Lawrence readers hungry for a love-conquers-all fantasy story with a Black woman lead need look no further than local independent author Jordan Lanio-Burns.
She started writing her debut romantasy — or, romance fantasy — while wedding-planning with her beau, Mateus Lanio-Burns, in 2023. Now, “A Cage of Flowers” offers readers beloved genre tropes like “he falls first” in a magic school setting complete with found family, deadly trials and rebellion.
The book was published on Oct. 11. Lanio-Burns said she spent the last three years writing on breaks at her full-time job, taking writing classes and attending conferences, pinching every penny to self-publish and learning how to market herself.
“I never thought I could do that,” she said. “I think that it’s 80% writing and then another 50% marketing. We’re going a little bit over the 100%.”
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Going over 100% is part of the gig for many independent authors. Lanio-Burns said she had to find “48 hours in one day,” but it was the right choice for her over traditional publishing.
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“I didn’t want to wait. I didn’t want the uncertainty of the publishing industry,” she said. “You sit there and wait, and then you wait some more, and then you wait another two years, and then, again, you might not be backed by a publisher.”
The traditional publishing landscape is also rife with racial inequities.
One survey, published in the New York Times in 2020, looked at a sample of English-language fiction published from 1950 to 2018 and found that 95% was written by white people. A 2021 report from Penguin Random House, the largest publisher in America, showed that 6% of their authors were Black or African American, compared to 75% who were white.
The Lee & Low 2023 Diversity Baseline survey showed similar trends on the employee side of the industry: 4.7% of editors were Black, African American or Afro-Caribbean, compared to 71.6% of editors who were white.
Lanio-Burns said she queried multiple agents and editors.
“One of the biggest things that was a pushback was how big romantasy is and how oversaturated it is,” Lanio-Burns said. “It’s harder for people of color stories to get even seen in the romantasy field.”
But Lanio-Burns said there’s a strong community that cherishes the existing romantasy books with Black female leads, whether or not they had big releases and extensive marketing.
“I feel like that’s kind of what I fell into, and honestly, that means more to me to have a handful of readers that are obsessed with my book, that want to hear about it, that I can talk to,” she said.
Ultimately, Lanio-Burns published “A Cage of Flowers” so she could find herself in a lead character.
A few recommendations from Jordan Lanio-Burns:
• “Black Falls” by A.C. Young
• “King of Carnage” by J.C. Robins (coming out Nov. 7)
• “Oathborn” by Ann C. Orlandi
• “And then anything by Rebecca Ross,” Lanio-Burns said.
“I think a lot of fantasy — the Black woman or Black man is usually the funny best friend, or maybe even the villain or the sidekick, but is never the main focus of the story, and that’s just something I wanted to see,” she said.
Elara Sundeer Ashcroft of “A Cage of Flowers” is no sidekick. A “half-elphven” princess, Elara is sent to infiltrate an empire that is oppressing her people.
“She’s a strong person who is figuring out her heritage, and two sides of that, and where she fits in,” Lanio-Burns said. “And I think that plenty of mixed women, Black women, have struggled with that.”
Lanio-Burns had the power to shape Elara’s story, but also her own book cover, commission her own illustrated map and choose when she’d publish — decisions that are typically not in a traditional author’s hands.
“I’ve had this full control, and I’ve got to see exactly where my book is going to end up,” she said. “And I’ve taken a lot of pride in that — of not using AI, of using real people to do every single step.”
She said great indie authors have run with budgets of $500 or less. Her budget veered closer to $5,000 “because I can’t stop buying art,” she said with a laugh.
Between the final product and marketing materials, she’s worked with artists from Spain, England, Japan, the Philippines and the Netherlands. Her editors live in Texas and Canada.
“I feel like I’ve got to put my creativity all around the world and make so many people part of my community,” Lanio-Burns said.
Lawrence is a part of that, as well.
“This is one of the most creative cities I’ve ever lived in,” she said. “… I’ve met so many people because I moved here, and they’ve helped further my career in writing, as a person, and as a creative person. I’m very appreciative of Lawrence.”
People can buy “A Cage of Flowers” at the Raven Book Store, 809 Massachusetts St. It’s also available at Smitten Booktique in Leawood, and on Amazon for Kindles.
Lanio-Burns will table at the Dark Flame Society convention in Kansas City, taking place from Saturday, Nov. 7 to Sunday, Nov. 8. Learn more at this link.
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Wulfe Wulfemeyer (they/them), reporter and news editor, has worked with The Lawrence Times since May 2025. They can be reached at [email protected].
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