Thank you for tuning in to learn more about the context behind the story in AGAINST THE ODDS OF TRADITION, my debut Women’s Historical Fiction novel. The eBook is available for pre-order on Amazon. All formats will be officially released on March 1^st. Use the links on the bottom of this post to learn more and catch up.

Last week, we caught up on three key reveals made to date on the context of the story. This week, I am going to shift from the context surrounding India and its culture to the context of interracial love and marriage. This is a central subject matter in the story, one that I was originally afraid would not be realistic enough. I was afraid readers would find it a bit unbelievable that interracial marriages were accepted under colonialism almost a hundred years ago.

As I learned more about the history of interracial relations in colonial India, I realized my fear was the result of two factors. First, my lack of knowledge on this subject outside of American history led me to make some incorrect assumptions that were corrected through research. It is not that interracial marriages were highly accepted in Colonial India. They were initially tolerated as a necessity for European men since European women were unable to travel to India until the 1800s.

America, on the other hand, saw its first female settlers from Europe arrive two centuries earlier, in the 1600s. Combined with differences between lifestyles of Native Americans and European settlers at that time, interracial love and marriage developed a much less tolerable reputation. In India, however, even after European women began settling in the country, interracial marriages continued to be tolerated given the historical precedent and generations of Anglo-Indians.

Second, my assumption that interracial love and marriage are more tolerated in today’s America has faced minor challenges. I have been in an interracial marriage for over fourteen years. I would be lying if I said that our relationship did not experience any negative reactions in 21^st century America.

From complete strangers giving us dirty looks in public to those heaving sighs of relief at seeing me or my husband walk through the door, depending on where we are, I have observed a diverse set of judgements and prejudice on which people of different backgrounds might see eye-to-eye. This ended up contributing to my fear of how believable the acceptance of an interracial marriage might sound in 1930s colonial India. Thankfully, education helped to close that gap.

Stay with me as we continue to dive deeper into the story and its context during the pre-order period. More promotions and bonuses will be revealed over the coming weeks as we make our way to March 1st. In the meantime, please reach out via DM or a comment. For automatic updates, subscribe to my monthly newsletter That’s a Wrap! for key dates on this book, free book and movie recommendations, and chances to be featured in a future newsletter. Thank you.

Amazon Book Page: Against the Odds of Tradition

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