Buckle up. I have some thoughts about this situation and with utmost respect to my fellow BIPOC authors, I'm breaking this down in the hopes to bring some understanding to those out there still dismissing and denying. Here's my starting point:

Authors need to stop doing this all the time. We need to evolve. Learn. I hope we do our best to improve over time.
There are #OwnVoices authors in romance. Recognize us as colleagues.

There are so many #OwnVoices authors and our stories in romance. Even RWA did a Trailblazers presentation not too long ago featuring many Own Voices in romance. I'm one of them. There are so many of us.
I'd love a tangent thread of favs and I'll come back to this to add to it.

Want Own Voices to exist in Romance? My take is nuanced. Romance readers, me incl, want diverse & inclusive stories. We want to encounter characters like us, know there's room for romances like ours. You can have a diverse cast without telling a story that is not yours to tell.

Being inclusive in romance isn't about ignoring Own Voices. It means crafting your story with skill so your story is about the perspective you can write and not about the Own Voices perspective you do not have the lens to understand.
This isn't simple. It's not okay to ignore.

Recognize the difference between race and ethnicity. Also recognize Own Voices includes other marginalized groups.

This is so incredibly problematic and I will call out authors, agents, editors, publishing houses... every aspect of the industry to not put the onus of this on any one person involved in the polishing of a story: Sensitivity reads are key. Don't ignore the need.

This only serves to expose you further and prove you are not the person to write a perspective other than your own. Your norm is apparently The Norm. That is not okay. We deserve better.

tl;dr #OwnVoices exists in every genre, definitely romance. It's not okay to tell a story through your lens as if ownvoices doesn't exist. It's not okay to erase readers to whom this matters. It takes thought & care to be inclusive in stories. It's not straightforward. It IS done

So, let's take this in a positive direction: celebrating Black Authors of Romance.

I'm excited that Miss Bev has a new release this month, Wild Rain: Women Who Dare.

I'd love to continue this with more of the titles you all are looking forward to or favorite re-reads.

I'm super looking forward to Denny S Bryce 's Wild Women and the Blues. It's coming in March and up for pre-order now.

There's also the fun new cover to Talia Hibbert's The Princess Trap, re-released recently. Ah, so cute!

As a former knitter (when my hands could manage it) and also having recently loved a video clip from my current fav Kdrama of the heroes knitting - my interest is piqued by K.M. Jackson's Real Men Knit. I missed it when it came out and it's ow on my TBR.

I'm a fan of Alyssa Cole's Runaway Royals series and her How to Catch a Queen released recently.

LaQuette's Jackson is coming this month and whew. This is one I'm adding to my TBR.

Speaking of new releases, there's Back in the Texan's Bed by Naima Simone...