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Black Love is not a monolithic story. Wealthy heirs, Black cowboys. These aren't the settings we usually see in romance. We ask these romance authors where they pull these stories from, if that was a conscious act of resistance, or if the story they created just demanded that world.
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00:05Hello, Nola. How's everyone doing? Day two of Essence Festival of Culture. Thank you for being
00:13here. We're going to talk about Black Love on the page. This afternoon, I have with me
00:18Alexa Martin and Christina Forrest. So just to start, Alexa, if you can begin, tell us
00:29a little bit about yourself, like an elevator pitch bio, so to speak. So I'm Alexa Martin.
00:36I'm a romance and women's fiction writer. I am a mom of four. A wife, I started writing
00:42because my husband had played in the NFL for eight years, and I decided to write a book
00:46about it and make it more romantic. Just got started and can't stop, thankfully.
00:55Oh, this is loud. Sorry. I'm Christina. I write romance as well. Obviously, my most recent
01:01book is called The Summer Girlfriend. It just published earlier, no, last month, June 9th.
01:06And that is a book about a woman who's fake dating a very wealthy guy at his family's beach
01:11house. And the books I wrote before that were the Green Sisters series, which is neighbor,
01:16favor, partner, plot, and love lurk. Each book is about a different sister and their love
01:20lives. Okay. And The Summer Girlfriend, Christina, I'm not even sure if you've seen it yet,
01:25is featured in our latest issue. I did not see it. The print issue, which is also on sale
01:30in the merch store further up in the convention center, but it is. Okay, cool. I'll show it
01:35to you after. Okay. So, Alexa, this first question will be for you. Many black women feel intense
01:42pressure to maintain the whole strong black women, you know, handle, right? And someone
01:50who can navigate pain and struggle silently. How can romance novels give black women permission
01:58to be vulnerable, to be open, to be soft in a world where we're expected to be everything
02:04but... I think the best thing about romance is you can put the hardships in it in the safe
02:12way where they get the happily ever after. So, you can see them go through these low moments
02:17in the safety of knowing that somebody's going to love them through it no matter what. I always
02:21say it's not a book of mine if the main character is not a mess. So, I love a messy
02:26person who feels
02:28all of the feelings and goes through it and has grief and joy and knowing that they're going to
02:34find that partner that loves them through it, which is what we all deserve and should get.
02:39So, I love that answer. I have an aunt who unfortunately passed away during COVID,
02:44but, you know, people talk about the rich auntie, the rich auntie. She was far from rich,
02:48but one of the things that I admired about her was that she loved romance novels.
02:53And, like, this is during a time where most of the romance novels she read had, like, white couples
03:00on the cover and the man and the woman had very long hair and they were, like, embracing and...
03:05But in the midst of her working, like, these very hard jobs and raising children,
03:09she always made time for herself and a book, right? And I think there's a lot of luxury in that.
03:17So, yeah. Can you speak to that?
03:19Yeah. No, it's so... I mean, I was a reader before I was a writer and a lot of, I
03:24think,
03:25why I started writing was all of the books that I was reading were by white authors with white
03:29characters. And I remember, like, looking on Pinterest and trying to find any character
03:34inspiration that looked kind of brown. And this was, now I think we're so lucky in this, like,
03:40social media day and age where you can see and find book bloggers because there's so many books
03:44with black characters and just experience the whole, like, breadth of what it is to be
03:50a human. And we still need so many more. Yeah. We still need so many more. Right, right. So,
03:56Christina, when you're developing your characters and writing about couples navigating
04:02the complexity of modern dating, how do you ensure authenticity?
04:07That's a really good question. I think that when I'm in the early stages of plotting a book,
04:14I do a lot of character work. I do these character questionnaires. And it starts from,
04:20what's your name? What's your nickname? To, like, what's your favorite flavor of ice cream? If you
04:25were an animal, what would you be? Because what I like to do is write, to know my character so
04:30well,
04:30or as well as I can before I start writing so that I know what they would do in any
04:35given situation,
04:36which is tough because your characters, you want them to do one thing and then they change.
04:40They just sort of take a mind of their own. Interesting. Okay.
04:42Um, but I think that a way that I try to make things feel realistic is often through dialogue.
04:50Um, and just a lot, honestly, is eavesdropping on a lot of people's conversations and hearing the way
04:55that people talk to each other in a way that feels realistic. Um, and I think that the way that
05:00you
05:01speak the phrases that you use says a lot about who you are as a person or the things that
05:05you pick
05:06up on and comment on. Um, so definitely dialogue, I think is a quick way to make the characters so
05:11authentic and also to build up that banter, which I think a lot of romance readers enjoy is those
05:16conversations. Yeah. Right. That's interesting that you like find out all those things about the
05:22character before you really start writing the book. Um, okay. So the literary market and either
05:29of you can take this one, the literary market has seen an explosion of black romance and relationship
05:36fiction as of late. But when you talk about the fact that there was like basically none,
05:42even 25 years ago, we still have a ways to go. Um, however, where do you see the genre going
05:48next? Like what are the stories that maybe still aren't being told in mass that you'd like to see
05:55come to come to fruition? I mean, I think there were still a lot of black writers forever. It's just
06:03the visibility, which is still such a problem of like how we are showcased by the industry at a whole
06:09at large. Um, I think there's still, I think what I think of what this genre a lot is because
06:17there's
06:17so much smaller, we want to see everything, right? Like we just need more of us because we're not a
06:21monolith and we want like every aspect. We want like to open the book and to see ourselves, but also
06:27to know that if we don't see ourselves in this book, there are so many other books that we can
06:31see
06:32ourselves within. Um, so I just think we need more. And I do think there are so many more writers
06:38and
06:38self publishing is helping with that. And it's just, it's more accessible now, which I think
06:43helps. I was going to say that the black indie romance space is very robust. And I do think that
06:49indie in general and the romance space is really leading the charge. The issue is with traditional
06:55publishing, you know, right now this year, I think I can probably count on one hand how many
07:01traditionally published black romances there were, but in the indie space, it's all over. And there's so
07:07many different sub genres. So I think that traditional publishing, which they kind of
07:12are, there are a lot of more, uh, indie authors who are being like snapped up by traditional publishers.
07:18But I think that what I love so much about the indie romance space is that because you don't have
07:24to
07:24answer to anyone, you can take risks in a really fun way. Um, and so I think that's what I
07:31want more for
07:32the traditional publishing space for black authors too, is to, we don't have to be boxed in,
07:38you know, uh, just more, more, but more opportunities overall. Yeah.
07:42Okay. And why do, uh, you both feel that it's important for black women to, because we are here
07:49at Essence, right? Um, that it's important for black women to read about other black women being loved
07:58romantically and intellectually, like experiencing romance, you know, from a, from a physical
08:05standpoint, but also intellectually. I think that it's validating, like from speaking from my own
08:13experience, like reading your book, I just finished reading, um, The Miss Connection by Tia Williams.
08:17And like, you want to see yourself in a story, you know, we talk a lot about mirrors and windows,
08:24but there's not enough mirrors for black women a lot of the time. And I think it's important for us
08:30to be
08:30able to read a book and see characters who we look like and also relate to and the conversations that
08:37are had. I love when I can read a book and I feel like I'm reading from the perspective of
08:41like my
08:41best friend. Like this character feels very close to me because that validation I think is really
08:46important. Um, and I also just love feeling like these are characters I could know in real life.
08:53The series that I'm thinking about right now is, um, Danielle Allen's Curve series. I love those main
08:58characters in those books because I feel like I'm talking to my best friend when I'm reading them.
09:03And I think that's important for every reader to be able to have that experience.
09:09And how does your writing explore, uh, the intersectionality of class, sexuality, gender identity,
09:19um, when depicting black relationships? Because I also feel like whether, I mean, in media as a whole,
09:26right? Like on screen, on the big screen, on the small screen, there, there just hasn't been a,
09:31for a long time, a lot of depictions of our relationships that are layered, not just,
09:37you know, one dimensional. Right. I think we did an event last month and we, our books have a lot
09:43in
09:43common, I think with that. And in these kinds of small towns where the black family is kind of the
09:49pillar of the community, um, with your small town, mine. Um, so just to see us in a position where,
09:56like, we don't have to struggle where struggle is okay at times, but like, we don't have to. And so
10:03seeing like black families be on the page, be like the center of the community, which we know we often
10:10are, right? Like, I mean, we see us here, like we know how to build community. Um, I think I
10:15lost the
10:15question. Um, intersectionality. So like class. Yeah. I mean, I think after you've written so
10:23many books too, it just tends to happen where you're exploring them in different ways. I know
10:27I want to, in the series I'm writing to a sapphic romance and so kind of change things up that
10:33way.
10:33And, um, yeah, I find that I write about class differences a lot too. Like in the summer girlfriend,
10:39he's wealthy and she's not, but that plays into the plot cause she needs his money. She needs money to
10:45go back to college. Um, but I think that when you are, it's just a reality when you're choosing a
10:50partner, your finances, that's a big topic. How are you going to live your lives together? Are you
10:57financially on the same page with things? I think that's just a real conversation that we have with
11:03people who are, we, we are like vetting, vetting to be our life partners. Um, and so I think writing
11:08about money is, it's like, it's just a real conversation. So I find that I talk about that
11:14a lot in my books. Yeah. Okay. Now for people who are here today who may be interested in maybe
11:22dipping their toe and writing a romance novel, um, you know, how important is it for
11:32us to write about what we know, for people to write about what they know. And I'll give an example
11:37of, I have a, um, I know someone, a friend who's been wanting to write romance novels and she's
11:44Jamaican and she's like, Oh, you immediately looked up. Right. But, um, she's like, Oh, you know,
11:51I have this idea of like, you know, maybe her meeting someone who's black American or someone from
11:57another Caribbean Island and like what that dynamic is like. And, but I don't know if that's gonna,
12:02and I'm like, that's exactly why you should write it. Right. Because we don't, we don't see,
12:09or, you know, read those types of stories often, but if it's something that you're thinking about,
12:12other people are thinking about it too. And even if you're not of Caribbean descent,
12:17you're like, Oh wow, this is interesting. Like, this is something that I, you know, haven't read.
12:21So I'm going on and on, but basically I think you understand what I'm asking. Like writing about what
12:26you like, writing about HBCU love writing about, um, being an M, you know, like there's so many,
12:33we, we're not a monolith. We have so many stories, but I think sometimes we don't realize that our
12:38differences are our strengths. So can you speak to that? I would love for both of you to answer.
12:44I mean, I think I act sometimes not on purpose, put pieces myself in every single book. And I think
12:49especially when you're starting writing, that might be, it's not necessarily the easiest way,
12:54but it is like, you know it the most. Like my first book was about somebody who married,
12:58um, and dated an NFL player. It's like, I knew that world really well. And then the more I write,
13:03the more I can kind of explore other things without the research. But I mean, every time my
13:09last book is a cowboy romance, we just moved to Texas. We love your boots. Thank you.
13:17So I just think when you put pieces of yourself, it does also, it lends to the authenticity of it.
13:22And we do need stories that we relate to. So if you relate to it deeply, it's easy to put
13:26those
13:27feelings on page. Yeah. And I think because, you know, we're all individuals, everything,
13:32what we bring to a book is going to be reflective of who we are, like our own personality. Um,
13:38but then on like, so I agree with what you're saying. And then I think on the flip side,
13:41like when you were saying that your friend wanted to write about a love interest that maybe wasn't
13:45from the background that she was from, I think that as long as it's approached with care and respect,
13:53the research of it, then I think the art can still be really appreciated. Um,
14:01there's this one author named Nikki Payne, who writes, she's a black romance writer, her,
14:05her main characters are often black, but the love interest will be like Filipino, or they'll be,
14:10I think the one that she has coming out next year, he might be, uh, Iranian and she just does
14:16really,
14:18really strong research. So if the character feels lived in and you can tell that she came to
14:23his culture, his culture with respect. So I think that it's possible to, for, to have, to,
14:30to like write what you know and what you feel at the, but then also, uh, write a really respectful
14:35depiction of a character who's from a background that you're not part of too.
14:39Thank you for that. What is something that you want people who are interested in, uh,
14:50getting into writing romance novels, um, to know, like take away from this session?
14:58The happily ever after is mandatory. That's like always a conversation and people are like,
15:04oh, it says need to H-E-A. It does. If it doesn't, you have not written a romance novel.
15:09That's always an argument online. And we are always like, no, that's just, it's a genre convention.
15:14I love that you said that. I did not think that was going to be your response.
15:18That's my main thing. Like it has to have a happily ever after. Um, yeah, that's, that's to me,
15:24that's like the main thing. That's what I would say. Yeah.
15:28But you get creative in how, how she gets to the happily ever after.
15:32Yes. I think there's, um, uh, author named Sarah McLean who, she did, she does a lot of, uh, romance,
15:37uh, writing workshops and she once described writing a romance as sort of like doing martial
15:43arts in a phone booth because you're, you have to, you have very, you have genre conventions
15:48that you have to feed into, but how you get there is up to you, but you have to make
15:53sure that you're
15:53hitting those different beats. Like the romance to be a romance, the romance plot itself has to be
15:59the central A plot and they have to end up together at the end. How you get there is up
16:04to you,
16:04but it has to be, those things have to be part of it. Alexa, what would you add to that?
16:10Well, I guess not just romance, but just like writing is to just start. I mean,
16:14my first book took me four years to finish. Um, and just like, cause it's so easy to stop
16:20and then go back and then stop and then go back. But just to like push yourself until you get
16:25to
16:25the end and maybe just start with one story, right? Like it's also when you're writing,
16:30there's so many ideas that come. So to like focus on one and then finish that and then you can
16:35move
16:35forward. But like getting to the end, it does something for your confidence as well.
16:39I think so too. To just finish the book and finish that project and that there's always
16:44going to be a reader. There's so many readers who are looking for your story and we need it
16:48more than ever because it is getting a little bleak.
16:53Do you all feel like, uh, your books bring a certain amount of joy? I kind of touched on this
16:59when I talked about my aunt, but bring a certain level of joy to your audiences and your readers that
17:07is especially needed right now when you think about the political climate and you know,
17:11it just so happens to be the 4th of July, but like, yeah. And what does that mean to us?
17:16But
17:17um, what, what's your, what are your thoughts on that? Like whenever I start a book, I always think
17:23that when I, I want my readers to finish with a smile on their face. So that's like my main
17:28goal
17:28throughout it. Like maybe I want you to cry a little bit, but I want you to smile at the
17:33end. I want you to
17:33laugh and have fun and see joy in the pages. It's, that's why I write rom-coms. I like, love
17:38it. I want
17:39my readers to smile. I want it to be escapist. So for me, it's really important. Yeah. My answer is
17:45the same. I always want readers to feel like they've been given a warm hug when they're done reading the
17:49book, because like you said, we need art also that is intentionally created for joy. I think that's
17:55important. And black joy is so important. So important. Well, I think we're at time. Um, but thank you
18:03both so much for being here and sharing all your insider secrets. Let's give them a round of applause.
18:10Thank you for monitoring. Oh, of course. And both of your books,
18:16the Summer Girlfriend is here for sale, no? They unfortunately do not have copies of any of my
18:21books here today. I didn't have anything to do with that. No, I know it's not your thing. It's a
18:27different issue, but, um, yeah, I'm happy to take pictures. But you're, her books are here. Oh,
18:32okay. So we just got an update. Alexa's, uh, book, which one, which one? By the bootstraps,
18:38probably my cowboy one. Okay. So you can purchase one of Alexa's books, the cowboy. What did you say?
18:46By the bootstraps. By the, by the bootstraps is available for purchase to my left. And are you
18:53signing it? Oh yes, I'll sign. And I have some goodies. So if you want a bookmark. Oh my goodness.
18:58Okay. So you have to get the bookmarks. Okay. Okay.
19:05My book is available on sale online. Yeah. Like ebook, audio book, physical. It's available. Yeah. Just not here.
19:15Oh, some people already have. Oh, okay. I, if you have copies, I will sign them if you brought them
19:20here. Okay. So, okay. So Christina, if you already have a copy of one of her books with you,
19:26she will sign it to my left. Thank you all so much.
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