (main character's love interest is unofficially assigned to keep an eye on the prince's fiancée, as a security detail of sorts; Secret Service suspects recent attempts to hurt the royal family by supervillains are racism-based). Fri, 11 Nov 2011 09:46:05 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_638890 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_638890 Princess_Jai Well my original plans aren't working for me so I decided to work on another idea that came to me from a dream so I thought why not make that into a story since it was one of my good dreams. The FMC is a new recruit firefighter for the Chicago Fire Department. She just moved out of her parents house and into her own apartment where she meets her neighbor and the MMC who is a kindergarten teacher. She has a boyfriend who is overseas on military duty and he's currently in between girlfriends and they become good friends but as the story progresses they develop feelings for each other and fall in love. Also, an older male, who happens to be Creole and a successful banker becomes interested in her after they meet by getting into an altercation. They go on a few dates which makes the MMC jealous, but she's not interested in him because of his arrogance and his will to throw his money around and flash it in everyone's faces. Oh and her boyfriend returns home so this is a kind of reverse harem story only she knows who she wants and that's the MMC. Fri, 11 Nov 2011 12:28:27 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_641432 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_641432 Dallas Laine Mine is, just ugh, I don't know. I'm going to try writing in a different place, and see if that changes anything but I don't know if it will. I'm so behind it's insane. It's almost Week 3! I don't even have 10,000 words yet. I have no idea what I'm going to do. -sigh- I'm quite sure I won't finish this year. Fri, 11 Nov 2011 14:36:26 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_643575 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_643575 Aradex Mine's going to be an interracial romance this year. Last year it was interspecies. I write all sorts of things but this year, it came easily to me to write it interracial because I wanted to express some of my frustration over the racism I've been seeing in my family. I even added in SuperRacist!Dad for my FMC to deal with because that's what I'm dealing with myself (though I'm not currently in an interracial relationship). Fri, 11 Nov 2011 17:34:55 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_646976 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_646976 Jammi Exact same boat as you, I'm hoping to try and push out ten k this weekend buttttt I'm volunteering at the local film festival this weekend so I doubt that's going to happen. I just need to figure out how to get to where I'm going because I know how everything should actually play out but the writing just isn't flowing. Honestly, I look at nano as at least I'm writing. November is always a busy month for me and if it wasn't for November I wouldn't write anything at all. Fri, 11 Nov 2011 21:52:47 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_650806 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_650806 Jammi Sounds like you have solid grip on the plot already, are you still aiming for the full 50k? Fri, 11 Nov 2011 22:09:05 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_651120 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_651120 Princess_Jai Yeah, I am if I can make it. I do have a solid grip on the plot, plotting is my forte actually. Oh, I been meaning to ask did the problem over on fanfiction.net get resolved? Sat, 12 Nov 2011 15:20:22 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_662208 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_662208 Princess_Jai That sounds like an interesting idea :) Sat, 12 Nov 2011 15:22:07 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_662245 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_662245 BrandonSP My story features an African queen in love with a European prince, and the queen has to bring her prince back to life after her brother has him killed. Sat, 12 Nov 2011 22:22:38 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_669402 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_669402 Bella_Cat13 I've got a fun IR romance going. It's a white guy who grew up in an ethnic neighborhood with a very dark black girl who grew up in a white neighborhood. Sun, 13 Nov 2011 18:12:21 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_681461 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_681461 Jammi Nope, she hasn't taken it down but she hasn't updated it either. I found her tumblr and left her a message on there since she was updating that daily. She stopped updating there, lol, but she still won't take the story down. I don't know what's wrong with her or why FFN is taking so long. Tue, 15 Nov 2011 18:47:12 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_716555 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_716555 Princess_Jai SMH, I don't know. Sometimes it takes those fools forever to act. I guess it's because the site is so big and they probably get like a hundred emails a day or something. I don't know. That's the risky part about posting stories online. People will just take it because they think they can. Tue, 15 Nov 2011 19:47:48 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_717476 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_717476 SoulchildSecret Would love to read your story. Thu, 17 Nov 2011 20:27:55 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_747856 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_747856 XVisiEX I actually wrote an interracial relationship for my novel. Sun, 20 Nov 2011 23:03:03 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_788334 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_788334 Princess_Jai Yay I'm a winner Fri, 25 Nov 2011 13:02:57 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_841811 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_841811 Jammi congrats!! My word count is actually a lot farther along then it says on here [I'm in the 20K) but you must've put in work to not only finish but finish with over 50k when you changed your novel partway through. Fri, 25 Nov 2011 18:42:59 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_845224 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_845224 Princess_Jai Yeah, I did. I ended up working on several stories under the same word doc which is why I exceeded 50K. None of them are finished at the moment, but I'm working on it. Congrats on getting 20K Sat, 26 Nov 2011 13:21:01 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_853182 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_853182 Jammi That makes sense, that's what I was going to do but got sidetracked. I'm pushing to try and get 50K b y Wednesday. I have to write a little over 7k a day but I'm going to try. Sat, 26 Nov 2011 19:11:44 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_856398 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_856398 Princess_Jai Good Luck :) Anything is possible. Oh and are you going to start writing for the chamber soon? Sat, 26 Nov 2011 21:48:02 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_858185 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_858185 Jammi Yeah, I've been thinking about posting IWOAK on there, i don't know why I'm so hesitant too though, lol. Sat, 26 Nov 2011 22:40:46 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_858743 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_858743 Princess_Jai I think it would do well on that site. A lot of the readers on there also read on FP. I was surprised when I first starting writing on that site and a lot of the ladies recognized my story. You might have to watch out for some anonymous reviewers because some of them don't take the time out to read anything but the story. Some thought I plaigarized my own story but didn't even read my name and saw I'm the same author. Sun, 27 Nov 2011 13:48:32 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_864407 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_864407 Lori Ramsey My novel is about an American white girl who falls in love with a man from India! :) Sun, 27 Nov 2011 20:29:36 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_869215 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_869215 DancesWithWritersBlock I absolutely LOVE interracial romances! And being a child from a interracial marriage (Black/Puerto Rican father, White mother) it's something that just comes naturally to me. I actually have an unwritten rule, where I HAVE to have my characters as opposite as possible, I truly believe opposites attract. Plus whats interesting about a relationship where your both alike? :p Mon, 12 Dec 2011 23:07:25 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_968480 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_968480 Silver-Midnight I hope everyone did well on their Nanos. My was a failure, but I'm going to keep going. I'm still going to write IR too. I really want to try to write BW/AM. It's taking me a bit of time though. Haha. However, it took a long time for me to write my first BW/WM. Writing still feels fairly new to me. It's kind of refreshing. It means I'm learning new things, and that it's, hopefully, not getting boring. Wed, 14 Dec 2011 00:13:01 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_971726 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_971726 Tesla.Ana Do you have an idea what the BW/AM story will be about? My novel that I'm working on outside of Nano is BW/AM. Wed, 14 Dec 2011 13:36:14 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_972766 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_972766 Princess_Jai There's always next year. I believe I got lucky on this haha Wed, 14 Dec 2011 21:01:19 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_973960 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_973960 Silver-Midnight Well, truthfully, I'm working on two or three stories and I have an idea for a story that I know will be long, not including my Nano. I don't know how to go about writing full-length stories well. I'm terrible at writing longer stories. I just don't know how to do them well at all. I'm still learning. My Nano and the full length story involve K-Pop boy bands, and the two smaller stories involve a couple(They aren't a couple yet) going back to get their Masters degrees(I'm still deciding in what) and the other guy I'm still deciding. This is my first time technically writing BW/AM. It's, honestly, different. I think because BW/WM was my "comfort zone", if that makes sense. So, to go outside of that is refreshing and different. What is your BW/AM story about? Fri, 16 Dec 2011 13:39:57 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_977438 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_977438 Silver-Midnight Does anyone have any advice for writing BW/AM? Even though, it is similar to writing BW/WM, it is also quite different. I mean all of this in the least offending way possible. I know that there is the cultural aspect obviously, but there are just some other things there that feel different than writing BW/WM. If I'm wrong, I thoroughly apologize. Anyway, does anyone have any advice? Fri, 16 Dec 2011 13:43:11 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_977450 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_977450 Tesla.Ana To answer your first question: My story is about a woman in the air force who is stationed in Tokyo during the occupation. She meets a photographer who is bitter about the war and opposed to her finding American families for GI babies. To your second question: Both BW/AM and BW/WM can be the same, but there are differences. First, is the asian male Americanized, American, or upholds to his traditional culture? Historically, Yellow Peril posed asian males as threats to white men. When asians would come to america, they wouldn't bring their families most of the time, so they would fall in love with white women. With miscegenation laws, this spelt trouble. Many men were imprisoned and lynched. With this being said, asian men also integrated into black communities and married black women. I doubt miscegenation laws were as important since the couple wasn't white. Since black women and asian men were pretty much at the bottom of the social ladder, there has always been a struggle of hypersexualization and desexualization respectively. In addition to this, the stereotypes have been unforgiving. I would suggest sticking to personalities rather than generalizations. It seems easy, but it honestly isn't. First, I wouldn't make her one of those "why are there no good men around?" or the "dating outside my own race will give me beautiful blasian babies" types. I have seen that so many times in real life. Also, not all asian parents oppose their son dating a black woman, so only make race an issue if it's part of the plot. Another thing I avoid is having her break up with a black man to find something "better". Black males already get enough dissing from black women as it is. Which brings me to the next issue. Asian males and black females' counterparts date outside their race, so those two are left without a partner. Stereotypes only make matters worse. Due to the traditional culture, asian males are seen as domineering. With black women, you have "mad black woman" syndrome. I have not dated an asian male (oh but would I ever!), but my desk partner is smart and outgoing, so the "shyness" thing has more to do with the less frankness of the asian culture (japan especially). I find that the differences between the asian cultures should also be expressed. A Chinese male may be more outgoing than a Japanese male, so asian alone won't cut it. I assume by black you mean American (I identify as black American and my family is from Trinidad). So she will have to deal with many issues. Straight hair and light skin are some. It is just ridiculous how prevalent the skin thing is in American society. I have encountered those problems personally since my mom has light skin and hazel eyes, so there has always been this "beauty" expectation. As a black female, there is a lot of pressure on me to be "strong" and take on so many responsibilities, which goes back to slave days. Black women had to work, take care of the family, maybe even the master's family, and the reason why BW/WM is historically more prevalent. Your FMC may be expected to carry more weight on her shoulders than what she needs. The same can apply to asian males. If you have any other questions about BW/AM, you can always NANOMAIL me. Fri, 16 Dec 2011 18:45:33 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_978494 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_978494 Silver-Midnight Oh, okay. I don't feel so bad for what I've written so far then. I didn't stick to or use any stereotypes as of yet, not even the "angry black woman" stereotype. I don't know. I just felt like my stories are lacking something, but I can't tell what yet. Truthfully, this is my first time writing BW/AM, and so, it might be just be me trying to get used to writing it. Who knows? However, I don't know. It just feels off. Maybe it's just my forever inner critic being....critical. Haha. Maybe my only problem is just to keep my plot in mind and well, write. I am glad that you told that more parent are accepting though; that's not to say that I thought all families(or even a majority) weren't accepting of their childrens' spouses either. That's good to know. Thank you. I did learn some things though, and I'll make sure to keep them in mind. Fri, 16 Dec 2011 20:18:08 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_978674 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_978674 Tesla.Ana Okay, I'm an idiot. Here's part two. I believe BW/AM is not portrayed in the media as much because of the beauty standard. Apparently Romeo Must Die did not have a kissing scene because it was not favored by an urban audience. What do you think would have been different if Britt and Kato were both crushing on a black female? Obviously that would raise eyebrows. It's just a matter of getting past DomineeringAbusive!Asian guy and ViolentVictimized!Black girl. There is not much reference on television for this couple, so the dynamic is very difficult to determine. The way I go about it is using my characters' cultural backgrounds to enhance their personalities. For example, one of my story ideas has a Chinese man who is determined to get his family to America. He worked on a railroad and now owns a small medicine store. He's married to an heiress of a clothing empire and they have a baby. For them, race doesn't define their relationship, it defines how the outside views the relationship. I find BW/AM easy to write because it is so versatile and there's so much potential. Fri, 16 Dec 2011 21:26:30 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_978889 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_978889 Silver-Midnight Oh no. It's fine. I think my problem with writing comes from, well, me. It's not that I have a problem with the actual story, the characters, especially if I like them, or even the pairing (I love BW/AM), but I think it's just my inner critic talking, or technically thinking. I didn't know that there was so much potential for BW/AM truthfully; I most write contemporary stories honestly. Even when I'm doing another kind of pairing, I'm doing contemporary stories. Sat, 17 Dec 2011 05:54:17 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_979515 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_979515 Princess_Jai That was some excellent advice Tesla. Ana. I am definitely taking notes. I was thinking the same thing with the black woman leaving the black man for something better thing. I always steer clear of that. I mean if I'm putting a black man in the story then he's going to be staying with his black woman. It just won't be an interracial story unless another couple is involved. I don't like the use of stereotypes either. My biggest fear is offending someone. Sun, 18 Dec 2011 21:37:52 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_983604 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_983604 Silver-Midnight Well, as far as the "black woman leaving the black man for something better" , for me, depends on how you consider leaving. If they were divorced or broken up, and this is before the male lead is introduced or has any real affect on the FMC, then I may not necessarily have a problem with it. Sun, 18 Dec 2011 22:35:30 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_983787 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_983787 Caspia29 I'm actually writing a story about a girl who looks white but is actually black (her parents are both black) and she ends up eloping with white man. The story mostly revolves around her not wanting to deny her heritage (cultural background?) even if it wasn't the happiest experience (being teased by all the children and shunned by some of the grown-ups), while her husband wants her to move on, forget the past, and accept the life she is living in now. She's supposed to get a letter from her mother(whom she kept in touch with and sends money to regularly) soon about coming back home, and I can't wait to see what happens... Fri, 13 Jan 2012 23:27:35 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_1058375 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_1058375 Tesla.Ana What time period does your story take place in? I'm quite curious about your FMC and the choice that she has to make. Sun, 15 Jan 2012 18:38:04 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_1062960 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_1062960 Caspia29 It's taking place somewhere in the 60's... Sun, 15 Jan 2012 22:51:47 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_1063767 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_1063767 missmoppet I have written two funny interracial romances and I'm re-writing them now to submit for publication. One story follows a black US Marshall and a whitey mcwhitey ginger girl who handles being shot at surprisingly well. The other is a mixed race bellydancer (B&W) and the black man whose car she steals. It's funny I swear! I'm personally mixed race and enjoy writing the issues and joys that occur when you add a racial component to the story. Sadly the few African American romances I've read have left me cold as there was a large emphasis on religion. Not all brown people are christian (or religious at all) and I'd love to see more romances written with people of color that aren't necessarily heavy on the religion. Mon, 30 Jan 2012 09:47:10 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_1102228 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_1102228 XVisiEX I am leaning towards Predominately African American/White or Hispanic female with a Vietnamese/still researching something I considered. Little more branched out than my last, Black Female/White male story I did this year. But hey, why not try and stretch ourselves out a bit as long as we are willing to do the research to try and properly present each character? This in particular book will focus a bit more on faith but this is because this is a personal project for me. I usually complain about how a lot of the Christian books/Films I have seen have it being utterly preachy and poorly constructed in terms of characters, plots and what not. So I am attempting to break that mold for myself and create an enjoyable read >_> That being said, yet ANOTHER story has several "interracial" couples XDDD mainly because i had a huge ensemble and ended up giving at least half of them different backgrounds so naturally.....things happened. But then again it's fantasy so.....everything is pretty mixed there. I agree with avoiding stereotypes though I am debating the "Doctor/Scientist/Medical researcher" That is kiiinda important to the plot and I don't want the male stereotyped just because he HAPPENS to be going into the medical field. Regardless of his heritage, him being a doctor was planned right off the bat....race is still being debated dag gon it. Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:07:09 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_1105587 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_1105587 missmoppet Wow I really appreciate this well thought out response and your story sounds fascinating. I've always had a bit of an (obsesion) interest in asian men. I'm mixed race and I write romances and I tend to make the couples interracial. I have no issue with interracial couples, I'm happily married to a ginger and I adore him. But lately I've been struggling with my current story because it followed a white woman and a black man and I became uncomfortable with the politics that dog that particular combination (fetishization of european women, desexualization of black women), I couldn't figure out how to tell the story without getting into that conversation and I'm not interested in dealing with it. So I've reconfigured my story and made my male character Samoan (possibly samoan and black) because I feel that there is a lot less "rules" and politics when the character is mixed. Expectations of what he should or shouldn't like are more fluid and I don't have to apologize or explain their love. It just IS. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 09:26:42 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_1164244 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_1164244 Tesla.Ana Thank you! This has been a topic that has always fascinated me, so I'm a little passionate. With your story, it really all depends on how far you'd want to go with the whole politics. I love taking on really controversial topics (such as the dehumanization through desexualization of Jewish males during the Holocaust) so I guess it would all depend on the time period of your story with the black male and white female (if you still write it) and if you're willing to take on that controversy. With interracial relationships, I usually focus on the cultural aspects of the relationship since I love Asian culture (Chinese, specifically). And besides, that seems to be the easiest route to go since I'd rather have my FMC's mother-in-law yell at her because she didn't bow properly than if she was too light or too dark. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 20:34:23 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_1165612 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/romance/threads/6505?page=3#forum_thread_comment_1165612