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Alisha Rai

American lawyer and writer From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Alisha Rai
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Alisha Rai is an American author of contemporary, erotic, and paranormal romance novels. She advocates for greater diversity in the romance genre.[1]

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Career

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Prior to becoming a romance author, Rai worked as a lawyer.[1][2] She began publishing her work in 2009, focusing on e-publishing. She shopped her books to traditional publishers, but she was repeatedly told that romances with non-white characters would not sell.[3][4] Over her career, she expanded into different publishing methods.[5][6] Her Forbidden Hearts series and her novel The Right Swipe are published through Avon Romance.[7] Rai's book Serving Pleasure, was the first self-published book to appear on The Washington Post's annual list of best books of the year.[6]

Rai includes protagonists from a variety of ethnicities.[5][8][2] Her writing also explores the spectrum of sexual identity.[1]

Rai is a vocal participant in the discussion of misrepresentation and under representation of minorities in traditionally published romance.[1] During a racially charged dispute involving Romance Writers of America (RWA), Rai's comments on Twitter were widely quoted as a demonstration of the romance community's dissatisfaction with the organization. She was among a group of best-selling romance authors that demanded the resignation of Damon Suede, the RWA president-elect during the controversy.[9]

Rai has been on the receiving end of online harassment.[10]

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Themes

Rai's book The Right Swipe explores aspects of modern dating, specifically online dating and dating apps, along with the contentious research into the effect of concussions on athletes.[11] The book includes feminist and intersectional elements, with the heroine being a woman of color who is a CEO of a Silicon Valley company that employs a work force made up largely of women.[12][11]

Personal life

Rai is Asian of Indian origin.[1][13][14]

Rai began creating stories at the age of 13.[2]

Bibliography

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Awards

  • 2015 - Serving Pleasure - Washington Post Best Romance Novels of 2015[15]
  • 2017 - Hate to Want You - Entertainment Weekly's 10 best romance novels of 2017[16]

References

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