Please welcome Caridad Piniero to the blog. I’ve known Caridad since my first book came out. I think we met at the one and only RWA conference I attended. My first book was coming out with Arabesque and her first was coming out with Encanto. You couldn’t pry us off the ceiling with a crow bar.
Caridad is visiting today as part of her Virtual Book Tour for her latest offering, Blood Calls. If you like vampire, Caridad’s got it, plus steamy, sexy romance. In case you were wondering how it is on the Latina end of the literary pool, Caridad knows all and tells all. Enjoy!
The State of Latina Fiction Today by Caridad Pineiro
I was one of the launch authors for Encanto, the Latina romance line, in 1999. Encanto was a wonderful idea that couldn’t quite find a foothold in the publishing world and folded just two years later in 2001.
Why didn’t Latina fiction take off with Encanto?
1. Booksellers didn’t know where to place the books which originally contained the stories in both English and Spanish.
2. Latinos had never had a place in chain bookstores and therefore, didn’t think to visit such bookstores for Latino/Spanish Language reading matter. Readers were more comfortable picking up that kind of reading matter at a local bodega.
3. Distribution to traditional bookstores seemed to be difficult.
4. Latinos don’t read.
5. The quality of the Encanto books reflected that the writers had only been selected because they were Latino and weren’t good writers.
6. The stories weren’t Latino-enough.
7. We don’t have Latinos in _____________ (fill in the name of a town).
Those last four on the list were comments that many of the Encanto writers faced when trying to schedule book signings or which appeared in assorted reviews. Part prejudice-part ignorance, but difficult to deal with as a writer. I don’t think any of the Encanto writers intended to become poster children for Latino fiction, but we did become just that in 1999.
It’s now 2007 and is the state of Latina fiction any better?
Definitely. Many of the ground-breaking women of Encanto have gone on to success in both fiction and non-fiction so reason number 5 above was definitely way off the mark. THE DIRTY GIRLS SOCIAL CLUB and other successful commercial Latina fiction have opened a crack in the wall of the publishing world for Latina writers, but there’s still a good way to go before Latina fiction becomes accepted as a commercially viable genre.
Where do booksellers place Latina fiction today?
It depends in part on the individual bookstore. In areas were there are Latino sections, you may find books by Latino authors. Unfortunately, many of these “Latino” sections are generally stuffed with Spanish translations of non-Latino books or books by non-Latinos who happen to write in Spanish, like Isabel Allende.
Why do I call Allende a non-Latino? Because by my definition, Latino works highlight the culture of Hispanics in the United States. Latino culture is a melding of the Hispanic with the American. Books by Allende and others just don’t reflect that Latino culture in the United States. So if you pull all those translations and non-Latino books from the Latino section, you may find just a smattering of books by Latino authors. For a fascinating discussion on whether such literary segregation should even occur, please check out this discussion at Romancing the Blog.
The other part of what will determine where a Latino book will be shelved is the publisher and how they market and title the book. If they stress the Latino aspects, you may find yourself in a Latino section if the bookstore has one. If they don’t, chances are you’ll be shelved in either the romance or fiction section. Is that good or bad? For many Latina writers, being shelved along similar genre works is a definite plus as it expands their likely reader base beyond the Latino niche the publisher was attempting to reach.
That’s definitely a good thing. My vampire books in THE CALLING series from Silhouette have always been shelved along with all the other paranormals even though the books feature Latino characters. That’s helped me establish a wider reading audience, but as well, it’s helped me spread a bit of my Latino culture to people who might not have already experienced it.
Part of the reason I write with Latina characters is to show that Latinos are here and part of the mainstream. It’s hopefully helping to eat away at the “brown out” of Latinos in the media.
Is there still prejudice about Latina fiction? The prejudice is actually not what you might think. Oftentimes selling one of my books is harder not because the book contains Latinos, but because it’s a romance. I’ve had many a reader walk away once they realized the books were romances. It’s hard to handle that, in particular when it’s a Latina walking away. Why? Because without support from fellow Latinas it will be that much harder to convince the publishing world that Latina fiction is commercially viable.
Do Latinas support Latina fiction? Thanks to wonderful magazines like CATALINA which established the first Latina online book club, support is rapidly growing for Latina fiction. However, I find that at traditional book signings, such as the one that recently occurred at the RT Convention in Houston, I still sell more books to non-Latinos. Despite that, I have Latina support from a number of wonderful fans who are regulars at my blog, websites and book signings. I think that as more and more Latina fiction is out there for readers, and as they are made aware of it by the media, support will continue to grow.
Are there avenues for you to get published if you are writing Latina fiction? There are more and more publishers looking for Latina fiction. However, I recommend that you not limit yourself by choosing publishers that will specifically put you in the Latina fiction genre. A good story is a good story no matter the color or ethnicity of the characters. Pitch your book to any publisher that is interested in the kind of story you have written.
I hope my comments have been helpful and I look forward to receiving any questions or comments you might have.
Please leave Caridad a comment to let her know how much you enjoy her post. Visit her website; read her blog.
Loved this post. Melding of the Hispanic and American cultures. My siblings and I have been trying to figure out how to do this. Hispanic Dad and American Mom. Emphasis on the American.
So I find myself gravitating to things Latina, to assimilate more of this side of my heritage. As you noted, hard to find Latina fiction. Recently read Margo Candela’s UNDERNEATH IT ALL. I’m not into vampires but I’ll be on the lookout for your books too.
Thanks Caridad for you informative, insightful article. Sounds like there are some of the same issues with African American perceptions in writing as there is Latino. I reviewed a few Encantos way back in the late 90s, early 2000. I particularly enjoyed the historicals. I found them to be well written.
I read Sister Chicas last year written by three Latinas from diverse backgrounds. One was a black Latina and a black Latina was featured in the book. I just thought of something, where do they put you in the bookstore if you are both black and Latina? LOL
That’s a good question! My friend, Sofia Quintero, is a black Latina and writes in two different genres — urban fiction and latina fiction. She also uses a different name for her urban fiction so of course, the two books are usually in different locations when I look for them.
I think that’s what makes it so hard to decide how to shelve books based on what the author is rather than what they write.