Maximo “Max” Martinez Williams is one of the two main characters in the romantic comedy novel Sparks Fly, written by American bi author Zakiya N. Jamal.
Sparks Fly is an office romance novel centered on the relationship between Maximo “Max” Martinez Williams and Stella Renee Johnson, two modern New Yorkers who meet in an unusual place — at a sex club, where they instantly connect. However, things become far more complicated when Stella discovers that Max is the CEO of a major AI company, the older brother of her boss, and the creator of the very AI program threatening her career as a young quiz writer at a struggling magazine.
Max is an extremely rich, well-educated, and successful man who, at the same time, isn’t shy about saying that he’s bi. Max was born in the Dominican Republic and has a younger brother, Miles. After they lost their parents, both Max and Miles were adopted by a wealthy white American family. They had a good childhood and support from their adoptive parents. Max never struggled with telling his family that he’s bi — both his adoptive parents and Miles knew about it — and the only regret Max had about coming out was that his brother sometimes makes jokes about the LGBT community.
This is how we learn that he’s bi in the first chapter, which is presented from Max’s point of view:
Happy Valentine’s Day, bro!” Miles held out a fist, which Max simply stared at for a moment before bumping his own fist against it.
“I didn’t realize this was a holiday you celebrated,” Max said, focusing his attention back on the proposal.
“Love is love, my brother,” Miles said. ‘Isn’t that what your people say?’ By your people, Miles meant the LGBTQIA+ community. Max came out as bisexual to his family years ago, yet in moments like this, he wondered if perhaps staying in the closet wasn’t the better option.
Max is an extremely successful AI entrepreneur who loves his job and runs AIX, a big company that’s been in the AI market for ten years. He isn’t hiding his queerness, and his bisexuality doesn’t prevent him from being successful.
He realized that he was bi while studying at university, partly thanks to his lesbian non-binary friend, Skyler. To him, friendship with other LGBT people is an important part of his life and is closely connected to his bi identity.
He’s also often annoyed by the gender stereotypes surrounding bi men, and he isn’t shy about pointing out that he’s bi.
Max liked men, but he also liked wearing suits and watching basketball games and RuPaul’s Drag Race. It was especially irritating when he was dating a woman, because he often felt like he was cosplaying as a straight person, but he found it difficult to say, ‘I know what this looks like, but I’m actually bi’ in regular conversation.
This helps him find common ground with Stella, who also dislikes stereotypes around bisexuality. Max is also flexible with labels to explain his sexual orientation to others. When Stella asks whether he considers himself bi or pan, he replies:
I’m bi,” he said. “Although yeah, like you said, pan works for me. I don’t really care about a person’s gender one way or the other.
The character evolves a lot during the story. At the beginning of the novel, Max is more cynical and obsessed with his work. His relationship with another bi person, Stella, made him more interested in other people’s lives, more open about his own bi experience, and helped him follow his own principles.
Max is a good example of bi representation because he challenges stereotypes around bisexuality, and he represents successful bi people of color, who are often less visible in mainstream media and within the bi community.
Max may especially resonate with bi men of color, including black bi men. This character will also be appreciated by those who want to read about successful bi people and bi entrepreneurs. Want to read more about Max and Sparks Fly? Check out our Bi Book Club review of the novel here!