It was sort of a competition that my parents encouraged. But most people don't want to talk about that kind of eroticism between a parent and a child because it can be very dangerous, due to the issue of boundaries. There are some boundaries that you can't cross. Mariah identifies as African American, because the community where she is raised is a segregated town in the South. But her mother talks to her about her Cherokee grandfather.
Race is a very complicated and complex issue.
Her father's last name is Santos, but he doesn't really talk about his background. Race is an important issue in the world, and the characters deal with it on many levels of the book. The themes in SOUL KISS are so universal that I feel that this limitation would be a shame. I haven't felt limited as a writer, no, and I don't allow other people to limit me. It is an amazing piece of theater, and encourages me in terms of the state of theater.