Stories that Heal with Zariah

Zariah L. Banks - Contemporary Romance Author

Zariah is a champion for women as she embraces their beauty and uniqueness in her many blogs.

As can be seen by setting foot in any library or bookseller, billions of stories about billions of people, places, and scenarios can already be found packing the shelves. It is not hard to find a good read on virtually any topic in any genre or setting, and with the growing popularity of online forums and in-person book clubs, there are even more ways for readers to connect with writing than ever before.

However, though storytelling is instrumental in making people feel seen, heard, and understood, readers still struggle to find the appropriate media to help capture their complexities. In a world overflowing with books, content, and conversations, many readers and writers still struggle to find stories that reflect the emotional complexity of real women’s lives. The kind of stories that don’t just entertain, but validate, challenge, and heal. That’s exactly where contemporary romance author Zariah L. Banks does her best work.

After years spent as a book coach, editor, and ghostwriter, Zariah felt a pull to do more than help others tell their stories. She wanted to tell her own - honestly, imperfectly, and without softening the truth. What began as a single novel during the pandemic became a multi-book journey centered on emotionally layered women who are learning, often the hard way, that they are worthy of love exactly as they are.

Zariah began seriously exploring the genre of contemporary romance during the pandemic. As a result, she published two titles in 2023 and another two in 2025. “I’ve released four titles so far. The first book I’ve completed still hasn't been released. It’s not your traditional contemporary romance, it's more like women’s contemporary fiction with romantic elements. So I said to myself, ‘My main character Patience is so messy I have to write some preliminary books in the series about her story before she does all this."

What began as a standalone novel became a multi-book journey centered on an emotionally layered woman and a deeper exploration of why vulnerability, emotional honesty, and character growth matter more than perfection on the page. In her first novel Beauty Beheld, Zariah created an entertaining steamy explanation for her character's future behavior that quickly turned into a sequel as well, Beauty Betrothed, which is scheduled to launch in 2026, finally allowing the original work, Beauty Betrayed, to be released as the third of the series, also coming out this year.

Zariah standing in front of bookshelf featuring her novel Covert Seduction: Morgan Mavens Crew Book One.

“I write to show women to know that regardless of what we've been through, we deserve to be loved. No one is too damaged, there's someone out there for you who will take down your walls brick by brick. They’ll stick by you through the storm; you just have to be open to finding that person,” Zariah said. Hearing this, it makes complete sense that her go-to tagline is “bold love stories with heart and healing”.

“The purpose of the stories is really to touch on some of the things we go through as women, the issues that we go through, and a teaching aspect as well as creating 3D, well-rounded characters that have real impacts on us,” Zariah told us. She focused on crafting funny, inspiring stories about relatable characters and situations.

“When I’m approaching any story, I always say it needs to be clear what a character wants and readers should be able to relate to this character,” she said. Especially when it comes to making her readers feel seen, Zariah pulls from her own life experiences and core beliefs. She focuses on the values that women need to see in order to manifest them for themselves.

She told us, “We all just want to be able to show up as 100% ourselves with someone, without feeling judged, and not have to send our representative. We should be able to have a bad day and still be loved as that person who’s having a bad day”

As for her genre of choice, contemporary romance proved an easy area for her preferred type of storytelling. Zariah said, “Contemporary romance touches on issues that are impacting women right now. I also like to throw humor into the mix to make it a fun and easy beach or book club read”

It’s no surprise that although she has found her niche, the writing process still is not without its hiccups. With four published titles and more on the way soon, Zariah gave us an inside look into her process, and most notably, the difficulties of juggling so many stories at once.

Throughout her writing, Zariah focuses on vulnerability, healthy self-expression, and nurturing intimacy in relationships.

Firstly, she touched on her cure for writing the “soggy middle” of a book, which is often the hardest part due to the excitement of the beginning and the payoff of the happily ever after. Her favorite part of the process is carefully building the main character. “She and her choices are what are going to actually push the story,” Zariah said, “I want to make her as interesting as possible by giving her nontraditional hobbies. I want to build her to be multifaceted. Building them from scratch is so fun.”

When it comes to creating the love interest, she said, “I also get to learn how to perfect the yin to her yang. Opposites normally attract, so how can her love interest grate her nerves and create conflict that’s fun to read.”

We went on to discuss more about the ins and outs of writing multiple books at once and how complicated things can get when the storyline is being written out of order or if there are several books being crafted at once. For example, she began writing the middle of a series, Beauty Betrothed, at a time when the beginning and end already existed in books one and three.

Zariah said that the desire to give her character a complete arc and create something meaningful is at the forefront of every story saying, “It's very challenging to show that she grew tremendously in book one, but is being revisited with some of the things that are triggering her in book two. This also needs to play out in book three. Planning those easter eggs or remembering how to connect the dots can definitely be challenging. Remembering to put details in the previous books in the series can provide a huge payoff for the reader in the last book.”

Additionally, Zariah is currently working on two books, neither of which are related to the other. We asked more about how challenging it can be to navigate different characters and storylines simultaneously while maintaining an equal level of effort and dedication to each story. She began by saying that once a story is finished, her best choice is to move on from it and separate herself from the work in order to focus on a new story and give it proper attention.

Zariah was one of 25 business vendors at our 2025 Summer Social.

Clearly this ability to produce so many works and continue prominent storyline simultaneously is a gift that Zariah possesses and her work ethic is a clear indicator of the skills and dedication it takes to fully immerse oneself in multiple projects at once. Giving her characters autonomy and real-ness is what truly sets her work apart and makes her process so unique.

Pivoting to the business side of her work, we asked Zariah about her journey in the publishing industry and how she has navigated its ins-and-outs as a woman of color. She told us that networking has been a major key to unlocking her success and credits Cleveland’s robust networking scene with making her entry into authorship so enjoyable.

As a lifelong Clevelander, Zariah is no stranger to the misplaced complaints and outlandish accusations of boredom and disinterest. Even a step further, she incorporates Cleveland or Northeast Ohio into all but one of her books and often draws from real places and experiences for her characters to embark on.

“For my book, Love in the Key of Summer, the characters spend all summer in Northeast Ohio. LeBron James has House 330 in Akron where he has cabaret sing-alongs and great food so Tawni and Rue go there. They go to Chagrin Falls and get ice cream and admire the falls, and just explore Cleveland. We have so many fun and cultured activities here,” she said.

Showing off her city is a point of pride for Zariah, and she makes sure to do it as often as

possible, even when the place isn’t explicitly called out. She told us, “Readers from out of town have asked me if they can visit these places the next time they are in Cleveland. I get to share the names of these small businesses and encourage them to support them.” Clearly there is an impact beyond that of a fun and playful story. Her characters are modeled after real people, who can be found in real places, and therefore can have real and valid feelings, experiences, and growth.

Community is clearly a value that ranks up there with depth and authenticity for Zariah and her dedication to including the community she loves and connects with in her work sets her apart from so many others. Getting involved with networking events via Facebook and Eventbrite has proven to be useful resources for Zariah’s growth and connections as an author as well as the use of social media as a tool for marketing and interaction with readers.

Beauty Beheld, her debut contemporary women’s novel, is a four-time-award-winning novel!

She truly has a desire to simply be involved with happenings in the community and it is obvious that her love for her hometown is crucial to her efforts in building a network. Zariah told us, “A lot of the relationships I built in 2021 are starting to pay off in major ways for me now. Cleveland is a highly collaborative city with a lot of people who are willing to help and pour into you.”

Zariah went on to explain that publishing can be a very complicated process. This makes her admiration for a supportive community all the more valuable. Her experiences make her the perfect candidate for advice when it comes to interest in writing, publishing, and the literary space, especially on an independent and local level.

“The first step is to define who you are as an author. Why are you writing this book? A lot of times people write to the person they were before a transformation or impactful learning experience. They often think back to what they needed and didn’t have at that time. This is for fiction as well as nonfiction stories,” she said.

For Zariah, the reason to write is simple: “ I feel like every woman should feel as if they deserve to be loved. I had a time when I didn't feel like that. People were always saying, ‘you're too much’, so I started to believe that.” Her own experiences have always driven her writing and have ultimately led to safe spaces and relatable narratives for many other women who share stories like hers.

Being one of a kind can feel daunting and even impossible in a world where it seems that every book has already been written. But in this overwhelming idea, Zariah reminds us that there is something unique for all to bring to the table. She said, “The last thing you want is to create dry information that no one's going to be able to get through. You want people to say ‘I've never thought about it like this.’ Make sure that your individual personality thrives on the page. Inform and entertain whenever possible to keep them engaged.”

Her greatest piece of advice came from her final point regarding the particulars of character building and defining the wants and needs of those that drive the storyline. Staying true to the character and yourself as a writer is perhaps most important in the entire process. “Write a love

letter to your target audience. You're not writing to everyone. If you're writing to everyone, you're writing to no one.”

Stopping our people-pleasing tendencies in writing can be difficult, but it allows the author's motives, goals, values, and hard work to shine through and connect with the audience. Readers seek depth and passion, so it’s essential to let your voice come through, making the work feel unique. While a project may not resonate with everyone, it can reach those who feel understood by your words, making the journey worthwhile.

Zariah also credits visualization, collaboration, the importance of editing, and open-mindedness as contributors to her success and recommends that writers seek out editing partners, marketing campaigns, and all partnerships that help to further the work while remaining true to the brand of yourself and your work. Finally, her parting piece of advice was to simply keep writing. As cliché as it may seem, a daily writing habit helps put practice into progress.

In the future, beyond publishing at least two novels in the coming year, Zariah is manifesting more markets, bookclubs, and fairs to interact with readers face to face. She also plans to collaborate with businesses in Northeast Ohio, especially those featured in her work.

Full of passion, connection, and advice, Zariah L. Banks is an author for women worldwide. Her dedication to creating strong, fully developed, and well=rounded female characters who are fully immersed in romance and deserving of a happy ending sets her apart from the crowd and gives her readers something to cling to in a world that often makes them feel like they are ‘too much.’ The persistence and drive to navigate the independent publishing industry, as well as continue to release novel after novel with overwhelming success, is a true testament to Zariah’s talent and skill. It has been an honor to connect with her as a vendor at our events, read the stories she creates, and now tell her personal story and we are excited to follow along as she continues to shine.

Looking to grab copies of Zariah’s books?

If you’re local to Northeast Ohio and want to support an indie bookstore, you can find her signed

titles at:

Barnes & Noble (Akron)

Sage & Honey (Chagrin Falls)

Fireside Books (Chagrin Falls)

Visible Voices (Cleveland)

Loganberry Books (Shaker Heights)

Outside of Ohio, her books are available at:

Da Book Joint (Chicago)

Or you can purchase them online anywhere books are sold.

Prefer to buy directly? Contact Zariah directly on Instagram at @authorzariahlbanks.