Guest blog post by Trisha R. Thomas

Last week's essay from Margaret Johnson-Hodge sparked this response from Trisha R. Thomas. (Thank you Margaret! That is a first here on the blog!) Thomas is author of the "Nappily" series of books. The first of which, Nappily Ever After, was optioned for a feature film by Halle Berry. The latest Un-Nappily In Love is available for pre-order and will be out in May.

Everything below is from Thomas:

Since we're on the subject...I've become weary. I know this sounds incredibly silly. Who wouldn't want my job? I'm a published author of several novels that have done quite well with a few awards under my belt.

Yet, every year, I go through the melt down of having to market myself. Time to contact the media, magazines, radio shows, news outlets, and booksellers with hopes of being featured so my book will rise to the top of the very large pile of newly released choices for readers. It's time for me to announce who I am, what I've written and why they should be interested in reviewing my latest great work of art, which inevitably boils down to the color of my skin.

In this day and age, one would think we are past color coding, but it's more prevalent than ever. I've thought about displaying my multi-racial plaque. It seems to be popular and a quick area to move ahead of the pile since President Obama became our leader. But I have too much pride for shuffling race cards. Once that's established I quickly get tossed onto the African American pile, skipping the women's fiction, romance-comedy, and long running series pile. I skip the area of live and laugh out loud characters and become the black author whose subject matter doesn't matter at all. I was asked by a white associate if my next book would still be about black characters. When I told her yes, she seemed disappointed, like she would love to support me, "but ummm, sorry, it's out of my hands."

That's when I realized that it was out of my hands too. I've written characters, with a strong vivid plot whose race didn't matter. Something in the style of Barbara Delinsky, Jude Deveraux, or Susan Elizabeth Phillips who get to write without announcing the color of their character's skin. These manuscripts lay in stacks in my closet. In the past, even to mention that my characters were less than a deep shade of beige, I would be struck down by the all mighty publishing manifesto. Black writers must only and always write about black characters. Please leave my sight until you have repeated this one hundred times. And while you're out, write it down so you won't come back with that foolishness again.

Occasionally, one exception will get past the powers that be. Jericho's Fall by Stephen L. Carter would be a fine example. I'm sure he's also proof that it cannot ever, ever, ever, work, no matter how many degrees you have or what Ivy League institution is your employer. This is the proverbial ONE-WAY street.

Hats off to books like The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, The Help, Secret Life of Bees, and James Patterson's Alex Cross series. Hats off to their publishers who thought nothing of it to publish these black stories by white writers. My only question:

Why aren't these black character driven books sequestered to the African-American section in the bookstores? Why do they get a pass to freely roam about the cabin skipping the colored-only signs entirely? Why do they get to skip the pile?

Don't get me wrong, I am comfortable in my skin. I find it pleasing to the eye and extremely desirable proven by the constant new tanning products introduced every year. But that's only skin. On the inside, we are the same. We experience hurt, rejection, awareness, hope, faith, and rebirth, all the same. The human experience we write about surpasses skin deep motivation. I don't make a judgment whether to buy a book based on the color of the characters on the cover. Is it a good story? Is it recommended? I'm good as long as the lead character doesn't die in the end. That's where I draw the line. I don't discriminate. I read because I love to read. On my bookshelf it's about fifty-fifty of black and non-black writers. There are few white readers who can say the same. I am a black writer hear me roar, or sigh as the case may be.

Signed Trisha R. Thomas

Aka, Weary in Publishing

March 23, 2010 1:52 PM

Stephen Carter

Stephen Carter was at the Tattered Cover in Denver last week to promote his latest, Jericho's Fall. He gave a great talk, funny and interesting, about his background and his work.

If you'd like to win a Jericho's Fall t-shirt, enter contest in post below.

Here are a few of the quotes I jotted down:

"I always begin with the characters I want to write about."

Then he picks the setting. Then he writes the last chapter of the book first and goes back to figure out how those characters in that setting came to that ending.

"My writing is largely about the abuse of power. Though first and foremost I'm trying to entertain and have fun."

On the subject of the protagonist's unspecified race: "In the age of Obama, what difference does it really make [what race she is]?" However, he said he has given enough clues in this book and previous work that readers could figure it out if they cared to. He also talked about how maddening it is that authors (white usually) have white people as the default and only describe race if a character is something other than white.

On writing a woman's point of view: "Of course it was hard to write a woman's point of view, but it's always hard to sustain a character's voice and point of view."

Carter said he always has 5 or 6 projects going at once (!) so he's never bored. And when he hits a rough spot in one project or needs a break, he opens another file and works on something else. He writes nonfiction and fiction and believes they use different parts of the brain.

On why so many lawyers write thrillers: "In law school you're trained to think about contingencies. That's what a thriller is, what if after what if after what if." Carter said the thriller writer owes his reader constant run of surprises. I'd continue the thought and say any type of novelist owes his reader twists in the story.

Carter's hoping to write a book about why books (physical, real books) are important to democracy. Here he is giving a lecture at Yale on the topic.

Loads of love

I'm reading Black Water Rising by Attica Locke. (It's good y'all!) The opening scene includes the protagonist Jay remembering the black church ladies that came to court daily when he was on trial for being a young revolutionary. He remembers them looking at him like "We got you, son. We're not gon' let you fall."

It reminds me of the way black readers often are with black authors. One of the great joys of being a writer is having readers who prop you up when you feel like you're falling. I know we authors yell a lot over here about attracting other readers, but let me say for the record, we love, love, love us some black readers! And wouldn't make it at all without you!

I recently was blessed enough to receive an award from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association. The way those black librarians talked about books and writers! Oh my, it was balm for the soul! My brother-in-law attended and he said "the waves of love crashing over the podium" spilled out into the audience over to him and left him feeling warm inside.

So I offer a heartfelt thanks to all the readers who don't let us fall. And here are some links about some other authors that we (no matter our race) can share some love with:

E. Lynn Harris, who recently passed, gets a tribute from other writers at The Root.

Karen Simpson, friend o' the blog, recently announced the sale of her first novel! Read her story of deciding to go with Plenary Publishing after many rejections from mainstream (read mostly white editors/publishers) because they felt that black readers only wanted urban or romance and white readers won't read black authors. Oy. Act of Grace (speculative fiction) will be published in spring 2011 and we will definitely host a chat with Karen and/or review to celebrate!

Victor LaValle's 3rd novel Big Machine, to be released August 11, could be his big breakout. This Wall Street Journal article about the support he's getting is exciting. Here's a link to an excerpt from the book.

Yellow Moon Jewell Parker Rhodes' African vampire story comes out in paperback next month.

Cornered, Brandon Massey's latest thriller hits also stores next month.

Eisa Ulen lovingly reviews Paule Marshall's memoir of the writer's life, Triangular Road.

The Bottom of Heaven gives some geek love to Samuel R. Delaney's fantasy Nevèrÿon series.

Publishers Weekly showers the upcoming The Girl Who Fell from the Sky by Heidi Durrow with some pre-pub love.

Color Online is looking for love for authors of color. They're looking for reviewers for August who will read brown.

USA Today ran an interesting profile of author Stephen Carter, who is able to do something pretty amazing in his latest, Jericho's Fall: not identify the protagonist's race. I'm not sure less successful authors could pull this off. Publishers and marketers usually want to know the characters' race so they know how to position the book. So I'm willing to give Carter some love for breaking out of that box.

Speaking of publishers identifying race, by now you've probably heard of the YA book Liar with the black protagonist and the white author that has a photo of a white girl on the cover. But in case you haven't, I'll include a few links. First though my question: Does this mean the publisher believes that white readers will read a book by a white author about non-white characters, but only if a white person is on the cover? From the author of the book. Publisher's Weekly. Young, Black, A Reader responds. Another blogger asks white readers to respond to the publisher. I would suggest lovingly telling them that they're full of shit.

Now some love for a bookseller, a white bookseller who takes up the "White Readers Meet Black Authors" cause. The Inkwell Bookstore blog challenges readers to step outside their comfort zone: "I see this a lot at our bookstore. More often than not, White customers buy books by White authors. While this in no way makes them racist, their unwillingness to explore something outside their comfort zone does make them dull. What makes these FUBU buying habits even more frustrating is the fact that the majority of these White readers consider themselves to be highly liberal thinkers. They listen to world music, they donate money to Darfur, and they campaigned en masse to make Barack Obama the President of the United States. Still, I dare you to try and push Chester Himes' If He Hollers Let Him Go on a fan of Joan Didion's Play It As It Lays."