Meet Constance!

I write black fantasy because I devoured fantasy as a kid, but I never saw my race or economic level reflected in the stories I read. It was an amazing experience to write a story where the characters were black, low income, and lived in apartment complexes.

Q: When growing up, who were your inspirational role models and how did they help you become the person you are today?

It feels so weird to say this now, but Bill Cosby from The Bill Cosby Show was very inspirational. For the longest time I wanted to deliver babies so that I could be like Bill Cosby with a nice job, a nice house, and a beautiful family. Once I got older, even before the current scandal, I was able to separate the man from the character he played on TV. I didn’t become a doctor, but I did go to college. Having the ‘TV Bill Cosby’ and his TV wife as examples of college educated African Americans let me know college was possible.

Q: Explain how you feel about present day role models, in particular, for young people who read or watch Genre Fiction / Shows.

I have a seventeen year old daughter.  Her role models are Rhianna and Kid Cudi. She does not watch TV or read much. She’s a gamer. She would rather cruise Facebook or Instagram than sit and watch TV. But I know the ultimate role model is me. So my feelings are neutral about today’s role models.

Q: How do you think society can change the representation of role models?

I have no idea. I want to say that we all have a responsibility to be role models. And highlight every day people living extraordinary every day lives, but that’s not human nature. We don’t want honor the every day and ordinary. Sex and violence are what grabs our attention. So I have no idea. I hope by living an extraordinary life that I’m a role model to everyone around me.

Q: How do you feel about the “whitewashing” of fiction?

I think it’s bad.

Q: Recently, J.K. Rowling supported the casting of a black actress as the adult-aged Hermione for a London stage play. If you are familiar with Rowling’s work, do you feel that she represented Hermione as a black character? Is not specifying skin colour enough to create character diversity? How do you think authors/writers can properly represent diversity without deferring to stereotypes of race or culture?

I do not think Rowling intended for Hermione to be black. If she had, Rowling would have clearly stated Hermione’s race and/or skin color. Rowling knows representation is important. Hinting that a major character may be a POC or gay after the books are released does not count. If it’s not apparent that Hermione is a Person of Color or that Dumbledore is gay in the book, and we the readers have to hunt for the clues, then I think the writer failed.

As authors, we can properly represent diversity without deferring to stereotypes of race or culture by doing our homework. Ask a member of the marginalized group you are writing about to answer your questions or read your book. It’s not hard. You will make mistakes, you may be criticized, but the point is to listen and strive to do better next time.

Q: Here’s the kicker: should white authors, and able-bodied authors, write about diverse characters, or should that opportunity only be for people who live the life of diversity? (The same could be said of gender).

No. No voice should be silenced. We should all be allowed to tell whatever stories we like. But if there are more whites getting stories published featuring black characters, then something is horribly, horribly wrong.

Q: What books/shows do you suggest best represent diversity in Genre Fiction?

For a full spectrum of how wonderfully diverse fiction can be, I suggest the anthology Kaleidoscope.

Or For African Science Fiction Binti or Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor

Constance is an environmental engineer by day and a writer of black science fiction, fantasy, and horror by night. Her first book is COAL and its prequel is Black Beauty. Follow her on Twitter or catch up on her blog .

(Links to Amazon provided by the author are affiliate links and she will receive a small credit if you purchase through the link provided. Don’t be afraid. Click and buy! Royalties alone do not pay all the bills.)

If you’d like to be part of my #WeNeedDiverseBooks interview series, email me lesleydonaldson@bell.net.

There’s more to come in this series of interviews. Next up in the series: The Diversity of Disability. Have you read the first post?

Please note that although I did not create the #WeNeedDiverseBooks tag, I wholeheartedly agree with the movement!