Erica Thomas, known as Coach Erica or Chyna T, born and raised in Miami, FL, has been a hybrid published and self published author since 2015. Her first series, Every D-boy's Dream, instantly put her on the Amazon bestselling list. In 2016, she set out to create her own publishing company, Cokane Publications, where she began to work with other urban authors before opening up the only indie author bookstore in the south called, Book Teas.

 

In 2017, Erica took a hiatus from fiction writing to become a certified life coach. In 2019, she obtained her certification as a coach and immediately began taking on life and career coaching clients. She created her platform, Healing and Building, based on situations and people she survived while growing into the well-rounded coach and author that she is. During that time, she wrote 4 self-help books. Her new 2-part fiction series, which are out now, 'Her Man, My Sneaky Link', are both available to purchase through her website.

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Erica always possessed a passion to help independent and self published authors get their physical books into more homes and build their readership so all readers know they produce awesome stories. Since the idea of Indie Book Fair was to create a space for authors to be known and loved, she also scheduled another event, IBF Appreciation Weekend, to honor not just authors but other independent publishers, alpha and beta readers, audiobook narrators, cover art and book illustrators, promotion and marketing companies, and more.