Hey, romance addicts. Another week, another thought-provoking blog hop post. Let’s take a look at what we have this week.

Do you write diverse characters? If so, how do you avoid cultural insensitivity?

It’s interesting that this week’s blog hop question asks about diversity in writing. I spent the weekend fielding questions on social media, from white authors about including diverse characters in their books. It’s also ironic that the blog hop posing the question is not very diverse. As far as I know, I am the only contributing blogger who is identifies as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color). No, Italians and the Irish do not count. Let’s not go there. Anyway, onto my answer.

Of course, I write diverse books. just look at my covers.

As an author who identifies with multiple marginalized social intersections, I write to purposefully highlight a range of backgrounds and experiences in my characters. I think diversity is a stable part of literary expression for many BIPOC authors and that the main group challenged to understand the importance of diversity—and how to integrate into their work—is white authors.

Attempts to expand diversity in literature seem to present as a challenge and threat for authors who need to develop a greater appreciation for diverse literature and resist the cultural messaging that centers on whiteness.