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ONE OF MY FAVORITE things about writing characters who fall on the asexual spectrum is how I can explore the many different identities that this umbrella encompasses. My first three novels with ace representation—In My Dreams, My Heart to Find, and It’s Always Been You—are romances and are part of the Aces in Love series (written as Elin Annalise). In each of those books, I explored different ace identities and when I first began writing The Rhythm of My Soul, I thought this would be another one for that series. But, in writing Taryn’s story, it became clear to me that she was aromantic as well as asexual.
I am asexual myself, and while I used to believe I was aromantic too, I’ve recently discovered that the term ‘demiromantic’ is a better fit for me as I only really feel romantic attraction after I’ve formed a strong emotional connection. Identities are fluid and some people find theirs changes over time or they then discover a new term that fits them better—yet writing Taryn’s story gave me a challenge. While her experiences are authentic to my past experiences, and a lot of her feelings surrounding how society dictates what ‘acceptable’ relationships look like mirror my own feelings, I wondered a lot about whether I should rewrite Taryn as demiromantic, to better match who I am now.
Ultimately, I decided against this as I didn’t want to be inadvertently suggesting that all aro people will end up being demiromantic. So, I stuck to my gut and wrote Taryn as someone who embodied my previous aro identity.
In order to make sure that my portrayal of aromanticism in this novel wasn’t inadvertently problematic—and understanding that one person’s experience doesn’t represent all who use that term—I employed a number of sensitivity readers who read for aro representation (along with sensitivity readers for the other diversities explored in this book).
The more I wrote of Taryn and the Roseheart Ballet Academy, the more I realized I wanted to write more in this world. The moment I finished the draft of this book, I was desperate to continue the story. I’d already been thinking that because The Rhythm of My Soul definitely wasn’t a romance, I’d need to separate it from my Aces in Love series, and this motivation to write more of Taryn and the Roseheart Ballet Academy gave me the permission I needed to say that The Rhythm of My Soul would be the first novel in the Roseheart Ballet series.
Readers, I hope you enjoyed the story of Taryn, Teddy, and Jaidev and that you will look out for book two. We’ve got more desperate ballet dancers, morally gray characters, and dark secrets coming!