Asha Sterling & Danté Orion, the MCS of ELYSIUM. (She definitely shoots his ass while he’s threatening to toss her over a balcony because they’re ACTUAL enemies to lovers…)

Art by viimorte.

Want to snag the first 2 chapters of ELYSIUM?

ELYSIUM is my indie dystopian romance novel. The FMC, Asha, is a master thief with a reckless mouth, fearless leader of a heist crew, and a psionic hiding illegal truthseeker abilities. The MMC, Danté, is the ruthless (and deadly sexy) archangel general tasked with hunting her kind down. It’s set within a glittering yet brutal world plagued by classism, elitism, and a cruel archangelic class that doesn’t care about the humans beneath them living in destitute wards. Asha is from one of these wards, but she’s never cared about sparking a rebellion. She’s only ever cared about surviving, but her own survival and that of her family may depend on Asha beginning to care about rebellion and resistance.

Back ELYSIUM and snag an early peek

I’ve launched a crowdfunding campaign on Backerkit to raise the funds for all the things a trad publisher would cover, including cover art, editing, formatting, and commissioning a special sprayed edge edition!! As a perk to all backers who’ve backed ELYSIUM early or do so during the first 48 hours after today’s official launch, I’ll be releasing the first 2 chapters to you in a digital file next week!!! So if you want an early peek at ELYSIUM, Asha, and Danté, now is your chance to snag it!!!

If you’re as hyped about this project as I am, please join me in launching the Backerkit campaign . If you’re able to contribute to the campaign it would mean so much to me if you contribute to a funding tier!!

Want to contribute today and don’t have the funds to do so right this second? No worries! Your card won’t be charged until the campaign officially ends September 5th!

Pledge to back the "Elysium" campaign

CLICK HERE TO BE AN EARLY BACKER!

And the perks are starting RIGHT NOW! There is a poll up on ELYSIUM’S crowdfunding page where early backers can help me decide on character art!! The poll is only running through the weekend and closes on Monday at noon. In case you have trouble navigating to it, here is the direct link:

CHARACTER ART POLL

Are you eager to back early and participate in the poll but don’t have the funds in your budget today?

Don’t worry! You can still pledge early support!!! Backerkit won’t charge you for the pledge until the campaign officially closes September 5.

Thanks for being part of this journey. I can't wait to share this with you!

Much love,

Nia

I’m writing and publishing an indie book!!!

Soooo many of y’all have been urging me for ages to dip into the hybrid/ indie space. There’s so many amazing stories that I’m eager to tell, but traditional publishing doesn’t all the time see the value in certain stories that I want to write. Sometimes, they think the market is oversaturated. Sometimes, they think a trope or genre is stale. One hundred percent of the time, they’re wrong. Especially when we’re talking about stories written by BIPOC authors that spotlight BIPOC main characters in fantastical roles that have traditionally lacked adequate representation of BIPOC characters. Ethereal archangels who are as lethal as they are alluring with gorgeous wrings are one of those roles we don’t often see Black characters occupy in stories.

Much like I did with bringing unapologetically Black fae to OUR VICIOUS OATHS, I’m writing a brand new book called ELYSIUM. And this one is bringing unapologetically Black archangels to readers!!

ELYSIUM is a dark, smoldering dystopian romance that’s “Silver Elite” meets “Arcane: League of Legends,” with a heroine whose a master thief with secret truthseeker powers and a ruthless archangel general who leads the corps tasked to hunt her kind down.

Help me bring to life my new dystopian romance, Elysium. With this story, I am trying something a little different. I’m not relying on traditional publishing to bet on me or waiting on it to see the value in this story. I’m betting on myself because I know readers will be feral for it and it’s going to be extraordinary. I’m launching a Backerkit campaign on August 4th to raise funds to bring this novel to life and put it out in the world. (Backerkit works just like Kickstarter for those who aren’t familiar with it.)

If you’re as hyped about this project as I am, please join me in launching the Backerkit campaign . Click here for a link to the the teaser page: Support the ELYSIUM Campaign. You can sign up for updates, follow the page, repost about it on social media, and if you’re able to contribute to the campaign it would mean so much to me if you contribute to a funding tier when it launches!!

The official launch date is August 4 but I’ll be opening up for my newsletter subscribers to contribute to the campaign a day early. We have the opportunity to do something incredible cool!! If the campaign already has a solid number of followers and backers before going fully live, it’ll help the campaign gain more traction!!!!

On and once you pledge an amount, I’ll send you an exclusive first look of the first chapter!!!!

Pledge to back to "Elysium" campaign

Okay, you’re asking for money, tell me more about this story I’m backing?

Glad you asked!! Let’s get on to the shenanigans!!

They built her a cage of gold. She’s going to burn it down.

Infamous thief Asha Sterling has one rule: survive. She’s spent eighteen years hiding what she is — a psionic with a gift for pulling truth from lies and a trigger finger that never misses — in the destitute wards beyond Elysium City, where her kind are hunted, registered, and owned. She doesn’t fight for causes. Causes got her parents killed. She fights for the found family she’s built, survival, and one more day nobody finds out what she can do.

When a heist goes wrong, her blood gets sequenced, and the life she built out of lies collapses in an interrogation cell as she stares into the last face she wants to see–Danté Astraeius.

Danté is nephew to the tyrant who murdered his father and Commander of the Gold Corps, the unit that kills psionics like her on sight. Danté serves as judge, jury, and executioner for anyone unlucky enough to stand where Asha’s standing now. She expects a death sentence. She gets an offer instead — serve him, or watch her crew die in her place.

She takes the deal and vows to despise him for it. It should be easy. He’s cold, lethal, and built like every bad decision she’s ever avoided making. Yet it proves a treacherously difficult task when Danté looks at her like she’s a puzzle worth solving and the hate keeps combusting into something that feels a lot more like hunger.

The gilded world above the wards isn’t what Asha was promised, and neither is the man who dragged her into it. Danté has spent years playing loyal dog to a monster, biding his time, building something Asha isn’t supposed to know exists — and her gifts might be the only thing that can finish it. The line between hostage and ally blurs fast. The line between enemy and something far more dangerous blurs faster, until Asha can’t tell anymore whether she wants Danté dead or wants him closer, whether the danger radiating off him is a warning or an invitation.

Asha didn’t ask to be anyone’s weapon. But some cages only open from the inside — and she’s never been a damsel who’s waited to be saved.

A blood-soaked world of caste and cruelty. An explosive romance forged in violence and yearning.

So are you in? Are you ready to step into the glittering, corrupt, and alluring world of Elysium City?

Pledge to back the "Elysium" campaign

OUR VICIOUS OATHS PREORDER CAMPAIGNS

Campaign 1: If you preorder OUR VICIOUS OATHS from Kindred Stories, my local indie Black-owned bookstore here in Houston, your copy comes signed, personalized if requested, and with the exclusive, never-before-revealed character art below!! Please don’t share this yet.

In addition, Kindred Stories preorders also get the additional two preorder incentive prints that I have previously shared online…

Campaign 2: I’ve co-founded and launched the Trove Book Box. (Yes, I’ve been super busy with plotting to take over the world this summer.)

Trove Book Box, my newest bookish baby, is a monthly book box subscription service that spotlights BIPOC romantasy books and BIPOC authors. OUR VICIOUS OATHS is Trove’s inaugural pick. The Trove Box will come with a signed copy with hand-sprayed sparkly black edges, all three character art prints above, and a gorgeous full-color version of the book’s world map that has been created by illustrator Virginia Allyn. Want a sneak peek of additional goodies in the book? They’ll include a themed bookmark and themed bracelet!

I’m offering a discount code to my substack subscribers who order the box. You can use code NEDAVENPORT10. Boxes are super limited so grab yours soon if you’re interested!!

There’s two options for the OUR VICIOUS OATHS October Trove Box:

1. You can order a one-time box here: Buy your OUR VICIOUS OATHS Trove Box

2. You can sign up for a monthly membership and receive the monthly Trove Box, which will feature a new book each month. Your first box will be the OUR VICIOUS OATHS October Trove Box. After that, you’ll receive each monthly pick as well for the duration of your subscription. (I’m just saying… the next pick that comes after OUR VICIOUS OATHS with the subscription option is a FIRE one too!! For a hint, it’s enemies-to-lovers, dark academia, fantasy + romance, and Black AF too.) Get your monthly Trove Box here!!

Are you headed to Steamy Lit Con in October? If so, you can also preorder your Our Vicious Oaths Trove Box with the links above and pick it up there.

Here’s an advanced peek of the beautiful map that won’t get posted publicly until the boxes ship for release day. Again, please don’t share!

Campaign 3: If you preorder from all other booksellers, including other indies, Bookshop.org, B&N, and Amazon, I’ll be posting a link soon to submit your receipt to receive the throne art and NSFW bedroom prints only!

OUR VICIOUS OATHS TOUR

Malachi & Kadeesha, my unapologetically Black fae, are entering the spicy romantasy chat on 10.28. I am thrilled to be having my first ever book tour. Doing this for OUR VICIOUS OATHS feels extra special since it’s my debut adult romantasy that I wrote for readers like me who are feral for greater Black rep in a space where Black voices are minimal. Malachi said pull up— yes he’s flashing his fangs and iced out grille too

Come hang out with me!! RSVP links are already live for the following stops:

• Midnight Release party at Kindred Stories, Houston (RSVP here)

• The Ripped Bodice, LA (RSVP here)

• Brave + Kind Books, Atlanta (RSVP here)

• Call & Response Books, Chicago (RSVP here)

RSVP links for the Austin and Boston stops will be coming along soon.

If you preordered your copy of OUR VICIOUS OATHS from a bookseller other than Kindred Stories, you can also snag the moonlit cave art print during the tour!!

OTHER FALL EVENTS

Leading up to the OUR VICIOUS OATHS tour, I’ll also be at a few fun festivals and cons.

I released a new book this week! LOVE SPELLS TROUBLE is my YA contemporary fantasy romance with Black witches.

It’s a coming-of-age story that feels like Forever on Netflix meets Sabrina the Teenage Witch. It’s my love letter to Black girls, Black Southern culture, and historically Black communities. I wrote it because I’ve always been a huge fan of shows like The Vampire Diaries, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Teen Wolf, etc. If it’s a coming-of-age paranormal story, then I am SEATED. But Black teens are so rarely spotlighted in these shows, and we should definitely have tons more contemporary fantasy novels featuring Black protagonists. (Shout out to Tracy Deonn and her LEGENDBORN series because MY GAWD!! It delivers everything I’ve ever yearned for!!)

We so rarely get to see Black girls be magical, kickass protagonist wrapped up in mess, drama, and an entanglement with swoony love interests. LOVE SPELLS TROUBLE is the literal definition of Black Girl Magic! And Khy, the love interest, is described as being “a glaring green flag” but the amazing jennalitpicks when she chatted with me about the book for my launch event at Kindred Stories. I adored this description of Khy. And if you know me, then you know that’s super ironic because I write hella morally-gray, sometimes morally pitch-black, MMCs. But it was important to show a different facet with Khy while writing this YA novel because Black boys rarely get to be the swoon-worthy “prince charming” archetype in literature and in TV/cinema. My book launch at Kindred Stories was pure magic. My heart was so incredibly full while talking with readers and booksellers during the event. The Q&A portion brimmed with deep conversation + laugh, which is my favorite combo. My mama, sister, and 12-year-old daughter were also in the audience. And for some reason unknown to me, my daughter ended up with the mic. (Yes, I almost had a heart attack; she’s the one regaling Threads with her LEGENDBORN and Bree, Sel, Nick, and Alice takes. Haha!) I was STRESSED not knowing what hot take she was gonna give the audience, and she had the nerve to be insulted that I was stressed. Jeez.

So what did she end up saying? She told a hilarious anecdote about how I get so in the zone when I’m writing that she can come into my office, ask me a question, and I won’t hear a word she says. Then, I’ll emerge from my lair 20 minutes later asking her what she needs. This is, in fact, the truth. When a story comes to me, I see is as a cinematic movie inside my head. So everything in the outside world gets blocked out by the characters, their big personalities, their actions, their dialogues, their drama, their conflicts, their triumphs, and their huge emotions.

Speaking of launch events…

I can’t give up the details yet but definitely be on the lookout for an announcement about what me and Kindred Stories are cooking up for OUR VICIOUS OATHS, my adult dark romantasy that comes out in October — this one serves a morally pitch-black MMC. So many exciting things are in the works to celebrate my debut adult romantasy. You don’t want to miss all the cool announcements!

Since we’re on the topic of OUR VICIOUS OATHS and everybody’s favorite new Shadow Daddy with a grill, I recently commissioned new character art for Malachi and Kadeesha! You get to see it first here. If you’ve already preordered your copy, thank you!! If you’re a substack subscriber, all preorders will come with these two art prints below plus the original character art when them on the throne that I’ve posted, regardless of where you’ve preordered the book from. I’ll mail the art out after release day. Be on the lookout for a form to sign-up to receive your prints. And do it as soon as you can because I can only mail out the art as long as supplies last.

One more thing: please hold off on sharing the art online/ social media sites until I reveal it to the public. Thank you so much.

Okay, I know y’all are ready for me to stop yapping.

BEHOLD!!!

I HAVE NOT STOP DROOLING OVER THIS NEW ART SINCE IT LANDED IN MY INBOX YESTERDAY!!!

I think the first one with them in the bed might be my personal favorite because it is HOTTTT, but I also adore the one with Kadeesha and Malachi in the moonlit cave. Which one is your fave?

What comes next?

I’ll be outside, outside through the end of the year and on into 2026 to celebrate the releaseS of LOVE SPELLS TROUBLE and OUR VICIOUS OATHS! Here’s where you can catch me.

Columbus Book Festival

Columbus, OH

July 12

Rose City Comic Con

Portland, OR

September 5-7

Armadillocon

Austin, TX

September 12-14

Books, Gowns and Crowns

Washington, DC

September 25 - 27

Black Book Bash

Jacksonville, FL

October 3rd or 5th (I’ll confirm the specific date I’ll be in attendance soon)

Decatur Book Festival

Atlanta, GA

October 4th (I’m only here Saturday so I can be sure to make Black Book Bash!)

Our Vicious Oaths Midnight Release Party

(*This isn’t confirmed yet but I should be able to confirm it by the end of the summer. However, I am giving newsletter subscribers an early heads up in case you want to make plans to attend. Once I confirm details, trust me, YOU WANT TO ATTEND IF YOU CAN. This is going to be a whole affair!!)

Houston, Tx

October 27

Our Vicious Oaths Launch Event

Black Pearl Books

Austin, Texas

October 28

Steamy Lit Con

Anaheim, CA

October 31 - November 1

And on into 2026, so far you can catch me at…

Love Y’all Bookfest (This is my birthday weekend, so we’re turning up!!)

Atlanta, GA

February 13-15

Black Romance Book Fest (I don’t EVER plan to miss this event. I had A TIME this past May. It truly felt like a family reunion!!)

Atlanta, GA

May 29 - 31

Imaginarium Book Festival

Washington, DC

June 5-6

The City Fling

Austin, TX

June 11-13

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Again, they take place after the duology wraps up. If you haven’t read THE BLOOD GIFT yet be ware that there’s some spoilers.

Happy Reading!

Part Two

 Ikenna

“Are you hungry yet?” 

The aromas of maple-glazed yams, cinnamon-roasted plums, and blackened red fish hit me before I look up from the romance novel in my lap. Darius stands in the archway that leads out onto the third-story terrace. He’s holding a silver platter that contains the traditional Khanaian breakfast dishes. There’s a carafe of honeywine on it, too. Usually, I don’t get excited about food.  It’s merely sustenance that I need to function, stay in top shape, and keep my power levels operating at peak levels. But that attitude goes out the window when Khanaian food is so near that it teases my senses and makes my mouth water. I eye the platter is Darius’ hands. “I’m surely famished now. Did you cook that or have a droid deliver it?” Neither is an option where I lose. As I’ve discovered during our second jaunt here, the city of Lusian isn’t only home to some of the most infamous criminals on the planet. It’s also a culinary heaven; the city is home to cafes owned by master chefs that pride themselves on serving cuisine from all corners of the planet that is nothing short of exquisite. 

Darius gives me a flat look. “Don’t insult me. The Khanaian food here is good. Mine is better. Why the hell would I settle for the inferior option?”

I smirk, filing a new thing I learn about Darius away. The man doesn’t bother to openly sling a huge ego around about most stuff, but apparently those cooking skills Dannica and Haynes once mentioned are an exception. Speaking of Dannica… I swipe my Comm Unit off the glass foot table in front of the egg-shaped wicker chair I’m lounging in, snap a picture of the platter, and shoot it to her simply to be an asshole. “Dannica is going to be so jealous. She’s going to beat your ass for leaving her out of this,” I tell Darius.

“If you didn’t just send her that photo, she wouldn’t know about it,” he shoot back, sounding preemptively exhausted. “Why do you hate me?” I feel a smidge bad about the chaos I’ve sown. Actually, no I don’t. Dannica giving Darius shit is always a hoot. Plus, it’s good for him.

I toss Darius the sauciest, sexiest look I’ve got in my arsenal. “We both know how I feel about you is the farthest thing from hate. Now get over here and feed me because you’re being a tease lingering in the doorway.”

 Amusement glints in his cobalt gaze as he strides forward. He’s wearing a pair of loose-fitting sweatpants that rest low on the hips of his V- tapered physique. Other than that, he’s barefoot and shirtless. He also looks freshly-showered after his early morning run. Plus, his skin is still deliciously bronzed from extended time among the microstates’ scorching climate, and it glistens in a way that makes me almost forget about the food and hunger to taste Darius instead. The dark, proud, ornate ink of the black Xzana bands adorning his sculpted biceps along with the tribal inktats dancing across his pecs and down his delicious abs morph into an entrancing source of magic as he closes the distance between us. Darius’ sexy-as-hell ink weaves a spell around me, enthralls me like always, and beckons me to saunter over to him, drop to my knees, and worship every inch of his flawless body.  The need to lick every inch of him is so bad I can already taste Darius on my tongue. 

Read more

There’s 3 bonus chapters in total. They take place after the duology wraps up. If you haven’t read THE BLOOD GIFT yet be ware that there’s some spoilers. Hopefully, the smut gives what it needs to give— and yes I absolutely leaned into the joy of writing pure smut here. After the utter hell I put Ikenna & Reed through in the novels, they’ve earned the reprieve of all vibes and smut for a bit!

This first chapter is free to all subscribers as a thank you for all the support everyone has thrown Ikenna’s way! The remaining two chapters are available for all paid subscribers. The last 2 are from Ikenna’s POV. To give you a teaser of what the remaining 2 contain: Reed has Ikenna keep count, out loud, while he [REDACTED], and the two of them are unhinged and have some fun with blood knives.

Happy Reading!

Subscribe now

Part One

Reed’s POV

Ikenna was glowing solid gold. And driving me out of my entire fucking mind while she did it. In another universe, some unfathomable place where she didn’t mean what she did to me, I might’ve remembered to be shook. Dread might’ve trickled down my spine at beholding my girlfriend bathed in the brilliant gold light that signals she’s closer to a god than human. But in this world, in this existence, Ikenna is mine, and seeing her glowing while riding my dick, meeting me thrust for thrust while her wet heat grips me, is pure bliss. 

I dig my fingers into her hips as she rolls them, wringing a groan out of me. A wicked glint shines in her arresting brown eyes; they’re intense pools of dark amber that I’d gladly get stuck and drown in. If the way her walls are contracting around my dick doesn’t eviscerate me first. I know she’s playing games when her trademark recklessness flashes in her gaze that’s locked on me. She rolls her hips, taking me deeper. Pleasure ricochets around my whole body. I nearly swallow my own tongue. This fucking woman. I shudder beneath her, my control hanging on by a thread. But she’s started something that I’m about to finish, and underscore it to make a point. I let her soft, lush waist go and grab her ass. I drive brutally upward while slamming Ikenna down on me, wresting control away. She snarls– it’s a wild tangle of offense that I outmaneuvered her and heady lust at knowing I’m about to fuck her senseless. Boneless. 

“I love you,” I say gravelly, reverentially, momentarily enthralled by the rapture on her beautiful face and how stunning she looks when she’s dancing on the edge of an orgasm. “I love you so fucking much.” I punctuate each word with strokes that drag a string of moans from Ikenna. Hearing them, knowing I’m the one causing her to hit that pitch, I almost come on the spot.  

“As you should. I’m spectacular,” Ikenna scoffs— pants, really. She braces her hands against my chest. Her nails score my skin enough to leave marks behind. Good. I want them there. I want everything she has to give. Ikenna lifts onto the balls of her feet and slams down — over and over again. My thoughts splinter. Our whole damn bedroom splinters. 

“Fuuuck.” It’s the only word I can get out amid seeing stars. 

“I love you too, Darius,” she breathes against my ear. Those words, my name on her lips, and her warm breath against my skin, it all somehow makes me become even harder. 

I crush my mouth to hers, kiss her so fiercely that I forget where she ends and I begin. “Say it again,” I demand. Ikenna is the single person on Iludu with the power to destroy me, and I don’t mean physically. I could’ve lost her, never having gained this treasured moment, so many times between her Trials and now. Every time I think about it, my heart stops. “I love you,” I tell her again before she can give me what I asked for.

“I love you,” she says breathlessly right behind me. Then, a wicked smile curves those full sinful lips that were sealed around my dick a short while ago. I nip at her bottom lip and let her know, “I’m going to need you to choke on my dick again one more time, baby, before this day is over.” The brown of her eyes darkens. Flecks of red and gold spark in them. 

“You say that like I don’t love the way you feel when you’re hitting the back of my throat.” Her ass says this shit as she’s riding me, so I know she doesn’t expect me to just hear it and do nothing about it. 

I flip us, the maneuver abrupt and swift enough that she doesn't clock it before she’s on her back. “You’re mine, Kenna. In this life, the next, and anything else that comes after.” I have to let her know that; it’s always an incessant need. Sometimes, I just control the urge better than others. Right now, I don’t give a shit about controlling anything. Ikenna has that effect on me when we’re in bed. I pull out of her excruciatingly slowly, torturing us both, keeping my eyes locked with hers so she understands that when I call her mine, it’s not the Darius that gives any sort of damn about right and wrong that’s speaking. It’s the part of me that will burn the world down, that will burn galaxies down, that will raze the whole damn universe, in order to give her peace and joy and whatever else she desires.

I sink back inside her to the hilt with the same agonizingly slow pace, making sure she feels every considerable inch of me deep, deep within her. I’m rewarded with the most glorious sound in the world: Ikenna moaning my name. And it sends me further over the edge. I push her legs up over my shoulders, grip her ass for leverage, and set the brutal, rough pace that drives her insane. I work her at an angle where I slide against her clit with every surge forward. She trembles beneath me and glows a more scorching gold, her brilliance identical to the molten hue of gold bars when they’re melted down. It’s captivating and breathtaking and Ikenna Amari is the most stunning, exquisite woman alive. I bite down on and lick the shell of her ear. “I need you to do something for me,” I order roughly in her ear. “I need to feel you come all over my dick. Right now, baby. I want to feel you gush all over me while I fuck you through it.” And I need her to hurry the fuck up and do that shit right now because I’m not about to last much longer. 

“Make me,” she panted with that slick ass mouth of hers.

“Remember you said that shit, baby.” It’s all the warning she gets. I slide her legs off my shoulders and hook my hands behind her knees spreading her wide. I plunge inside of her as deep as I can lodge myself, hitting the back of her walls and making her cry out in a mix of pleasure and pain. She screams my name, and I stay right where the fuck I am. I fuse our bodies together and move in circles inside her, stroking that spot that makes her scream at a continuous pitch that rattles the windows. Magic soaks the air around us. The gold light explodes outward from where it’s framing Ikenna and washes the whole master suite of the seaside villa in its shine. I shudder when Ikenna claws at my back. It’s another brand I want on me. I almost don’t finish what I started the right way. But I retain just enough presence of mind to retain a shred of restraint. I switch back to fucking her hard and fast the way she likes it and drop my head down to lick and nip at the pulse point along her neck. She trembles more violently beneath me, and I seal my mouth against the spot, sucking and licking and teasing her there while I go back to hitting her clit with every stroke. This time with greater pressure.

Magic continues to roil out of her in waves and then she’s screaming my name at a louder, impossible tempo, and coming undone in my arms exactly the way I relish her doing. I will never grow tired of feeling unravel around me, feeling her gush all over my dick. It’s a feeling of utter rapture that’s better than anything the Light Fields might have to offer. And Ikenna might as well be a Zenith of the God of Death himself  because while I’m fucking her through her orgasm, she snatches my damn soul out of my body with how tight and wet she is as she clenches around me.

I jerk out of her when I feel my balls seize up. I’m not done with Kenna yet. I hop off the bed, hauling her with me. I wrap my arms around her waist and lift her so she straddles me. I stride across the suite to the glass pane that takes up the entirety of one wall. It has two settings. For one, the glass is transparent and provides a breathtaking view of the pink sand beach and the miles of cerulean ocean just outside our villa. The other setting turns the glass into a massive mirror. I press the control panel on the wall beside us and switch on the mirror setting. I’ve been planning to enjoy the huge ass mirror in a precise way since the moment we got here.

“I’ve been wanting to fuck you against this glass since we arrived,” I tell Ikenna as I set her down on her feet and spin her around so her back is pressed against my front. I place a knee between her legs and wedged them apart. I reach around her, collect both her wrists in one of mine, and raise them above her head. I pin her arms firmly to the glass. I grab her hip with my other hand and bring my mouth to her ear and issue a new order. “I want you to see how stunning you are. I want you to watch us. I want you to look at us and how fucking perfect we are while I fuck you.”

My mouth waters at the way her nipples harden against the glass. It’s a godsdamned  testament to how lost to the post-orgasm high she is because she doesn’t argue. In maybe the only time in her life, she submits quickly, completely, and enthusiastically.  She nods fervently and grinds her ass back against my dick. I fight her hair and moan into the side of her neck.

She’s dripping wet when I enter her. But I don’t move at first. “Fuck! You feel good, Ikenna. You drive me out of my mind,” I freely admit because I’m powerless to do anything except admit the truth. I slow down for a second to kiss her neck, the shell of her ear, her shoulder. I do it tenderly and place just how much I love her and and how much she devastates me, how greatly she brings me to my knees, in the gestures. With the crucial part out of the way, I pound into her ruthlessly from behind. She grinds into me, throwing her ass back in perfect sync with the tempo I set. She’s so hot and wet and tight around me that I forgot my own fucking name for a moment. Shit, I nearly forget where the fuck I even am. All I knew is Ikenna and me are a perfect fucking fit. She doesn’t play fair—never has— because she rolls her hips while clenching her walls around me and then I’m tumbling off the ledge of a cliff. Something inside me snaps. I let her wrists go and grabbed hold of her left thigh, raising it in the air and flattening her leg against the glass. I stroke her from the new angle hard and fast and relentlessly and deep, feeling primitive, more animalistic than human. 

She cries out my name. I shout hers at almost the same time. She trembles, plunging the room in gold light, and gushes around me a second time. It triggers my own orgasm, and I’m coming so hard that I launch into the stratosphere. I bury my head in the juncture between her shoulder and neck and bite down as I grind into her, trying to lodge myself as deep as I can get, trying to fuse us together permanently, while we come together. I can’t stop moving inside her for the life of me. Nor do I think she can stop grinding against me. It’s like we both can’t get enough. Like some invisible tether connecting us and has locked us into an endless loop of mind-shattering pleasure that neither of us can break free from. Not that I want to break free of anything. I’ll gladly stay inside Ikenna for the rest of eternity, never moving to do shit else. Because this deadly, beautiful, alluring, stubborn, fierce, extraordinary woman is mine,  and she is utter fucking perfection.

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Hello! 

I’m kicking off my inaugural newsletter! Lock in! If you follow me on social media, then you know we’re all about to have a good time. Shenanigans will go down.

For those of you who might not know much about me, I write adult novels under the name N.E. Davenport and Young Adult novels under Nia Davenport. So far, in the adult space, I’ve published THE BLOOD TRIALS and THE BLOOD GIFT. These two books are apart of a completed duology that’s a mashup of fantasy and sci-fi. They’re set in a world where magic, vicious gods, morally-grey humans, and advanced technology exist side-by-side and continuously clash. The heroine, Ikenna, has illegal blood magic. If stories about war colleges, female rage, and revolution with a bit of spice is your thing, you should totally check the duology out if you haven’t read it yet!

OUT OF BODY is my debut YA novel that’s a speculative thriller. I usually describe it as Get Out meets Freaky Friday. It’s about a teen girl whose supposed best friend steals her literal body and perfect life, gaslights her, and then leaves her to inherit deadly enemies and dangerous secrets.

Some fun things that tie all my books together: I love writing fantastical stories about either staggering magic or technological advancements that feel almost magical. I also really, really can’t help myself when it comes to weaving romance plots into my stories.

Exciting stuff I’ve been up to lately: 

• I can barely believe that I’m preparing to publish my 4th book in May 2025! The fact that I get to keep doing what I love is both humbling and remarkable. LOVE SPELLS TROUBLE is a YA romance that’s Sabrina the Teenage Witch meets Gilmore Girls with Black teen witches falling in love. Cayden and Khy navigate family expectations, protesting gentrification of a treasured historically Black neighborhood, and the extreme elitism and classism that exists among witches all while experiencing the whirlwind feels of first-love. 

  

  Buy links aren’t available yet. But if this sounds like your thing, you can add LOVE SPELLS TROUBLE on Goodreads HERE. 

  I also commissioned this stunning art work of my characters Cayden and Khy. I seriously haven’t stopped making heart-eyes since I received it! 

• There’s also a super secret (sort of secret, for now) project I’ve been working on…

  *Drum roll please*

  My next Adult Fantasy, THE APOLLYON COURT, book releases Fall 2025. It’s a dual POV villain fantasy romance with an enemies-to-lovers arc between Black fae who are royals of warring courts. I can’t say much more about it yet, but I love fae stories and I am so excited to be writing one. Malachi, the MMC, is a villain that’s “with the shit” 100% of the time. He reminds me a lot of Qimir from The Acolyte. (I am pissed about the show’s cancellation. Why can’t we just have and keep nice things?)

  Be on the lookout for the next newsletter because I’ll be revealing character art for the main characters.

Exciting Stuff I’ve been reading:

• I’ve been yelling at everybody who will listen to read Raechell Garrett’s PROMPOSAL. It’s a swoony YA romance featuring two ambitious teens who are the definition of young, gifted, and Black. They’ve also held a serious grudge against each other since freshman year. When the duo team up to launch a promposal business for a senior project, they’ve got to place their hostilities aside because their college dreams hinge on their business’s success. But their hearts and their future end up on the line when long buried secrets threaten to destroy their booming business. I haven’t grinned and swooned and laughed so hard when reading a book in a hot minute.  

  

• I know I’m super late to the game with this one, but I read HONEY & SPICE by Bolu Babalola while on vacation two weeks ago. IT IS NOW MY WHOLE PERSONALITY!!! The romance gave me all the feels, the characters had me stressed (but in a totally good way), and reading the witty banter between the characters was like sitting in on a masterclass. I really enjoyed the book’s deep dive into the double standards that exist for women and men in relationships. It’s focus on sisterhood and solidarity among women was super powerful too. This was another book that had rivals-to-lovers vibes, which always hits. 

  

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Exciting stuff I’ve been watching:

• The Acolyte. Osha & Qimir are everything. #Oshamir is going to always live in my head and in my heart rent-free. I didn’t know how much I needed a hot Star Wars villain who wielded a light saber until Qimir showed up on screen in all his sexy glory. Also, my man had it down BAD for Osha and I stan a Black queen being worshipped, especially in SFF!!!! 

• Bel-Air. Season 3 just premiered and I’ve been obsessed with this remake since Season 1. Not many productions can effectively achieve taking an old show that’s as iconic as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and remaking it into something that feels timely, fresh, and just as iconic. The show also explores the intersections of class and race in a really moving way. Now on to my completely absurd commentary on this show: the new Geoffrey is fine as hell. So is Uncle Phil. I’m here for the exploration of poignant themes and the eye candy with these two.

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What’s happening in my life beyond writing?

• I enjoyed family trips to the beach and NYC this summer. My pair of preschooolers  won’t stop calling NYC  “the big city.” They’re begging to go back. I haven’t been to New York in over a decade and I fell in love with it all over again. It was the first time my kids, mom, and husband have visited and they fell in love with the city too. There truly is something magical about NYC. My very Southern mom said: “It’s like traveling to a whole different world.”

  

• I attended Steamy Lit Con in Anaheim, CA at the beginning of August. As the name suggests, it was both very steamy and lit!!! Haha. I got to be apart of a romantasy panel with Nalini Singh, Zoraida Córdova, Justinian Huang, Nisha J. Tuli, and Juliette Cross. Yes, I was dealing with a bit of imposter syndrome the entire time because I was sitting among titans of the genre. Nalini has been one of my idols for over a decade. Her Guild Hunter series is basically my entire personality like 365 days of the year. In fact, if I never read about Elena Deveraux, the heroine of the Guild Hunter books, there’d likely be no Ikenna Amari. The Guild Hunter series is one of absolute favorites, and it laid the foundation for my love of deadly heroines that talk a ton of shit and have no problems throwing hands to back it up—or committing murder when folks get disrespectful. There’s also super hot angel smut…so there’s that too.

  

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Publishing Corner:

This section is actually blank for now. But there’s a reason!

I get a lot of questions about the ins and outs of traditional publishing, including what the query process is like, how to go about looking for an agent, what happens pre and post acquisitions, etc. I am still very much learning as I go with a lot of things, and I am certainly no expert. But if you’ve got questions, shoot them at me via the comment or message button. I’ll answer some in this space in future newsletters.

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Craft Corner:

This is the same deal as above! I get a lot of questions about how I specifically go about creating characters, settings, worldbuilding, and even writing spicy scenes.

Everything is subjective when it comes to the craft of writing, I don’t necessarily believe in writing rules, and there’s certainly no one-size-fits-all model. But if you have craft-related questions shoot those my way too. Let’s talk about them!

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Before You Go!

As a huge thank you to readers who’ve been rocking with Ikenna from the very beginning and newcomers to the world of THE BLOOD TRIALS, I’ll be sending out a free Ikenna+Reed bonus spicy chapter soon. So if you’re reading this and haven’t subscribed to the newsletter yet, make sure you hit the button to do so!

The bonus chapter takes place after the duology wraps up. If you haven’t read THE BLOOD GIFT yet be ware that there’s some spoilers. Hopefully, the smut gives what it needs to give— and yes I absolutely leaned into the joy of writing pure smut here. After the utter hell I put Ikenna & Reed through in the novels, they’ve earned the reprieve of all vibes and smut for a bit!

The chapter doesn’t leave you on any sort of cliffhanger! But if you decide to subscribe to the paid subscription level of my substack, then  you’ll get an additional second chapter of Ikenna+Reed spice— and knives are involved during that one. Remember in THE BLOOD TRIALS when Reed mentioned noticing Ikenna has a penchant for knives and hinted it’d be fun to explore that more? Well, they finally get around to that…    

Will the newsletter portion always be free?

Yes! I’ll send out The Lit Corner newsletters to all free subscribers. Its contents will be similar to today’s newsletter.

Paid subscribers will receive the newsletter too. You’ll also get exclusive access to live & recorded AMAs, more personalized Q&As, write-ins with me, sneak peeks at upcoming projects & character art, and more spicy scenes and short stories that are set in the world of THE BLOOD TRIALS as well as spicy short stories featuring brand new characters and worlds.

There’s a sexy Prince of Hell short story that I’m working on for Spooky Season that you don’t want to miss, so consider a paid subscription. *wink, wink* 

Until Next Time!

—Nia 

wwww.nedavenport.com

Twitter: nia_davenport

IG: nia.davenport

Tiktok: niadavenport

Below is a sneak peek of the 1st of 3 bonus Ikenna+Reed spicy scenes that’ll be released!

****WARNINGS: If you haven’t read THE BLOOD GIFT, there’s a slight spoiler.****

The full-length version of Scene 1 will be available to all free and paid subscribers.

The other 2 scenes will be exclusive content for paid subscribers.

There may or may not be sexy times with blood knives involved in the final scene… (THERE TOTALLY IS!)

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