Alisha Rai is an American author of

contemporary Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from about 1945 to the present. In the social sciences, contemporary history is also continuous with, and related t ...

erotic Eroticism () is a quality that causes sexual feelings, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality, and romantic love. That quality may be found in any form of artwork, including painting, sculp ...

, and

paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...

romance novel A romance or romantic novel is a genre fiction novel that primarily focuses on the relationship and Romance (love), romantic love between two people, typically with an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending. Authors who have contributed ...

s. She advocates for greater diversity in the romance genre.

Career

Prior to becoming a romance author, Rai worked as a lawyer. She began publishing her work in 2009, focusing on

e-publishing Electronic publishing (also referred to as e-publishing, digital publishing, or online publishing) includes the digital publication of e-books, digital magazines, and the development of digital libraries and catalogues. It also includes the edit ...

. She shopped her books to traditional publishers, but she was repeatedly told that romances with non-white characters would not sell. Over her career, she expanded into different publishing methods. Her Forbidden Hearts series and her novel ''The Right Swipe'' are published through Avon Romance. Rai's book ''Serving Pleasure'', was the first self-published book to appear on ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

s annual list of best books of the year. Rai includes protagonists from a variety of ethnicities. Her writing also explores the spectrum of sexual identity. Rai is a vocal participant in the discussion of misrepresentation and under representation of minorities in traditionally published romance. During a racially charged dispute involving

Romance Writers of America Romance Writers of America (RWA) is an American non-profit writers' association founded in 1980. Its mission is to "advance the professional and common business interests of career-focused romance writers through networking and advocacy and by inc ...

(RWA), Rai's comments on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

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. Rai has been on the receiving end of online harassment.

Themes

Rai's book ''The Right Swipe'' explores aspects of modern dating, specifically

online dating Online dating, also known as internet dating, virtual dating, or mobile app dating, is a method used by people with a goal of searching for and interacting with potential romantic or sexual partners, via the internet. An online dating service ...

and dating apps, along with the contentious research into the effect of

concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include headache, dizziness, difficulty with thinking and concentration, sleep disturbances, a brief ...

s on athletes. The book includes

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

and

intersectional Intersectionality is an analytical framework for understanding how groups' and individuals' social and political identities result in unique combinations of discrimination and privilege. Examples of these intersecting and overlapping factor ...

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.

Personal life

Rai is Asian of Indian origin. Rai began creating stories at the age of 13.

Bibliography

Awards

* 2015 - ''Serving Pleasure -'' Washington Post Best Romance Novels of 2015 *2017 - ''Hate to Want You'' - Entertainment Weekly's 10 best romance novels of 2017

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rai, Alisha American women erotica writers American erotica writers American paranormal romance writers American women writers of Indian descent Living people 21st-century American women writers 20th-century American lawyers Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century American women lawyers