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Romance Novel Focuses on Self Love, Healthy Relationships
By Manny Otiko
In her novel “A New Normal,” Los Angeles-based author K. Lee, has created a modern-romance story that features African Americans who work through their issues to have healthy relationships — something that you don’t often see in popular culture.
“I create ‘sheroes’ that women can relate to and model themselves after,” said Lee in a telephone interview. She also wants her books to both entertain and inform readers and “spotlight self love.”
When she wrote the book, Lee also wanted to create more sympathetic black male characters. Lee felt that black male characters have gotten a bad rap since the popularity of Terry McMillan’s books.
“She was known for the male-bashing situation, and I wanted to show the men in a more sensitive light, ” she said.
In “A New Normal,” Dr. Simone Degman, the heroine of the book, has to work through issues such as promiscuity and abandonment before she can get the ideal relationship.
Lee feels this is an issue in our instant-gratification society. She said people have lost sight of how to date and form meaningful relationships.
“I blame a lot of that on social media,” said Lee, who is also a Los Angeles traffic controller and runs a non-profit…
