Every story needs a spark — a character who burns too bright to be contained by the page. For me, that was Zasha Avery.
When I first created Zasha, I didn’t want another “strong female lead.” I wanted a force of nature — someone whose strength didn’t come from moral clarity, but from survival. She’s a woman who learned early that information is power, and power is the only currency that never loses its value.
Where Zasha Began
In the beginning, Zasha started as my version of Marvel’s Black Widow. When I first wrote The Catalogue, I was twenty-one — and like most of us back then, I was swept up in the Marvel era. Everything was larger than life: espionage, heroics, the lone operative who could dismantle an empire with her wit and a sidearm.
But over time, my writing — and Zasha — began to evolve. She drifted away from being a reflection of that archetype and became something far more grounded, more dangerous in her own way. I started leaning into her journalistic roots, fascinated by those real-life reporters who move through war zones with nothing but a press badge and sheer conviction. There’s something both heroic and self-destructive about chasing truth in places built on silence.
I once read a line that never left me: “We don’t go looking for danger. We just refuse to look away.”
That became the foundation of who Zasha is. Her courage isn’t cinematic — it’s calculated. She doesn’t run toward chaos for glory; she steps into it because she knows someone has to. Her bravery isn’t recklessness — it’s resolve, sharpened by experience and the knowledge that truth always costs something.
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The Woman Behind the Fire
As an investigative reporter for the Miami Herald, Zasha lives in a city that mirrors her contradictions — beautiful on the surface, volatile underneath. Her methods aren’t always clean, and her morality isn’t always clear. She plays every angle, but somehow, you still want her to win.
Zasha’s greatest strength is her ability to adapt. Whether it’s a back-alley meeting in Bogotá or a high-society gala in D.C., she blends in, listens, and strikes when no one expects it. But her weakness — pride — often blinds her to the cost of being right. When Zasha crosses someone, it’s never by accident. And when someone crosses her, it’s never forgotten.
The Real Inspiration
Zasha was inspired, in part, by people I’ve known who wear their confidence like armor — the kind who seem untouchable until you realize how much it costs to live that way. Her personality also pulls from a few real-world journalists I admired during my own time in the service — people who had seen too much, felt too much, but never stopped chasing the truth.
There’s also a bit of wish fulfillment in her — the idea of what happens when someone with the heart of a soldier wields the pen instead of the gun.
What Zasha Represents
At her core, Zasha is about control — or the illusion of it.
She fights to stay ahead of every game, every threat, every truth she uncovers. But the irony is that the deeper she digs, the more she realizes how fragile her control really is.
Zasha also represents a quiet kind of strength in women — the kind that doesn’t need to announce itself to be felt. She’s not invincible, but she’s immovable in purpose. Every major turn in The Catalogue — whether directly or through the ripple effects of her choices — can be traced back to her resolve. She’s the axis around which the story pivots, often without anyone realizing it until the moment she’s gone.
Her strength isn’t defined by perfection or dominance; it’s defined by persistence — the ability to endure, adapt, and keep pushing forward even when the world seems determined to silence her. In that sense, Zasha doesn’t just move through the story; she moves it.
She’s fearless, yes. But she’s also human. And that’s where her story truly lives — in the cracks between her ambition and her vulnerability.
Bonus Trivia for Readers
- Zasha’s original last name wasn’t Avery — it changed during the third draft for a symbolic reason you’ll spot if you look closely.
- The first scene I ever wrote for her never made it into the final book. It involved a rooftop, a recorder, and a confession that would’ve changed everything.
- One of Zasha’s signature lines was inspired by something I overheard during an operation overseas.
Find out more about Zasha today!
Download The Catalogue today and experience a world built seamlessly into every twist, turn, and character choice.
