My favorite scene in the television series What We Do in the Shadows happens during the “Werewolf Feud” episode. The vampires and werewolves of Staten Island are going to fight, but no one can remember the rules of their feud. While Nandor consults the scrolls, Nadja makes small talk, asking, “Are all you werewolves Indians?”
I howled with laughter at that line and the following exchange as the werewolves explain that they are a rainbow of ethnicities. “It’s not an ethnic thing,” says Marcus, the one Native werewolf in the pack.
Of course, the joke is a reference to Twilight, which portrayed all werewolf shifters as Indigenous; their tribe was their pack. I’m not here to yuck anyone’s yum or disparage Twilight. After all, those books-turned-movies provided a lot of work for Native actors.
What I am here to discuss is the long-standing lack of quality Native roles in romance fiction. And, perhaps more importantly, the lack of Native voices among romance writers.
For decades, the only Native characters you’d find in romance were historical. The story typically centered around a white woman, taken captive by a savage tribe, and protected by one stoic warrior. He didn’t speak much English, but he sure knew the language of love. It was the Cynthia Ann Parker story with a bodice ripper cover. A kidnap fantasy where the Native characters were caricatures, as realistic as the Fae villains and princes of other fantasy romance.
While plenty of readers love that sort of story, I’ve been desperate to read something different. I’m tired of fantasy Native characters. I want Native romance set in the twenty-first century, where the characters struggle with contemporary, non-shifter problems.
Inspired by the great Toni Morrison quote, “If there’s a book you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it,” I wrote my romance novel, The Road Home, the second book in my Lost in Austin series. It’s the story of Jake Sixkiller, an up-and-coming Austin rock star who falls in love with a badass roller derby starlet. Oh, and by the way, Jake is Cherokee. It meant the world to me to have my main character say, “Gvgeyui,” which means I love you in Cherokee.
Then, I started looking for a cover. It turns out, romance fiction isn’t the only place where there is a dearth of Native representation. Stock photography collections, too, have few options for indie writers seeking cover models of color. I hired a photographer who worked with a Native actor to shoot my cover, costing substantially more than a stock photo would have.
The cost was worth it to me, though, to have accurate representation on the cover. And I could afford it. Not all Native writers can. In fact, one of the writers in my list below includes an apology in the back matter of her book, because the cover isn’t representative. The struggle is real. And I anticipate this same struggle when it’s time to audition talent for the audiobook as well.
But, as with all Native stories, where there is struggle, there is also success. Let’s talk about success in the Native romance world.
At the time I was writing The Road Home, I was convinced there were no (or at least not many) Native romances written by Native writers. I’m happy to say I was wrong. One of the best experiences on this journey to writing my own Native romance was finding others on their own writing journey. If you’re in the mood for some Native romance from a Native perspective, here are my recent favorites:
- Robin Covington – Check out her Redhawk Reunion books (published by Harlequin) for billionaire and best-friend’s-sister tropes told with Eastern Band Cherokee characters in the mix.
- Pamela Sanderson – The Crooked Rock series is a funny series about the staff and regulars at an Urban Indian Center. City Indians falling in love while trying to maintain cultural roots. Loved it.
- Maggie Blackbird – This writer has several series out. I read the first of her Matawapit Family series, a M/M romance which delves into a tribal schism between followers of the Catholic church versus traditional tribal culture, and two men in love, who find themselves on opposing sides.
- Cynthia Leitich Smith – Hearts Unbroken is one of the best Native books I’ve read in a while. More young adult than romance, it’s a story about a young woman dealing with racism on a macro and micro scale. Really great read. Additionally, Cynthia is author-curator for Heartdrum, a Native children’s and YA imprint of HarperCollins.
The writers above are just the ones I’ve had time to read. My TBR pile is massive, and still on it are these Native romance writers:
If you’ve read (or written) some great Native romance that I’ve missed, please let me know. Our community is small, but growing by the day, and I’d love to read it all.