I wrote a handful of interracial romances 10-20 years ago. Today, if I tried, I'd probably get lambasted. Yet, Summer from the Seasons of Magick series is popular because it's an interracial romance of two non-white characters.
There are some who probably think I should take the story down because I overstepped as a white woman. If I did, I'd have to take down almost all my series because I do a hell of a lot of racial mixing in them. Frankly, it's probably accepted by the readers because most of them are fantasy.
But in Summer, the real trope is the girl-next-door finally noticing the boy-next-door in combination with a twist on the horror trope of dying because the teens had sex. (Before anyone throws a fit about underage characters, both Jamal and Shan are eighteen.) The story would be classified as sweet if I took out the sex and the kiang-shi.
On the other hand, I'm kind of glad to see more contemporary stories where the white guy is struggling with his privilege. It means the worldview is changing, I hope for the better. These stories show that communication is possible even if it's difficult as hell.
I've already been accused of being woke and anti-white in some reviews. But we need to continue the hard work of understanding each other. I know I'm going to fuck up sometimes, but I work to do better. I hope everyone else does the same.
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