What The World Needs Now, Is...

Greetings, Watchers!

You don't mind that I am calling you Watchers, do you? Did you see the title of this post and complete the lyric? I did.

If you found this post, I assume that you listened to the Prologue episode of the Watch With You Podcast, in which Lady D and I spoke a little bit about who we are, the hope that our podcast will become a place for collective joy, and our thoughts about romance novels. Is it our talk about romance novels that I would like to talk about more here.

Lady D and I have known each other for over twenty years. When we were about twelve (12) or so, I discovered romance novels. Picture this: I was a skinny, glasses-wearing Black girl who attended private Christian school and lived in the inner city of Baltimore. We were a family of four: mother, father, older brother, and me. You were most likely to find me wrestling kids for our self-fashioned tag team belts, chasing the feral cats in the colony down the street (it was hot: they needed water and cuddles, right?), learning the lyrics to the latest jam by TLC, playing softball, helping my father build something and narrowly loosing a finger, attending vacation bible school, or reading. This summer my parents decided to drive to the Poconos mountains for vacation: it was the time where time share marketing was peak and familiar.

Before embarking on our journey, my family stopped by K-Mart for supplies: snacks, missing toiletries, and books for me. I wasn't exactly loquacious or inquisitive, but books were guaranteed to ensure a peaceful sojourn. I spent too much time in the toiletries section, and had to hurriedly select two books. I blindly picked out two books, put them in the cart, and later conveyer belt without a word or a look shared amongst the adults who were privy to my selection.

Once settled in the car, I reached for the books and found a world that was wholly unfamiliar: wealthy white men courted white women. Wealthy white men and white women kissed. Wealthy white men and white women have sex. I was not ready. At that time, I was more likely to headbutt a boy rather than kiss him. And the physical affection that I was familiar with did not feature white folks. I needed to process what I read and called Lady D. Her response: "Oh, so you read a Harlequin. Here are some more." It was the equivalent of "have a coke and a smile."

Many years later, I still read romance novels and romance adjacent properties (h/t to fanfics). I appreciate the mandate of all romance novels: love must be a central focus and conclude with a happily ever after. I especially appreciate the changes in romantic features: people of all economies and races court people, and then there is the sci-fi entries that really get imaginative. While there has been some movement from 1992, the romance publishing industry as whole is still shitty. In this pandemic, at my big age, and a keen observer of this world, I choose to balance out my energy with whatever love/joy/optimism I can catch: how about you?

So, tell me please: how are you getting some love/joy/optimism in your life? Do you read romance novels? If you do, please recommend some for me. And if you have anything else on your mind regarding love, literature, Black Girl Magic, or our podcast, please drop us a line.

Until then,

Lady H