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10 reasons why I love writing interracial romance

(and why it has an enormous potential)

I’m a German, but also half-Sri Lankan. So maybe that’s why I enjoy creating couples with different cultural and/or ethnic backgrounds. But it’s not only that. Writing multicultural romance opens up a whole treasure trove of possibilities. Here are 10 reasons why writing interracial romance is not just fun but also a great idea:

1) More potential for conflict

Think about it: The heroine and the hero come from different countries or races. There’ll be a million tiny and big differences that could lead to misunderstandings or initially even prevent them from getting together and giving each other a chance.

2) Less acceptance

Looking for as much conflict as possible? People still view interracial couples with skepticism or outright disdain. Maybe his father or her mother are against the match? Maybe he’s famous and society rebels against his choice? That’s something I loved about my first royal romance “The Prince’s Special Bride”. The prince falls for a woman of color, which causes quite the uproar. And look at what England’s Prince Harry has done in real life!

3) Language barrier

Sure, there are countless immigrants and foreigners who know English or another major language well enough to communicate – but it doesn’t have to be that way. What if one of them has a cute accent, says certain things wrong or wants to learn the other language? So many possibilities! And as a writer, you hit two targets with one shot: You can make the character’s speech unique and recognizable as well as create some lovely scenes and dialogues around this. I always make it a point to let the characters lapse into their native tongue when they’re emotional, for example in my books “Saved in Sri Lanka” and “Seduced in Spain”.

4) Explore different settings

Why not choose a real or fictitious country as the setting? The protagonist living there can give the other one a tour, which is of course a perfect set-up for them to fall in love. As a reader, I enjoy being whisked away to exotic locations. As a writer, I love researching them and bringing them to life.

5) Where? How?

Once they’ve fallen in love, how will they make it work? Do they live in the same country but are from such different backgrounds that it may as well be different worlds? Or are they from different countries and will have to find a place to live? Nora Roberts does this well, even if she technically doesn’t write interracial romance. Just look at all the Irish stories and those of Americans with European roots.

6) Looks matter

If you’ve written a few books already, you may be tearing your hair out at the prospect of finding yet another physical look for your protagonists. They can’t all have the same eye color, hair and stature, right? Enter the wonderful world of writing diverse fiction, where there’s basically no look that doesn’t exist. Give your characters features that match their origin. It might even be what makes them stand out (at first).

7) When fiction imitates real life

Let’s be honest – there are way more mixed-ethnicity people on this planet than we tend to acknowledge. How many of us have friends, neighbors, coworkers and family with all sorts of foreign roots? Why not use them as inspiration or create characters that are just as authentic and memorable? There are so many true love stories where distance and race didn’t matter one bit in the end (yes, I speak from personal experience as well).

8) Stand apart from the rest

Interracial romance is still few and far between, especially if it isn’t between a ‘white’ and ‘black’ character (and I don’t mean that in any negative way). Create a niche for yourself, attract readers from diverse backgrounds, dare to be different.

9) Discoveries for writer and reader alike

They say ‘write what you know’ – but honestly, more than half of the world’s books would never be written if authors took this advice to heart. Isn’t writing about discovering new worlds? Creating them? Sharing them with others? Multicultural romance is exactly that, a journey full of discoveries for the writer as much as for the reader. I know from personal experience how much I’ve learned during research, and how fascinated I’ve been by interracial romance that I’ve read.

10) Support diversity

We see it in movies as much as in other industries: Not only should women get more chances but also the so-called ‘people of color’. Let’s show solidarity and support diversity in literature!