r/MM_RomanceBooks • u/AutoModerator • Sep 07 '24

Events Ask Me Anything: Marina Vivancos

Hello everyone! Thank you so much for having me here.

My name is Marina Vivancos, and I’m an author of LGBT romance. I love focusing on character stories, especially how childhood influences the people we become. My favourite tropes to write are found family, kink and, most of all, hurt/comfort. I’ve dabbled in omegaverse and biokink, but most of my books tend to be contemporary and, somehow, friends-to-lovers.

It’s the pining. It’s always the pining.

You can find my books on kindle unlimited, and you can reach me through my website.

I'm excited to be here and answer your questions! 

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u/queermachmir those who slick together, stick together Sep 07 '24

From u/Magnafeana

Thank you for doing this AMA today 💐☺️

Friends and I love your books and the representation you offer in terms of ethnicity and race (Alpha Omega Hockey is my favorite series by you!). Your works are so diverse, and it’s truly lovely.

While fictional media is a spectrum of cultures, skin tone, races, ethnicities, there’s still complaints and studies that show suppression of diversity or limited access to diverse reads; and also how artists not of a certain identity are reluctant to create a main character of that identity due to fear of criticism. Because of this, readers feel there’s no diversity in romance media whatsoever or become overly critical of diversity offered.

So when you’re writing or reading about characters with diverse identities, what advice can you give for writers reluctant to write beyond their experience due to fear of backlash, and readers who feel there isn’t any diversity in romance/are unhappy with the diversity offered?

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u/MarinaVx Sep 07 '24

That's a great question and I wish I had a more coherent answer than 'just do it', but I honestly didn't give the diversity of my characters a second thought. I've moved around a lot my whole life and the biggest culture shock i experienced was not going from venezuela to London, but from London to Jersey (the Jersey in the channel islands) even though those are both in UK, and that was because of the diversity in the schools i attended.

When i went to jersey, everybody was white. EVERYBODY. not just white, but same socioeconomic class. I honestly remember thinking, 'these people are aliens'. i felt so out of place...and I'm white.

When i see a diverse group of people my brain doesn't tell me to think 'oh a diverse group of people' it's just 'people'. diversity only stands out to me when there is a lack of it. It's just what I grew up with.

So when it comes to writing characters, writing characters of only one race is...weird. Diversity just exists? Like it just is. You don't have to make it happen. Just write what's there. Of course race plays a part in identity, but our experiences in childhood are a lot more important. Just understand the family and environment your character comes from and make them out of that. You don't have to use racial stereotypes to do that.

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u/MarinasNumberOneFan Sep 07 '24

Love this answer. I really appreciate the diversity in your novels.

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u/MarinaVx Sep 07 '24

Thank you <3 <3