Before I delve into why I write interracial romances, I would like to take a moment to share some interesting statistics on U. S. marriage as compiled in the June 2010 publication, Marrying Out, by Jeffrey S. Passel, Wendy Wang and Paul Taylor of the Pew Research Center (data based on 2008 findings).
Interracial Marriage –
In General: In 2008, 14.6% of new marriages were interracial or inter-ethnic.
By Race: 9% of whites, 16% of blacks, 26% of Hispanics and 31% of Asians married someone of a different race.
By Gender: 22% of black males, 9% of black females, 40% of Asian females, 20% of Asian males married outside of their race (no significant gender findings by race were reported for whites and Hispanics).
So why do I write interracial romance?
For the 9%.
As a young reader, my favorite authors were Beverly Cleary, Eudora Welty and any Harlequin Romance Author. As I grew older, I kept Ms. Welty and Harlequin close to my heart and my bedside table. As I started college and began to date, the Harlequins became a bit of a leap for me and I gave them up entirely. Then as a wife and mom, I came across a romance novel featuring a Black woman and a Black man.
Whoa! I can read romances about Black women? My passion for the genre was renewed. Then I discovered interracial romance and I was hooked again.
Reading and writing about a Love that is statistically rare has been a wonderful experience. Thank you to all the publishers and writers who forged into the genre with gusto and the readers who support them!
Okay off my soapbox and onto the giveaway…
Four randomly selected readers who comment on this post between May 6, 2012 and May 11, 2012 will receive a $5.00 Amazon electronic gift card and a free copy of either In The Moment or Calendar Girl. Winners will be announced on May 12, 2012.
Need a little help commenting? Here’s a question – 35% of Americans say that they personally know someone in an interracial marriage. Are you one of those? And how close is your relationship to the couple?
Good Luck Everyone!
valloryv 
Hi Vallory, great post and I am definitely of that 35%. I’m black and my husband is white. We have been together for 8 years married for almost 6 (6 year anniversary coming up in July). And I must say I am a definite fan of Interracial books, been hooked on them since 2009 and I’ve been reading everything I could get my hands on since.
I too am a Black woman married to a White man. This year we will celebrate our 17th wedding anniversary and twenty years of being together. Thanks for posting!
Valloryv, this is my second comment, I do not think the first one went through. Interracial relationships should not be seen any different than any other one. More then seventy-five percent of my family and friends have dated or married interracial, and my grand-kids are bi-racial, as well as cousins, Uncle, Aunts, Sisters and Brother, best-friends and the list goes on. (It is really too bad that prejudice still abides here) I will place you on my must read list. Thank you for the question. Augie
Hi Augie. I agree that interracial relationships should not be viewed any differently than other relationships. And after I would say the first three years of attending my family reunions, my husband and I were no longer the topic of conversation so things are getting better!
It was interesting to see the breakdown of statistics about interracial marriages. And the 9% black females in interracial relationships really doesn’t surprise me. I enjoyed this piece. Keep writing.
Mickie
Thanks Mickie, I enjoyed the research for this piece cause I’m a bit of a stats junkie.
This is very interesting. I first tried reading IR romance in the early 2000’s, but noticed right away that there weren’t many books to choose from. It wasn’t until last year that I tried looking for IR books again. Now I’m hooked. It’s nice to know others are too.
Oh I know and I was so excited to introduce friends and family to the genre!
Great post! Didnt know any of those statistics. I think if a couple is happy, what is race or gender preference? What does it matter to others? If people have a problem, thats on them and frankly, there stupid. It makes me smile to see a couple happy. Im white but i have black family members. We actually have a few different races in our family. It doesnt bother me. I have friends who are black and date whites or whites who date blacks. And im happy for them. If i found someone that completed me, race isnt gonna get in my way. Happiness comes in all types of forms. Light skined, dark, brown, pale…Its a skin color. Everyone is beautiful. We’re all the same in the inside. We’d be a boring and sad world if everyone was alike. I like that everyone is unique and different. It makes us…us!
What a great comment! Thank you for posting.
Oh! I forgot to add, yes, i do read books about interracial romances. There just as good as any other! 😉
My wife and I were married 28 years I white she black, sadly she passed away this last July. I never saw my wife as a color I saw only love and respect, I miss her.
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