I’m Naika. Born and raised in RI. Currently working in mental health and child welfare. I’m a big traveler; I try to go someplace domestically (mainly for bookish events as of recently) or internationally every few months. Romance is my most-read genre, with mystery/thriller/suspense at a very close second. When not reading or traveling, I’m wearing out my Spotify or watching an unhealthy amount of true crime and police procedurals.

Hi, friends, I have been under the weather the last few days and woke up yesterday morning with a sore throat and limited voice. Then last evening my 25-year-old (and usual conference assistant) came home not feeling well and complaining of a sore throat. Unfortunately, I've decided it's best I not travel to Toledo this weekend for Romance-Con. I am going to take a day or two of rest and be mindful not to risk passing something along to others. I'm sad to be missing the Con and the opportunity to connect with some of you in person. I had such a great time last year. I hope the event is as fun and engaging for those of you who do get to attend this year. Buy lots of books for me. 📚

You may have noticed that our Community comes with a LEADERBOARD. How do you progress, you wonder? Engage. Engage. Engage. When someone likes your comment or post, then you get a point. So the more beneficial comments you share, the more 👍 ("likes") you're likely to get. So let's get your (and my 😂) Leaderboard movement going. Start with these activities👇🏽: (1) "Like" (after reading, of course!) my posts in the "🚨IMPORTANT INFO🚨" category. (2) Introduce yourself by creating a post in the “👋🏽 INTRODUCTIONS” category. (3) Go read and "Like" the intro POST by one or more other members. (4) Drop a comment below about what you most hope to learn from this Skool. NOTE: I'm planning to use the Leaderboard as a way to do giveaways and award prizes periodically. So let me know what kinds of perks you'd find exciting. (If you tell me in a comment below, you might just get some Leaderboard points cuz I'm almost guaranteed to like your comment. 😁)

I've been keeping a secret, and now I can share! I know it's been quiet in here for a while. Honestly, the author gig has had some blips and bumps over the last year. I'm working hard to get you new books, and one of those is part of a new historical romance project coming spring 2027. So here's the news... I'm part of a multi-author collab that will be bringing you 14 great stories, one per week starting March 18th. My story will drop on May 13th. More info and pre-order links are yet to come, but in the meantime, note the entire cast of fabulous authors involved: Addy Du Lac Alice Coldbreath Caroline Lee Charlie Lane Elizabeth Everett Emily Windsor Felicity Niven Harper St. George Jane Maguire Joanna Lowell Kat Sterling Liana De la Rosa Lisa Rayne Mia Vincy.

Y'all, I'm on deadline. I've got a collab contemporary rom-com due to a publisher tomorrow (more on that later). And an editor deadline for ICE MATCHED a few weeks after that. So I've been a little absent here lately. That's about to change. Once I hit tomorrow's deadline, Imma be so happy I'm gonna wanna chat about. So be prepared. ❓❓ >> In the meantime, WHAT'S EVERYBODY READING? And WHY DID YOU PICK UP THAT BOOK? 👇🏽 ⚠️ NOTE the two-part question here! Those habits I picked up during my brief stint as a high school English teacher die hard. Ha!) Also, note that your book selection does NOT have to be one of mine. But brownie points if it has diverse characters written by a marginalized author. 📚 I'll start. I'm currently listening to an ALC (advance listener copy) of the audiobook for BIG GIRL BLITZ by Danielle Allen (Pub Date: April 14, 2026). Oh yeah... If you haven't preordered this book, go do so now! This is Book 3 in Danielle's "Curve" series. I've read the other two books. Book 1 (CURVY GIRL SUMMER) got me out of a deep malaise regarding contemporary romance. So if you like 'em sexy + funny and with deep emotions + hot hero + a curvy heroines who bring it like Lizzo, go check out this series.