Happy Juneteenth!

Why I will always have black characters

As a black Texan, Juneteenth has always been a holiday for me. It’s amazing to see it recognized on the national level and the conversations and awareness that brings.

When I started writing my first book I had to have an honest debate with myself on how I wanted my characters represented. Diversity is a major factor in my life and I wanted that reflected in my books but I still had a moment of pause. Will people choose not to pick up my book because my characters are black? Then I shook it off, anyone who won’t read a book for that reason is a reader I don’t want!

Thus Jamie and her husband Ben were written into existence! They are couple goals! Childhood friends to lovers with quite a bit of drama in between! One day I will write their story in a prequel because it’s intense, but the book starts ten years after with them happily married with two young sons.

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It was important to me that even with all the mayhem of the story, that they were solid. They work together seamlessly, are full of passion, and are amazing at communicating (no miscommunication trope here!)

Outside of Bound in Blood and Darkness, black characters show up in both lead and supporting positions. In Short Cuts, Ben makes a guest appearance in the first episode but a side character that is a permanent fixture is Quinn! Quinn is the co owner of Urban Legends and a formidable witch. He gives Wells some magical help towards the end of the season!

In my latest novella my main character Izzy is also a powerful witch. (Now that I think about it, I have quite a few black witches in my stories!). She finds love and overcomes some serious family drama in her story.

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I will always have black characters in my books. More importantly, they will be full people with backgrounds and whole lives. Not tokens there to check a box on diversity, not caricatures, not props, not sacrificial lambs, just real!

While they’ll have realistic struggles, struggle will not be their whole personality or the crux of their character arc.

I want to see people like me represented in the stories I’ve grown up loving. As a writer, I can finally do that for my readers and for the me that longed to see myself in books!