Black Romance Has A History

It's the final episode of season one of Black Romance Has A History, and thank goodness we've gotten to the definitive history and impact of 1994, The Summer of Black Love. Or have we??? This week, Steve and Nicole grapple with the questions of impact and legacy, and the ways in which history isn't that easy to encapsulate. Was 1994 a revolution for Black romance? Or was it just a moment that has passed? There isn't really a neat old HEA for this season, sad to say...

Make sure to follow us on Instagram and subscribe to the podcast on your favorite platform so you don't miss an episode! 

Got an idea or question? Email us: [email protected]

music by Purple Planet

Follow the hosts on the interwebs:

Steve Ammidown

Website: https://romancehistory.com/about/

Socials

IG: @romancehistorian

Bluesky: @stegan.bsky.social

Nicole M. Jackson/Katrina Jackson

Websites:

https://www.katrinajacksonauthor.com

https://www.bgsu.edu/arts-and-sciences/history/faculty-and-staff/nicole-jackson.html

Socials

IG: @katjacksonbooks

Mentioned In This Episode

Rhua Benjamin at the Spelman 2024 Convocation

The Vivian Stephens profile at Texas Monthly that we should all know by heart by now.

Sandra Kitt talks about the publication of her first interracial romance and more on The Black Romance Podcast.

Remembering the Black Expressions Book Club

The Collapse of Romance Writers of America New York Times, July 2024

Kelly Faircloth, Inside The Spectacular Explosion At The Romance Writers of America Jezebel, January 2020

Christine Larson, Love In The Time of Self-Publishing, Princeton University Press, 2024

Additional Reading:

"WHERE IS THE DIVERSITY IN PUBLISHING? THE 2023 DIVERSITY BASELINE SURVEY RESULTS", Lee & Low Books, February 2024. https://blog.leeandlow.com/2024/02/28/2023diversitybaselinesurvey/

Our final interview for this season is with Nicole Falls, self-published author of more than twenty Black romance novels. Nicole is a Chicago native, podcaster, editor, and a staunch supporter of Black romance. Her most recent release is Excess Baggage and she’s recently soft-launched Black Romance University. In this episode, we talk to Nicole as a life-long reader of Black romance about her favorite authors, the important role of libraries and bookstores as a young reader, the African American fiction section, and the glory of romance anthologies among other juicy topics! 

Make sure to follow us on Instagram and subscribe to the podcast on your favorite platform so you

don't miss an episode! 

Got an idea or question? Email us: [email protected]

music by Purple Planet

Follow the hosts on the interwebs:

Steve Ammidown

Website: https://romancehistory.com/about/

Socials

IG: @romancehistorian

Bluesky: @stegan.bsky.social

Nicole M. Jackson/Katrina Jackson

Websites:

https://www.katrinajacksonauthor.com

https://www.bgsu.edu/arts-and-sciences/history/faculty-and-staff/nicole-jackson.html

Socials

IG: @katjacksonbooks

Our guest: Nicole Falls

Website: https://nicolefalls.com/

X (#PillowTalkWithNic): https://x.com/_nicolefalls?lang=en

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_nicolefalls/

Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@niccytok

#TheShop: https://theshopbynicolefalls.com/

Black Romance University Instagram:

Latest Release:

Excess Baggage (Flights & Feelings, Book 1)

Mentioned in the Episode:

Carla Fredd, Brenda Jackson, Felicia Mason, A Valentine Kiss, Arabesque

A.H. Cunningham, Out of Office

Marcus Books

Erika Hardison, “Remembering The Black Expressions Book Club,” Book Riot, August 17, 2021. https://bookriot.com/the-black-expressions-book-club/

Mimi Swartz, “Vivian Stephens Helped Turn Romance Writing Into a Billion-Dollar Industru. Then She Got Pushed Out,” Texas Monthly, September 2020, https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/vivian-stephens-helped-turn-romance-writing-into-billion-dollar-industry/

Nicole Falls, We’ve Only Just Begun

Rochelle Alers

Shirley Hailstock

Leslie Esdaile Banks/L.A.Banks

Eboni Snoe

Robyn Amos

Kayla Perrin

Eric Jerome Dickey, Friends and Lovers

Michael Baisden, Maintenance Man

Omar Tyree

Colin Channer

E. Lynn Harris, Eric Jerome Dickey, Colin Channer, Marcus Major, Got to Be Real: Four Original Love Stories, New American Library, December 2000

Further Reading:

Carina Thomas, “For 64 years, the oldest U.S. Black-owned bookstore inspires,” Berkeley High Jacket, November 3, 2023. https://berkeleyhighjacket.com/2023/features/for-82-years-the-oldest-u-s-black-owned-bookstore-inspires/  (This is Nicole Jackson’s high school newspaper. She’s a very proud Yellowjacket.)

Hari Sreenivasan, “Why this small, Black-owned bookstore is hallowed ground for some,” PBS, February 28, 2021. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/why-this-small-black-owned-bookstore-is-hallowed-ground-for-some

Anna Gooding-Call, “A History of Racism in American Public Libraries,” Book Riot, March 8, 2021. https://bookriot.com/racism-in-american-public-libraries/

Gregory Frost, “In Remembrance of L.A. Banks 1959-2011), Reactor, August 2, 2011, https://reactormag.com/in-remembrance-of-la-banks-1959-2011/

This week’s guest is Piper G. Huguley. Piper is a professor of literature at Clark University Atlanta in addition to being an author of historical romance and historical fiction. Most recently she is the author of American Daughters. We invited Piper for her unique perspective as both a scholar of 19th and 20th century African American literature as well as an author who has tried to carry on the legacy of The Summer of Black Love. We talk about her experiences as a historical romance author, what it was like to be in the generation after Beverly Jenkins, the dominance of Regency historicals, and her transition into biographical historical fiction projects.

Make sure you check out Piper’s back list as well!

Make sure to follow us on Instagram and subscribe to the podcast on your favorite platform so you don't miss an episode! 

Got an idea or question? Email us: [email protected]

music by Purple Planet

Follow the hosts on the interwebs:

Steve Ammidown

Website: https://romancehistory.com/about/

Socials

IG: @romancehistorian

Bluesky: @stegan.bsky.social

Nicole M. Jackson/Katrina Jackson

Websites:

https://www.katrinajacksonauthor.com

https://www.bgsu.edu/arts-and-sciences/history/faculty-and-staff/nicole-jackson.html

Socials

IG: @katjacksonbooks

Mentioned in this Episode

Legendary historical romance author LaVyrle Spencer

The work of Beverly Jenkins 

The novella collections: The Brightest Day: A Juneteenth Historical Romance Anthology and Daughters of A Nation: A Black Suffragette Historical Romance Anthology

The 19th century work of Frances Ellen Watkins Harper and Pauline Hopkins

The Black Love Matters collection, including essays by Beverly Jenkins, Nicole Jackson, and Piper Huguley

Further Reading/Listening

Piper Huguley discusses American Daughters at Gwinnett County Public Library

Piper Huguley on the Black Romance Podcast

Piper Huguley, “Her Bodyguard: Sandra Kitt’s The Color of Love as a foundational text for BWWM romance”, Journal of Popular Romance Studies, 2022. https://www.jprstudies.org/2022/05/her-bodyguard-sandra-kitts-the-color-of-love-as-a-foundational-text-for-bwwm-romance/

Rita B. Dandridge, “The African American Historical Romance: An Interview with Beverly Jenkins”, Journal of Popular Romance Studies, 2010. https://www.jprstudies.org/2010/08/interview-beverly-jenkins-by-rita-b-dandridge/

Rita B. Dandridge, Black Women’s Activism: Reading African American Women’s Historical Romances, Peter Lang, Inc., 2004. https://www.amazon.com/Black-Womens-Activism-Historical-African-American/dp/0820467340

This week's guest is the one and only Beverly Jenkins. Ms. Bev, as she's known in romance circles, broke onto the scene in 1994 with her historical romance Night Song. She was Avon’s first Black romance author and the first mainstream published Black historical romance author. Her love of research and uncovering stories of Black history has earned her legions of readers, including us. 

We talk with Ms. Bev about her publishing journey, her fans, finding community with fellow authors, the structural racism of publishing, and what the future holds for her writing and Black romance in general.

As always, we’re incredibly grateful to Ms. Bev for joining us and sharing her insights. Make sure to stock up on her back list and check out the reading list below to learn more about this romance legend.

Also- a Ms. Bev dragon book? YES PLEASE.

Make sure to follow us on Instagram and subscribe to the podcast on your favorite platform so you don't miss an episode! 

Got an idea or question? Email us: [email protected]

music by Purple Planet

Follow the hosts on the interwebs:

Steve Ammidown

Website: https://romancehistory.com/about/

Socials

IG: @romancehistorian

Bluesky: @stegan.bsky.social

Nicole M. Jackson/Katrina Jackson

Websites:

https://www.katrinajacksonauthor.com

https://www.bgsu.edu/arts-and-sciences/history/faculty-and-staff/nicole-jackson.html

Socials

IG: @katjacksonbooks

Mentioned in this Episode

It's true! Ms. Bev really did appear in People Magazine in 1995. Fated Mates has a PDF of the entire article, you really need to check it out.

Ms. Bev's RWA Luncheon Keynote speech, 2016

Everything and everyone in this season comes back to Vivian Stephens. Here again is a link to the excellent Texas Monthly profile of Vivian Stephens

Nancy Drew and Betsy Israel, "Heat In Another Color", People Magazine, February 13, 1995.

Romance Slam Jam

Emma Rodgers conversation with HistoryMakers (co-founder of Romance Slam Jam)

Black Romance Podcast interview with Patricia Vaughn

Piper Huguley

Further Reading/Listening

In Beverly Jenkins’s Romance Novels, Black History Is Front and Center The New York Times (nytimes.com) – February 9, 2021

Beverly Jenkins Really Needs to Buy More Bookcases New York Times – April 2, 2020

Black Romance Podcast: Beverly Jenkins Black Romance Podcast- September 2020

Beverly Jenkins: a Trailblazer Episode Fated Mates- November 17, 2021

Roxane Gay & Beverly Jenkins Keynote Yale Romance Conference- September 8, 2023

A Conversation Inspired Kelly Link’s The Book of Love (feat. Beverly Jenkins, Sandra Kitt, Kelly Link, and Steve Ammidown. Bookstore Romance Day- April, 2024

Love Between the Covers (documentary)

Margo Hendricks, “Against Odds: Beverly Jenkins’ Indigo and Black Historical Romance”, Journal of Popular Romance Studies, 2022. https://www.jprstudies.org/2022/05/against-odds-beverly-jenkins-indigo-and-black-historical-romance/

Rita B. Dandridge, “The African American Historical Romance: An Interview with Beverly Jenkins”, Journal of Popular Romance Studies, 2010. https://www.jprstudies.org/2010/08/interview-beverly-jenkins-by-rita-b-dandridge/

Rita B. Dandridge, Black Women’s Activism: Reading African American Women’s Historical Romances, Peter Lang, Inc., 2004. https://www.amazon.com/Black-Womens-Activism-Historical-African-American/dp/0820467340

This week's guest is Margie Walker. Her second book, A Sweet Refrain, was part of the second month of the Arabesque line alongside Beguiled by Eboni Snoe. She talks with us about her early days as a writer, the community of Black romance authors that formed in the early 1990s, what projects she's been up to in the years since as a screenwriter, and much more.

Thanks again to Margie Walker for joining us this week! You can find several of Margie’s books on Kindle Unlimited, and her Arabesque titles are plentiful on the secondary market. You can also see Margie’s short films on Vimeo. In the episode, Margie mentions a table reading of one of her screenplays, which was held by Scriptwriters Houston, an writer’s organization that Margie is on the board of. Check them out if you’re in the area!

Make sure to follow us on Instagram and subscribe to the podcast on your favorite platform so you don't miss an episode! 

Got an idea or question? Email us: [email protected]

music by Purple Planet

Follow the hosts on the interwebs:

Steve Ammidown

Website: https://romancehistory.com/about/

Socials

IG: @romancehistorian

Bluesky: @stegan.bsky.social

Nicole M. Jackson/Katrina Jackson

Websites:

https://www.katrinajacksonauthor.com

https://www.bgsu.edu/arts-and-sciences/history/faculty-and-staff/nicole-jackson.html

Socials

IG: @katjacksonbooks

Margie Walker

Website: https://www.margiewalker.net/ 

You can find Margie's self-published work on Amazon: In Blood Only, Stolen Moments, and A Slice of Reparations

Mentioned in this Episode:

Margie Walker's first book was Love Signals, published by Marron Books as part of their "Romance In Color" series. If you're looking for it, notice that "Romance In Color" is the only thing that appears on the cover. There are two titles in the series, but this is Love Signals:

Margie mentions the cover of Conspiracy as one that fans thought was really hot, and she isn't kidding!

Margie mentions meeting Eva Rutland. Eva was a fascinating lady who was first published by Harlequin at the age of 71. Steve wrote about her on the Romance History blog a while back- she's someone worth learning more about!

“About Dafina” (2020) https://www.kensingtonbooks.com/pages/dafina/about-dafina/ 

Michelle Monkou, “In Memory of Monica Harris Mindolovich”, USA Today. November 2012. https://www.usatoday.com/story/happyeverafter/2012/11/18/monica-harris-mindolovich-editor-entrepreneur-in-memoriam/1713295/

“Ten Years of Sizzling  Chocolate Kisses and Lasting Love: now under BET Books, Arabesque Celebrates a Decade as Black Romance Publisher,” Reprint, The Free Library, https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Ten+years+of+sizzling+chocolate+kisses+and+lasting+love%3A+now+under...-a0118954930

Gwynne Forster Papers, BGSU Browne Popular Culture Library https://lib.bgsu.edu/finding_aids/items/show/1671

Romance Slam Jam        

Lithub: “From Local, to Global, to Gone: On the Rise and Fall of Borders Books,”

Further Reading/Listening

Arabesque profile in Romantic Times, July 1994: Page 1, Page 2.

Special Issue: Black Romance, Journal of Popular Romance Studies. https://www.jprstudies.org/issues/volume-11-general-articles-2/special-issue-black-romance/

Jamee Pritchard, “That 90's Kind of Love: the Rise of African American Romance Novels in Traditional Romance Publishing”, 2021. https://dc.uwm.edu/etd/2712/

Black Romance Podcast, “Sandra Kitt”. August, 2020. https://blackromancepodcast.libsyn.com/sandra-kitt

Black Romance Podcast, “Francis Ray and Anna Larence with Michelle Ray, Ann Fields and Margo Hendricks (Elysabeth Grace)“. May, 2023. https://blackromancepodcast.libsyn.com/francis-ray-and-anna-larence-with-michelle-ray-ann-fields-and-margo-hendricks-elysabeth-grace

Steve Ammidown, “Talking with the Inclusive Romance Project: An Incomplete History of the 20th century Romance Novel,” https://romancehistory.com/2023/05/23/talking-with-the-inclusive-romance-project/

Thanks again to Steven Zacharius for joining us for a great conversation about the history of Kensington Publishing Corp. and Arabesque in particular.

The launch of Arabesque was greeted with fanfare by Romantic Times, including this great cover:

The profile article inside includes interviews with launch authors Sandra Kitt, Francis Ray, and editor Monica Harris.

Make sure to follow us on Instagram and subscribe to the podcast on your favorite platform so you don't miss an episode! 

Got an idea or question? Email us: [email protected]

music by Purple Planet

Follow the hosts on the interwebs:

Steve Ammidown

Website: https://romancehistory.com/about/

Socials

IG: @romancehistorian

Bluesky: @stegan.bsky.social

Nicole M. Jackson/Katrina Jackson

Websites:

https://www.katrinajacksonauthor.com

https://www.bgsu.edu/arts-and-sciences/history/faculty-and-staff/nicole-jackson.html

Socials

IG: @katjacksonbooks

Mentioned in this Episode

“About Dafina” (2020) https://www.kensingtonbooks.com/pages/dafina/about-dafina/ 

African American Literature Book Club, “Walter Zacharius, Founder and Chairman Emeritus of Kensington Publishing”, YouTube, 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDJKiUATP5k

Steven Zacharius, “Zebra’s E-Talk”, Romantic Tiimes. February, 1994. https://romantictimesindex.weebly.com/uploads/4/5/6/0/4560933/119-zebra-online.jpg

Michelle Monkou, “In Memory of Monica Harris Mindolovich”, USA Today. November 2012. https://www.usatoday.com/story/happyeverafter/2012/11/18/monica-harris-mindolovich-editor-entrepreneur-in-memoriam/1713295/

“Ten Years of Sizzling  Chocolate Kisses and Lasting Love: now under BET Books, Arabesque Celebrates a Decade as Black Romance Publisher,” Reprint, The Free Library, https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Ten+years+of+sizzling+chocolate+kisses+and+lasting+love%3A+now+under...-a0118954930

“Kensington Adds and Subtracts,” Publisher’s Weekly, June 29, 1998, https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/19980629/29408-pw-kensington-adds-and-subtracts.html

“Kensington Returns to the African-American Market, Publishers Weekly, October 13, 2003. https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/20031013/25116-kensington-returns-to-african-american-market.html

Further Reading/Listening

Arabesque profile in Romantic Times, July 1994: Page 1, Page 2.

Special Issue: Black Romance, Journal of Popular Romance Studies. https://www.jprstudies.org/issues/volume-11-general-articles-2/special-issue-black-romance/

Jamee Pritchard, “That 90's Kind of Love: the Rise of African American Romance Novels in Traditional Romance Publishing”, 2021. https://dc.uwm.edu/etd/2712/

Black Romance Podcast, “Sandra Kitt”. August, 2020. https://blackromancepodcast.libsyn.com/sandra-kitt

Black Romance Podcast, “Francis Ray and Anna Larence with Michelle Ray, Ann Fields and Margo Hendricks (Elysabeth Grace)“. May, 2023. https://blackromancepodcast.libsyn.com/francis-ray-and-anna-larence-with-michelle-ray-ann-fields-and-margo-hendricks-elysabeth-grace

Steve Ammidown, “Talking with the Inclusive Romance Project: An Incomplete History of the 20th century Romance Novel,” https://romancehistory.com/2023/05/23/talking-with-the-inclusive-romance-project/

Joshua Clark Davis, “The FBI’s War in Black Bookstores,” The Atlantic, February 19, 2018, ​​https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/02/fbi-black-bookstores/553598/

“The oldest operating Black book cub meets right here in New Jersey, New Jersey News 12, February 11, 2022, https://newjersey.news12.com/the-oldest-operating-black-book-club-in-the-us-meets-right-here-in-new-jersey

“28 Publications from Dafina,” https://aalbc.com/authors/imprint.php?imprint=Dafina

Judith Rosen, “Romance: Love Is All Around You”, Publisher’s Weekly, November 8, 1999. https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/19991108/28599-romance-love-is-all-around-you.html

This week we're looking at the cultural context in which the Summer of Black Love happened, both within the romance genre and out in the real world. We get into race, class, the US economy and why Reagan is still to blame, colorist, respectability politics, and the classic 1994 film Jason's Lyric. We told you it was going to get nerdy!

Make sure to follow us on Instagram and subscribe to the podcast on your favorite platform so you don't miss an episode!

music by Purple Planet

Follow the hosts on the interwebs:

Steve Ammidown

Website: https://romancehistory.com/about/

Socials

IG: @romancehistorian

Bluesky: @stegan.bsky.social

Nicole M. Jackson/Katrina Jackson

Websites:

https://www.katrinajacksonauthor.com

https://www.bgsu.edu/arts-and-sciences/history/faculty-and-staff/nicole-jackson.html

Socials

IG: @katjacksonbooks

Steve mentions the covers of the Arabesque books and their sepia tone, as well as the cover of Maggie Ferguson's Looks Are Deceiving. Compare for yourself!

As compared to the cover of Beverly Jenkins' Night Song:

Two years later, Brenda Jackson's first Arabesque title, Whispered Promises, shows that the company had moved back towards a more normal skin tone saturation:

Mentioned in this Episode

Alyssa Shotwell, “Julia Quinn’s Past Comments on Black Characters in Historical Romance Reignite Criticism Amid New Book Reveal,” February 23, 2023, https://www.themarysue.com/julia-quinn-past-comments-on-black-characters-in-historical-romance/

Linda Sue Park, “The Default In Our Stars: Book Review Journals, Book Reviewers, Book Bloggers Everywhere: I’m Looking at YOU,” School Library Journal, https://afuse8production.slj.com/2020/06/30/guest-post-with-linda-sue-park-the-default-in-our-stars/

Samuel Osborne, “Black women become most educated group in US,” June 3, 2016, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/black-women-become-most-educated-group-in-us-a7063361.html

Felicia Grossman, “Georgette Heyer was an Antisemite and Her Work is Not Foundational Historical Romance,” Romance Daily News, https://www.romancedailynews.com/single-post/2020/01/28/guest-post-georgette-heyer-was-an-antisemite-and-her-work-is-not-foundational-historical

I was thinking of Kentucky! (Not West Virginia) -nj

Ben Winck, “The 1990 recession is a cautionary tale for today’s economy,” Business Insider, April 27, 2022, https://www.businessinsider.com/next-recession-first-normal-downturn-three-decades-economic-outlook-2022-4

Brenda Jackson, https://www.harlequin.com/shop/authors/22969_brenda-jackson.html

Jayashree Kamble, Faculty Profile, https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=1ACsLrMAAAAJ&hl=en

Karla Garcia, “Evolution of Romance Novel Covers,” Inside Fullerton, https://fchornetmedia.com/31808/inside-fullerton/the-evolution-of-romance-novel-book-covers/

Jason’s Lyric (1994)

Marly Pierre-Louis, “Black Masculinity on the Silver Screen,” Media Diversified, October 28, 2016, https://mediadiversified.org/2016/10/28/black-masculinity-on-the-silver-screen/#:~:text=The%20hood%20movies%20of%20the,black%20communities%20in%20American%20cities.

Boyz n the Hood (1991)

Natasha Bishop, Only for the Week

Further Reading/Listening

Katrina Jackson, “The Annoying Hypocrisy of ‘Struggle Love’,” Me, From Scratch, April 9, 2023 https://www.katrinajacksonauthor.com/mefromscratch/the-annoying-hypocrisy-of-struggle-love

Bryce Covert, “The Best Era for Working Women Was 20 Years Ago,” New York Times, September 2, 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/02/opinion/sunday/working-women-decline-1990s.html

Carol Kleiman, “‘Women’s Work’ in the ‘90s Has Few Boundaries,” Chicago Tribune, January 30, 1996. https://www.chicagotribune.com/1996/01/30/womens-work-in-the-90s-has-few-boundaries/

Ralina L. Joseph & Jane Rhodes, “Black Women and the Politics of Respectability: An Introduction,” Black Perspectives, April 24, 2017 https://www.aaihs.org/black-women-and-the-politics-of-respectability-an-introduction/

Steve Ammidown, “Talking with the Inclusive Romance Project: An Incomplete History of the 20th century Romance Novel,” https://romancehistory.com/2023/05/23/talking-with-the-inclusive-romance-project/

Jackie C. Horne, “The Sheikh and I: Academics and Authors on the Sheikh Romance,” Romance Novels for Feminists, November 6, 2015, https://romancenovelsforfeminists.blogspot.com/2015/11/the-sheik-and-i-academics-and-authors.html

Kecia Ali, “Loving in the Doom Years: Nora Roberts; Chronicles of the One,” Presentation, IASPR Digital Showcase, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOPxKr8YtWE

For romance publishing, 1994 was The Summer of Black Love. 1994 was a banner year for Black romance, with more books with Black main characters published in a single year than in any year prior. This week we'll introduce ourselves and set the syllabus for the season. Your hosts for this wild ride are Nicole Jackson and Steve Ammidown, two friends, historians, and romance readers.

Make sure to follow us on Instagram and subscribe to the podcast on your favorite platform so you don't miss an episode!

music by Purple Planet

Here's your transcript!

Follow the hosts on the interwebs:

Steve Ammidown

Website: https://romancehistory.com/about/

Socials

IG: @romancehistorian

Bluesky: @stegan.bsky.social

Nicole M. Jackson/Katrina Jackson

Websites:

https://www.katrinajacksonauthor.com

https://www.bgsu.edu/arts-and-sciences/history/faculty-and-staff/nicole-jackson.html

Socials

IG: @katjacksonbooks

Mentioned in this episode:

Bowling Green State University, Pop Culture Library, Romantic Times Collection, https://lib.bgsu.edu/finding_aids/items/show/2791

Mimi Swartz, “Vivian Stephens Helped Turn Romance Writing Into a Billion-Dollar Industry. Then She Got Pushed Out,” Texas Monthly, https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/vivian-stephens-helped-turn-romance-writing-into-billion-dollar-industry/

Sandra Kitt, The Color of Love

Decades: A Journey of African American Romance, a series of twelve romance novels from 1900-2008

Eric Jerome Dickey

J. California Cooper

Black romance titles published in 1994

Further reading/listening:

Steve Ammidown, "A Black Romance Author Timeline", RomanceHistory.com, https://romancehistory.com/2021/02/16/a-black-romance-timeline/

Steve Ammidown, "Peeling The Onion: An Incomplete History of the 20th Century Romance Novel" (video), presentation to The Inclusive Romance Project, https://youtu.be/cL5brpQXBqM?si=B3Qr7lQFkyCB10LI

Dan Sinykin, “Why Toni Morrison Left Publishing,” Literary Hub,  https://lithub.com/why-toni-morrison-left-publishing/

Patrik H. Bass, “Why Black Women Read More Books,” Essence.com, https://www.essence.com/news/why-black-women-read-more-books/

Black Romance Podcast, “Vivian Stephens – Part one,” Interview with Julie Moody-Freeman, https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/vivian-stephens-part-one/id1528266279?i=1000490448573

BGSU Pop Culture Library, The Vivian Stephens Collection, https://www.bgsu.edu/library/pcl/named/stephens.html

Piper Huguley, “Her Bodyguard: Sandra Kitt’s The Color of Love as a foundational text for BWWM romance,” Journal of Popular Romance Studies, https://www.jprstudies.org/2022/05/her-bodyguard-sandra-kitts-the-color-of-love-as-a-foundational-text-for-bwwm-romance/

Keith Boykin, “Just As He Is: An Interview with E. Lynn Harris” https://lambdaliterary.org/2010/07/just-as-he-is-an-interview-with-e-lynn-harris-1997/

Annika Barranti Klein, “Decades: A Journey of African American Romance,” Bookriot,com https://bookriot.com/decades-a-journey-of-african-american-romance/#:~:text=But%20let%20me%20get%20to,and%20continuing%20through%20the%202010s.