http://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/newsroom/hsv2pressrelease.html
This was nothing new to me. I know many people, both men and women, black and white, who have herpes. However, the numbers started me to thinking, from a writing perspective, about WHO these women were. what were they reading? Are their stories represented in romantic fiction?
As my mind wanders down this rabbit hole, I decided to ask my own readers to weigh in. Personally, I have been toying around with a story which features a heroine who has and STD, in particular herpes. I have been writing this story off and on since about 2010, because I do have peers with the disease and I had not seen it in any of the stories I had read. Fast forward two years and I still have not seen this story line. When I get passionate about something, I usually go all in, so I asked my publisher if they thought it would be worth exploring and they said, "Gynger, your gut and your readers are the only ones who can tell you that." Since my gut is leaning towards completing this story, they suggested I blog about it to get my answer.
Here, I am hoping YOU the reader, can help me with this question. I AM NOT asking you disclose ANY of your personal information on my blog or anywhere else. I just want some feedback on the following questions:
• Do you think it's time for a IR(Interrracial) romance to include a heroine who has herpes
• Would you buy an IR book which featured a heroine who has herpes
See that's it, straight to the point. You can leave your feedback Anonymously if that is your choice.
I thank you in advance for your time.
~Gynger Fyer- The Romance Arsonist
This is a very interesting concept because of the statistics. But I would consider reading but both the hero and the heroine should have it. That way the playing field is somewhat fair.
ReplyDeleteIt really depends on the story. I would be interested to read it because it's something different and I think IR romance shouldn't be any different from the other romance novels that might tackle this issue. As Black women, we all have similar struggles. We all have different struggles. It would be nice to read an account on what one has to deal with on a daily basis. I'm sure, with people who have herpes, it does impact their dating life.
ReplyDeleteSo I just got through reading Shiree McCarver's All I want for Christmas and All I want is You, and the heroine had a disability, Hidradenitis Suppurativa (HS). Mary had suffered with it since she was 17 but the hero, Alec was amazingly compassionate, and pursued & loved her. It was my first love story with a character dealing with an illness. I enjoyed the realness of the story, so I would be interested in reading your story. Everybody needs love!
ReplyDeleteI'm a firm believer if the story is told in a respectful way it can be interesting. I also like a dose of reality with my fantasy, now if the entire focus is on the STD it starts being more of a cautionary tale than a fantasy to me. It's interesting that a STD is a taboo but there are several stories where a heroine gets pregnant after unprotected sex and readers will hardly blink an eye over that.
ReplyDeleteI agree Janet. It is interesting that a "oops" pregnancy is par for the course but an STD is taboo. LOL. I will say that the STD is not the focus of my story. In fact once it comes out, the hero pretty much calms her fears and they move on so it not the main part of the story. I think readers will like the character because she is real. We will see. I have gotten some positive feed back so far.
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