Beverly Jenkins 1951–

Writer

Voracious Reader as Child

First Novel a Major Success

Science Fiction a Future Goal

Selected writings

Sources

Staking out new territory in the genre of romance fiction, Beverly Jenkins has tapped a massive audience with her stories set in the late nineteenth century that feature all-black casts. Her novels have been heralded for presenting the issue of race in a positive light, as well as for providing a vivid sense of place and time thanks to her extensive use of historical details. “My mission in life has turned into bringing that history back to life,” Jenkins said in a telephone interview about her focus on the black experience. “We’ re a very, very proud race. And America could not be America without the African-American patches in the American history quilt.”

Jenkins’s novels go beyond “traditional” black issues and frequently shatter stereotypes about the black experience. “Romance is a necessary part of life, but so many books about black people are studies in survival,” she told People. “Not everything has to be about the civil rights movement.” After publishing just three novels, the author has received well over 1,000 letters from fans that often laud her positive treatment of blacks in her writing. Many of the letters have moved her to tears. As she noted in a telephone interview, “Black women are so grateful and so appreciative to have positive stories that reflect not only the positive relationships between black men and black women, but highlight the history.”

Voracious Reader as Child

Jenkins’s roots as a storyteller began when she was growing up in Detroit. Her father was a high school teacher and her mother an administrative assistant, and both parents instilled a strong appreciation of learning in their seven children. “Education has always been very, very important,” noted Jenkins about her family. “It made me like an addict,” she added in People in reference to the bounty of books in her childhood home. “I had to have so much print every day. One summer, I’ d read nothing but Zane Grey. Or Isaac Asimov. Every day.”

A bright student, Jenkins got her first taste of writing as editor of the school newspaper while a fourth grader at Jones Elementary School in Detroit. She gives a lot of credit to her elementary school teachers for setting her on the right path toward her writing career. Her reading prowess and talent for speaking before a crowd resulted in frequent appearances as a narrator for school plays. Jenkins wore many hats in her school productions, often serving as announcer, choir member, and dancer. Her love of performing has continued through the years, and reading from her works to audiences of her fans is one of her greatest thrills today.

While Jenkins read many romance novels as a youth, her greatest love was westerns by authors such as Grey and Louis L’ Amour. This love was fueled by her grandfather, who loved the genre and was a big fan of “shoot-’ em-up” western movies. One of Jenkins’s great treats as a child was watching old John Wayne movies with her grandfather on weekends. From her mother, Jenkins gained an

At a Glance …

Born February 15, 1951, in Detroit, Ml; daughter of Cornelius Hunter (retired teacher) and Delores Hunter (retired administrative assistant); one of seven children; married Mark Jenkins; children; Melaina, Jonathan. Education : Michigan State University.

Was editor of school newspaper in grammar school, early 1960s; worked at Michigan State University graduate library, 1974-80; started theater company, Michigan State University; read poetry in library shows, East Lansing, Ml; worked as a librarian in Belleville, Ml; published first novel, Night Song, 1994.

Awards and honours: Doubleday Book Club Alternate Selection, Literary Guild Alternate Selection (Night Song ); Waldenbooks Bestseller (Night Song ), 1994.

Memberships and affiliations: Romance Writers Association, 1996–.

Addresses: Home–Belleville, Michigan; Publisher –Avon Books, 1350 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10019.

appreciation of history, especially of the black experience that textbooks in her school virtually ignored. She lamented the fact that few people knew anything about black history during the period between the end of slavery and the civil rights movements that began in the mid-twentieth century. “History books have a tendency to say we didn’ t exist,” she told People. “It’s always black folks came to America, black folks were slaves, black folks were freed in 1865. Then we disappeared. History picks us up again rioting in Watts in 1965. But what happened for those 100 years?”

Jenkins took her interest in books to Michigan State University, where she majored in English literature. While a student there, she met her future husband, Mark Jenkins, who later became a fervent supporter of her quest to become a writer. Although she didn’ t graduate from Michigan State, she remained there as librarian in the graduate library for six years starting in 1974. She also helped start a theater company at the school. Jenkins’s writing during this time consisted mostly of poetry, and she and a friend often read their material at poetry shows in East Lansing.

With urging from her husband, Jenkins began writing her first romance novel in the 1980s. Her setting for her first book was an 1880s’ settlement in the Midwest where many blacks relocated after the Civil War. While containing the usual passion and sexual fireworks of romance fiction, Jenkins’s story also offered extensive historical passages that chronicled life on the plantation, the black migration to the North, and the hardships faced by blacks staking out a new life in a new territory. “I have a tendency to write the history first,” noted Jenkins in People. “So I have to give them large love scenes to reward the readers.”

First Novel a Major Success

It took Jenkins thirteen years to finish writing her first novel, and finding a publisher proved difficult. “Publishers didn’ t believe there was a market,” Jenkins remembered in People. “Like advertisers, they believed black people didn’ t have the money to buy these things.” After four years of trying to get her book published, Jenkins finally hooked up with Avon Books in 1994, thanks to the efforts of agent Vivian Stephens. Avon recognized the potential of her first novel and printed 78,000 copies, an especially high number for romance fiction. Entitled Night Song, Jenkins’s inaugural effort proved a tremendous success and became a Waldenbooks best seller for the year. It was also chosen as an alternate book of the month by the Doubleday Book Club and Literary Guild. “It’s unusual for a first novel to be chosen, but we thought we could sell it,” commented Arlene Friedman, editorial director of the Doubleday club, about Night Song in People. “And we liked the authentic historical background with the romance.” Called “totally captivating” by Affaire de Coeur, Night Song was one of the first romance novels to display black characters on its cover. When the book was signed, Jenkins even got involved in the search for a model for the cover, tracking down someone she had seen in Essence magazine.

The success of Night Song allowed Jenkins to quit her librarian’s job and focus on writing full-time. Proving that her first novel was not beginner’s luck, she struck gold again with Vivid, published in 1995. Set in the rugged countryside of western Michigan in 1876, this book shattered a number of stereotypes about blacks. Its main character was a black female doctor who had to over-come prejudices against blacks as well as those against women practicing medicine. As in Night Song, Jenkins wove extensive history throughout her story and even included a bibliography of suggested readings at the back of the book. Marcia Abramson gave Vivid four stars in her review in the Detroit Free Press, and sales of the book were brisk. “Though ’ Vivid’ is only her second novel, Jenkins’ writing is as impressive as the scholarship bibliography at the back of the book,” noted Abramson.

In Indigo, published in 1996, Jenkins focused on the brewing romance between a member of a unique elite class of pre-Civil War blacks and a former slave who nurtures him after he is injured. Set against a backdrop of the underground movement to free slaves, the story explored new ground by delving into prejudice not just against blacks but between blacks of different classes. “As usual, Ms. Jenkins has created wonderful, sensitive, caring people….the history is tactfully presented to give the reader a better understanding of the injustices of slavery,” read a review of the book in Rendezvous.

In September of 1997, Jenkins will publish her fourth romance novel, a western entitled Topaz. It is set in the Indian territories of Oklahoma and is dedicated to her grandfather. Her output of four published novels in four consecutive years is considered low by romance standards, but Jenkins’s books require her to spend approximately a year on research. She also must fit her writing and research into a busy schedule of what she calls “typical small town kind of stuff,” especially activities with her children that range from Brownies to band boosters.

Science Fiction a Future Goal

Jenkins feels that the well of her creativity runs deep, and expects to keep churning out the books for many years to come. “There’s so much African-American history that has not been highlighted,” she said. “I could be writing for the next twenty-five years and still not touch all the material that’s there.” A science fiction buff, Jenkins would eventually like to write a science fiction romance—one that emphasizes the science fiction aspect, with the romance in the background. She has no regrets regarding her choice of genre, even though romances are not always considered “serious” literature. “I enjoy being a popular writer,” she claimed. “I don’ t need anybody to tell me that this is art and that is not. It’s in the eyes of the reader.”

Selected writings

Night Song, Avon, 1994.

Vivid, Avon, 1995.

Indigo, Avon, 1996.

Sources

Affaire de Coeur, July 1994, p. 40; November 1995, p. 39;

Detroit Free Press, November 22, 1995; December 6, 1995; November 13, 1996.

People, February 13, 1995, pp. 153-55.

Rendezvous, September 1996, p. 22.

Tallahassee Democrat, December 10, 1995.

Other information for this profile was obtained from Avon Books publicity materials, the Romance Novel Database on the Internet, and a telephone interview with Beverly Jenkins.

—Ed Decker