[EMAIL PROTECTED] I can't wait to read this book! I've read other stories by Carole and she is an excellent writer! I recemmend this sight unseen just on my previous experience with Carole's work. Cheers! Amy
The below article is a must read for aspiring writers - but especially those of color. I am particularly fond of the passage: "Christians read novels to find peace in the world. They don't want to be stressed." I am highly amused by the unintentional hilarity of that statement. But, more to the point, McDonnell articulates the peculiar limbo of being "in-between" genres that minority writers find themselves stranded in. Indeed, "Some of Us Are Brave," but all of us need to be. ~rave! http://www.thebacklist.net/index.asp Some of Us Are Brave By Carole McDonnell I knew I had to be brave when the idea for my novel Wind Follower came to me. The novel fell into genres which had much in common, but genres which were often incompatible. Wind Follower is speculative fiction and written by a Black author. But, it is also a Christian novel - a rarity among Black fantasy. I wondered, could I write a book which represented all that I am? Traditionally, Christian fiction books have dealt with issues such as supernatural spiritual warfare, home-spun country stories, frontier stories, and romance. Except for the odd escaped slave, drug addict, or black secretary, African-Americans rarely show up in Christian fiction, and discussions of racism are avoided. White Christian fiction and Black fiction literally deal with different worlds. For white Christian writers, the hero's journey was a return to the simple life of the rural Eden where the evils of the big city (and its citizens) could no longer touch him. While the white Christian writer trusts in the status quo, the African-American author understands that Eden -the American Dream- has not been achieved. Black Christian novelists mention racism and social injustice only in passing. They have been published by Christian publishing companies and if they wish to retain both their readers and publishers, they accept the CBA's (Christian Booksellers Association) credo: "Christians read novels to find peace in the world. They don't want to be stressed." This credo was told to me many times by Christian publishers and agents who saw Wind Follower. Although these gatekeepers said it was one of the best pieces of Christian fiction they had ever read, telepathy, magic, erotic love scenes, anti-imperialism, and an interracial love story all made the book "wrong for our demographics." In short, if I wanted the book to be published by a company linked to the CBA, I would have to avoid those areas commonly dealt with in African-American fiction. I have been a lover of African-American fiction, Christian memoir, and speculative fiction. But these genres are literally worlds apart and Black writers must often create an authentic niche in established genres. A few black niches exist in publishing. One niche that has affected much Black writings and which unfortunately still exists today is the Slave Narrative. Works that were part biography, part protest literature, part Christian testimony and conversion story, Slave Narratives were also written to show the humanity of Africans, and to show the erring white culture Christian how incompatible slavery is with Biblical Christianity. Black fiction often touches upon social, existential, and spiritual issues. That is to be expected. The struggle to show the commonality of all humans and yet try to shine a spotlight on uniquely African-American aspect was the aim of the first slave narrative and is still the aim of most Black writings. Wind Follower, among other things, is a slave narrative of sorts. But the Christian publishing world was tempting me to cast off those African-American issues which would prevent it from being accepted by fellow Christians. Complicating matters, I found that although many Black fantasy writers honor folklore and magic, Black Christians didn't like speculative fiction. Like their white counterparts, they consider magic satanic. Some told me they didn't like "anything that's not real." Others plainly said they "avoid reading any book with sex scenes." When I was advised by black Christian writers that many black Christians would not read my book, I decided to send the manuscript to Juno Books, a secular publisher which specialized in speculative fiction. They accepted it, but suddenly I found myself wondering if my primary readers would be white non-Christians. And would white speculative-fiction readers be willing to leave the Euro-centric elves, dwarves, and Celtic ladies to which they are accustomed to read about a non-European world? African-American writers are creating flourishing new genres which have inherited the burdens, and specifications of those genres, and we are beginning to make those genres truly our own. Some of us are Christians, some of us are speculative fiction writers. But all of us are brave. Carole McDonnell's novel, Wind Follower, will be published by Juno Books in June 2007. Community email addresses: Post message: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe Digest Mode: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED]: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SciFiNoir_Lit/ Yahoo! Groups Links -- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.446 / Virus Database: 269.7.7/816 - Release Date: 5/23/2007 3:59 PM
