Transgender brothers raised in Surrey have co-authored a debut fantasy novel that aims to challenge racism and transphobia.
Vincent Hunter is the pen name for Kise Vincent Hastings, 29, and Hunter Levi Hastings, 25, who self-published The Garnet Crown in August.
91ƵWe91Ƶve co-authored the book as a duo, which is not too common for brothers,91Ƶ Vincent said.
Graduates of Kwantlen Park Secondary in Surrey, the siblings say their book 91Ƶdelivers a thrilling high-level fantasy plot that features diverse characters and themes.91Ƶ
Vincent said J. K. Rowling91Ƶs recent 91Ƶanti-transgender tweets91Ƶ challenge diversity in the fantasy genre, and that the Surrey-based duo is determined to showcase transgender, LGBTQIIA+ and queer characters in their novel series.
91ƵTransgender people are being misrepresented in popular fiction and media, and we aim to change that,91Ƶ the duo say in a news release. 91ƵAs mixed-race transgender individuals, we grew up terribly underrepresented in all of the fandoms that we have loved. When we were represented, it did no justice. The characters that were portrayed as 91Ƶdiverse91Ƶ or 91Ƶtransgender91Ƶ were written stereotypically, were usually antagonists, and did not occupy main roles in the story.91Ƶ
Mixed-race individuals were rarely mentioned at all, the duo add.
91ƵWhenever we tried to challenge the representations of transgender and mixed-race characters in popular fiction, we were often discouraged by educators and told by other fans that our kind of person didn91Ƶt belong in these series because they were not a part of the lore.91Ƶ
The Garnet Crown, a 666-page book billed as 91ƵBook 1 in the Crimson Plumes series,91Ƶ , in both soft-cover and e-book formats.
The book also aims to celebrates Canadian values, the brothers say.
91ƵAs Canadians, we wanted to write a story that represented the diversity and inclusion that our country is known for,91Ƶ the duo stated. 91ƵWe are proud to be Canadian and we were determined to write an epic fantasy series that highlighted how important and wonderful our country91Ƶs values are. We hope that our novel will inspire the world to be more like Canada and to celebrate multiculturalism, diversity, and inclusion.91Ƶ
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Vincent Hunter has also written an album of 91Ƶshanties and tavern songs91Ƶ to promote their love for the fantasy genre and the universe they91Ƶve created. Some of the tunes, featured on the album 91ƵShanties & Songs of Aldrayon,91Ƶ are posted to their .
They hope their novel series will inspire others who have felt marginalized and misrepresented to write and share their stories, and participate in the fandoms they love.
91ƵOur stories deserve to be told and we deserve to take up space. We91Ƶre a part of this world too, and it91Ƶs time people realized that,91Ƶ the brothers stated.
Vincent Hunter is on , and , and also runs a page.
tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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