What does it actually mean to write diverse characters, and who gets to do it? In this conversation, Terry sits down with Black romance author Rae Shawn to dig into one of the messiest, most necessary questions in contemporary fiction: when writers reach beyond their own experience, what separates authentic representation from tokenism, trend-chasing, or outright harm?
Rae writes contemporary Black romance rooted in real cities, real class dynamics, and real psychological complexity, and she brings that same grounded honesty to this conversation. She and Terry discuss the difference between wanting to include diverse characters and actually doing the work, why the sports romance genre’s whitewashing of majority-Black leagues is such a tell, and how “just having a trans person in your book” isn’t the same as having a trans character.
They also get into the industry-level problem: what it means when a white author lands a six-figure deal for a story about a marginalized community’s experience while actual members of that community are still screaming into the void, and what indie publishing does and doesn’t change about that dynamic.
Topics covered in this episode:
Why “inclusive” can still be cringy and how to tell the difference
The cowboy romance moment as a case study in selective historical memory
Token characters vs. characters who happen to be marginalized
Trans representation, coming-out narratives, and the gap between what fiction offers and what trans people actually experience
Writing characters “outside your experience” and the cultural knowledge required to know when you’re outside the norm
How Rae thinks about class, mental health, grief, and regional identity across her ensemble casts
Sensitivity readers: why Rae used two trans readers for one character, and why beta readers alone aren’t enough
The 50 Shades problem and why romance bears a specific burden around prescriptive reading
Brave New World, younger readers, and the question of whether fiction should only reflect what authors believe
Why consuming diversely isn’t just a writer’s responsibility it’s a human one
The publishing industry’s role in gatekeeping whose story counts as a universal story
Find Rae Shawn:
Website: loveraeshawn.com
Social media: @RaeshawnStories (Instagram, TikTok, Reddit)
Patreon: Raeshawn Stories
Most Writers Are Fans is a Starlight King production. Audio/video editing by David Riverol.
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