Nia "N.E." Davenport is the Science Fiction/Fantasy author of The Blood Trials and forthcoming sequel The Blood Gift. She’s also a member of the Hugo-nominated FIYAHCON team, in which she helps with the SFF convention’s programming. In addition, she's the co-CEO of StorySpinner Entertainment, a book packaging company aimed at bringing the world fun, innovative, and inclusive stories. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys vacationing with her family, skiing, and being a huge foodie. She’s an advocate for diverse, reflective perspectives and protagonists in literature. You can find her online at www.nedavenport.com, on Twitter @nia_davenport, or on Instagram @nia.davenport, where she talks about binge-worthy TV, fun movies, killer books, and a variety of other shenanigans. She lives in Texas with her husband and kids.
Blending fantasy and science fiction, N. E. Davenport’s fast-paced, action-packed debut, "The Blood Trials," kicks off a duology of loyalty and rebellion, in which a young Black woman must survive deadly trials in a racist and misogynistic society to become an elite warrior.
It’s all about blood.
The blood spilled between the Republic of Mareen and the armies of the Blood Emperor long ago. The blood gifts of Mareen’s deadliest enemies. The blood that runs through the elite War Houses of Mareen, the rulers of the Tribunal dedicated to keeping the republic alive.
The blood of the former Legatus, Verne Amari, murdered.
For his granddaughter, Ikenna, the only thing steady in her life was the man who had saved Mareen. The man who had trained her in secret, not just in martial skills, but in harnessing the blood gift that coursed through her.
Who trained her to keep that a secret.
But now there are too many secrets, and with her grandfather assassinated, Ikenna knows two things: that only someone on the Tribunal could have ordered his death, and that only a Praetorian Guard could have carried out that order.
Bent on revenge as much as discovering the truth, Ikenna pledges herself to the Praetorian Trials—a brutal initiation that only a quarter of the aspirants survive. She subjects herself to the racism directed against her half-Khanaian heritage and the misogyny of a society that cherishes progeny over prodigy, all while hiding a power that—if found out—would subject her to execution…or worse. Ikenna is willing to risk it all because she needs to find out who murdered her grandfather…and then she needs to kill them.
Mareen has been at peace for a long time…
Ikenna joining the Praetorians is about to change all that.
Magic and technology converge in the first part of this stunning debut duology, where loyalty to oneself—and one’s blood—is more important than anything.
Honestly, my answer is super short and sweet. The yearning and immense joy it brings to read stories where I see myself reflected on the page as the heroine who falls in love, navigates on epic adventures, and fights fierce battles is what inspires me to write.
Weaving my particular experiences as a Black American woman who grew up and lives in the South is something I find myself just innately doing with everything I write. Usually, the settings for my books are some place in the South if they're set in the real world, or if my characters live outside of the South, then they will have family roots there. For secondary worlds, a lot of the time the characters and family units that I create will uphold or embody certain Black Southern traditions.
I'd love for readers to leave my books simply with the wonder and satisfaction of being whisked on a larger-than-life, magic-filled journey where a Black woman is the lead hero.
The constant gatekeeping and moving goal posts. It's very difficult, frustrating, and disheartening being a Black creator in an industry that buys a plethora of white-centric stories and then tells Black creators that there's only room for one of the same type of story with a Black protagonist.
OMG, did you read my mind? Because I have ALWAYS wanted to either attend the Met Gala or write characters attending the Met Gala. What I'd wear specifically would depend on the theme, but it would be something glamorous and jaw-dropping for sure. Probably silver or black.
YES! I'm currently drafting a YA Fantasy project with Black teen witches who fall in love and an epic Adult Space Opera that draws inspiration from Helen of Troy--but with a gorgeous Black woman lead!
Finding your people and community of fellow creators where you all support and uplift each other is invaluable on this journey.