Hey, I'm Niomi. I initially got the idea for the My Storytime Kitchen book series when I was 18 years old, while cooking a meal for my boyfriend, Matt.  I remember feeling like one of the ways I showed my affection best was when I cooked our nightly dinners in his tiny East Harlem kitchen. 

One night, while making dinner for Matt and me, the idea to start inventing my own recipes struck me- and the writer in me thought it would be a great idea to pair these recipes with short stories. Soon, I was testing out dishes like "Come Back Flapjacks", and I began writing short stories based off the titles of the recipes. When I first got the idea to turn my story inspired recipes into a collection, somewhat ironically, I called the series "My Boyfriend's Kitchen".

After Matt had to move across the globe, we split up and I met a man named Kevin. Kevin was amazing- gorgeous, and very charming...on the surface. Unexpectedly, he became emotionally and mentally abusive toward me. Having grown up in a chaotic household with a dad in prison and a physically abusive mom, I didn't have the skills to cope with his treatment in a healthy way. As a result, I stayed with him, allowing him to abuse me, for a length of time that was damaging to my mental health and self-esteem. After finally finding the strength to cut him out of my life, I became inspired to discover what love meant to mel. 

As it turns out, love is so much more than I'd once thought it was.  I see it in loving my friends, in loving my family, in my support systems, and as a New Yorker, where my love of art is inspired daily by the beauty of the city. I personally believe that love is what binds us all together in this magnificent universe, and just as big and crazy as life itself, love is far from simple.

Ironically, by becoming single, I felt like I was finally beginning to understand love. In light of all that I'd discovered, I changed the name of the series from "My Boyfriend's Kitchen" to "My Storytime Kitchen".