Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Loving Day 2013 #LovingDay


 

Hello Lovelies,

 Today the Swirl Awards is sponsoring a blog hop in celebration of Loving Day. Over 30 authors are participating and talking about their books, why they write interracial romance and giving away books and awesome prizes.

 What is Loving Day? Today marks the 46th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court case Loving vs. Virginia. In honor of the case we celebrate Loving Day every year on this day. Although the case is noted as a land mark civil rights case it is also a land mark case for love equality.

 Until that moment in 1967, interracial marriage was considered illegal in most of the United States. Mildred Loving a black woman, and her husband Richard Loving, a white male, took their case for love and equality all the way to the supreme court and won. In a unanimous decision the court declared that a ban against interracial marriage was unconstitutional and as a result ended all race-based legal restrictions on marriage in the United States. In other words, for once love truly did conquer all.

Richard & Mildred Loving
To say that this case hits home personally is an understatement. I myself am part of an interracial marriage and plan on having children one day whom I want to also have the freedom to love who they choose. Looking back on this court case is somewhat surreal for me because I honestly can't fathom why a case for love even needed to be made. It seems so obvious and basic to me, which in itself is a blessing and part of the legacy the Lovings created by taking their case all the way to the supreme court. Thanks to them I have the luxury of looking back at the case and shaking my head in wonder at how ignorant and bigoted our laws were back then.
Richard & Mildred Loving

 Although interracial relationships and marriages have become more and more prevalent there is still a lot of social and cultural awareness that is still left to be done. Even though my hubby and I live in a fairly liberal city, we still occasionally get stares and sly looks. In all honestly we do look pretty damn good together so i like to believe its just plain jealousy. And as the recent uproar over a Cheerios commercial shows there is still much to be done.  

 Many of you know how much I love a good romance. Although, I'm a self-proclaimed, tongue in cheek,  "smex" peddler, my heart truly does love...well LOVE. The act of it, the joy of it, the pain of it and the pure POWER of it. It deserves it's own spotlight and dagnabit yes it deserves its own genre on the bookshelves. Romance/Love is the one equalizer for us all.

 I began writing interracial romance not just because I myself am in an interracial relationship, but because I felt (and still do) that it love across the rainbow (and yes even gender) spectrum should be showcased and shared along with all of the traditional/mainstream color wheels.
GIVEAWAY

My debut novel, Negotiating Skills (currently free via Amz and ARe) features an interracial couple and both characters have strong personalities and both more than willing to give love a chance. My next book Persuasion Skills, due out in July, is also an interracial romance and focuses on two friends turned lovers. 
Leave a comment below and let me know what your first interracial romance book was and you have a chance at winning a $10 Amazon Gift Card (US only)!
Deadline to enter: Sunday, June 16th 2013 EST
THE HOP!

Celebrate this day of love and join in on the Loving Day Bog Hop! The next author on the hop is smexy author  Alexa Day.

And of course don't forget to "hop" on over to the other stops:



Talk to you soon,
Laurel
Posted by at

13 comments:

  1. bams1980June 12, 2013 at 12:43 AM

    Actually the first IR that I read I think was About A Dragon by G.A. Aiken...I just loved that book!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Belinda GJune 12, 2013 at 4:47 AM

    My first IR was Alpha Male Incorporated: Under His Protection by Marie Rochelle. I loved the characters, storyline and suspense. Sahara and Jax were perfect for each other. I was so engaged I read the book in one night. Marie does an amazing job of developing her characters and presents interesting themes. I love her work.

    Thanks for letting me share.

    Belinda G
    belgre AT Comcast DOT net

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownJune 12, 2013 at 4:59 AM

    My first IR novel was Love Like This by Ms. Sylvia Hubbard and The Ultimate Merger by Ms Delaney Diamond. Now, I read countless numbers of IR novels by many different authours. Actually, I read all romance novels. It doesn't matter to me as long as it is romance.

    Stephanie

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownJune 12, 2013 at 5:50 AM

    I didn't realize (I'm rather "head-in-the-clouds-dumb at times) there was an actual category for IR novels until today! I just read everything and if something were interracial it was always a great big plus. Now that I know it's an actual branch off, I can find more (WOO)! So, it took me a bit to think about what was the best interracial romance book I read since it's not quite 6am and the coffee is not yet brewed, I decided to go with the best I've read recently. That would be The Real Thing by J.J. Murray. It was really very good.

    Thank you for the chance to enter the giveaway and for the great history of Loving Vs. Virginia. Even though there are still some things that have a ways to go yet, it's great to see how far things have come.

    Have a great day one and all,

    Shelly H
    booski24@hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. cherryceJune 12, 2013 at 6:13 AM

    the color of love by sandra kitt. then i started looking for more books like this

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sharon Cunningham CooperJune 12, 2013 at 8:19 AM

    Great post! I read my first IR romance years ago, it was Sandra Kitt's -The Color of Love.

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousJune 12, 2013 at 9:43 AM

    The first IR book I read was Illicit Christmas by Yvette Hines.

    Louise

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousJune 12, 2013 at 1:24 PM

    It was actually an m/m romance, SMOOTH LIKE LATTE by Rawiya...love it!

    vitajex(at)aol(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  9. MeghanJune 12, 2013 at 5:47 PM

    It was "Perfect Chemistry" by Simone Elkles.

    This is such a great idea for a giveaway hop! IR couples are beautiful and I honestly think they create the most beautiful babies!!
    Thanks for the giveaway! I'm gonna keep hopping along!

    mestith at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  10. ShadowJune 12, 2013 at 6:36 PM

    I honestly dont know. Ive read so many, i cant really say. I honestly dont really pay attention to what the book says. As long as the characters are...enchanting, catch my attention, im happy! :)
    shadowluvs2read(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  11. ChynareyJune 12, 2013 at 9:58 PM

    2008, Tha Blacker the Berry by Lena Matthews, 2009, Beg For It by Minx Malone

    caiidynsmommie(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  12. Tina BJune 12, 2013 at 10:46 PM

    I honestly don't know what my first one was. When I started reading romance, I mainly read paranormal. I focused more on what type of being the character was rather than anything else. I have only been reading different sub-genres for a few years. I can almost mimic what Shadow (above) said about not paying attention to race. :)
    I become enamored with the characters and their emotions.
    Thank you for the wonderful hop!

    ReplyDelete
  13. LaShaundaJune 12, 2013 at 11:56 PM

    Just wanted to say hello. My first IRR books were the Indian stories in the Loveswept series. That was many moons ago. I loved me a Indian Hero.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)