January 10, 2009
Multicultural Heroines of Urban Fantasy & Paranormal Romance
 UPDATE: The winner is…Lindsey Ekland! Lindsey, please contact me at michelle@michellelaurenbooks.com with your mailing address. Thanks to everyone for commenting!Â
Happy Saturday morning! This is my first post as part of the SEx blog so I’m really excited.
I decided to blog today about one of my favorite genres in romance, urban fantasy. I am a big fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, so it’s no surprise that I love this genre. Everything about it appeals to me, especially the blending of fantastical elements such as shape shifters and, in the case of my upcoming Liquid Silver Books release Starstruck, feisty celestial stars and the bad boys who love them.
I recently had a discussion with some other African-American writers who mentioned they hadn’t come across very many urban fantasies with heroines of color. That got me thinking. I could only count a few books in the genres of paranormal romance or urban fantasy that fit this criteria but I knew there had to be more.
So I posted a question on Amazon. The responses blew me away. Readers and authors joined in sharing their favorite books in both urban fantasy and paranormal romance with multicultural heroines. So today, I’m counting down my top 4 favorites in these two genres, starting with…
4. Maxine Kiss (“Hunter’s Kiss†by Marjorie Liu; part of the “Wild Things†anthology)
You just don’t get more kick butt than Maxine. She’s a demon hunter covered with living tattoos that peel off to form an unbeatable body guard used to defeat creatures of the night. This is definitely a girl I want on my side: strong but vulnerable (she was orphaned young when her mother was murdered by a zombie; now the tattoos are her only family). I couldn’t put this novella down!
3. Devoni Mitchell (as seen in “Fantasy Knights†by Marilyn Lee)
This was a recent purchase and one well worth reading. In my opinion, there just aren’t enough full-figured women in romance but Marilyn Lee always delivers in this department. Devoni is sassy, intelligent and the kind of friend you want when the chips are down. Like many women, she’s looking for Mr. Right. Hers just happens to be a bit more…unusual than most. He knows exactly what to say and how to touch her to make her feel special.
 2. Damali Roberts (as seen in “The Vampire Huntress Legend†series from L.A. Banks)
I remember seeing the cover of this book in the stores and being wowed. Not only is Damali gorgeous, she is also a skilled fighter and talented poet. By day, she moonlights as a spoken word artist; by night, she’s the vampire huntress. What’s not to love about this tough girl with a vulnerable heart protecting the world from creatures of the night?
1. Scarlett ‘Red’ Grier (as seen in “Wolfe’s Gate†by Raine Weaver)
I adore modern fairy tales. Not only is Little Red Riding Hood one you don’t come across every day, but it’s a dark, sexy read that keeps you hungry for more. When Scarlett (or ‘Red’) gets lost in a storm one night and seeks shelter at a wooded mansion, she gets more than she bargained for in the form of an uber-sexy werewolf.
 Now, on to the REALLY fun part of today’s blog: the prize!
Today I’m giving away a print copy of the paranormal anthology “Howl†from Loose Id to one winner.
It features the novella “Wolfe’s Gate†by Raine Weaver – a sexy retelling of the classic fairy tale “Little Red Riding Hood,†where Red is a biracial woman and the wolf in question is a shape shifter with a hunger of the sensual variety.
For a chance to win, just leave a comment on this post telling me about your favorite multicultural heroine (she can be any ethnicity) in urban fantasy or paranormal romance. Be sure to include what made her so memorable.
**Note: The print book is available only to U.S. entrants. Sorry! This is due to the cost of shipping. However…if the winner lives outside the U.S., your prize will be a $10 gift card to Amazon.com (where “Howl†is also sold). **
Michelle
Filed under: Contests, Romance, Writing
29 Comments
January 10th, 2009 at 9:56 am
Very interesting post! The number of multicultural authors is growing every day and that is such a great thing! I’ve taught in high school, and the number of multicultural authors of Young Adult books has really grown a lot in the past couple of years as well. Thanks for sharing those books.
January 10th, 2009 at 10:01 am
[...] blogging today (Jan. 10th) on at the Liquid Silver Books blog and giving away a FREE print book in the genre of paranormal romance. Here is the [...]
January 10th, 2009 at 10:30 am
I’m enjoying your list of recommended reads. Marjorie Lui is a fav of mine already, but I hadn’t tried Devoni Mitchell. I’ll look for her work.
When I started my own series (world of the lupi), I wanted a Chinese American protagonist in part because I never saw Asian heroines in romance or fantasy. And from what I can see, nulticultural heros and heroines in romance remain the exception–and if they are used, the covers often don’t show their ethnicity.
I suspect this is in part because so many bookstores put any book with a dark-skinned character on the cover in the AA section–something that drives some of my AA writer friends nuts. It bugs me, too, because I may not see those books, so may be missing some good reads. What do you think about the way many bookstores shelve books by AA authors in their own section, regardless of genre?
Eileen Wilks
January 10th, 2009 at 11:32 am
Thank you for starting this, Michelle. The books you and others have recommended sound amazing, and to know there are growing numbers of multicultural heroines is very encouraging.
As to my favorite, I have to go with the one closest to home, a Japanese-Mexican woman calling herself Io. She’s the protagonist/anti-heroine of my first novel, Solstice, a speculative fiction thriller about people who can make anything they write come true. When one of them decides to write the end of the world, Io is tasked with hunting this rogue down.
I made Io Japanese-Mexican because a)I’m Mexican-American myself, and b)I always thought there was a serious dearth of strong, three-dimensional Asian and Latina characters in mainstream culture. I was particularly focused on making her as layered and complex as possible, and not just an unstoppable LatinAsian killing machine.
For this reason, the novel is as much about her transition from cruelty to redemption as it is about the race to stop the end of the world. She is a woman in raging despair over the state of the world after losing her parents to senseless crimes. Her belief is that “only cruelty can destroy cruelty.” But as the plot unfolds, she realizes she now has to fight to save the very world she despises. Along the way, she’ll have to learn to forgive not just the world for what it is, but herself for being the monster she thinks she is.
This isn’t urban fantasy per se, but it has urban fantasy elements, and most of the story takes place in Detroit and Chicago.
So, after all this babbling, let me say, thanks again for getting this conversation going!
Cheers,
Ulises Silva
January 10th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
I also have had difficulty finding romance paranormal characters that are other than white and Christian. So I also decided to write a story that fit my personal parameters. One of my characters in this story pubbed by LI is 1/4 Black. He’s also Jewish, in fact all three of the main characters in this m/m paranormal historical/contemporary romance are Jewish.
In “A Perfect Symmetry”, my sequel for LSB’s Terran Realm Urban Fantasy, one of the main characters is a Desert Terran – comparable to an Israeli, definitely not your typical heroine
I fully agree that going outside the norm for characters has been something missing in romance and most of its subgenres.
Good post
January 10th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
@ Eileen: Thanks for stopping in to join the discussion. Actually, Devoni Mitchell is the character from author Marilyn Lee’s book “Fantasy Knights.” Marilyn Lee has a lot of paranormal romances featuring African-American heroines.
As for the cover art: I believe some art & marketing departments at publishers feel that putting a heroine of color on the cover will limit the novel’s appeal to only readers of that race. I know that while a lot of African-American authors I know read books with white characters, the same is not always true.
That’s one thing I enjoy about the books in my Top 4 favorite list — as well as in electronic publishing. It’s not uncommon in electronic publishing to have the cover accurately depict the ethnicity of the characters.
As for shelving AA authors in the AA section instead of the genre they write (i.e. romance, etc.), that is such a hot topic. I’ve seen dozens of blogs about it by AA authors; some feel it’s fine, while others really dislike the practice.
I don’t want my books shelved in the AA section. As a reader, I don’t go to those sections. I go to the genre I want to read. Often times, I’ve tried to find AA authors in romance and couldn’t; then I tromped over to the AA section and had to really search to find them.
I’m really happy that this practice is not across the board at brick and mortar book stores. Some places shelve AA authors in both sections; some don’t have an AA section at all. I like the shelving in both sections because there are some AA readers who prefer to read AA romance or books by AA authors. So they mainly shop in that section and would therefore miss my book in the main romance section.
I like that in electronic publishing, books can be shelved in all their sub-genres. So a multicultural urban fantasy romance would be shelved in all three sections, thereby reaching a wider audience.That’s hard to do for brick and mortar stores since they only receive so many copies of a book at a time. I think their best bet would be to shelve books by genre and have a cover that accurately depicts the characters.
January 10th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
@ Jolie: Thanks for stopping in. I peeked at your site and first – the cover model is gorgeous. As to your comments, I’m glad to see the number of books that reflect the multicultural heritage of readers is growing. It’s nice to have a wide selection to choose from.
January 10th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
@ Ulises: That sounds like such an interesting concept – being able to write things and make them come true. Sort of like the book INKHEART by Cornelia Funke where certain types of people could read any story and turn fiction into reality.
And I agree with you that there are not enough Latina or Latino characters in mainstream fiction. I don’t think I’ve read any with them as a main character. I think the publishing industry is changing along with its readership, and it’s a wonderful thing to see.
January 10th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
@ Jeanne: I’m so glad you wrote that book. I think readers are ready to see more diversity in romance. I know for certain I’ve never read a book with an Israeli heroine, so I’m interested to see your book.
January 10th, 2009 at 2:46 pm
Hi Michelle,
I don’t think Mona Lisa, the heroine of my dark fantasy series, really qualifies. Though I haven’t mentioned it in my books, her dark hair and exotic eyes come from French and Indian blood on her father’s side.
A character that does qualify, and which I absolutely adore, is C.E. Murphy’s “The Negotiator” series herione, Margrit, an African American caucasion mix. this series was a delightful find for me. I also love Marjorie Liu’s stories.
Please don’t include me in the contest. Just only dropping a quick post
January 10th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
My new urban fantasy series features a Japanese American heroine (for many reasons, not the least of which is that I’m Japanese American myself.
)
When the cover of the first book was shown to me, the model was Caucasian. When my editor and I discussed it, I requested that they revise and find a model who reflected my character’s ethnicity. Tor was awesome about this and replaced the model with one who is clearly of Asian descent. Makes all the difference in the world to me and I’m grateful to Tor for their willingness to revisit the art.
January 10th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
I like the Wolf books by Kate Douglas and many of them have non-white characters but the covers do not reflect the true faces of the leads but seem to have generic pretty people. I also read Marjorie Liu and love how she makes people interesting. I do not specifically look for ethnic characters but I agree to many authors keep it white and do not make an effort.
January 10th, 2009 at 5:38 pm
@ Sunny: Thanks for joining the discussion! I still think Mona Lisa is kick butt; French & Indian blood still qualifies as multicultural (at least to me).
I haven’t read C.E. Murphy’s “The Negotiator” but you’re the second person who recommended it (and the character Margrit) to me. I’m definitely going to check it out now.
January 10th, 2009 at 5:40 pm
@ S.J. Day: Thanks for coming to share your thoughts. Tor rocks for doing that. I think it’s awesome that you have such an honest dialogue with your editor, and that they understood the importance of maintaining the artistic integrity of the book by having a cover that accurately portrayed the characters.
I don’t know if anyone here reads The Legends of Earthsea by Ursula LeGuin, but I remember seeing the Sci-Fi channels version of that series and almost all of the characters were Caucasian — despite the book having a very diverse group of people. I remember reading online about how upset LeGuin was about how Sci-Fi handled that.
January 10th, 2009 at 5:43 pm
@ Lindsey: Hi there! I’m a fan of Kate Douglas, as well. I really enjoyed Wolf Tales and her secondary characters (Keisha is the African-American werewolf).
I’m an avid reader in many genres, and I really enjoy finding characters from a diverse number of backgrounds and ethnicities. But of course, I wouldn’t pass up any book because of the characters racial heritage; there’s room in fiction — and especially romance – for everyone.
Thanks for joining the discussion.
January 10th, 2009 at 8:06 pm
It is really hard to find characters that reflect the real world. Lynn Viehl has a biracial heroine in one of her Darkyn novels (I forget which one) and I also like how Kate Douglas included an AA heroine in Wolf Tales.
There’s still a need for so much more diversity, so I’m glad to see so many people are writing multicultural fiction.
(I also don’t need to be in the contest because I already have “Howl” and loved it.)
Minx
January 10th, 2009 at 8:31 pm
@Minx: I’ve heard a lot of good things about Lynn Viehl’s work. I haven’t read it yet but I think they are like a paranormal retelling of Robin Hood? The premises sounded interesting on her site, so I’ll have to try her out. Thanks for stopping by!
January 10th, 2009 at 8:44 pm
Michelle, awesome post. I particularly like the cover for FANTASY KNIGHTS… nothing against thin, but it gets real old to me when that’s all you see on the covers and in the media, in general …
Actually, my fave heroine of color was in a New Zealand TV series, Cleopatra twenty something…can’t remember the exact title. Oh, and on that one Star Trek series with the African American Space Captain…sheesh, I’m terrible with remembering exact names!
January 10th, 2009 at 8:49 pm
@ Savanna: Great to see you over here! Yeah, the cover for FANTASY KNIGHTS is very eye-catching. I enjoy seeing heroines of all different sizes as well as ethnicities. Like I said: there is room for everyone in romance.
Um, do you mean Star Trek the Next Generation or the Original Star Trek with Captain Kirk? I remember Whoopi Goldberg played on the Next Generation; but the original Star Trek had Uhura (played by the regal Nichelle Nichols).
January 11th, 2009 at 2:02 am
No, it was the on the station Star Trek spin-off…ah-ha, it was DEEP SPACE NINE…but, yeah, I remember Whoopi. She was great!
January 11th, 2009 at 8:05 am
Nalini Singh has characters that are shades of brown in her psi series. Her covers don’t reflect this either. But, in the world that she has created, the concern isn’t ethnicity but shifter versus paranormal psychic abilities. Very cool series suggesting that in the future, everyone accepts the mixing of various strands of racial imput as normal.
January 11th, 2009 at 9:45 am
Hi, Sunny! (waving) I love C.E. Murphy’s Negotiator books–slapping myself aside of the head for not thinking of them. Good writer, great stories, and Magrit’s a fascinating hero. (I have a problem with the word heroine, but that’s another subject altogether.)
Michelle, I don’t think th SciFi Channel’s version of Earthsea bore much relation to LeGuin’s books in any way, including character’s ethnicities. They did a lousy job with that show. :-/ Thanks for the correction re: Devoni/Marilyn Lee. I’d have had a hard time finding the books.
Gem, Nalini Singh’s a great recommendation.
And this is a great discussion.
Eileen
January 11th, 2009 at 9:59 am
Good morning–I’m popping in late (I finally finished writing Wolf Tales IX at ten last night after fourteen hours at the computer and my brain shut down!) but this is a subject near and dear to my heart. We live in a diverse world, and I think it’s wrong when our books don’t reflect at least some of our ethnic diversity. I mean, in my case I’m writing about shapeshifters, so race is the least of their issues. I now have thirty reoccurring characters in my continuing series. Keisha, one of the early leads, is AA, as are Oliver and Tinker McClintock (he stars in WTIV– the only one of my books where my pleading got me an IR couple on the cover.) Mik Fuentes is Native American and Hispanic, Tia Mason is AA and white, Mei Chen is Asian, unsure of her background but possibly Chinese and Korean. A new character, Jazzy Blue, is AA and Asian–she’ll be introduced in Chanku Honor in the spring. Multi-colored as my cast of characters tends to be, though, their race is never the focus of the stories because they share an even stronger connection that identifies them–they are all Chanku. In my mind, I think of this as a metaphor for life–we come in all colors, but we are all members of the human race. My Chanku have had to learn to work together in spite of their feral natures, and as the series has progressed (books not yet published) they are discovering they are capable of just about anything when they put aside their differences. That’s the joy of writing a paranormal world–we get to make our own rules. I love finding diversity in the books I buy–hopefully the publishing world will eventually catch up to their customers’ interests! If enough of us, as authors, push diversity in our stories, they’re bound to catch on at some point. It certainly worked with erotic romance.
January 11th, 2009 at 10:06 am
@ Savanna: Oh! I’ve never watched DEEP SPACE NINE, but I’ve heard about it.
January 11th, 2009 at 10:07 am
@ Gem Sivad: Thanks for dropping by. Thanks for recommending Nalini Singh’s books. I knew her series was paranormal, but not much about the characters.
Keep the recommendations coming ladies & gents!
January 11th, 2009 at 10:12 am
@ Kate: Thanks for stopping to join the discussion. Now get some rest!
That’s one thing I enjoy about your series, the amount of diversity in the characters. The concept of CHANKU is really great as well; can’t wait to read the next book.
January 11th, 2009 at 9:20 pm
Great post!
January 16th, 2009 at 7:32 am
@ Amy S : Thanks for stopping by! Hope you enjoyed the discussion.
January 16th, 2009 at 7:33 am
@ Lindsey Ekland: You won the prize! Congratulations, and if you haven’t received my email, please contact me. Thanks.