#WeNeedDiverseBooks

There's a call to post and write about why #WeNeedDiverseBooks from May 1 to 3. I watched this hashtag for a long number of hours, just figuring out how to respond and join, based on how I write and who I write for. And then this tweet made it all fall into place:

We need diverse books because we are all different. We need diverse books because we are all the same. #WeNeedDiverseBooks
— Sara O'Leary (@saraoleary) May 1, 2014

So that actually captures right there what my writing journey and mission has been. #WeNeedDiverseBooks because:

- Sometimes I still see a comment about my books not being "Filipino" or "exotic" enough, because they happen to be set in a city, with modern urban conveniences, that could be set in any other city, because cities tend to have that quality.
- Some people still find it "inauthentic" that my Filipino characters speak English in dialogue, never mind that English is an official language, is used in signs and in daily commerce, and many Filipinos speak it every day, without difficulty, without baggage, and without having studied in another country.
- Some people can suspend disbelief about supernatural/paranormal/mythological elements in a regular school setting, provided it is not in their own country, because if it were happening in their country then it can only happen in this way or this way and I should know 'cause I'm from here.
- "Shallow" is still used casually to describe books that follow a woman's life and her decisions.
- There's a lot of denial over what Filipino women know and should know about sex and being responsible for their sexuality.

This is heavy stuff. It's hard for any writer to have all of this hanging over her head, so even though this is all there, I just write. I just write anyway, the stories I want to, and they're usually fun and light reads. But I hope that they've contributed to the diversity of books out there, because all I'm trying to do is show how things are different, and the same.

I'm so thankful to the readers who get this. If you started out skeptical and then eventually got it, yay. If I didn't get to convince you at all, maybe I can refer you to other people who might?

Culture: Too much, or not enough?

I was on NALitChat's audio show this month to talk about culture and diversity in New Adult Lit, with authors David Arney, E.J. Wesley, Kat Vancil, Amy Evans, and Victoria Smith. It sounds like serious business (and it was, in parts) but it was also a lot of fun, and an hour is apparently not enough time to exhaust the topic. I'm so glad that I was given the chance to share what it's like for me, as a Filipino author writing in English. Some things I want to bring up again, and with more words:

Does a book "have to be" diverse/culture-sensitive?

I'm not someone who says a book "has to be" anything. I've experienced this throughout my life ("you have to write in Filipino", "you have to write about the poor", "you have to write what's popular"). There's nothing wrong with what they want. I don't know how it affects you, but that to me is just a formula for NOT FINISHING ANYTHING.

That said, you may have noticed that my books have a LOT of Filipinos in them. I've taken the time (in recent books) to point out when someone isn't Filipino, or is Filipino and something else, just to illustrate that yes even in Manila there's a variety of cultures one might encounter professionally, socially, etc. I've also learned that some readers will see this as too much culture, or not enough.

What do you mean, not enough culture?

Because ebook buying hasn't taken off that much yet in the Philippines, it means most of my ebook sales come from OUTSIDE of the Philippines. And because I'm up front in my author bio and book descriptions that these stories are set in the Philippines, it's reasonable to expect that I get readers trying my books because they want to learn more about my country. But then they get a story about a young woman falling in love and finding a job in the city, and maybe it's not the kind of "culture" they were expecting to see. Stories are affected by their setting, and certain cultural quirks will influence that. How much though?

I try to have my covers designed and my book descriptions written so that they don't advertise an exaggerated "cultural experience" if there isn't any, but readers will have their thoughts and ideas about a topic, and they will decide (with or without my help) whether my book meets those expectations or falls short. There's a reason though that my books are still categorized in CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE, and not, say, SOCIAL SCIENCES. 

That said, I find it fascinating that other authors feel some pressure to remove traces of "culture" and others aren't "cultural" enough.