Romance is a genre that deals with something that can seem so simple: falling in love. But there’s also an element of fantasy that comes with romance—often in the form of impossibly hot people getting together and falling in love forever. Great, right?
Sure. But what if you want something with a little dose of reality thrown in? Because let’s face it: we’re all different—unique and impossibly hot in our own ways, but different. We look different, we sound different, we have different experiences. But that doesn’t mean we don’t deserve to be swept off our feet in the most swoon-worthy of ways.
Body acceptance (body neutrality, body positivity, et al.) is something that has always been important to me. I have fluctuated between sizes since I was a teenager, and that likely won’t stop. So when I sat down to write the book that would become my debut novel, The Accidental Pinup, I knew that I wanted to write a main character that so many people—people who looked like me—would relate to. But I also wanted to make sure that this character was someone who was confident in her body, in a way that I aspired to be one day.
Cassie is a self-described as a “fat Black small business owner,” and she knows she’s hot and that she’s good at her job as a boudoir and pinup photographer. And she knows her love interest, Reid, thinks she’s hot, too. She literally makes people feel at ease about being photographed in their underwear and she makes them look amazing and sensual. But I also wanted to explore what would make this confident, bodacious Black woman tick… Then I wondered, what if she was the one in her underwear in front of the camera? And what if her job was on the line as a result? How would she react? Probably with some hesitation… and that’s totally relatable.
I love the way the fashion industry is making some strides—some being the operative word here—toward more inclusive sizing. National ad campaigns are plastered on the sides of buses and in stores with models of all sizes and ages and backgrounds and abilities. Because true body acceptance goes beyond thin or plus size. We have to embrace those differences I mentioned earlier; the things that make us different also make us beautiful. And everyone deserves a chance to be loved. I hope my book, in part, shows that.
There are so many books that celebrate body acceptance, showcasing a variety of people with different body types and abilities, that paved the way for The Accidental Pinup. A few of my recent faves:
Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert (and the entire Brown Sisters series!)
Savvy Sheldon Feels Good as Hell by Taj McCoy
The Fastest Way to Fall by Denise Williams
Xeni by Rebekah Weatherspoon
Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade
Weather Girl by Rachel Lynn Solomon
The Accidental Pinup by Danielle Jackson is available from Amazon and Bookshop. Read an excerpt from The Accidental Pinup.