I’m Maelana Nightingale—author, mother of five, corporate nurse and leader by day, and unapologetic dream-chaser by night.

My romance author origin story? In elementary school, I interviewed Harlequin legend Maggie Osborne (aka Margaret St. George) as part of a talented and gifted mentorship program—wide-eyed, curious, and already set on becoming a writer. My paternal grandmother, never one to miss a rebellious moment in my life, followed it up with a Harlequin subscription that lasted for years. I devoured every single book. By thirteen, I was writing my first romance novel—a cowboy love story full of dusty longing and stolen kisses. (I might just finish it someday.)

Life, as it does, got louder. I set the dream aside—but the stories never stopped living in my head. They kept whispering, clawing, clinging to the edges of sleep and chaos and motherhood. At forty-five, I finally started typing them out... and I haven’t looked back since.

These days, I write emotionally immersive, open-door romance that cuts deep and heals slow. My stories unearth what we bury—grief, trauma, longing, desire—and lay it bare across the page. If a scene doesn’t ache a little, I probably haven’t written it yet.

My characters bleed, break, and begin again—whether they’re unbinding shame from desire in the reverse harem depths of The Unbinding Trilogy, surviving the aftermath of captivity in The Vallyn Duet, or learning to love again—messily and tenderly—in Fighting for Evangeline and Breathing Autumn. In The Echoes of Shattered Realms, a girl raised on obedience discovers everything she was told was a lie—and what begins as heartbreak becomes a reckoning. Fueled by betrayal, feminine rage, and forbidden magic, her rebellion starts not with swords, but with truth. Across every world I write, the question is the same: what does it take to choose yourself—and love—when everything is fighting against you?

I’m a pantser, so my stories evolve like people do—in real time, with scars and surprises. I write found family, dominant love interests who actually listen, heroines with grit and vulnerability, and spice that’s rooted in connection. You’ll find on-page consent, open conversations around birth control and STI protection, and kink that honors trust, not just heat—because real intimacy deserves real care.

Thanks for being here. Truly. These stories saved pieces of me. Maybe they’ll stitch something in you, too.

Stay Naughty,

     ♥ Maelana