Sarah Robinson didn’t see people like herself in romance novels, so she decided to write ones in which she did.
“I want to write stories that I feel like I can see myself in and my friend groups in,” Robinson tells City Paper. “I just wanted to see more stories that felt authentic to me. And what I want to read.”
A queer, nonbinary author and therapist based in Arlington who uses she/they pronouns, Robinson has been writing romance novels for about a decade, but over the past five years, Robinson has committed to telling LGBTQIA-specific stories. Since the pivotal release of Red, White & Royal Blue, a 2019 romance novel following a queer relationship between two famous men, LGBTQIA representation in the romance genre has improved, but Robinson notes that lesbian, nonbinary, and multisexual love is still lacking. Their novels focus on what they call “underrepresented” queer and trans identities, including nonbinary and multisexual characters.
Keeping with the queer themes, Robinson’s latest novel, Baby Bank, released Sept. 19, is all about chosen families. It follows Mila Torres, a successful divorce lawyer and stand-up comedian who lives on Capitol Hill. Mila thinks she’s living her dream life. But during her annual gynecologist visit, her doctor suggests she freeze her eggs if she wants kids in the future.
Mila suddenly realizes she doesn’t want to wait. She comes across Baby Bank, an app where people can be connected with sperm donors. After going through options with her friends, Torres finds the guy. She meets him at a local hotel—in this case, the Moxy Hotel on K Street NW—to go through with the insemination, only to find out her donor’s sister is a journalist she’s been dodging for months. Mila is interested in not just the sperm, but the sister, too.
A little more than a year after the Dobbs v. Jackson decision overturned Americans’ constitutional right to abortion care, the book covers a wide range of reproductive rights issues—everything from the cost of in vitro fertilization and artificial insemination to navigating pregnancy without insurance.
The story is loosely based on the real-life story of Robinson’s friends who worked to have kids as a queer couple. And Baby Bank is intentionally detailed about the process of insemination and sperm donors. “I hope that really normalizes queer families,” Robinson says.
In their continued attempt to normalize the many aspects of queerness, Baby Bank is a relatively happy story, without trauma porn or rampant homophobia for characters to overcome. “People don’t understand that queer people are out there living normal, happy lives,” they say. “And so that’s what I want to see represented.”
Baby Bank also captures a very relatable life in the District—including Mila’s disinterest in crossing the river to Virginia. Several popular D.C. venues are mentioned in the novel, including the queer Southeast hub As You Are Bar, Robinson’s favorite place in town. (Robinson plans to dedicate her next book in the Queerly Devoted series, of which Baby Bank is the first, to the founders of As You Are.) Most of Robinson’s books take place in the D.C. area, partly because she loves D.C.—Robinson has lived in the area since 2007—and also because queer culture is so vibrant and prominent in the city. “This is a really underlooked mecca for queer people and needs to be seen more,” Robinson says of the DMV.
When Robinson isn’t writing, she works as a therapist for queer individuals and couples. Both careers have always been a calling for her and the two often overlap. Her books are written about flawed people and romance is used as a tool for growth. “The concept of helping people learn and know that they’re lovable when people have told them they’re not, means a lot to me,” Robinson says.
Sarah Robinson discusses Baby Bank at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 24 at Little District Books. littledistrictbooks.com. Free; registration is required.