Do You Find the Interracial Jewish Family in My Novel Unbelievable? Good!
I was told that my African American characters were too erudite, that the fact that they had interests and could discuss topics outside of merely being African American — ranging from comic books to Shakespeare plays to computer programming — didn’t feel realistic. I was accused of failing to represent the authentic Black experience.
A smarter writer than I might have backed down in the face of such criticism. I doubled down instead.