The wonderful Mia Zachary joins us to kick off this Labor Day week!!!


I recently met someone for the first time and she immediately commented, “Oh, I didn’t realize you were African-American.” With a Japanese real first name and a German last name, I actually get that a lot and so wasn’t offended.

What does offend me is having to be what you write about in order to be credible.

When my first book, RED SHOES & A DIARY, was released, I got some really great reviews and a couple of bad ones. Oddly enough, the two bad reviews were from African American review sites that took me to task for not writing African American characters.

The fact that those two reviewers completely missed the fact that RSD involved an interracial couple tells me I did my job and did it well. I didn’t want to draw my characters in heavy black ink. Instead I was to create an impression, then let the reader bring their own vision and experience and assumptions to the story, so that they became a part of that story.

I’ve had mail from readers who thought both characters were white, and from those who realized from descriptive words like ‘caramel skin’ and ‘golden flesh’ that the heroine was African American. And because of my reference to the hero’s olive complexion, one reader thought the hero was black.

My point is that every reader saw something different and they didn’t care, because they either didn’t know I’m a black woman married to a white man, or they figured I was writing what I know. But what about my second book? YOURS IN BLACK LACE features a Caucasian heroine…. And a Cuban hero.

I’m not Cuban. I’ve never been to Cuba and quite honestly don’t know anyone from Cuba. So how did I create a believable and sexy, dangerous and romantic hero? First, I made him a person. With goals, desires, motivations, conflicts and vulnerabilities. Then I did both Internet research and personal interviews to find out more about Cuban customs and culture. So far, no one has said a word. Neither has anyone mentioned that in my third book 9 ½ DAYS, both characters were African American. Gee, I guess I just wrote good stories and it didn’t matter.

Could it be that certain ethnicities are available to writers, but others are taboo? As an example, I know a very talented writer who wrote a book with Latina characters. Several publishers loved the story and loved her voice, but because of her name and Irish background Bridget was told ‘you’re not the person to tell this story”.

This demon is complete and utter bullshit in my opinion. We write fiction- we create universes, worlds and the people who inhabit them. We use our imaginations and the resources available to tell the best story we can and it shouldn’t matter if we don’t have the so-called ethnic credentials to do so. If you pick up a book from the fiction section, it’s kind of stupid to expect an autobiography.

Writers hear voices. They see people [no movie pun intended] and feel stories longing to be told. The characters come to us as they are and often rebel if they’re forced to change. The heroine in my current Blaze work in progress is Japanese-American. The heroine for my first single title book is Italian- American. And the fact that I don’t share those heritages shouldn’t detract from the quality of my work.

My friend Julie Elizabeth Leto has a new series with a kick-ass heroine names Marisela Morales. Now let me just say that Julie is in fact ¼ Cuban, but frankly who cares? Reviewer Anne Lum of Writers Unlimited Reviews says it best: “Readers, you’re going to love Dirty Little Secrets! Julie has written more than a Latina story…she’s written a great story period.”

I can only hope that readers and reviewers say the same about me.

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Award-winning author Mia Zachary (http://www.miazachary.com) has written three books and is under contract for four more, including ANOTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT (http://www.steelemidnight.com), a romantic mystery featuring an Italian-American heroine.

Mia is not Italian. She likes to eat Italian food… a lot. She briefly studied the Italian language. Next summer she is going to Italy. This still will not make her Italian.

Therefore she plans to continue slaying this particular demon and keep writing her stories exactly the way the people in her head tell her to, no matter their ethnic background or nationality.