Niobia Bryant - Biography

Biography

Niobia Bryant was born and raised in the Central Ward of Newark, New Jersey to Letha and Ernest. She has one brother, Caleb. Bryant reveals her mother's struggles to raise them alone while her father fought a drug addiction. She credits her mother for introducing her to books at an early age.

Bryant was educated in the Newark Public Schools system and graduated from University High School, eventually earning a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a Bachelor of Arts in Social and Behavioral Science with an accompanying Psychology minor from Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey

Bryant reportedly finished her first book, an African-American romance she entitled Down Home Girl in 1999 and submitted it to several publishers. After offers from two publishing houses, she accepted the deal with BET Book/Arabesque. The title was changed to Admission of Love and her debut was released August 2000 to rave reviews. Her second book from BET Books, Three Times a Lady (2001), became her first national bestseller. In 2003 Three Times a Lady was selected by the Books for the Blind (Talking Books) program to be transcribed into an audio recording supplied free of charge to people who are blind or visually impaired.

In 2007, her first mainstream Live and Learn was published by Kensington Publishing. In her mainstream books the subject matter steered away from the happily ever after of romance and took on more complex and darker themes like adultery, drug addiction, and domestic violence. Since "Live and Learn" Bryant has written several mainstream novels that have showcased her diverse writing ability.

In 2008, Bryant teamed up with a fellow romance author to write the urban fiction Hoodwives series for Simon & Schuster/Touchstone. Writing as Meesha Mink and De'Nesha Diamond, their first collaboration, Desperate Hoodwives, was released in January 2008, followed by Shameless Hoodwives in August 2008, and the highly anticipated The Hood Life in January 2009. The books have been featured in many national publications and has received critical praise for the writers' skill at storytelling and character development. The New York Post listed Desperate Hoodwives as Required Reading and Essence magazine listed Shameless Hoodwives as one of their "Top Ten Summer Sizzlers" in 2008. In 2011 she will release her first solo project as Meesha Mink for Simon & Schuster/Touchstone, Real Wifeys: On The Grind, the first in a new trilogy about three wifeys from three different hoods who each fight their own demons. Book 2 of the Real Wifeys trilogy, Real Wifeys: Get Money, was published January 10, 2012. Book 3, Real Wifey: Hustle Hard was published January 1, 2013.

The Hoodwives websites credits Bryant with saying:

"The stories about inner cities need to be as diverse as the people who live in these environments. Growing up on 16th Ave in Newark all my life, I knew in a one block radius you could either have: a single mother or a married couple raising their family; dope dealers or people working forty hours a week; a homeowner or someone renting a low income apartment. For me, urban fiction isn’t about glorifying the negatives in the ‘hood, but simply telling the real stories that do exist. As a writer and a reader I can always respect the gift of storytelling of ALL stories.”

On her website Bryant calls herself "A chameleon of the written word". In 2010, with the addition of her YA series for Harlequin Enterprises/Kimani Press Tru line, written for the pre-teen through teen readers, Bryant now had the distinct honor of writing simultaneously in four different genres for three powerhouse publishers: Simon & Schuster (urban fiction), Kensington Publishing (romance and commercial mainstream fiction), and Harlequin Enterprises (Young Adult fiction).

Bryant felt the addition of Young Adult fiction was necessary because her under-aged family members were anxious to read one of her books. Feeling her romance, mainstream, and urban fiction were too mature for them, she created the Pace Academy series centered around the Pacesetters clique and a fictional private school for celebkids. The first book in the series, FABULOUS, was released February 2010, and book two FAMOUS was released January 2011. The third book in the series, GLAMOROUS, currently does not have a release date.

Since her 2000 debut, Bryant's books have consistently received top reviews, hit bestseller lists, been released as audiobooks and/or book club feature selections, and garnered award nominations/wins. Her books have appeared in many national publications including Essence Magazine, The New York Post, Upscale, Smooth Magazine, Juicy Magazine, The Library Journal, Black Hair Magazine UK, and Parle Magazine.

Currently Bryant writes full time and lives in South Carolina.