in an interview with "soap opera digest" in april 2013, mosley said "maya is a force of nature." maya has big dreams "but she's naive in a lot of ways" said the actress. maya is very "trusting, or she has been." however, maya's "achilles' heel is these men who come into her life. she falls in love easily and she often gets burned." mosley described maya as being a "very rational person, for the most part." "it's so much, but i have to sometimes make sure i read the scripts in advance, because a lot of times, i'll read them and almost get a stomachache from the decisions she's about to make. i'll be like, 'oh, maya! i feel like in my own life, i do everything i can to avoid drama. and so then to play this character who literally walks around starting fires every where she goes is really counterintuitive." mosley who initially questioned if maya's transgender status should affect her portrayal revealed to the daily news that "it has really given me more layers and has really deepened my understanding of who she is." according to brad bell, after being shunned by her family, "maya became ornery and self-absorbed." she had to become a "real fighter."