This is a story of me stepping out of my lane and doing some appropriation, both of which are gross.

The first book series I published was the Sands of Theia series, which was supposed to be a 5-book series set in a desert world. As a result, everyone on this world had darker skin. I effectively made an all BIPOC cast. Except I’m not BIPOC. I’m a pasty white Puerto Rican/Irish enby who is originally from NYC.

This started to bother me. The more I have learned (& unlearned) the less & less right it felt for me to publish & sell this story. Add to that the fact that I was inspired by cultures that are not my own, & not traditionally populated by pale folk like me, for the setting & people, & it started to feel A LOT like appropriation. And that is just plain gross.

Now I haven’t had anyone call me in (or out) for this. It may be that these books are insignificant enough that it hasn’t come to anyone’s notice (and to some degree I’m glad, because it means I haven’t taken from BIPOC authors who are telling those stories).

At no point did I try to tell the story of marginalized groups. This story was set in a fantasy setting far removed from our own.

HOWEVER, all writing is political and social, & in borrowing from & depicting cultures that weren’t mine, I was still participating in a white-centric publishing machine that holds the white perspective as more valuable than all others. I don’t need someone to tell me that what feels wrong & gross *IS* wrong & gross.

In light of that, I am going to be unpublishing all three of these books across selling platforms. Moving forward, I will not be returning to Theia as it is now, but re-forming it to be inclusive & non-appropriative. I’m going to be much more conscious of my lane and staying in it.

And one more thing...

WE ABSOLUTELY SHOULD have BIPOC (& disabled, & queer, & other marginalized community) rep in our stories.

However, we should not attempt to w/out doing the work to understand why depictions may be problematic & seriously considering that we may not be the best person/people to tell that story. We should NEVER talk over the lived experience of any member of a marginalized group, ESPECIALLY if we do not belong to that group.

There are many BIPOC voices out there doing the work & sharing their voices so we can learn from them & share their experiences.

We should be uplifting them.