When I saw the hashtag #WeNeedDiverseBooks it really resonated with me on all levels. As a young reader I’ve always wanted to see myself in books as well. The first YA I read that inspired me to become an interracial writer would be Romiette and Julio by Sharon M. Draper which was a retelling of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliette with an African American heroine and Hispanic hero. I related to the book and the storytelling and wanted to find more books like it.

I read a lot of mainstream romance books but until I found ebooks I never found my face in the romance world. POC women and men want to see their love lives and fantasies in romance books and I write for them and people who want to read a different kind of romance book. I live in Toronto and my world has always reflected my books so when it comes to conversations about race I live with a double consciousness. It feels like people are ignoring our existence and truth. As a black woman living, dating, and trying to find love in the world I’m just like my characters and millions of other women who share my skin color. I want to see my mocha girls win at love in stories and in the real world.

Readers who support our books are the ones that help the interracial/multicultural novel world to exist so I’d like to salute them as well. Join the conversation on twitter #WeNeedDiverseBooks, on twitter @startswithakesh and on facebook.