Women Writers of Color Series: Mayra Lazara Dole

Full name: Mayra Lazara Dole

Birth date: December 17th

Birth location: Marianao, Cuba (Havana)

Website/blog: Latina Lesbian lgbtq

Genre: YA Realistic Fiction, YA LGBTQI Realistic Fiction and Latina/o Realistic Fiction

WiP or most recently published work: Down to the Bone, Drum, Chavi, Drum!/¡Toca, Chavi, toca!, Birthday in the Barrio/Cumpleanos en el barrio and four novels in progress (1 MG and 3 YA's).

Writing credits: Down to the Bone was nominated for ALA Best YA Book 2009 and The Rainbow Project. It is an Americas Award Commended Title and made the Tayshas Reading List 2009-2010, Booklist's Top Ten Novels, CCBC Top Choices, and garnered a Starred ALA Booklist review.

How frequently do you update your site? I have a static site of which I constantly add interviews, praises, articles I've written and will now add bloggers of color I visit (I'm trying to figure out if I can add a blog to my site).

Is your site designed for reader interaction? Yes--it has a comment box. I've been looking into opening a new site but the quotes are very high (2,000 and up).

100 words or less how would you describe your work?
I write books in English with entire casts of Latina/o, Afro-Cuban, LGBTQI and straight people of color characters set in my Cuban American community.

100 words on less please share your thoughts on writing and activism:
Even when writing humor, authors can seamlessly inspire and motivate others to read, think, act, become more tolerant and make a profound difference in the world.

Thanks, Mayra. Readers check out Mayra's recent Writers Against Racism interview with Amy Bowllan at School Library Journal.