THE ROMANTIC NOVELISTS’ ASSOCIATION

British Sri Lankan author and former Musaeus College student, Jeevani Charika, is a finalist in two categories of Romantic Novel of the Year Awards 2026. Both books were published last year and have British-Sri Lankan heroines as main characters.

How Can I Resist You? (written as Jeevani Charika) is a contemporary romance/women’s fiction story about Vidya who is trying very hard not to fall for her work colleague and has been shortlisted in the Contemporary Romance Novel category. It is published by HQ (Harper Collins).

Christmas With The Secret Tycoon (written as Rhoda Baxter) is a festive sweet romance about a designer called Madhuri, and is shortlisted in the Shorter Romance Novel category. It is published by Mills and Boon.

Although Jeevani has been writing under both pen names for several years and has been shortlisted for awards before, this is the first time both names have been shortlisted in the same year.

This year is a particularly good year for Sri Lankan representation in the romance industry, because Shalini Abeysekara, a Canadian-Sri Lankan novelist has also been shortlisted for the Romantasy/ Romantic Fantasy category. It is published by Hodderscape.

The Romance Novelists’ Association (RNA) Romantic Novel of the Year Awards is an annual awards ceremony celebrating excellence in romantic fiction in all its forms. In the past awards have been won by writers such as Jojo Moyes, Elizabeth Buchan, Philippa Gregory and Katie Fforde.

UK based mum of two, Jeevani Charika writes romantic comfort reads with a dash of fun. She also writes under the pen name Rhoda Baxter (named after the bacterium she studied while doing her PhD). Her books have been shortlisted for multiple awards. She was born in the South of England, but spent much of her childhood in Sri Lanka, with short forays to Nigeria and Micronesia, before returning to settle in Yorkshire. Taking her father’s advice to focus on science and get a ‘real job’, she studied Biochemistry and Microbiology. She ended up working in university intellectual property. All of this, it turned out, was excellent preparation for becoming a novelist.

Jeevani loves all things science geeky. She also loves cake, Lego and British comedy. When she’s run out of excuses not to, she writes books.

You can find out more about her (and get a free book by signing up to her newsletter) on her website. www.jeevanicharika.com

She commented, I am thrilled to bits to be shortlisted for the awards (twice!). The books are judged by readers, not writers, which makes the awards extra special.

We need cosy and uplifting books in these dark days, and these awards celebrate the best of them. I’m very excited to see my comfort reads listed alongside books by so many authors whose books I love.”

The RNA Chair, Seána Talbot, said, This year’s finalists represent the very best of what our romantic fiction community has to offer—from indie to traditionally published, from cosy to spicy and everything in between. We at the RNA are proud to recognise talented authors across the breadth of romance books, encompassing the full range of romance and romantic fiction subgenres. We look forward to celebrating with the romantic fiction community and can’t wait to announce the winners.”

The RNA Romantic Novel of the Year Awards have eleven award categories and they are: Debut Romance Novel Award, Romantasy/Romantic Fantasy Award, The Romantic Thriller Award, The Festive/ Holiday Romance Novel Award, The Shorter Romance Novel Award, The Saga Romance Award, The Historical Romance Award, The Contemporary Romance Novel Award, The Contemporary Spicy Romance Novel Award, The Romantic Comedy Award, and The Romance Bestseller Award.

The shortlisted novels were determined exclusively by reader-judges and the finalists illustrate the highest standards of romantic fiction across all genres. The winners of the eleven categories will be announced during the awards ceremony on the 18th of May in London, along with the winner of The Joan Hessayon Award for New Writers.

Award winning author Brigid Coady will host the evening. The Joan Hessayon Award for New Writers which is sponsored by the estate of Dr David Hessayon will also be presented at the ceremony by Claire McCauley (winner of the Award in 2024 and now its Coordinator). The RNA President and Sunday Times Bestselling Author Sue Moorcroft will present the Contemporary Romance Novel Award and the remaining awards will be presented by the RNA Chair Seána Talbot.

The awards ceremony will be held at the Leonardo Royal Hotel London City, 8-14 Cooper’s Row, London EC3N 2BQ, on Monday, the 18th of  May 2026 at 6.30pm.

Tickets are available here:

For the full list of finalists and contenders please visit the RNA website:

HOW CAN I RESIST YOU?  BOOK BLURB (Publisher: HQ – Harper Collins)

Vidya isn’t in Waterloo Bay for a holiday. Officially, she’s visiting the beautiful, quirky seaside town for work – but unofficially, she’s on a mission. One of her colleagues hooked up with her sister at a party, and now her sister is pregnant. As the sensible one in the family, it’s Vidya’s job to find out who he is.

But there’s a catch: all she has to go on is a vague description of a chest tattoo. Vidya has just two weeks to glimpse her colleagues shirtless without getting fired, but crazy hotel guests, malicious seagulls and her pesky day job keep getting in the way.

And then there’s Leo, the most frustrating, patronising, handsome man she’s ever met…

CHRISTMAS WITH THE SECRET TYCOON  BOOK BLURB (Publisher: Mills and Boon)

Hotel tycoon Tristan needs to lay low after a media scandal…so why not go undercover as a guest at one of his own country hotels? His mind isn’t on work for long, though. When he meets captivating local Maddie, he’s soon swept up in finding someone who cares about him, not his wealth. But Maddie is reeling after being betrayed by her conman ex and Tristan knows trusting him doesn’t come easy… When his true identity comes out, will he lose her forever?

ADDITIONAL MEDIA INFORMATION ABOUT JEEVANI CHARIKA

Jeevani has written eight novels as Jeevani Charika (book 9 coming out in July 2026) and eleven novels as Rhoda Baxter. She has also written two books of writing advice for novelists. She does freelance work as a developmental editor for fiction and runs courses teaching authors all the extra skills you need to learn after you get your publishing deal.

JEEVANI CHARIKA/ RHODA BAXTER MEDIA DETAILS

Website: rhodabaxter.com

Social media links:

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jeevanicharika.bsky.social

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jeevanicharikaauthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeevanicharika/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rhoda.baxter.5/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jeevanicharika