Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a Black woman who writes stories about Black girls who aren’t all that nice. And, to me, that means writing stories where Black girls are at the forefront of their stories and given the space to be whoever they are, wholly and without minimizing their character to make them fit into neat boxes next to others. I do this because being able to take up space as you are is, oftentimes, a privilege. And I want to make sure the stories I write offer that space to every reader who picks up one of my books.


I wrote

Book cover of We Are the Origin

What is my book about?

Brandi is a shadow. Forced into serving the queendom before she was old enough to deny them, she was nothing…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Bones to the Wind

C.M. Lockhart Why did I love this book?

This book is a masterclass on how to write fantasy. The worldbuilding is immaculate, the characters are complex with big personalities, and I was laughing out loud (not an exaggeration) from the first page.

Rasia and Nico are Black girls who know what they want. They constantly clash with each other, never giving an inch when they can take a mile, and I want every lover of fantasy to read this book.

Book cover of Delicious Monsters

C.M. Lockhart Why did I love this book?

This book hasn’t left my mind since the first time I picked it up.

It’s a haunted house story that follows Daisy, a Black girl who would rather be left alone and is just trying to make it out of her current situation intact. But the house is calling to her. And ten years later, Brittney is trying to figure out what happened.

I loved the complexity of both girls, the mystery of the house, and the honesty written into two Black girls who were always honest to who they were.

By Liselle Sambury,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Delicious Monsters as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 14, 15, 16, and 17.

What is this book about?

The Haunting of Hill House meets Sadie in this evocative and mind-bending psychological thriller following two teen girls navigating the treacherous past of a mysterious mansion ten years apart.

Daisy sees dead people-something impossible to forget in bustling, ghost-packed Toronto. She usually manages to deal with her unwanted ability, but she's completely unprepared to be dumped by her boyfriend. So when her mother inherits a secluded mansion in northern Ontario where she spent her childhood summers, Daisy jumps at the chance to escape. But the house is nothing like Daisy expects, and she begins to realize that her experience with…


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Book cover of Holy Terror

Holy Terror By John R. Dougherty,

None of them knew what was coming, and none of them will ever be the same again...

Detective Jelani is a tough, veteran cop. His younger partner, Detective Madigan, is brash and confident. But they were not prepared to become embroiled in a series of cosmic events they could never…

Book cover of Song of Blood & Stone

C.M. Lockhart Why did I love this book?

This book is the reason I write fantasy. It shaped me in integral ways by showing me a Black woman who was both magic and loved, who altered the course of an entire kingdom—an entire world.

The writing is incredible, the story has so many layers to it, and from start to finish it’s an incredible story. It’s one of the few books I wish could read for the first time again.

By L. Penelope,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Song of Blood & Stone as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

Orphaned and alone, Jasminda lives in a land where cold whispers of invasion and war linger on the wind. Jasminda herself is an outcast in her homeland of Elsira, where her gift of Earthsong is feared. When ruthless soldiers seek refuge in her isolated cabin, they bring with them a captive - an injured spy who threatens to steal her heart.

Jack's mission behind enemy lines to prove that the Mantle between Elsira and Lagamiri is about to fall nearly cost him his life, but he is saved by the healing Song of a mysterious young woman. Now he must…


Book cover of Their Vicious Games

C.M. Lockhart Why did I love this book?

I, quite literally, couldn’t put this book down until I finished it.

I love an ambitious Black girl who will go after what she wants by any means necessary, and this book did not disappoint. It didn’t shy away from delivering a satisfying ending either. I loved the tension and distrust built up throughout the pages and, for me, this was an amazing Final Girl story.

By Joelle Wellington,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Their Vicious Games as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 13, 14, 15, and 16.

What is this book about?

“A brutally honest and haunting cautionary tale…exposing the lie that is meritocracy and the unrelenting toll that being a final girl takes. A bloody tale spun masterfully…a dark delight.” —Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, New York Times bestselling author of Ace of Spades

A Black teen desperate to regain her Ivy League acceptance enters an elite competition only to discover the stakes aren’t just high, they’re deadly, in this “spine-chilling thriller” (Publishers Weekly).

You must work twice as hard to get half as much.

Adina Walker has known this the entire time she’s been on scholarship at the prestigious Edgewater Academy—a school for…


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Book cover of The Festival of Sin: and other tales of fantasy

The Festival of Sin By J.M. Unrue,

The Festival of Sin is a three-story light sci-fi arc about a young boy rescued in 6000 BCE and taken to the home planet of the Hudra. Parts two and three are exploratory excursions. It's a fish-out-of-water series. More than fish-out-of-water. Fish-on-another-planet.

Plus, there are two fantasy stories dealing with…

Book cover of Dread Nation

C.M. Lockhart Why did I love this book?

I would not be a writer had I not read this book. It was the first time I saw a Black girl be the main character in a fantasy novel, and she doesn’t limit herself to playing by the rules.

Jane McKeene is a troublemaker with a smart mouth, but she’s fearless against the shamblers (zombies), resourceful, and her complicated friendship with Kate was something I loved every minute of.

By Justina Ireland,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked Dread Nation as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 14, 15, 16, and 17.

What is this book about?

Trained at Miss Preston's School of Combat for Negro Girls in both weaponry and etiquette, Jane McKeene is poised for a successful career protecting the wealthy from the encroaching plague of walking dead. But when families begin to go missing, Jane uncovers a conspiracy that pits her against some powerful enemies. Sent far from home, Jane will need all her resourcefulness, wit and strength of character to survive.

A powerful, compelling tale of a young girl's journey through a hostile world, Jane McKeene is an unforgettable protagonist, and Dread Nation is an unforgettable book.


Explore my book 😀

Book cover of We Are the Origin

What is my book about?

Brandi is a shadow. Forced into serving the queendom before she was old enough to deny them, she was nothing but a tool—the queen’s blade, reserved for the disloyal and the blasphemous. But when Freya, the goddess of life and judger of souls, demands she find and protect a missing princess, Brandi has no choice but to obey her new orders.

And while turning her back on the queendom comes with its own set of problems, being hunted by the people she once called family is the least of her worries when the gods set her on a journey to defeat an impossible enemy, one that exists beyond the reach of their power, to save them and the realm from destruction.

Book cover of Bones to the Wind
Book cover of Delicious Monsters
Book cover of Song of Blood & Stone

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