Hey there!

When thinking about the recap of 2023, I was stuck remembering what actually happened. This year felt like one huge blimp in time. You know, a sprint instead of a slow and steady 365 days. I entered the year still in heavy grief from laying my mom to rest two months prior.

The goals I had written down for 2023 before my loss, flew out the window. My sole goal became thriving while in survival mode. So, I surrendered to the ebb & flow of my season. My faith, family, support system, readers and my creations have helped me navigate this terrain.

Let’s take a look at my 2023 in review…

Events, Conversations & Interviews

I started the year off with an IG Live with another sister writer, about the state of African romance. You can find it on my feed. In February, Suitors & Sweethearts, an anthology with five other African romance authors was released. That month, I had an interview with Voyage LA and hosted a Valentines Day special with a group of author friends. I hosted two more IG Lives between March and May. One on Christian fiction in relation to faith and another on Culture, Faith & Books. Both conversations were very informative and are still on my IG feed in case you are interested. In June, I attended Indie Love hosted here in Atlanta. It is a book event for Black indie romance authors and a time was had. I got to meet some of my faves and it was very satisfying. Finally in November, I was featured in the inaugural edition of Canvas Rebel.

Book Releases

March: A Glimpse into the lives of Mustafa & Zaina from Destiny Fulfilled. This was a newsletter exclusive.

June: Published my first release of the year, A Suitable Wife. Jidenna and Zola’s story was a marriage of convivence and ended the Away to Africa series.

October: Vows Fulfilled was my second release. The second chance story of Salma & Qasim is the third book in the DuBois-Arazi family novels.

November: Thanksgiving in Savanah was another U.N exclusive that was only available to my newsletter subscribers. It was a short story featuring Reign and Cheta from His Makeshift Fiancée.

December: Holiday Hideaway, which was my Christmas offering, featured Xander & Abi. Two celebs that ended up in the town of Luxe Noir for the holidays. They were looking for an escape from their everyday life and ended up with so much more.

December: I created the Limelight Holiday Haven series. Olanma Rice from the Ultimatum series, owns Limelight Magazine and this holiday, her features editor, Erin Fumgo, visited some of the U. N Universe’s favorite couples for Christmas interviews. The Aforteys, Odilis & Montgomerys all gave riveting interviews my readers loved. This was another exclusive series for my subscribers only.

December: Elevate My Soul, a U. N exclusive novelette is the story of Jasmine and Arinze’s wedding from Rent A Bae of the Away to African series.

Accolades/ Recognition

June/October: A Suitable Wife received two accolades. The first was an Award of Merit from Romance in Color. Second, was a Christian Fiction nomination from Building Relationships Around Books (BRAB). This book got me an orange banner for Best Seller & #1 new release in two categories (African Lit Black Chris Fic)

August: Celebrated my 10th year in publishing.

December: Holiday Hideaway has been and still is at time of post, the #1 New release in Africa fic (this makes it 3 weeks in a row)

In hindsight, I did nothing I thought I would do and at the same time grateful that I got to do the things I did. I’m also thankful for your continued support of my creative endeavors. I can’t say for sure I know what 2024 holds for me and my fictional world. What I do know for sure is that I’m going to rely on God to lead the way

See you on the other side,

Pease & Blessings,

Unoma