Um.... holy crap?

I have so many feelings about this? I need to get my feelings in order.

So like....

THIS BOOK

I have so many feelings right now, but my biggest one is this:

Publishers, what are you doing.

Get ON this already. And no, don’t say “but that’s just Courtney Milan“ because really, go LOOK and ask yourself if it really is just Courtney Milan.

When I was writing this book I hit so many points where I thought, “Nobody wants to read about ______.” where _____ included:

* a Hakka heroine who spoke Hakka
* ancestor veneration on the page
* a biracial Chinese duke whose nurture fell to the Chinese side

* a VERY LENGTHY discussion of fermentation methods
* food that didn’t fit the normal mold of things
* a historical town that was just very casually multiracial
* two Chinese leads on the cover

And I got through it by telling myself that I was just writing for myself.

I think I was not just writing for myself.

And I think there are a *lot* of authors out there who are not just writing for themselves, but PUBLISHERS, you’re going to have to open your eyes and see that there is a freaking market for this.

I know people will roll their eyes and say “it’s just Courtney Milan,” but if it’s just Courtney Milan, why *wasn’t* it Courtney Milan for most of my other books with white characters?

TL;DR people want diverse historicals.