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Jun 2024

Yay!! Despite the billions of stories it looks like you’re making good progress :smile:

I think it’s fine when people who get to know me a bit ask, but definitely it’s a bit jarring as a first introduction question to a person I’ve never spoken to. So you’re ok don’t worry lol. I’m sorry you face prejudices though, people are kinda … r*cist everywhere. But it’s cool to see another writer with an immigrant background!

LOLL yeah I got called that a lot living in Texas, or Chinita in my case, by family. I think maybe they even called me that because of the art I was interested in, I’ve always been inspired by different types of Eastern art, so I drew a lot of studies of that when I was younger too. I think almond and monolid eyes are very common in a lot of Hispanic ethnicities.

Same honestly XD And it’s such a a broad spectrum too, so there’s a lot of different cultures to take inspiration from that are Hispanic.

Yeah, I have a family in one of my stories that's whole thing is that they are a combination of all ethinicities, that represents as most of them appearing to be some kind of Hispanic lol

I have a couple:

No Control's main character is mixed--half African

Connected to Him's love interest is African American

And I'm writing a new romance about two black men. None of my books have ethnically Hispanic main characters yet but I wouldn't describe any of my Hispanic supporting characters as spicy. I despise that trope too :slight_smile:

yes please let's switch that up lol. where did you get those character photos though? did you hire models?

ALL THREE OF MY SERIES HAVE BLACK MAIN CHARACTERS <33 'n Lily-Mae and August of my comic "The Kids of 3820" are Afro-Latino (of Nicaraguan descent!!)



14 days later

Essence Walker has debuted, and lots of little details about her life style make it into the story, like having to braid her 'fro before bed to protect it and such, which I personally find fun. It's subtle, but it's one way that makes her lifestyle feel more authentically representative of my culture.

This wont be brought up until Chapter 5 but Sarah and her family are Hispanic. You really wouldn't know it from appearance and that's partially intentional. With this whole stupid culture happening right now where people get their panties in a wad over a characters skin color or sexuality, I want to have characters who aren't just the color of their skin. I believe a good character isn't one where their whole personality is centered them being gay or black, as I feel like that borders on tokenism. It can help, but you dont need to have characters of specific backgrounds to be appealing to specific groups. Like, Dragon Ball has little to no representation whatsoever, yet that hasnt stopped it from being very popular in Mexica and Latin America. Plus, the idea of ethnicity not being very crucial in making a character has to do with my upbringing. Being from a Puerto Rican family, I had aunts, cousins, and grandparents who werent one skin tone but a mix of white, black and brown. I also grew up in a very racial diverse neighborhood, so its really hard for me to differentiate people based on skin color mentally; all I see are people.

That all being said, I do want to explore a bit of more of Sarah's family's heritage, as I myself would like to do the same with my heritage.

I definitely agree that character's should be more than just the surface things we can classify them by making them into tropes, but I do like sharing the bits and pieces of what people's lives are like and how they are different because of the cultures they are from, or other factors of how they live or grew up, because I think it often has a huge affect on how we live or see the world or how the world sees us. This as a Hispanic black woman who has had all portions of my 'survey identity' for lack of a better term, have some pretty big affects on my life. We all come from different perspectives, and mine has never not been affected by the things I can be classified by or as.

24 days later

a bit of reference to part of the natural girl lifestyle making it's way into "A Dozen Morning Glories"


“I haven’t been able to do my hair in 10 days because of you girls,” she mutters on the verge of tears as I hand her the spoon. “My scalp hurts, and my curls are all tangled up like a steel wool. That bratty sister of yours doesn’t even have the decency to say she’s not coming and you’re always too busy with whatever romance, “Honey…Butter” hogwash you’re working on.”

I should say something sympathetic.

I turn and put the soy cheese in the fridge.

“No doubt she’s out somewhere with that good-for-nothing dad of hers, spoiling her into a good-for-nothing princess who thinks she’s too pretty and grown up to have time for her own ma...”

I start setting out her combs and lay the towel across her shoulders so I can wet and section out her hair before I wash it.

27 days later

Well, Chili is an odd instance. Ethnically, he's Malaysian, but his parents were raised in Panama. His grandparents on both sides were friends and moved to the Americas together, their kids (his parents) got married and then moved to the U.S. He was born in Texas, but culturally, his family is a combination of Hispanic and Malaysian. His mother was five when she moved to Panama and speaks Spanish most naturally.

16 days later

It occurs to me the more I write my new story "Crystal Blue" how much harder it is for my female lead to shake the Actaeon as he follows her, because she's one of very very few black people in her town in rural Montana. Somebody move her to Detroit, stat

20 days later