Ann Aguirre and Nyrae Dawn discuss diversity in romance

In a day and time when the word diversity filters into every conversation at some point, it bears discussing in the world of books as well. Words are powerful, stories change lives and readers desire more than just an escape, but want to see themselves within the escape. Two bestselling authors, Ann Aguirre (The Shape of My Heart) and Nyrae Dawn (Rush), tackle the topic of diversity in books as a whole and within their own stories.

Nyrae: When my career first began, writing diverse characters wasn't something I specifically set out to do, it just happened on its own.

I will admit that as I've continued my career, adding diversity to my books is something I strive for.

Ann: I have a diverse family. My children are multicultural. My life experiences are different than the average person because I've spent the last 10 years living in Mexico. I generally don't know what's going on in America, and when I do visit for work, I'm often interrogated about my life choices by random strangers. Sometimes they act strangely surprised when they find out "Aguirre" is a Mexican name. "But you don't look Mexican." That's casual racism; Mexican is a nationality, not a homogeneous ethnicity.

Nyrae: I'm multicultural. I grew up the half-black girl in a small town that had one black family ... and me. The kind of place where when I first moved there I often heard, "You must be one of those 'Johnson' kids," because it was unheard of to have someone else of color in town.

My parents separated when I was young, and my father wasn't always involved in my life. I felt different and hated that my hair wasn't like my friends' and that my mom didn't know what to do with it. I wanted straight, blond hair and blue eyes because that's what was "pretty" and I needed so badly to feel pretty.

Ann: But this phenomena (perceiving someone else as strange or other) speaks to a fundamental lack of diversity, and the problem starts in our fiction.

The danger of over-representing one group is that with sufficient exposure, their experiences become widely accepted as normative, a default setting, if you will. So then, you end up with the following scenario: If age/race/appearance isn't explicitly stated, the reader will fill in the blanks of the book using whatever parameters they've experienced the most. Currently, the default setting is likely to be Caucasian heterosexual.

Nyrae: I didn't have people in my world who looked like me. It's something I desperately needed within the books I read. Even for those who didn't grow up in a similar situation as mine, it's important to feel like our stories are being told. That we're capable of the same kind of lives, loves and adventures as others. It's important to know — regardless of race, sexuality or religion — that we're not alone in our experiences and struggles.

Ann: I remember when I was a kid, I could never find anything positive about chubby girls. If a girl was pudgy in books, she wasn't okay. She couldn't be happy or make friends unless she lost weight. So those heroines always went to fat camp. I remember how I felt when I found a novel about a chunky girl who was learning ballet, and the ballet teacher's son liked her, exactly as she was. But at the end of the book, they found a bunch of Rubenesque nude sketches hidden in the boy's room and you know what happened? They hauled him off to a mental hospital. That was the end of the book. Because if a boy likes you when you're chubby? He's crazy; lock him up. I cried so hard.

Nyrae: I think that's why my writing automatically represented a wide array of people. I know what it's like to feel different and I hope that I can maybe help others feel a little less alone.

I've written gay, lesbian and bisexual characters. I've written Caucasian, Hispanic, Native American and African American people. I've written what our world represents because everyone should have a voice. Not only that, but I truly believe in the power of words and fiction. Books empower people. They open our eyes to lives we've never experienced. They give us empathy and knowledge. They help curb ignorance and lend understanding.

Ann: I've tried to be inclusive in my 2B series. Over the course of three books, I wrote African-American characters, a paraplegic character, gay and lesbian characters, a bisexual, Jewish heroine, a multiracial hero, Korean and Chinese-American characters, and a multiracial supporting character. Since becoming aware of the need to be inclusive, I've tried to make my stories broader and more representative of our world. It's a fact that not seeing themselves (enough or at all) in the books they read is bad for teenagers. At any age, it's hurtful not to be able to find characters that speak to your personal experiences.

Some writers express concern about writing multicultural or alternative sexual preference/identity characters. What if I get it wrong? But I think it's far more important to be inclusive. Do the research. Talk to the audience you're writing about. Ask questions and do your absolute best. Some people will always say you got it wrong. The point is, you need to try.

Nyrae: People need to hear their story. Other people need to hear their story as well.

As humans, we should want to tell them.

That's why I need diversity in my fiction. So my daughters see interracial relationships like that of their parents and characters who look like they do when they're reading. So that when they see two men or two women holding hands, they will know that it's love just the same as anyone else.

Ann: That said, here's a reading list I came up with of diverse New Adult titles:

Rush by Nyrae Dawn

2B Trilogy by Ann Aguirre

London Bound by Nana Malone

Swagger by Nikki Prince

Treasure by Rebekah Weatherspoon

The Dom Project by Heloise Belleau & Solace Ames

One More Day by M. Malone

Ivan by Roxie Rivera

A Moment by Marie Hall

Off the Map by Lia Riley

Last Will and Testament by Dahlia Adler (coming in December)

Bowler University series by Megan Erickson

London Falling by Chanel Cleeton

Take Them by Storm by Marie Landry (coming in January)

The Year We Fell Down & The Understatement of the Year by Sarina Bowen

A Little Too Much by Lisa Desrochers

Until You Find Me by Amber Hart

Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover

This is important, so please add your own recs in comments! We want to hear your suggestions of titles that embrace diversity. Together, we can help readers see themselves in books.

Here's the blurb about The Shape of My Heart by Ann Aguirre:

Some people wait decades to meet their soul mate. Courtney Kaufman suspects she met hers in high school—only to lose him at seventeen. Since then, Courtney's social life has been a series of meaningless encounters, though she's made a few close friends along the way. Especially her roommate, Max Cooper, who oozes damaged bad-boy vibes from every pore.

Max knows about feeling lost—he's been on his own since he was sixteen. Now it's time to find out if he can ever go home again, and Courtney's the only one he trusts to go with him. But the trip to Providence could change everything….

It started out so simple. One misfit helping another. Now Max will do anything to show Courtney that for every heart that's ever been broken, there's another that can make it complete.

Here's the blurb about Rush by Nyrae Dawn:

For the love of the game.

Brandon Chase has always defined himself by one thing: football. Tough and athletic, he is a great college player who enjoys the hard hits and the sweaty grind of the gridiron. But when Brandon is injured, only one person can help him get back on track-a forbidden love he's desperately tried to put behind him.

Alec Andrews has never quite forgiven Brandon for walking away when their friendship turned into something more. But he can't deny help to one of his closest friends. As the two spend the long, hot summer working together, their old attraction comes flooding back.

Now as Alec thinks about coming out to his conservative family and Brandon considers revealing he's a gay football player, the two men must be strong to fight for a love that could be the greatest rush of their lives.

Find out more about the authors and their books at www.annaguirre.com and nyraedawn.blogspot.com.