Zara J. Black
Zara began writing in her thirties after reading a series of “fade to black” fantasy books and wondering why the hell the author didn’t make them smuttier.
Challenge, accepted.
She loves creating magical fantasy worlds, turbulent relationships and dark, kinky heroes (who could be villains if you squint a bit.)
When she’s not thinking up ways to torment her characters, Zara lives on the beautiful Gold Coast, Australia with two kiddos and a husband who make her real life far more magical than her stories.
If you like author Zara J. Black here is the list of authors you may also like
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Emily Shore
Emily used to be the good little church-going girl who snuck peeks of smutty romance at the bookstore. Now, she proudly writes smut and has forsaken the religious cult of her past. Emily includes a trauma-healing theme loosely based on her own experiences in all her work.
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In 2020, Emily found her voice while writing dark fantasy romance. In 2021, she rebranded on Kindle Vella and has been a Vella bestseller for two years. Her writing always features enemies to lovers with heroines who don't need a sword to be strong, monsters and villains with "burn the world for her" vibes, and trauma healing.
Emily's bestselling books on Kindle Vella include: The Sacrifice, Bride of Lucifer, Bride of the Corpse King, Courting Death and Destruction, and Gry -
Julia Sykes
Julia Sykes is a USA Today bestselling author of edgy, emotional romance. When she's not writing, she's usually reading.
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Other than reading, her obsessions include iced coffee, unicorns, charcuterie, aged Manchego cheese (or any cheese, really), and fancy dresses.
An American expat, Julia now lives in her adopted, beloved home of York, England. Most days, you can find her wandering the cobbled streets and daydreaming about her next novel. -
J.A. Owenby
International bestselling author J.A. Owenby grew up in a small backwoods town in Arkansas, where she learned how to swear like a sailor and spot water moccasins skimming across the lake.
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She finally ditched the south and headed to Oregon. The first winter there, she was literally blown away a few times by ninety-mile-an-hour winds and storms that rolled in off the ocean.
Eventually, she longed for quiet and headed up to snowier pastures. She now resides in Washington state with her hot nerdy husband and cat, Chloe (who frequently encourages her to drink). She spends her days coming up with ways to torture characters in a way that either makes you want to throw your book down a flight of stairs or sob hysterically into a pillow.
J.A. Owenby wr -
Eva Simmons
Eva Simmons writes dark and dreamy romance with book boyfriends who challenge your morals and hold your heart hostage.
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When Eva isn’t dreaming up new worlds or devouring every book she can get her hands on, she can be found spending time with her family, painting a fresh canvas, or playing an elf in World of Warcraft.
Eva is currently living out her own happily ever after in the midwest with her family.
You can find Eva online at:
www.evasimmons.com
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/evasimmonsb...
BookBub:
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/eva-s...
TikTok:
https://www.tiktok.com/@evasimmonsbooks
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorEvaSim...
Books on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Eva-Simmons/e/... -
Sienna Blake
HUNTING PRETTY is LIVE!
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Read FREE in Kindle Unlimited:
▶ https://readerlinks.com/l/4416754
Sienna Blake is a dirty girl, an Amazon Top 20 wordspinner of smexy love stories & a USA Today Bestselling Author.
She lives in Dublin, Ireland, where she enjoys reading, keeping fit and adding to her personal harem of Irish hotties ;) -
Emmy Chandler
Sci-fi romance author Emmy Chandler likes tee-shirts and lattes. She firmly believes every woman deserves an arm chair in front of the window, near an outlet close enough to power a mug warmer and charge an e-reader. Her perfect afternoon includes cold weather, thick blankets, warm soup, and a good book.
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Emmy has another career under another name.
ABOUT THE PRISON PLANET SERIES:
Rhodon. The Red Rock. Devil’s Eye.
Whatever you want to call it, Universal Authority’s most profitable prison planet is home to more than four million criminals. Convicted murderers await execution. Everyone else gets life—and eventually death—in the open population.
With no guards on the ground and no way off the planet, it’s every inmate for him- or herself… -
Lora Darc
Author of Beautiful Prey: Unmasked Duet.
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Find out more here! https://linktr.ee/loradarc
Lora likes the strange and taboo, finding love and desire in dark places.
When she isn’t writing Dark Contemporary and Paranormal Romance, she’s usually mood reading, collecting oddities, role-playing as a vampire with her friends (Tremer and Giovanni – iykyk), or watching her favorite movies (horror and scifi/fantasy). She lives in the states with her family and half a dozen pets, including her blue-tongue skink, and an alligator snapping turtle named Morla. -
A.J. Merlin
AJ Merlin would rather write epic love stories than live them. I mean, who wants to limit themselves to only falling in love once? She is obsessed with dark fantasy, true crime, and also dogs. From serial killers to voyeurs all the way down to the devil himself, AJ's specialty is in writing irredeemable heroes who somehow still manage to captivate their heroines (and her readers).
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V.T. Do
V.T. Do is the author of angsty contemporary romance books.
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She currently lives in Colorado. When she's not spending time working on her upcoming books, you can find her talking to herself, arguing with imaginary characters (hence the talking to herself part), daydreaming, hunting magical creatures, in search of her next caffeine fix, or reading obsessively over dirty-mouth, bad boys from steamy, smutty romance books.
Follow her on these social media sites for news on her latest release:
https://www.facebook.com/authorv.t.do
https://www.instagram.com/authorv.tdo/ -
Aimee Lynn
Aimee Lynn (also known as Aimee Lane) started her publishing career in 2013, self-publishing a book which was eventually picked up by Alloy Entertainment and published traditionally as Every Ugly Word in 2014. In 2020, as she looked to shift gears into adult fiction she was invited to write for serial platform, Webnovel. In 2021 she became a Top 5 bestselling author on that platform, and in 2022 she won two coveted awards and branched out to other platforms. 2024 was a highlight when her book, Slave to the Wolf King reached #1 on both Radish and MyFavReads.
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Her serial work has been translated into four languages, adapted into comics and audiobooks, and reached millions of views from readers around the globe. -
Sybil Knight
Sybil is a career-driven Philadelphian native. A crime show enthusiast by day, and a BDSM club hopper by night. When she isn't working or writing, she is talking about working and writing. She is a single mom to her beta fish (Fish) and way too many dead houseplants.
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Her stories range from gray to black, with darker themes throughout. She prefers heroines with a kick-ass mentality and the heroes who know how to rein them in. The mental and medical aspects of her books are well-researched, though they are given a humanistic approach and diagnoses aren't the focal points. She believes her characters don't need to wear labels in order to get her messages across.
Her books are mostly standalones, though her characters may interact and intersect -
Ella Jacobs
Ella Jacobs writes dark and kinky romance. Her books all center around Dom/sub dynamics, ranging from BDSM relationships with light dub con to pitch-black captor/captive stories with Stockholm syndrome and heavy non con.
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What all her stories have in common is the emotional depth that makes them feel very raw and real. They will pull at all your heartstrings, maybe gut you and shock you, and take you through the emotional wringer.
Ella lives in Northern Europe, where she has been part of the BDSM community for many years. She lives her own age-gap romance with a stern, loving Dominant, who is always ready for some character analysis and rarely gets jealous when she falls in love with her fictional men.
Besides writing, Ella loves to play music -
Emily Shore
Emily used to be the good little church-going girl who snuck peeks of smutty romance at the bookstore. Now, she proudly writes smut and has forsaken the religious cult of her past. Emily includes a trauma-healing theme loosely based on her own experiences in all her work.
Buy books on Amazon
In 2020, Emily found her voice while writing dark fantasy romance. In 2021, she rebranded on Kindle Vella and has been a Vella bestseller for two years. Her writing always features enemies to lovers with heroines who don't need a sword to be strong, monsters and villains with "burn the world for her" vibes, and trauma healing.
Emily's bestselling books on Kindle Vella include: The Sacrifice, Bride of Lucifer, Bride of the Corpse King, Courting Death and Destruction, and Gry -
Emmy Chandler
Sci-fi romance author Emmy Chandler likes tee-shirts and lattes. She firmly believes every woman deserves an arm chair in front of the window, near an outlet close enough to power a mug warmer and charge an e-reader. Her perfect afternoon includes cold weather, thick blankets, warm soup, and a good book.
Buy books on Amazon
Emmy has another career under another name.
ABOUT THE PRISON PLANET SERIES:
Rhodon. The Red Rock. Devil’s Eye.
Whatever you want to call it, Universal Authority’s most profitable prison planet is home to more than four million criminals. Convicted murderers await execution. Everyone else gets life—and eventually death—in the open population.
With no guards on the ground and no way off the planet, it’s every inmate for him- or herself… -
D.L. Blade
Author also writes under Diana B. Lynn
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Hey readers! I'm D.L. Blade.
I've always had a passion for creative writing, starting my career as an author with somewhat milder books and now exclusively writing dark romance. I love looking for ways to take my readers on a journey into a world of unconventional love, morally gray men, and villains who get the girl.
When I’m not writing, I enjoy reading, spending time with my family, attending rock concerts, and exploring new restaurants in Denver.
I dream of continuing to create exciting novels for my readers and taking them on a journey through the magical realms that spill from the pages of my books.
***All three of my young adult novels are written under Diana B. Lynn. Please note that if you see the -
C.J. Simone
C.J. Simone writes dark psychological thrillers with romance, often centered on social issues and mental health themes. Her stories are intended for an upper YA through adult audience. She holds a BA in sociology and an MA in psychology. Widowed in 2023, she now resides with her children and a variety of pets on the East Coast. For more information, please visit https://cjsimonefiction.com/.
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Bianca Howards
Bianca Howards is a 30-something-year-old woman who spent most of her life dreaming up fantasy worlds and characters that live rent-free in her head. She decided to start charging them and pursued a career in writing. She hopes to make it a full-time job so that she doesn't have to go back to sweeping burrows for the mole people.
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She's a big advocate for alternative lifestyles and encourages people to safely pursue being their best, truest selves. -
Lora Darc
Author of Beautiful Prey: Unmasked Duet.
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Find out more here! https://linktr.ee/loradarc
Lora likes the strange and taboo, finding love and desire in dark places.
When she isn’t writing Dark Contemporary and Paranormal Romance, she’s usually mood reading, collecting oddities, role-playing as a vampire with her friends (Tremer and Giovanni – iykyk), or watching her favorite movies (horror and scifi/fantasy). She lives in the states with her family and half a dozen pets, including her blue-tongue skink, and an alligator snapping turtle named Morla. -
K.B. Fisher
KB Fisher is an independent author of mystery thrillers. He lives in the Southeast United States and is a native of Slidell, Louisiana.
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Fisher is a former evolutionary biologist and academic, where he developed a passion for writing while publishing peer-reviewed research from 2013 to 2023. He gradually transitioned to writing fiction full time as a means to escape the technical writing associated with his scientific work. Influenced by Ann Rule, James Patterson, and Edgar Allan Poe, Fisher’s fast-paced storytelling goes against the grain with morally gray characters, sinister turns, and bittersweet endings.
He enjoys reading, hiking, and cooking in his spare time. -
Kelliann Nelson
Proud mama of two (+ 2 aussholes).
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Migraine warrior.
Award-winning writer, bestselling author, publisher. -
Loren Huxley
Loren Huxley is a full-time author who loves all things dark—dark fantasy, dark romance, dark chocolate (you get the point!). By seventh grade, she was listening to heavy metal, playing RPGs with her older siblings, and writing horror-themed short stories. By high school, she was sneaking dark romances from her aunt’s favorite bookshelves. When Loren isn’t writing something brutal, she’s playing tabletop games with her husband or cuddling with her two giant dogs.
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Lucius Valiant
Lucius Valiant is a Danish-British author.
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The first real book he recalls reading is Bram Stoker’s "Dracula." And that, as the saying goes, was that. There would be no turning back.
Lucius’s literary inspirations include classics of Gothic fiction, such as Mary Shelley’s "Frankenstein" and Oscar Wilde’s "The Picture of Dorian Gray," as well as horror, supernatural, and speculative fiction by writers such as Anne Rice, Poppy Z. Brite, and Stephen King. He also draws much influence from Britain’s rich history, folklore, and legends.
All of these influences shine through like glittering, dark fairy dust in his writing, which readers have described as vivid, visceral, and cinematic, with a sprinkling of wry humor. -
Stephanie Tyo
Stephanie Tyo is a multi-genre author based in Cornwall, Ontario, known for unforgettable stories that span middle-grade misadventures, dark romance, literary horror and many more. Her work blends heart, humor, and haunting depth, exploring themes of memory, connection, and the beauty in life's unexpected detours. Whether she's writing for kids or adults, Stephanie crafts worlds where every detail matters—and every story leaves a mark.
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Chelsea Burton Dunn
Chelsea Burton Dunn is a Kansas City native - the Missouri side not the Kansas side. That matters to locals. Where is that you might ask? Right, smack-dab in the middle of the country. She has two beautiful children and is married to a superb partner, but let’s not forget their snuggly cat and eager-eater of a dog.
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Having always been a little strange herself, she instantly fell in love with paranormal, supernatural, and fantasy books, movies and tv shows as a child. Did everyone think it was a phase? Absolutely. Was it? Absolutely not. Being weird is a blessing, not a curse. She’s always embraced that part of herself and those around her.
She started writing from a very early age, initially starting and completing one of the Deadman’s Hand b -
Jessica Carriere
Jessica Carriere is a wife and mother of four boys and a PA to several wonderful authors. Living in Northern Ontario, Canada, you can find her fishing, crafting, making homemade syrup, and crafting romance with book boyfriends that will make you swoon.
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Siberia Johnson
Siberia writes sinful romance for the soul, featuring characters who are as unapologetically smutty as they are sentimental. She’s a full-time hopeless romantic and can often be found trying new foods, making blanket forts, and taking long walks on the beach with her husband. Her debut, the first in a steamy new adult romance series, is set to be published spring 2024.
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