Hello,Y'all!

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Kitty27

So Goth That I Was Born Black
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Hey,guys.

I decided to make this thread a place where we can introduce ourselves,discuss whatever genres we're working on or just talk.

I'll go first.

I am Black,lol. I write horror,science fiction,urban&epic fantasy,young adult,paranormal romance and also read all of them. On days when I feeling particularly egoistical, I dabble in literary erotica and even though I have the artistic talent of a two year old playing with markers,create graphic novels and a never ending manga.

I am currently querying a YA novel and getting ready to send five more out next month.

I have always said that I'd be available to answer questions and if anyone wants to ask,let me know.


Regards,

Kitty
 
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shaldna

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Awesome. Thanks for opening this one, I think it will be a really useful forum for all of us.
 

CaroGirl

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Holy cow. It just took me 5 minutes to figure out what POC stands for! I guess this isn't a forum for me, but I'd love to check in and read the posts for an alternative perspective.
 

missesdash

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Wow Kitty I can't believe you set out chocolate muffins in the POC forum! I am very offended you assumed POC only eat chocolate muffins! I also like Asian and Hispanic muffins!

Jk. This board is great. I can't wait to see what kind of interesting topics we end up discussing :)

Also wondering if we shouldn't share some links about derailing? I think a lot of well meaning people will come to discussions just to say "oh well that happens to everyone! I'm white and that happens to me all the time!"

Just a thought.
 
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Mara

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Wow! I'm so glad this forum exists now. :) I'm not a person of color, but it's clearly something there was a great need for.
 

BunnyMaz

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Awesome! Thanks for setting this up.
 

Velma deSelby Bowen

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Excellent! Thank you for setting this up. The rules seem totally reasonable.

Might it be possible, she asked ever so casually, for this forum to be used in part for beta readers and showing work when one is trying not to be particular forms of thoughtless? (I ask this as someone who is writing a paranormal romance with a Hispanic heroine, and who has hit the "you cannot make her a generic Latina and expect to get away with it" stage.)
 

missesdash

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I think a thread for willing betas who are POC could help. But I think using the forum as a "ask a POC" and "Find a POC" would get old pretty quickly.

Might be better to let people volunteer.
 

escritora

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(I ask this as someone who is writing a paranormal romance with a Hispanic heroine, and who has hit the "you cannot make her a generic Latina and expect to get away with it" stage.)

Do people offer a reason she can't be a generic Latina?
 

Maryn

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Am I the only person who scratched her head extensively before figuring out what PoC means? I got there, but it was slow. I think the board's a great idea, but I worry that other people won't recognize what it is, either. Perhaps I'm just old and out of touch (moi?) but I've found that when the 'obvious' isn't obvious to me and I speak up, I learn it's not obvious to others, either. Too. Whatever.

Maryn, not always clueless, honest!
 

dragonangel517

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I think this is a great idea. I actually have a few questions I have wanted to ask a PoC, but I do not know anyone in RL or online that I could have a serious conversation with without them thinking I was being racist. Certainly no one who writes fantasy. The same is true of LGBT. Being a white woman from the South comes with its own misconceptions.
 

thebloodfiend

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I think this is a great idea. I actually have a few questions I have wanted to ask a PoC, but I do not know anyone in RL or online that I could have a serious conversation with without them thinking I was being racist. Certainly no one who writes fantasy. The same is true of LGBT. Being a white woman from the South comes with its own misconceptions.

This is exactly why I wanted this thread when the topic came up earlier this year.

I lived in Birmingham, various parts of Florida, and Fort Worth for a while. I'm also black and I have a variety of hispanic friends. I'd be glad to answer any of your questions.

God, this sounds like a resume.
 

dragonangel517

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Ok, so I am going to put my pinkie toe in the shallow end of the pool. As A PoC, do you only read books with PoC MC's? Do you read books with no Poc's at all, or only a few background characters?
 

escritora

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Ok, so I am going to put my pinkie toe in the shallow end of the pool. As A PoC, do you only read books with PoC MC's? Do you read books with no Poc's at all, or only a few background characters?

I favor books where the culture of the character is a part of the story. It doesn't have to be a huge part, a small mention is fine. Whether the character is Italian, Jewish, Hispanic, black, or fill in the blank. When a book cover screams *rich or middle class "white"* I pass unless the book is recommended by someone I know.

*I fear I'm stepping into it by writing that. I mean no offense. I realize what I consider "white" isn't universal.
 

alessahinlo

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Ok, so I am going to put my pinkie toe in the shallow end of the pool. As A PoC, do you only read books with PoC MC's? Do you read books with no Poc's at all, or only a few background characters?

Nope. I'll read any book as long as it strikes my fancy and sounds interesting (to me).

That said, I DO actively seek out books featuring nonwhite characters (especially protags!), especially if they're written by PoC authors and especially especially if they're set in areas not commonly seen in fiction (Africa, Southeast Asia, etc). I'm more likely to put it on my list of books to pick up, if that makes sense?
 

thebloodfiend

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Ok, so I am going to put my pinkie toe in the shallow end of the pool. As A PoC, do you only read books with PoC MC's? Do you read books with no Poc's at all, or only a few background characters?

I read anything, regardless of race. I do get annoyed when I read books that have an illogical 100% white population (books that take place in the south (especially alabama or mississippi) that have no PoC). I would like to see more PoC in books, though.
 

missesdash

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The cover sort of matters to me too. Doubt I would have bothered to read twilight if the cover was 8 white people and a native American. But reading it, the break up didn't bother me.

I don't look for books with PoC, but I find I enjoy the story more when the characters are diverse. It's probably because I lived in New York, but for me a group of all white people will never be as interesting as a mixed group. Culture clashing and influences really adds a richness to a story, and to life in general.


That being said, I don't read books that only have black characters either.

I will also say that for me, there's usually no difference between a book with an all white cast and a book with one supporting character who is a PoC. the character is usually either a distasteful exaggeration of whatever demographic he/she fills or barely exists as anything but a plot device.

So I'd rather read a book with no PoC's than one with a very half-assed attempt to include a non-white person.
 

backslashbaby

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I'm so glad some folks are offering up their own description of themselves. Isn't that strange to have to do that? Still, I swear I need some context or I'll go bonkers, myself; just because we're really discussing race. Usually I don't care, except that I find a melange of cultures very appealing, so I may be interested in race that way.

If I have a big weak spot, it's that I may find some things appealingly exotic, imho. I find 'country bumpkins' or Manhattanites nicely exotic, too, though, so don't let that entirely fool you. It's not about skin color.

I'm White. So White. But my mom's parents were both mixed-blood Indians from different tribes. They were from an area with tons of 'Indians' who were mixed in all sorts of ways. The area had three school systems up until more recent times: White, Black and Indian. The Indians could be pale as a ghost. There is a ton of Irish and Scottish blood in the area. There is no reservation. Indians there often have no idea what their own great-grandparents believed about creation stories. It's been a mixed-blood area so long that nobody thought twice about being an Indian without the usual street cred, so to speak.

My grandparents found that in bigger cities, they couldn't get hired. So they moved and passed for White. My mom grew up being shamed for any old lingering give-aways that she was part Indian. This is while my grandparents taught her all the 'cures' and stuff. So it was a bit of a mess.

So that's me. Sooooo white. With grandparents who taught us how silly it was not to believe in spirits, and refused to let my mother put shoes on us as toddlers because we'd grow up tenderfooted.
 
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