Sabrina Sol on why Latina heroines need more romance

Sabrina Sol, author of Delicious Temptation (out now!), shares why she'd like to see more romance heroines who look (and eat) like she does.

Sabrina: When breakout actress Gina Rodriguez won a Golden Globe this past fall for her portrayal of Jane the Virgin on the CW, I cheered. And then I cried.

They were happy tears because her acceptance speech really resonated with me, and it gave me hope that a shift in the entertainment industry was on the horizon. In that speech, Rodriguez said her win had represented "a culture that wants to see themselves as heroes."

And I believe that includes romance heroines, too.

When I was growing up, my mom collected romance novels. She had shelves and boxes filled with books in her bedroom closet. These were the first romance stories I read — these are what got me hooked. Yet even as I secretly devoured one after the other, I never questioned why the heroines on the cover didn't have my caramel-colored skin or why they never ate my favorite Mexican dishes.

When I decided that I wanted to finally follow my dream and become a romance author, I looked to see what books were popular so I could better understand the genre. That's when I really started to notice a disparity when it came to books with Latinas as heroines. Latin heroes, however, were not in short supply. I think this has a lot to do with the acceptance of the "Latin lover" stereotype: hot-blooded, passionate, possessive. Sounds like most of the alpha heroes out there, right?

Yet, Latina heroines dwindled from contemporary romance covers as major publishers closed their lines of bilingual novels in the early 2000s.

Let me be clear, when I say that Latina heroines are few and far between, I'm not talking about Spanish-language romance novels or literary fiction. I'm talking about English-language Paste BN and New York Times bestselling contemporary romance novels. This is where the void is.

Truth be told, the void is expansive and includes a lack of heroines from other ethnicities and backgrounds as well. But I do believe that void is being addressed thanks to the recent movement on social media calling for publishers to give readers more diverse books. After all, readers need to identify with the characters in a novel in order to connect with the story. What better way to bridge that connection by including heroines who are a true reflection of the reader — physically and culturally?

I write Latina heroines into my romance novels not to make some big racial statement. I write them because they're who I see in my head — someone like me.

In my new novel, Delicious Temptation, the heroine comes from a traditional, blue-collar Mexican family. I come from a traditional, blue-collar Mexican family. And while my parents weren't as controlling and overbearing as Amara's, they did instill a belief in me that family comes first and sometimes that can result in personal sacrifice. Also, the story takes place in East Los Angeles in a neighborhood similar to the one where I'd visit my abuela every Sunday as a little girl. And the desserts of Delicious Temptation (oh, the desserts!) are the same ones I grew up eating and still buy on the weekends for my own family.

That sense of familiarity and the authenticity of these characters come through, I believe, in the writing because it's what I know and how I've lived.

This is why my heroines are Latina. And why they always will be.

About Delicious Temptation (courtesy of Entangled Brazen):

The only thing naughtier than a bad boy is a good girl...

Amara Maria Robles is a good girl. So good that she gave up her dreams of becoming a renowned pastry chef to help her parents with their struggling Mexican bakery. Yet her parents reject any changes she suggests, and refuse to sell her mouth-watering confections. Clearly being a good girl isn't paying off. So when her brother's sexy ex-best friend walks into the bakery, Amara's tempted to be very bad indeed...

After a scandal twelve years ago, resident bad boy Eric Valencia has returned to make things right with his family and friends. One glance at Amara and her wicked curves, however, and Eric finds himself thinking about how she'd feel beneath him—something he promised Amara's brother he would never think about, let alone do.

But this bad boy is in deep trouble...because Amara's determined to have her cake, and Eric, too.

Find out more about Sabrina and her books at www.sabrinasol.com.