...But Make It Books

Join Niccara as she welcomes Natalie Baszile, author of Queen Sugar and We Are Each Other's Harvest , to the pod! We talk about her new novel Friends and Family , the 2016 phone call on a plane that planted the seed for the story, and the invisible suitcase each of us carries into our friendships. We also get into the difference between "a white girl" and "a girl who happens to be white," what it...

Join Niccara as she welcomes Charlotte B. Plumb, UK fantasy author, to the pod from across the pond! We talk about her debut gothic romantasy Reap and Sow , how an episode of Peaky Blinders sparked a world where people trade years of their lives to demons instead of money, and why the most dangerous figures in Blackbridge aren't the monsters but the ones wearing a bishop's robes. Charlotte opens u...

Join Niccara as she welcomes the incomparable Bernice L. McFadden — national bestselling, award-winning author of Sugar , The Book of Harlan , and Praise Song for the Butterflies — to the pod for a tender, wide-open conversation about First Born Girls , her first memoir. After a lifetime of writing other people's stories, Bernice finally turns the pen on herself, and we sit with everything that ex...

Join Niccara as she welcomes Amena Brown, poet, comedic storyteller, and author of Never Tell a Black Girl How to Black Girl to the pod! We talk about her new essay collection, reclaiming "Black girl" as a verb and not just a noun, turning wash day from a rushed chore into a rest-day ritual, and unlearning the good-girl church conditioning that taught us to be ashamed of our bodies. Perfect for re...

Join Niccara as she welcomes Amy DuBois Barnett — former editor-in-chief of Honey and Teen People, and now the debut novelist developing If I Ruled the World into a Hulu series with Lee Daniels — to the pod! We talk about her late-90s New York media and music world, why she catapults readers straight into the mess of Nikki Rose's journey, and the reckoning threaded through it all — misogyny, sexua...

Join Niccara as she welcomes DJ (Dominique), founder of Black & Brown Book Designers, to the pod! We talk about what a book designer actually does — covers, jackets, interiors, and why illustration is a whole separate job most readers assume is the same person. She takes us back to being the only Black cover designer on her team, learning what a 401k even was at her first corporate publishing...

Join Niccara as she welcomes Sedona Rose, indie romance author and booktuber celebrating Black love on every page, to the pod! We talk about her small-town rom-com Cute, Meet, Love , Kataleah asking her neighbor for a bag of sugar at midnight (and the sparks that followed), grief and legacy as she honors her grandmother's memory through Frosted Feelings, why some Black women brace for the other sh...

Join Niccara as she sits down with the Dr. Jen Jackson - award-winning political science professor at Syracuse University, Teen Vogue columnist, and author of Black Women Taught Us - for a conversation that is equal parts history lesson, love letter, and call to action. And y'all, this one was personal. We get into: How Dr. Jackson's Black feminism didn't start in a classroom: it started with Aunt...

Join Niccara as she welcomes Unoma Nwankwor, author of faith-filled Black romance with African spice, to the pod! We talk about her Rental Bae series, writing love stories rooted in diaspora identity and African cultural depth, and why her books aren't about converting anyone — they're about giving hope back to readers who've been doing life on their own for a little too long. Plus, she gives us t...

Join Niccara as she welcomes author, filmmaker, and storyteller Phill to the pod for a conversation that starts with a little boy in Newark who just wanted to jump Double Dutch, and ends up somewhere deeply, beautifully human. We talk about his debut memoir The Double Dutch Fuss , an unflinching exploration of Black masculinity, imagination, and survival, and what it costs when the world decides w...

Join Niccara as she welcomes Baltimore-born columnist, author, and truth teller Leslie Gray Streeter to the pod! We talk about her debut novel Family & Other Calamities — a sharp, funny, and deeply human story about a journalist who returns home to Baltimore to bury her late husband's ashes and discovers that the friend who stole her story 30 years ago is now making it into a movie, and she's...

Join Niccara as she welcomes award-winning author, journalist, and two-time Emmy Award-winning television producer Nikesha Elise Williams to the pod! We talk about her sweeping debut with Simon & Schuster, Seven Daughters of Dupree : a multigenerational saga tracing seven generations of Black women from 1860 to the present day, bound together by legacy, love, loss, and a curse that only a daug...

Join Niccara as she links up with Lana and Samra of She Well Read for a conversation that starts with a book and ends up saying everything. We dig into Amy DuBois Barnett's If I Ruled the World — a 90s New York story following a Black editor navigating ambition, power, and survival at the intersection of hip hop and high fashion — and we don't let it go without pulling the thread all the way throu...

Season 3 is officially HERE, and we are opening the doors with the collab you didn't know you needed. Join Niccara as she welcomes the dynamic duo behind Refined & Ratchet — Charlee and Nisha — to the pod for a conversation that's equal parts unfiltered and essential. We get into what it really means to be a reader in the age of the algorithm, the real difference between community building and...

She's back. We're back. And this season? We are not playing around. Welcome to Season 3 of ...But Make It Books — the podcast that makes reading cool, celebrates diverse voices, and brings the culture to the literary world. This trailer gives you a taste of everything we've been cooking up, and the lineup is stacked. This season we're sitting down with authors, podcasters, and creatives including...

Join Niccara as she welcomes Paula Chase, co-founder of The Brown Bookshelf and author of the Heights series, to the pod! We talk about her novel The Balancing Act , the power of reclaiming language around grief, and how young people navigate invisibility within communities fighting over scarce resources in their own neighborhoods. Perfect for readers who appreciate stories centered on Black youth...

Join Niccara as she welcomes Sunday Times Bestselling author Analeigh Sbrana to the pod! We talk about her duology "Lore of the Wilds" and "Lore of the Tides", the power of Black heroines discovering their own magic, and how courage, stewardship of the land, and community create opportunities for freedom and belonging. Fantasy and romantasy lovers, especially those who appreciate stories centered...

Join Niccara as she welcomes Addie E. Citchens, inaugural recipient of the Farrar, Straus and Giroux Writer's Fellowship and debut author, to the pod! We talk about her novel Dominion , the cost of maintaining false narratives, and how women become the custodians of family reputation and community silence in the Black church. Perfect for readers who appreciate stories centered on Black womanhood,...

Join Niccara as she welcomes Arriel Vinson, Reese's Book Club LitUp Fellow and debut author, to the pod! We talk about her novel-in-verse, "Under the Neon Lights", the power of Black girls with big names, and how change—whether it's gentrification, divorce, or growing up—creates opportunities for freedom and belonging. YA lovers, especially those who appreciate stories centered on Black girlhood,...

Join Niccara as she welcomes Aricka Alexander, Young Adult Romance & Queer Adult Romance writer, to the pod! We talk about her newest release, "Where There's Smoke", growing up in the South, and how love is driving force for what we do and inspiration that we find right in front of us. Romance lovers, especially my sapphic romance lovers, this episode is for you! Make sure you pick up "Where T...

Join Niccara as she welcomes K.Powell, a thriller writer you need to know about! We talk about her newest release, Say I Do and explore the lines between love, obsession, possession, and what it means to be the last woman standing. Thriller lovers, this episode is for you! Make sure you pick up "Say I Do" from where you get your books! Follow us at:  @butmakeitbookspod  @thebookishhottie...

Join Niccara as she welcomes Tanvier Peart, social advocate by day and giving us the feels at night! We talk about her newest release, Tender Offer and explore second chances, redemption, growth, social advocacy layered in romances, and cinnamon role main characters. You won't regret listening to this conversation. Make sure you pick up "Tender Offer" from where you get your books! Follow us at: @...

Join Niccara as she welcomes the masterminds behind one of the biggest Black book festivals, the Black Romance Book Festival. We talk about how this amazing event sold out in 30 minutes (30 MINUTES?!), why Black romance, the healing power of community and love and so much more. Lock in to this amazing conversation. Come for the vibes but stay for the healing. Remember tickets go on sale on August...

Join Niccara as she welcomes USA Today bestselling author Kristina Forest , whose mission centers on writing the books she wished she had as a young Black teenager. In this powerful conversation, we explore how Black romance serves as a source of healing and affirmation for readers across both YA and adult genres. Kristina opens up about her journey of crafting stories that intentionally showcase...

Join Niccara as she welcomes indie thriller writer, Desiree Moodie to discuss her newest novel, "The Perfect Mother". *Some Spoilers* In this conversation, the desperation, the messiness, and the unspoken truths of motherhood through the pages and genre of her newest thriller following Dawn and Evelyn in an idyllic suburban town that hides more within the seemingly perfect lawns and picturesque ho...