Blog Chain: Gender Bender!

Sandra starts our blog chain off this round. She asked:

Have you ever created a character different from yourself in some significant way, such as (but not limited to) different gender, race, ethnic group, religion, or sexual orientation? If so, what, if any, research did you do to portray these differences?

Was this character a main character, secondary character, or walk-on? Did these differences have an impact on the story?

Gotta love these questions!

In my first novel, LEGACY OF THE EMPRESS, one of my two main characters is a dude--Torin. Writing his dialogue and character was very natural about 90% of the time. HOWEVER, there were definitely moments where I'd stare at what I'd just written and think "Something's.... off." These were usually the moments where, unbeknownst to me, I'd made Torin react to a situation like a lady. Poor Torin..

In these scenerios, I turned to my Resident Man Expert, or RME for short (my husband.) I'd force him to read a scene, or even just shout "What would a dude do in 'blank' situation??" Once I found out that instead of crying, a dude would actually punch the ground. Hence the scene feeling .. awkward. Once I had Torin punching stuff dry-eyed everything made a lot more sense, and the other character's reactions felt much more natural. Thank you, RME!

In HOLLOW LAND (the novel I'm currently working on), I have a few east asian characters as well as a Jewish female lead. This is definiely going to require not only a trip or two to the library but also for me to consult with some non-whitey whites. The good thing is, not only am I friendly with several nice Indian folks at work whose brains I can pick, but there is something wonderful we have now, called The Internet. I've started following a few blogs from the countries my characters originate from to get a feel for the culture. I'm hoping I can eventually get some beta readers of the same religion/culture to help me out and make sure I'm not being a dork about some detail or another.

If I had any advice for you guys, it's to be brave :). Don't be afraid to write a certain character just because they are outside your immediate frame of reference. Learning new things is what makes this fun! Go for it, and get excited to learn about other cultures, sexual orientations, and even how the other sexes think.

What do you guys think? Have you ever written outside your comfort zone? How did it turn out?

Don't miss Shannon's answer coming up tomorrow!

White washing covers: Please get involved!

I was going to write a cheerful post today about the pros/cons of writing, but something really pissed me off, and I had to talk about it.

Remember when the cover of Justine Larbalestier's book, LIAR, came out with a white cover and had to be changed? Well, I gave Bloomsbury kudos for doing the right thing and fixing the cover.

You can imagine my dismay when I read this post over at The Rejectionist. You guessed it: THEY DID IT AGAIN!

Becca is displeased.

Check out this cover for MAGIC UNDER GLASS, Jaclyn Dolamore's debut novel about a dark skinned girl "from the far east." Um... yeah. Whitey McWhiterson on the cover doesn't scream "far east" to me. Unlike Justine, Jaclyn is a newbie to the publishing world and didn't have the means to get support for a cover change before the book went out.

So, what can we do about it? Is Bloomsbury going to set an example for our kids (as well as other publishers) that we can white-wash everything and get away with it? That this isn't offensive? How can we support an author writing about a person of color, but still let Bloomsbury know that this shizna doesn't fly?

Well, I'll tell you what I did. I wrote to them this morning. Here's the email I sent:


Dear Bloomsbury,

I wanted to email to complain about the white model on the cover of Jaclyn Dolamore’s debut, MAGIC UNDER GLASS. Since the book is about a dark skinned girl from the far east, this cover is really inappropriate, and sends the message that you don’t support people of color. What kind of message is this, especially for our youth?

This happened with LIAR, and now it’s happening again—it’s getting pretty shameful. I’m a white lady, but still find it offensive to change the color of a character simply under the guise of helping sales. Please, take this to heart. I don’t mean to be disrespectful or unkind, but this kind of thing really has to stop if we’re going to make any progress against racism as a nation. Please help, and listen to your customers who are speaking out against this. I’m a regular book lover and buyer, and wanted to let you know my thoughts.

Thank you for listening, and hopefully implementing change. Good luck to you, and God bless! I know it’s difficult to promote change when something’s been common practice for so long. I believe in the industry, and in your business, so please make your customers proud.

Sincerely,

Becca Knight

In all things, I think we need to be respectful, which is why I didn't send my first email, which said simply, "WTF! STOP IT!!! Love, Becca."

I urge you to please get involved and contact Bloomsbury. Especially, right after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's birthday, please be reminded that racism in America is not dead, and that we all have a chance to fight for change.

Here is Bloomsbury's contact info:

Editorial and Marketing office:
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010
Phone: 646-307-5151
Fax: 212-780-0115
bloomsbury.kids@bloomsburyusa.com
children.publicity@bloomsburyusa.com

Thank you to all who email, write, or call!

What is your take on this topic? I'd love to hear from you!

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

... or we'll break your kneecaps.

(Don't mess with Newsies. They'll cut you!)

Today, I have many exciting things to share!

First off, WELCOME! to those of you just joining this blog. We have a lot of new folks lately--please feel free to introduce yourselves in the comments if you'd like :). Glad to have you!

Secondly, coming up their will be an awesome CONTEST on this blog! When I read 100 Followers, I'm going to hold a contest centered around Loving Books, with some SWEET prizes! Stay tuned for that, ladies and gents...

Thirdly (see how well I can keep track?), in the comments where you were voting on who I'd dress up as to fulfill my Deal With the Universe, it was a TIE between The Mad Hatter and Sherlock Holmes! Which will it be, people? If it makes it easier I could go as the Mad Holmes and put polka dots on my detective's cap.

Lastly, if you're at all interested in either why science fiction and fantasy is so often white-character-dominated or want to know how to successfully write a character of color as a Whitey McWhiterson, check out this post by The Rejectionist titled "Homework for White Folks." It contains links to fascinating and helpful articles :). Yay!

Any news that you'd like to share this fine Thursday?