Writing in Colour (Episode 4): A Romance in Colour Special Series (ft. Mina Waheed)

Can Romance and Culture connect? Romance in Colour is starting a new series, Writing in Colour, where we talk to authors of color from various backgrounds and locations,  who are writing in the romance genre. We are highlighting the diversity of the genre and highlighting #Ownvoices with authors who are actively working to amplify writing that is unique, diverse, and most of all, romantic. Believe it or not, writing romance can be a revolutionary act. And we learn that this week with our featured author, Mina Waheed (Twitter: @WaheedRom), a woman of many identities: queer, gender-non-conforming, Muslim, hijabi, and a non-native speaker of English.  We talked to her during Ramadan, the holy month of fasting for our Muslim brothers and sisters worldwide. Mina talked to RIC about what all of these intersecting identities mean; the importance of writing queer romance, and the bravery it takes to write such romance in an ultra-conservative Middle-Eastern country.  We also talked about the process of writing her two works; a collection of short stories called Graham's Delicacies and a novel, Soft on Soft- both featuring queer, sweet romances set in the world of a little bakery.  Mina also talks about her motivation for her romance and how,  in some ways, she is risking it all. You can find Mina's work, on Amazon Kindle and KindleUnlimited. In Watching Romance, we recommend a story about a sweeping, epic tale entitled  Palm Trees in the Snow (based on the book by Luz Gabas). Available on Netflix. Follow Romance in Colour on IG: @RomanceinColour and on Twitter @ RomanceNColour