Many of you know that diversity in fiction is a cause I'm really passionate about, so I make a conscious effort to introduce diversity into my own books. I have no doubt that I screw things up at times because I'm a straight, white woman who doesn't know what it's like to be an LGBTQIA+ person, or a person of color. I do know what it's like to be a woman, so while I'm comfortable with addressing sexism and misogyny, I am conscious of how I could come off as way off base or spectacularly insensitive when it comes to the issues LGBTQIA+ people or people of color face. I want to learn and understand, so I try to read, watch, and listen to as much as I can get my hands on, but if at any time any of my readers would like to point something out to me, I am very receptive to that. I want to do better, I really do.

I'm addressing this because the Wasteland trilogy features my first gay main character. This isn't the first time I've written about lesbian, bi, or gay characters. There are secondary LGBTQIA+ characters in Committed, Court of Illusion (the third Astoran Asunder book), and Prejudice, Persuasion, and Sensibility. You can tell these books are a bit dated because in both Committed and Prejudice, Persuasion, and Sensibility, characters comment about being unable to marry because they're lesbian or gay, something I'm very glad has changed in the intervening years.

I've heard people talk about books that depict LGBTQIA+ characters as having an "agenda". Do my books have an agenda? Well, yeah. My agenda is to write about characters who hopefully come across as human beings, to do my best to depict their struggles in a vivid way, and to put forth my best effort to create a story that draws readers in and leaves them wanting more. The Wasteland trilogy books are no exception. Alessandro is gay. It's an aspect of his character. It's not his defining aspect, but it is who he is, and I'm writing about that in the most honest way I know how. He will have a romance in books two and three, and though the romances in these books are not explicit, they do exist as part of the characters' subplots.

(Not to toot my own horn here, but if I do say so myself, Alessandro's romance is shaping up to be one of the sweetest romances I've written. Editing those passages is giving me some serious feels.)

I will be both frank and blunt here. If some readers are uncomfortable with the idea of reading about a romance between two teen boys, well, they're welcome to read other books. I'm not going to change mine. LGBTQIA+ people and people of color exist, and they deserve to have their stories told. (Preferably by own voice authors--authors who are people of color and/or LGBTQIA+, but I also firmly believe white, straight authors ought to make more of an effort to diversify their books.)

Look, as a woman who majored in French and minored in English, I spent a LOT of time reading books by dead white men. Sometimes I got other, more diverse viewpoints as part of my education, but mostly I was supposed to read, understand, and be able to sympathize with a WHOLE lot of dead white guys. Why is it that I, as a woman, or readers of color, or LGBTQIA+ readers, or neurodiverse readers, or disabled readers, are supposed to be able to see from the point of view of able-bodied, straight, white men, but the reverse isn't true? I don't buy it. There's academic evidence that reading can make us more empathetic, and the best way I can imagine to achieve that is by having people read about characters who aren't like them, as well as characters who are.

Which is why I'm going to do my best to be part of the change I want to continue to see in the world of publishing. I think publishing as a whole is taking steps toward progress, but I also think we've still got a long road ahead of us. Diverse fiction isn't a "trend", and it shouldn't be seen as one. If authors, readers, and publishers care about continuing to advance literature as an art form, we should get behind diverse fiction, because a vast, rich wealth of stories is the only way to elevate our art form.

I'm very excited to announce that I've finished my Contributor trilogy and that the final book is now available on Amazon!

Haven't started the trilogy yet? Contributor (book 1) and Infiltrator (book 2) are also both available on Amazon, as is Creators, a free prequel novella. You can also sample the first six chapters of Contributor on my site, starting here.

(Psst: if you haven't read the previous two books yet, you may want to steer clear of this description as it does contain some spoilers.)

Disillusioned and angry at the revelation of the Free Thinkers’ secret patron, Dara isn’t sure whether her decision to join them was the right choice. Guilt over Letizia’s loss plagues her, and she feels betrayed by one of the few people in whom she placed her trust.

Adjusting to life outside of the domes hasn’t been easy over the past six months, especially because the Free Thinkers’ progress is so frustratingly slow. Nothing has changed, and she doesn’t know how much longer she can deny her searing need for vengeance, or even whether she should place her faith in the Free Thinkers. The more the truth about both them and the Creators is revealed, the less certain she is that the two are all that different. What if she handed them the incriminating evidence they need to exploit to ensure a future that looks a lot like what the Creators envisioned?

Yet Dara has never been more certain of one thing: the Creators must pay—for what they did to her mother, for what they did to Letizia, and for what they’ve done to humanity.

Instigator is available on Amazon.

After a lot of time, angst, writing, editing, and more writing and editing, the release date for the final book in the Contributor series is almost here. I don't have a firm date yet, but the book will be out by the end of June.

I thought I might feel sad about finishing, and I do feel some sadness. I'll miss these characters. I've spent more time with them than I have with any of my other characters. However, I'm excited too. Trying to finish the trilogy scared me for a long time because I was afraid of screwing it up, but I'm very happy with how the story turned out, and I hope readers will be too.

A word of caution: If you haven't read the first two books in the trilogy, you might not want to read the description for this book as it gives some plot elements away.

The final book in the post-apocalyptic and dystopian young adult/new adult Contributor trilogy.

Disillusioned and angry at the revelation of the Free Thinkers' secret patron, Dara isn't sure whether her decision to join them was the right choice. Guilt over Letizia's loss plagues her, and she feels betrayed by one of the few people in whom she placed her trust.

Adjusting to life outside of the domes hasn't been easy over the past six months, especially because the Free Thinkers' progress is so frustratingly slow. Nothing has changed, and she doesn't know how much longer she can deny her searing need for vengeance, or even whether she should place her faith in the Free Thinkers. The more the truth about both them and the Creators is revealed, the less certain she is that the two are all that different. What if she handed them the incriminating evidence they need to exploit to ensure a future that looks a lot like what the Creators envisioned?

Yet Dara has never been more certain of one thing: the Creators must pay—for what they did to her mother, for what they did to Letizia, and for what they've done to humanity.