If all the crap that happened this past week doesn't convince folks that there needs to be a dialogue on race and racism, I don't know what will.

On to this week's topic:

"Why African-American Lines?"

That was one of the questions posted in the mega post over on Dear Author. A commenter chided (my impression) black authors for "selling out" by submitting to a black imprint instead of sticking to their principles of competing with all romance and submitting to other imprints or houses that don't have lines.

I'm very glad Nora Roberts responded that she would have jumped at the chance to write for a black imprint herself had she been in that situation and that was the best way to get published. (Loosely quoting, I'm not going back into that post to verify it.)

"No Commitment Required" was my first book, back when I was all idealistic. I entered it in the Maggies and in the Golden Heart. The scores were wide ranging. I did some polishing, and submitted it to Avon, I think. This was nine years ago, when there weren't any AA lines like there are now. (Actually Arabesque and Genesis were it). Then I met a writer telling me about this new print publishing house and they were actively seeking interracial romance. Well, seeing as how I just happened to have a completed IR manuscript, of course I sent it in. Avon passed, Genesis Press didn't.

I published four books with them, and now I'm with Parker Publishing, who publishes black romance. I have a total of two novels and six novellas in print or under contract with them. Why? Because they liked my black paranormal romance, which had been passed over by Tor and St. Martin's, and I like having my work published.

Now, what you can do is substitute "erotic" for "black" or "AA," and you'll have a story told by dozens of other romance authors the world over.

Sometimes, it's not about what you're selling, but who's buying.

Do I hope to get a sale with Huge Conglomerate New Yawk Publisher one of these days? Sure? It's a wonderful dream. And I do have a dream. I have a dream that I'll get the mass market print run that's equivalent to a midlist white author. I have a dream that more and more readers will say "it's about the story" and will read black romance based on the content on the pages, not the color on the cover. I have a dream that one day more black romance authors will hit the USA Today list at the same time. I have a dream that I'll be one of them.


NEXT WEEK: Are black romances different?