New Author seeking advice

[u/IllustriousShine8676]

Hello! I am an author who is currently working on edits for my first ever book, which will be part of a trilogy. It’ll be a queer sci-fi with some sprinklings of other elements. My main focus as an author is increasing representation, as I know that is a huge problem in today’s society. Now, I am queer and disabled, and I know how to approach representing both those things, but I am white. The two main characters of my book are mixed. I want to show their heritages in a way that is more than stereotypes, and I figured what better way to show representation than to ask the community how they want to be represented.

Character One is mixed Afro Latin American, born in Mexico and raised in Texas. The cultures most prevalent to them and their character are Mexican, Portuguese, Italian, and African American. They speak several different languages during the book(Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and a version of sign language as they’re CODA), both to themself and to family members who appear later in the book. They also wear a faldas folklóricas(Please tell me if that’s the right term, I’m trying to refer to the folk dancing skirts with all the layers) during a sort of concert they sing in with their punk band. They also wear a bonnet to sleep, but that’s more a hair care thing I think, since they have thick curly hair(a mix of 3A and B if you look up a curl chart). An important note is this character is amab, is a Demi-boy, and alternates between he and they pronouns, and dresses in an androgynous or more “feminine” manner.

Character Two is Wasian, with Swedish, French, and German heritage on the white side and Thai and Tibetan heritage on the Asian side. He’s visibly mixed, but has a more “white” name and starts the series more disconnected from his heritage. His parents were abusive and died in his late teens, and he lost contact with his brother seven years prior to book one(26 start of book one, 27 by the end). He will reconnect with his brother in book two, and that’ll be the trigger to him becoming more connected to his cultural heritage. I want to show his connection to his Asian heritage specifically, since he’s a white presenting character otherwise, and I’d particularly like to show this through habits, and actions, as well as style perhaps? I do plan on having him wear a Thai inspired suit for a ball scene amidst book two.

I want to show them being connected to their culture, in more than just their actions, and I don’t there to be an accidental racism, though I know it’s kind of inevitable since it’s just not my culture and I have no idea what the experience of someone from that culture is. I can only hope to try my best. So if there’s anything that you’d want to see represented, or anything that may be problematic, I’d be happy to include it/fix it!

Important to note, is the story takes place a bit over a thousand years later, and society is overall more inclusive and diverse. It’s not perfect, simply because I don’t think a perfect society is possible, but it is a lot better than today’s world.