Some bloggers, annoyed by cover whitewashing, and by the argument that book covers with non-white characters on the front don’t sell, have created a People of Color Reading Challenge. I ‘ve read more than one or two of the books on the list, but I would like to read more of them–not just because I ought to, but because they look really good. So, I’m going to join the challenge and shoot for level 4.

If you’re interested in joining the challenge too, the list is here. How to join the challenge is here.

Drollerie Press books that might be considered appropriate to the challenge include the ones below, all of which are available in the bookstore in ebook format (see the menu to the right). Still Life with Devils and The Revenant Road are also available in Trade Paperback from any book retailer. They’re fantasy, horror, thriller, mystery, women’s fiction, and YA, so there’s something there for everyone. If you use coupon code CHALLENGE  (good through the end of February) you’ll receive 10% off of your order.

Faerie Blood is about an African American software tester and her adventures with Faerie; 24 Bones is about Egyptians battling one another for control of the world. Stormy Bamboo is set in an AU historical Japan with Japanese characters; Assiniboin Girl is about a girl who grew up far from the reservation, and learning who she really is, and what it means to be Souix.

These classics collected from Project Gutenberg are free.

The books below are a little different. The Revenant Road is a horror novel with an African American protagonist, but we were trying for something atmospheric with the cover. In the second, Defiance, there are three heroines: one white, one escaping black slave, and one native American, so the cover doesn’t reveal race at all. In the third, Collecting Dreams, the heroine is never physically described, and yet, the author agreed that this is the right cover. The last is our coverfail. It was one of our first books out, and we were unable to get the rights to the first cover art we chose. We scrambled, and the image reflects that. It’s intended to demonstrate an example of the protagonist’s unusual art style, but she’s an African American woman and the cover should have reflected that.

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