Hi there!

I’m an autistic, AFAB, androgynous-identifying person, and my race is white (lots of Irish) and Alutiiq. I started my career as an actor, training with the infamous, unknown Ilkhom Theatre in Uzbekistan, and I pursued acting until chronic illness dragged me away from the broke, hungry life of the stage. 
I then recklessly pivoted to the broke, hungry life of journalism and novel writing, along with housekeeping and bartending. I’m married to a brilliant writer and filmmaker, Nathaniel Soria, and we have a kid together. In my core, I believe in and hope for the future. But we have to fight for it. In my case, I write for it. I write for the future I want to see.

So, let’s call it out, I’m not Black, and I wrote a book about a Black princess, and in every way, I believe in that choice. This is a fairy tale retelling with a diverse cast. It’s a universal story about an archetypal character, and there’s no reason that the protagonist should be one skin color or another. But there is every reason, in our times, that a Black princess should be the protagonist of a book written for everyone.

In real life, I’m just waiting for a Black or Brown woman to take over the leadership of the US and make it the country that I want to live in. Meanwhile, in the stories that we consume and share, it’s time to take for granted that a woman of color should play the lead. In writing this book, I worked hard to get it right. I hired a sensitivity consultant. I researched and asked my friends questions. And, finally, I wrote from my heart.

Beyond that, let’s return to the fact that this is a story written for everyone. This is a story that calls out the princess—the inherent worthiness—in all of us, no matter the gender-identification, race, ability, class, creed, age, ambition or anything else. I hope that many of us can relate to this protagonist, even though she is pretty specifically female, coded autistic, with a bit of PTSD, and Black. She is the protagonist who has come to life in my heart. And I’m rooting for her to succeed—just as I’m rooting for you.

With love,

—Laine