And then I read Imaro…and I was blown away. Charles writes like the African American greats that I cut my teeth on — authors like Richard Wright and James Baldwin. His words flow like water — smooth, fluid, effortlessly — and with myriad and vibrant shades.

After reading Imaro and becoming addicted to the series I became curious to know the man behind the character. I did some research on Charles and found that he had an illustrious career that stretched back to the 1970s! That he has written more than 20 short stories, that he has written screenplays, essays, articles. And that, most recently, he created the counter-part to the sub-genre Sword and Scorcery: Sword and Soul.

Needless to say, I was awed and just as timid about approaching him, as I would’ve been about approaching any other legend. Little did I know that he would become my friend and writing mentor. Little did I know that Charles Saunders was, and is, a tireless advocate of diversity, and a tireless fighter.

For us in the SF/fantasy community, he has always been willing to share his story, to extend his hand, to let up-and-coming-writers like myself know that the road is long but there’s light at the end of the tunnel…

And to mentor us. I am honored and humbled to call him my friend. If anyone deserves to be honored during Black history month, to be touted as a giant of Black science fiction/fantasy– of writing itself — it is Charles Saunders.

He has inspired me, he inspires us to — borrowing his favorite phrase now — “keep on keepin on.”

Check Charles Saunders marvelous works out here (listed on my blog too)

And to read more about him visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_R._Saunders

Tweet Tweet about any one of my novels or short fiction with my twitter handle @Tehotep

Post comments on my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Valjeanne-Jeffers-Immortal-Novels/113750871991936

And without further ado here are some glorious pics and excerpts from my upcoming novels Immortal IV: Collision of Worlds and The Switch II: Clockwork. Both are steampunk SF and will be released this Spring!

Immortal IV by Valjeanne Jeffers/Cover art Quinton Veal
(excerpt)

****moved through patchy woods. The Topaz breezes had begun to blow, and he was cold and hungry. He thought longingly of his comfortable little hideaway, that he’d spent so much time putting together.

I had jars of food. . . blankets . . . Stop thinking about it! There’s no way you can go back—not now.

He didn’t know how far he’d traveled, but he figured he was on the Southern side of Downtown. He’d traveled roughly five miles from where he’d killed ***.

**** wanted to travel deeper into forest, to move further from the scene of the crime. But the blond man didn’t trust his sense of direction; not enough to try to find his way through dense forest.

And he was so hungry.

I could wind up lost, wandering around in circles and still come out at the same end. . . I’ll find someone’s garbage can, and dig through it.

He just couldn’t face another night of hunger. He just couldn’t.

Inching closer, **** peered through the trees. He was facing the backstreets of a neighborhood; a poor one from the looks of it, the houses ramshackle with peeling paint. Wooden trash-bins were clearly visible beside the houses. Ahead the street dipped into a steep hill.

With any luck I can at least find a half-eaten sandwich. The possibility made his mouth water.

**** crept out of the forest, and walked over to the first bin. The streets were deserted, which meant he’d at least timed his excursion right. It was after curfew.

He snatched the top of the bin, and pawed through the refuse. Damn!

There was nothing in the bin even remotely edible. Looking around, he scurried to the next house, and opened the can.

A loud creak cut through the silence.

**** whipped his head to the right to see the bronze and flesh man, wearing goggles and a helmet. The android’s right arm ended in a contraption of bolts and gears. He was straddling a robotic bird.

He leaped back. The trash-bin exploded. . .

“VIOLATION!”

**** landed on his back—scrapping his elbows. He scuttled away, then flipped over making it to his feet just as the second explosion split the air—so close it singed his hair.

The rider took aim again. “VIOLATION! You will be eliminated!”

**** raced toward the woods.

“VIOLATION!”

As he reached the tip of the forest a primal instinct told him to jump. Incredibly—for a moment— he was airborne.

Fire exploded under him. He fell hard through the trees. . . and came down on his ankle. His anklebone popped. . .the blond man crawled forward.

**** risked a glance over his shoulder. Looking confused, the rider had stopped the trees.

He won’t fire. He’d set the whole forest ablaze.

“Violation!” The robot took a tentative step forward, the stopped. “Intruder trapped in woods. . . request backup!”

**** struggled to his feet, tried to put weight on his ankle. . . and bit his lip to keep from screaming in pain.

He couldn’t go into the city to search for food. He was cold. Hungry. Now he was injured. The blond man let out a sob of rage. . .

Another cold night. Another night of hunger.

He fell to his knees.

The werewolf felt his change coming.

He welcomed it.

Hair crawled greedily along the length of his body. His nails blackened, lengthened and grew razor sharp. His eyes turned yellow, burning now with a savage intelligence…
Copyright 2012 all rights reserved

The Switch II: Clockwork by Valjeanne Jeffers/cover art Quinton Veal(excerpt)
The black-garbed officials soared toward their company hub, their jet-blasters strapped to their backs; flying past the clear tunnels that webbed across the city. York’s beige and white towers were framed by the night sky.
Kilo, the pudgy constable on the right, dipped expertly to avoid a hover craft. “What did you think of her?”

“Who? Ms. high class, stick up her ass Z100?” Dazz asked. He was a thin, swarthy man.

Although there was a quarter mile between them, connection chips in their helmets made their speech clear and sharp.

“No your mother. Yeah, Z.”

Dazz smirked. “Watch your mouth about dear, old mum you putz. I think she’s a sexy b**** who ought to be taught some manners. I’d like to teach her naked; preferably on her hands and knees in handcuffs.”

Kilo chuckled. “Okay, if you’re done with your fantasy, I meant what did you think of her story?”

“It doesn’t matter what I think,” there was a shrug in Dazz’s voice. “She’s powerful enough to have us demoted—she could have our badges if she wanted to.”

“When we get back to the hub, let’s file a report.”

“Hell no.” Dazz said emphatically. “I don’t care if she’s building a bomb in her bathroom. It’s not worth me risking my job over…”
Copyright Valjeanne Jeffers 2012 all rights reserved

I’ll be keeping track of the names of participating readers and will select and announce the first winner on February 27, 2012, as will the other participating authors. Their webs address are included in my blogroll and right here:

Winston Blakely, Artist/Writer– is a Fine Arts/Comic Book artist, having a career spanning 20 years, whose achievements have included working for Valiant Comics and Rich Buckler’s Visage Studios. He is also the creator of Little Miss Strange, the world’s first black alien sorceress and the all- genre anthology entitled – Immortal Fantasy. Both graphic albums are available at Amazon, Barnes and Nobles and other online book store outlets. Visit him: http://blakelyworks.blogspot.com/ or http://blakelyworkstudio.weebly.com/

L. M. Davis, Author–began her love affair with fantasy in the second grade. Her first novel, Interlopers: A Shifters Novel, was released in 2010, and the follow-up Posers: A Shifters Novel will be released this spring. For more information visit her blog http://shiftersseries.wordpress.com/ or her website www.shiftersnovelseries.com.

Milton Davis, Author– Milton Davis is owner/publisher of MVmedia, LLC . As an author he specializes in science fiction and fantasy and is the author of Meji Book One, Meji Book Two and Changa’s Safari. Visit him: http://www.mvmediaatl.com/Wagadu/ and www.wagadu.ning.com.

Ja Ja (DjaDja) N Medjay , Author—DjaDja Medjay is the author of The Renpet Sci-Fi Series. Shiatsu Practitioner. Holistic AfroFuturistic Rising in Excellence. Transmissions from The Future Earth can be found at: http://authordjadja.wordpress.com/ , www.renpetscifi.com or on Facebook – www.facebook.com/RenpetSciFiNovel or on Twitter – https://twitter.com/#!/Khonsugo .

Margaret Fieland, Author– lives and writes in the suburbs west of Boston, MA with her partner and five dogs. She is one of the Poetic Muselings. Their poetry anthology, Lifelines http://tinyurl.com/LifelinesPoetry/ is available from Amazon.com Her book, “Relocated,” will be available from MuseItUp Publishing in July, 2012. The Angry Little Boy,” will be published by 4RV publishing in early 2013. You may visit her website, http://www.margaretfieland.com.

Valjeanne Jeffers, Author — is an editor and the author of the SF/fantasy novels: Immortal, Immortal II: The Time of Legend and Immortal III: Stealer of Souls. Her fourth and fifth novels: Immortal IV: Collision of Worlds and The Switch: Clockwork will be released this spring. Visit her at: http://valjeanne.wordpress.com , http://wwwsistermoon.blogspot.com/ and http://qandvaffordableediting.blogspot.com/

Thaddeus Howze, Author – is a veteran of the IT and Communications industry with over 26 years of experience retooling computers to best serve human needs. Unknown to humanity, our computers have another agenda. Thaddeus recently released his first collection of short stories, Hayward Reach. In a coded format, he has secretly informed Humanity of the impending computerized apocalypse. You can read parts of the code here: http://ebonstorm.wordpress.com or http://ebonstorm.weebly.com

Alicia McCalla, Author—writes for both young adults and adults with her brand of multicultural science fiction, urban fantasy, and futurism. Her debut novel, Breaking Free is available in print or immediate download on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, and other booksellers. The Breaking Free theme song created by Asante McCalla is available for immediate download on iTunes and Amazon. Visit her at: www.aliciamccalla.com

Carole McDonnell, Author–She writes Christian, speculative fiction, and multicultural stories. Her first novel is Wind Follower. Her short fiction has appeared in many anthologies and have been collected in an ebook, Spirit Fruit: Collected Speculative Fiction. Visit Carole: http://carolemcdonnell.blogspot.com/ or http://writersofcolorblogtour.blogspot.com/

Balogun Ojetade, Author—of the bestselling “Afrikan Martial Arts: Discovering the Warrior Within” (non-fiction), “Moses: The Chronicles of Harriet Tubman” (Steampunk) and the feature film, “A Single Link”. Visit him: http://chroniclesofharriet.wordpress.com/

Rasheedah Phillips, Author–is the creator of The AfroFuturist Affair in Philly. She plans to debut her first spec/sci-fic novel Recurrence Plot in Spring 2012. You may catch her ruminating from time to time on her blog, AstroMythoLosophy.com.

Nicole Sconiers, Author-is also a screenwriter living in the sunny jungle of L.A. She holds an MFA in creative writing from Antioch University Los Angeles, and she recently published Escape from Beckyville: Tales of Race, Hair and Rage. Visit her: http://nicolesconiers.com/index.html

Jarvis Sheffield, M.Ed. is owner & operator of TheDigitalBrothers.com, BlackScienceFictionSociety.com & BlackCommunityEntertainment.com. Visit him: http://www.blacksciencefictionsociety.com/profiles/blog/list?user=2stjwb1h216fd

Author events are crucial to our success as writers. These events do more than generate sales. They give us a chance to network with our readers and other writers. And to showcase our work to audiences that might never have known we exist. Recently, interested folks have begun to organize events specifically designed for African Americans — although anyone can participate. Some of these events are free. With others, authors have to pay to reserve tables. But the potential benefits are priceless.

One of the best events I’ve had pleasure of attending is OnyxCon an event organized by Joseph R. Wheeler III. OnyxCon is held every year in Atlanta GA, usually during the summer months and brings together African artists and authors. There is music, food and sometimes even an impromptu breakdance. Last year, Onyx Con was graced by Tananarive Due and her husband and fellow SF author, Steven Barnes, Milton Davis, Alicia McCalla and so many more. This event is, quite simply, a celebration of Black speculative fiction and art.
For updates on OnyxCon’s coming schedules check: http://www.thenao.typepad.com/

Another event, which I had the pleasure of attending last summer as a guest speaker along with Milton Davis: is the Experimental Writer’s Asylum. The EWA is also organized by JR Wheeler along with Ed Hall. And as a panel author I was given the chance to respond to questions about the development of Black SF, as well as to showcase my novels.

Experimental Writers Asylum: Joseph Wheeler III, organizer of Onyxcon and creative force behind The NAO (which cosponsored his event), moderates a panel on African-American writers and the fantastique (middle). Ed Hall was also the co-sponsor and moderator (standing next to JR) Also participating are Valjeanne Jeffers (end far right) author of Immortal, and Milton Davis (beside Valjeanne) author of Meji. Also pictured are Stafford (another SF writer) and Diane Battle (creator of 22nd Century Press and Black Author Showcase)

But before I go, I must say a words about events which can’t classified as African American. Recently, I was invited and had the pleasure of attending The Southern Writers’ Festival at the Summit Barnes and Noble (Birmingham, Al).

The staff was very gracious and it gave me a chance to dialogue about Black speculative fiction with new writers and readers. Now, my autographied books are sitting on the shelves of a Barnes and Noble store. I believe that as writers we owe it to our audience and ourselves to take advantage of every opportunity we can to showcase our work and let folks know Black SF is in the house

Author Valjeanne Jeffers and Kyle Hannah at the Southern Writers’ Festival at The Summit Barnes and Noble Birminhma Alabama.

Check out what my fellow bloggers have to say on the subject!
Their links are also listed on my blogroll. And Please continue to follow us. There are more discussion in store and you might just be the winner of our second giveaway. I’ll post the rules for the next giveaway on Monday

Winston Blakely, Artist/Writer– is a Fine Arts/Comic Book artist, having a career spanning 20 years, whose achievements have included working for Valiant Comics and Rich Buckler’s Visage Studios. He is also the creator of Little Miss Strange, the world’s first black alien sorceress and the all- genre anthology entitled – Immortal Fantasy. Both graphic albums are available at Amazon, Barnes and Nobles and other online book store outlets. Visit him: http://blakelyworks.blogspot.com/ or http://blakelyworkstudio.weebly.com/

L. M. Davis, Author–began her love affair with fantasy in the second grade. Her first novel, Interlopers: A Shifters Novel, was released in 2010, and the follow-up Posers: A Shifters Novel will be released this spring. For more information visit her blog http://shiftersseries.wordpress.com/ or her website www.shiftersnovelseries.com.

Milton Davis, Author– Milton Davis is owner/publisher of MVmedia, LLC . As an author he specializes in science fiction and fantasy and is the author of Meji Book One, Meji Book Two and Changa’s Safari. Visit him: http://www.mvmediaatl.com/Wagadu/ and www.wagadu.ning.com.

Ja Ja (DjaDja) N Medjay , Author—DjaDja Medjay is the author of The Renpet Sci-Fi Series. Shiatsu Practitioner. Holistic AfroFuturistic Rising in Excellence. Transmissions from The Future Earth can be found at: http://authordjadja.wordpress.com/ , www.renpetscifi.com or on Facebook – www.facebook.com/RenpetSciFiNovel or on Twitter – https://twitter.com/#!/Khonsugo .

Margaret Fieland, Author– lives and writes in the suburbs west of Boston, MA with her partner and five dogs. She is one of the Poetic Muselings. Their poetry anthology, Lifelines http://tinyurl.com/LifelinesPoetry/ is available from Amazon.com Her book, “Relocated,” will be available from MuseItUp Publishing in July, 2012. The Angry Little Boy,” will be published by 4RV publishing in early 2013. You may visit her website, http://www.margaretfieland.com.

Valjeanne Jeffers, Author — is an editor and the author of the SF/fantasy novels: Immortal, Immortal II: The Time of Legend and Immortal III: Stealer of Souls. Her fourth and fifth novels: Immortal IV: Collision of Worlds and The Switch: Clockwork will be released this spring. Visit her at: http://valjeanne.wordpress.com , http://wwwsistermoon.blogspot.com/ and http://qandvaffordableediting.blogspot.com/

Thaddeus Howze, Author – is a veteran of the IT and Communications industry with over 26 years of experience retooling computers to best serve human needs. Unknown to humanity, our computers have another agenda. Thaddeus recently released his first collection of short stories, Hayward Reach. In a coded format, he has secretly informed Humanity of the impending computerized apocalypse. You can read parts of the code here: http://ebonstorm.wordpress.com or http://ebonstorm.weebly.com

Alicia McCalla, Author—writes for both young adults and adults with her brand of multicultural science fiction, urban fantasy, and futurism. Her debut novel, Breaking Free is available in print or immediate download on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, and other booksellers. The Breaking Free theme song created by Asante McCalla is available for immediate download on iTunes and Amazon. Visit her at: www.aliciamccalla.com

Carole McDonnell, Author–She writes Christian, speculative fiction, and multicultural stories. Her first novel is Wind Follower. Her short fiction has appeared in many anthologies and have been collected in an ebook, Spirit Fruit: Collected Speculative Fiction. Visit Carole: http://carolemcdonnell.blogspot.com/ or http://writersofcolorblogtour.blogspot.com/

Balogun Ojetade, Author—of the bestselling “Afrikan Martial Arts: Discovering the Warrior Within” (non-fiction), “Moses: The Chronicles of Harriet Tubman” (Steampunk) and the feature film, “A Single Link”. Visit him: http://chroniclesofharriet.wordpress.com/

Rasheedah Phillips, Author–is the creator of The AfroFuturist Affair in Philly. She plans to debut her first spec/sci-fic novel Recurrence Plot in Spring 2012. You may catch her ruminating from time to time on her blog, AstroMythoLosophy.com.

Nicole Sconiers, Author-is also a screenwriter living in the sunny jungle of L.A. She holds an MFA in creative writing from Antioch University Los Angeles, and she recently published Escape from Beckyville: Tales of Race, Hair and Rage. Visit her: http://nicolesconiers.com/index.html

Jarvis Sheffield, M.Ed. is owner & operator of TheDigitalBrothers.com, BlackScienceFictionSociety.com & BlackCommunityEntertainment.com. Visit him: http://www.blacksciencefictionsociety.com/profiles/blog/list?user=2stjwb1h216fd

It is with great pleasure that I announce the winner of my giveaway: Ms. Rasheedah Phillips! Rasheedah you are the winner of a free copy of my SF/fantasy novels: Immortal, Immortal II: The Time of Legend and Immortal III: Stealer of Souls!! I’ll be contacting you for your shipping address

I would like to thank you all for your comments, adds, follows, retweets and mentions on my blog, facebook and twitter. And remember, we will have another big giveaway for our last blog on February 27th and the rules are still the same. Check my first post on The State of Black SF and I’ll also repost later this week.

I’m the author of Immortal, Immortal II: The Time of Legend and Immortal III: Stealer of Souls. I’ve also written 3 short works: Probe, Grandmere’s Secret and The Switch (steampunk themed). I will release the sequels Immortal IV: Collision of Worlds and The Switch II: Clockwork this Spring.

So without further ado here’s an excerpt from Immortal III: Stealer of Souls available at my blog http://wwwsistermoon.blogspot.com
Barnes and Noble
and Amazon:Annabelle wanted to touch him. So used to taking whatever she wanted, she was moved when *** shyly pulled her closer… He molded his body to hers, his breathing echoing her own: ragged and harsh.

“Let’s go outside,” he whispered. The Indigo woman let him lead her one block away into an alleyway. She threw her arms about his neck…and their tongues danced… (censored)

Annabelle lifted one leg to curl around him…she was giving of herself with no quarter — tossing care to the wind. What spell had this human cast over her with his soft eyes and whispers, his compassion and longing?

With a moan she let him carry her forward into a river of desire… (censored)

From the corner of her eye she saw them.

Three men blocked the alleyway. The leader standing at the forefront was Indigo; another to his right and behind him Fuchsia; and the man to his left Amber. They were dressed in planet uniforms. But their tunics were unbuttoned and the interlocking green tattoos on their chests and bellies marked them as Scorpion gang members.

Now Annabelle remembered that Topaz gangs roamed the streets after dark preying on those unfortunate — or foolish — enough to be out.

*** saw them and pulled away from her, hastily zipping up his pants. The Indigo man smiled unpleasantly: “My turn next, right brother?” His friends laughed.

She pulled her skirt down, her eyes darting from one to the other. None of them was holding a weapon. Confident that they outnumbered their prey, they hadn’t bothered to draw them. But she spied the knives and firearms holstered in their waistbands.

Annabelle waited for the inevitable.

*** stepped in front of her, hands held out in a gesture of surrender. “We don’t have any money, man!”
“Oh I can’t see that,” the leader rumbled. “Good thing we don’t want any, right?” The thugs laughed again. “You standing in front of what we want. Now if you’ll just move outta the way, we’ll help ourselves.”

“Come on man — !” *** pleaded.

“I said move!”

*** didn’t bulge, though he was shaking. For the second time that day, she was shocked. He was ready to give up his life…for her?

“Please, just let us go home –”

The leader pulled the blade from pants, pressed its button and a six inch knife popped out. “You don’t do hear so good — do you?” He advanced on them.

Like lightening she blurred around ***, grabbed him by his shoulders and breathed green midst into his mouth.

“What the f— ?!”

“Shit!”

Even before *** eyes glazed over in hypnosis she turned to face the Indigo thug, her tunic whipping around in speed. The dark woman grabbed his throat, lifted him and threw him across the street… While his friends looked on in stunned amazement.

As he slammed into the lamp post there, she leaped –airborne — and touched down to meet him swinging her foot in a roundhouse arc against his temple. His head whipped to the right and she heard a satisfying snap, as his neck broke.

Behind Annabelle his friends had regained their senses and, exchanging incredulous glances, pulled their tasers and leveled them at her back. Topaz could be a strange place, especially at night. After all, this was the Time of Legend. Best not to dwell on it.

Annabelle jumped into the air — taser fire shattered the windows behind the lamp post where she’d stood only a moment ago — and landed in front of them. Laughing, she snatched the weapons from their grasp, and dropped them to the concrete.

The nosferatu shoved the Fuchsia man into the building on her right, knocking the wind out of him. His Amber crony screamed in terror and fled.

Annabelle jerked the Fuchsia’s thug head to the side violently and drank….
Copyright 2008 Valjeanne Jeffers all rights reserved

And here’s an excerpt from Immortal IV: Collision of Worlds (to be released in 2012)**** moved through patchy woods. The Topaz breezes had begun to blow, and he was cold and hungry. He thought longingly of his comfortable little hideaway, that he’d spent so much time putting together.

I had jars of food. . . blankets . . . Stop thinking about it! There’s no way I can go back—not now.

He didn’t know how far he’d traveled, but he figured he was in the Southern edge of Downtown.

He’d traveled roughly five miles from where he’d killed ***

He wanted to travel deeper into forest, to move further from the scene of the crime. But **** didn’t trust his sense of direction; not enough to try to find his way through dense woods.

And he was so hungry.

I could wind up lost, wandering around in circles and still come out at the same end. I’ll find someone’s garbage can, and dig through it.

Inching closer, he peered through the trees. He was facing the backstreets of a neighborhood; a poor one from the looks of it, the houses ramshackle with peeling paint. He could see wooden trash-bins beside the houses. Ahead the street dipped into a steep hill.

With any luck I can at least find a half-eaten sandwich. The possibility made his mouth water.

**** crept out of the trees, and walked over to the bin. The streets were deserted, which meant he’d at least timed his excursion right. It was after curfew.

He snatched the top of the bin, and pawed through the refuse. Damn!

There was nothing in the bin that he could even come close to making a meal out of. Looking around, he scurried to the next house, and opened the can.

A loud creak cut through the silence.

**** whipped his head to the right to see the bronze and flesh man ,wearing goggles and a helmet. His right arm ended in a contraption of bolts and gears. The android was straddling a robotic bird.

He leaped back, just as the trash-bin exploded. . .

“VIOLATION!” The rider screeched.

**** landed on his back—scrapping his elbows. He scuttled away, then flipped over making it to his feet just as the second explosion split the air—so close it singed his hair.

The rider took aim again. “VIOLATION! You will be eliminated!”

**** raced toward the woods.

“VIOLATION!”

As he reached the edge of forest a primal instinct told him to jump. Incredibly, for a moment he was airborne.

Fire exploded just under him. He fell hard through the trees. . . and came down on his ankle. He felt his bone pop and crawled forward, afraid to look back.

**** looked over his shoulder. Looking confused, the rider had stopped at edge of the trees. It looked confused.

He won’t fire. He’d set the whole forest ablaze.

“Violation!” The robot took a tentative step forward. “Intruder trapped in woods. . . request backup!”

**** struggled to his feet, tried to put weight on his ankle and bit his lip to keep from screaming in pain.

He couldn’t go into the city to search for food. He was cold. Hungry. And now he was injured. **** let out a sob of rage. . .

Another cold night. Another night of hunger. . . and fell to his knees.

He felt the change coming.

And welcomed it.

Hair crawled greedily along the length of his body. His nails blackened, lengthened and grew razor sharp. His eyes turned yellow, burning now with a savage intelligence.

His ankle snapped back into place.

The werewolf stood stretched back, spread his arms lifted his nose and howled — a feral cry of yearning.

The rider heard his alien cry. If he had any thoughts about going into the woods, the howl settled them.

No way.

It backed up, “Violation!” sounding even more unsure.

The werewolf growled low in his throat. He could easily catch the rider and kill him. No problem. He wanted to. But he was. . .

Hungry! If I kill him, others come. . . They’ll hurt me.

Now his hungry blotted out all thought. The werewolf moved deeper into the woods. With preternatural eyes, he spotted the rabbit racing in panic ahead. It had smelled him.

He leapt forward and landed in front of it — cutting it off — and ended the rabbit’s life with one snap of his jaws. He tore into the rabbit’s flesh, eating ravenously. No steak had ever tasted so good. . .
Copyright Valjeanne Jeffers 2011, 2012 all rights reserved

And here’s an excerpt from The Switch II: Clockwork (to be released in the Spring of 2012)

/Prologue (excerpt)
Z100 stood on the tube platform waiting for the next car. She was dressed in a one-piece, white jumpsuit and thigh-high boots: standard dress for the upper city. Pods only seated three to a car and were propelled by compressed air through tunnels that webbed across Tyrol. Access was granted through palm recognition scanners.

On her left, a Latino couple waited for the car. The man was dressed in a derby hat and striped pants with suspenders; the woman wore a bustier, and skirt with petticoats. Their musty smell reached her, and she wrinkled her nose in disgust.

At least these cars are self-cleaning.

An egg-shaped pod slid to a stop in front of her. She pressed her palm against the scanner and then shot an icy glance at the couple.

They looked away. They knew better than to try to ride with her. Under dwellers were not permitted to socialize with city residents, and only ventured above ground to work. They would wait for the next car.

The hatch door lifted and she stepped inside, sitting on a cushion beside the three-inch window. The pod sped off, and Z100 gazed out the window: the rounded towers of York were a blur of beige and white. In the distance, she glimpsed the tripod mansion of the supreme leader.

The car reached her platform. Z100 stepped out of the transport tube and climbed into a waiting hover craft.

“Where to, ma’am?” a mechanical voice asked.

“Mulberry 5000.” The hover craft zoomed forward.

In minutes, Z100 had climbed out on her porch that stood miles above ground. She stood at the door of her oval-shaped condo, and placed her palm against the flat box beside the door. A laser strip slid down her palm.

There was a brief hum. “Welcome home,” her house announced.

The clear hatch lifted and she stepped inside. Z100 walked up the floating staircase to her bedroom, and undressed in front of her mirror, turning to the side so she could admire her implants.

Her honey-brown skin and thick, bobbed hair were natural. But her green eyes and full lips had cost a pretty credit – as had her 38 C breasts. Naked, Z100 twisted again to admire her waist and rounded hips, also natural, then slipped on the kimono lying across the bed.

Adjacent to the king-size bed, was a picture window with a stunning view. She walked over to it and stood for a moment looking out over the city’s multicolored lights.

“You look beautiful, Ms. Z100,” the house said in a baritone male voice, “as always. What would like for dinner?”

“Broiled fish with sea salt, green salad and white wine.”

“No dessert?”

“No.”

“Very good.”

Z100 walked down the stairs into her living room. Across from the futon and coffee table were three opaque closets. An android stood inside each one, clothed only in white trousers. . .

Copyright Valjeanne Jeffers 2011 all rights reserved

Published by Mocha Memoirs Press, 2011

Look for the The Switch II: Clockwork, coming this spring!

I’ve always hated it when folks overgeneralize — paint everyone with the same broad brush. So here’s what I have to say: to those white authors and filmmakers who’re trying so hard to be racially sensitive and accurate. We are NOT talking about you. I myself, create Native American, Asian, Spanish and White characters based on folks I’ve been fortunate enough to meet in my lifetime. As I’ve said before, I hope that I do a decent job. Only my readers can answer that.

No, the authors we’re trying to move forward are those who have no idea how to create a nonwhite character and don’t even try to learn. Just dig in their bag of stereotypes and throw something together. Personally, I’d rather be portrayed as a White woman with a deep tan (not perfect mind you but better) rather than a “Yuk, yuk missus… I’s a comin’” myth

As writers we’ve all heard too of publishing companies that strong-arm authors into making their characters white or racially ambiguous, so they can attract white readers. Again, all publishing companies are not equal. But these stories have made me glad I decided to self-publish. I’d also like to say (since I HAVE white readers) to these companies (you know who you are): you aren’t giving your readers enough credit. And you should stop treating them like children. Folks will read good writing, no matter where it comes from, and who writes it.

And now to Hollywood. Oh man don’t get me started! From the stereotypical characters that make us all cringe; to the people of color (yes, not just black folks) who die 15-30 minutes into the film; to the scores and scores of films made with no people of color at all.
. . . whatever is going on in the world of SF/fantasy literature, Hollywood is doing that and more.

So what do we do? Like I just said in a comment, like Charles Saunders says, we Keep on keepin on. In 2012 and ever after, they’ll be more multiracial books and movies. I said it and I believe it.

So that being said, stay tuned for the giveways rules: and be sure to check out my fellow SF authors on my blogroll

To enter the giveaway contest:
Post a comment on my weekly discussion here at http://valjeanne.wordpress.com

Tweet Tweet #blackscifi2012 #blackspecfic or #blackscifi with my twitter handle @Tehotep

Post comments on my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Valjeanne-Jeffers-Immortal-Novels/113750871991936

I’ll be keeping track of the names of participating readers and will select and announce the first winner on February 6, 2012, as will the other authors.

Winston Blakely, Artist/Writer– is a Fine Arts/Comic Book artist, having a career spanning 20 years, whose achievements have included working for Valiant Comics and Rich Buckler’s Visage Studios. He is also the creator of Little Miss Strange, the world’s first black alien sorceress and the all- genre anthology entitled – Immortal Fantasy. Both graphic albums are available at Amazon, Barnes and Nobles and other online book store outlets. Visit him: http://blakelyworks.blogspot.com/ or http://blakelyworkstudio.weebly.com/

L. M. Davis, Author–began her love affair with fantasy in the second grade. Her first novel, Interlopers: A Shifters Novel, was released in 2010, and the follow-up Posers: A Shifters Novel will be released this spring. For more information visit her blog http://shiftersseries.wordpress.com/ or her website www.shiftersnovelseries.com.

Milton Davis, Author– Milton Davis is owner/publisher of MVmedia, LLC . As an author he specializes in science fiction and fantasy and is the author of Meji Book One, Meji Book Two and Changa’s Safari. Visit him: http://www.mvmediaatl.com/Wagadu/ and www.wagadu.ning.com.

Ja Ja (DjaDja) N Medjay , Author—DjaDja Medjay is the author of The Renpet Sci-Fi Series. Shiatsu Practitioner. Holistic AfroFuturistic Rising in Excellence. Transmissions from The Future Earth can be found at: www.renpetscifi.com or on Facebook – www.facebook.com/RenpetSciFiNovel or on Twitter – https://twitter.com/#!/Khonsugo and http://authordjadja.wordpress.com/

Margaret Fieland, Author– lives and writes in the suburbs west of Boston, MA with her partner and five dogs. She is one of the Poetic Muselings. Their poetry anthology, Lifelines http://tinyurl.com/LifelinesPoetry/ is available from Amazon.com Her book, “Relocated,” will be available from MuseItUp Publishing in July, 2012. The Angry Little Boy,” will be published by 4RV publishing in early 2013. You may visit her website, http://www.margaretfieland.com.

Valjeanne Jeffers, Author — is an editor and the author of the SF/fantasy novels: Immortal, Immortal II: The Time of Legend and Immortal III: Stealer of Souls. Her fourth and fifth novels: Immortal IV: Collision of Worlds and The Switch: Clockwork will be released this spring. Visit her at: http://valjeanne.wordpress.com , http://wwwsistermoon.blogspot.com/ and http://qandvaffordableediting.blogspot.com/

Thaddeus Howze, Author– is a veteran of the Information Technology and Communications industry with over twenty-six years of experience. His expertise is in re-engineering IT environments using process-oriented management techniques. In English, that means he studies the needs of his clients and configures their offices to optimize the use of information technology in their environment. Visit him: http://ebonstorm.wordpress.com or http://ebonstorm.weebly.com

Alicia McCalla, Author—writes for both young adults and adults with her brand of multicultural science fiction, urban fantasy, and futurism. Her debut novel, Breaking Free is available in print or immediate download on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, and other booksellers. The Breaking Free theme song created by Asante McCalla is available for immediate download on iTunes and Amazon. Visit her at: www.aliciamccalla.com

Carole McDonnell, Author–She writes Christian, speculative fiction, and multicultural stories. Her first novel is Wind Follower. Her short fiction has appeared in many anthologies and have been collected in an ebook, Spirit Fruit: Collected Speculative Fiction. Visit Carole: http://carolemcdonnell.blogspot.com/ or http://writersofcolorblogtour.blogspot.com/

Balogun Ojetade, Author—of the bestselling “Afrikan Martial Arts: Discovering the Warrior Within” (non-fiction), “Moses: The Chronicles of Harriet Tubman” (Steampunk) and the feature film, “A Single Link”. Visit him: http://chroniclesofharriet.wordpress.com/

Rasheedah Phillips, Author–is the creator of The AfroFuturist Affair in Philly. She plans to debut her first spec/sci-fic novel Recurrence Plot in Spring 2012. You may catch her ruminating from time to time on her blog, AstroMythoLosophy.com.

Nicole Sconiers, Author-is also a screenwriter living in the sunny jungle of L.A. She holds an MFA in creative writing from Antioch University Los Angeles, and she recently published Escape from Beckyville: Tales of Race, Hair and Rage. Visit her: http://nicolesconiers.com/index.html

Jarvis Sheffield, M.Ed. is owner & operator of TheDigitalBrothers.com, BlackScienceFictionSociety.com & BlackCommunityEntertainment.com. Visit him: http://www.blacksciencefictionsociety.com/profiles/blog/list?user=2stjwb1h216fd

Why is race, why is diversity, important in science fiction? Why is it important — why should it matter — what race one’s characters are?

As a child I devoured YA fiction, filled with ghosts and goblins. My TV interests were the same: I gravitated toward the weird, the fantastic; so much so I often had to look under my bed to make sure Dracula (for example) hadn’t found his new resting place there.

But there were, with few exceptions, no characters who looked like me. There were no characters from neighborhoods like mine. What was far worst was that many of the characters who later came (and are still around today) didn’t act like me or anyone else I knew.

I wonder, would my life have been more enriched if there’d been a brownskinned girl or boy who starred in the fiction I so greedily devoured? If he or she had walked across the science fiction TV screen of my youth? Of this I’m sure.

Diversity is important because we, peoples of color, need heroines and heroes to people the landscape of our imagination. . . to point the way, to help us dream, to help us see something better in our tomorrows. We need characters to help make us proud of who were are and where we came from.

In short, we need characters to identify with. Characters who’re coming from the same space. We need role models, most especially ones who don’t die in the first fifteen minutes of the story; ones who aren’t caricatures and stereotypes.

Now don’t get me wrong. I continue to enjoy literature and films created by white authors. But I still need, I’d venture to say, we still need stories that emerge from the Black experience. And we aren’t the only ones who need this. Diversity in SF/fantasy is important for folks of all races.

If you want to know what’s going on my neighborhood — if you want to know what moves me politically, socially if you want to know what I dream, who better to ask than me? In other words SF/fantasy written not just by Black folks, but by Native Americans, peoples of Latin descent, written by the full racial spectrum, goes a long way toward making folks more intelligent, more tolerant. . . to moving our world a little bit closer to global humanity and understanding.

Racial inclusiveness, diversity, is just as important in SF/fantasy as it is in every other aspect of our lives. And in 2012 it is becoming an everpresent reality. We, authors of color, are the ones we’ve been waiting for.

Check out what my fellow bloggers have to say on this subject (click the links on my blogroll to visit them).

Winston Blakely, Artist/Writer–is a Fine Arts/Comic Book artist, having a career spanning 20 years, whose achievements have included working for Valiant Comics and Rich Buckler’s Visage Studios. He is also the creator of Little Miss Strange, the world’s first black alien sorceress and the all- genre anthology entitled – Immortal Fantasy. Both graphic albums are available at Amazon, Barnes and Nobles and other online book store outlets. Visit him: http://blakelyworks.blogspot.com/ or http://blakelyworkstudio.weebly.com/

L.M. Davis, Author–began her love affair with fantasy in the second grade. Her first novel, Interlopers: A Shifters Novel, was released in 2010, and the follow-up Posers: A Shifters Novel will be released this spring. For more information visit her blog http://shiftersseries.wordpress.com/ or her website www.shiftersnovelseries.com.

Milton Davis, Author –Milton Davis is owner/publisher of MVmedia, LLC . As an author he specializes in science fiction and fantasy and is the author of Meji Book One, Meji Book Two and Changa’s Safari. Visit him: www.mvmediaatl.com and www.wagadu.ning.com.

Margaret Fieland, Author–lives and writes in the suburbs west of Boston, MA with her partner and five dogs. She is one of the Poetic Muselings. Their poetry anthology, Lifelines http://tinyurl.com/LifelinesPoetry/ is available from Amazon.com Her book, “Relocated,” will be available from MuseItUp Publishing in July, 2012. The Angry Little Boy,” will be published by 4RV publishing in early 2013. You may visit her website, http://www.margaretfieland.com.

Valjeanne Jeffers, Author –is an editor and the author of the SF/fantasy novels: Immortal, Immortal II: The Time of Legend and Immortal III: Stealer of Souls. Her fourth and fifth novels: Immortal IV: Collision of Worlds and The Switch: Clockwork will be released this spring. Visit her at: http://valjeanne.wordpress.com http://wwwsistermoon.blogspot.com http://qandvaffordableediting.blogspot.com/

Thaddeus Howze, Author–is a veteran of the Information Technology and Communications industry with over twenty-six years of experience. His expertise is in re-engineering IT environments using process-oriented management techniques. In English, that means he studies the needs of his clients and configures their offices to optimize the use of information technology in their environment. Visit him: http://ebonstorm.wordpress.com or http://ebonstorm.weebly.com

Alicia McCalla, Author—writes for both young adults and adults with her brand of multicultural science fiction, urban fantasy, and futurism. Her debut novel, Breaking Free will be available February 1, 2012. The Breaking Free theme song created by Asante McCalla is available for immediate download on itunes and Amazon. Visit her at: www.aliciamccalla.com

Carole McDonnell, Author–She writes Christian, speculative fiction, and multicultural stories. Her first novel is Wind Follower. Her short fiction has appeared in many anthologies and have been collected in an ebook, Spirit Fruit: Collected Speculative Fiction. Visit Carole: http://carolemcdonnell.blogspot.com/ or http://writersofcolorblogtour.blogspot.com/

Rasheedah Phillips, Author–is the creator of The AfroFuturist Affair in Philly. She plans to debut her first spec/sci-fic novel Recurrence Plot in Spring 2012. You may catch her ruminating from time to time on her blog: http://www.astromytholosophy.com/

Nicole Sconiers, Author-is also a screenwriter living in the sunny jungle of L.A. She holds an MFA in creative writing from Antioch University Los Angeles, and she recently published Escape from Beckyville: Tales of Race, Hair and Rage. Visit her: http://nicolesconiers.com/index.html

Jarvis Sheffield, M.Ed. is owner & operator of TheDigitalBrothers.com, BlackScienceFictionSociety.com & BlackCommunityEntertainment.com. Visit him: http://www.blacksciencefictionsociety.com/profiles/blog/list?user=2stjwb1h216fd

I wrote my first novel, Immortal, with these thoughts in mind. The beginning of Immortal was the story of a young woman, Karla, living on the planet Tundra. Karla has ordinary, everyday struggles. But she has a little―no a big―edge. Immortal weaves a tale of portals. Time travel. Werewolves. Daemons. By the time Immortal III is thrown into the mix, vampires have joined the plot. Tell me, what’s not to love? Fantasy also lends itself incredibly well to “what if?” scenarios. As in: what if there was no racism? What if there was no poverty? What if folks came together and decided to change the world. . .?

For those of you who haven’t guessed it yet, I also like to mix genres. In fact, that’s the other thing I love so much about fantasy; it blends so easily with other genres, like horror and science fiction. But if fantasy is my first love, I’d have to say steampunk is my second.

From the outrageous clothing. . . bustles, corsets and knickers, to the outrageous machinery. . . airships, steam-trains, muskets. This is a genre I just can’t stay away from. Steampunk is a glorious mixture of other fantasy/SF genres. And the settings and plots reflect this― plots set in the post-civil war. Victorian England. Post-Apocalyptic America. Or a futuristic world, as in my steampunk story: The Switch. http://www.mochamemoirspress.com

Steampunk, like any other fantasy subgenre is also anybody’s game when it comes to “what if?” plots, settings and costumes. Which of course is why I’m so head over heels in love with it.

Some of the best steampunk I’ve read this year, includes other fiction by Black writers such as: The Chronicles of Harriet by Balogun http://www.mochamemoirspress.com
and The Delivery by Milton Davis http://www.scribd.com/doc/76098823/The-Delivery

I’ll drop the sequel to the The Switch,The Switch II: Clockwork in Spring 2011, by steam train of course Immortal IV: Collision of Worlds will also hit the shelves in Spring 2012. This is the conclusion to my Immortal saga, and wouldn’t you guess? Immortal IV also has a steampunk theme.

And check out my awesome fellow writers and what flavor of fiction they love on my blogroll. In 2012 I want to see more fantasy/steamfunk offerings by fabulous writers of color. I fully expect that I will.

Winston Blakely, Artist/Writer–is a Fine Arts/Comic Book artist, having a career spanning 20 years, whose achievements have included working for Valiant Comics and Rich Buckler’s Visage Studios. He is also the creator of Little Miss Strange, the world’s first black alien sorceress and the all- genre anthology entitled – Immortal Fantasy. Both graphic albums are available at Amazon, Barnes and Nobles and other online book store outlets. Visit him: http://blakelyworks.blogspot.com/ or http://blakelyworkstudio.weebly.com/

L.M. Davis, Author–began her love affair with fantasy in the second grade. Her first novel, Interlopers: A Shifters Novel, was released in 2010, and the follow-up Posers: A Shifters Novel will be released this spring. For more information visit her blog http://shiftersseries.wordpress.com/ or her website www.shiftersnovelseries.com.

Milton Davis, Author –Milton Davis is owner/publisher of MVmedia, LLC . As an author he specializes in science fiction and fantasy and is the author of Meji Book One, Meji Book Two and Changa’s Safari. Visit him: www.mvmediaatl.com and www.wagadu.ning.com.

Margaret Fieland, Author–lives and writes in the suburbs west of Boston, MA with her partner and five dogs. She is one of the Poetic Muselings. Their poetry anthology, Lifelines http://tinyurl.com/LifelinesPoetry/ is available from Amazon.com Her book, “Relocated,” will be available from MuseItUp Publishing in July, 2012. The Angry Little Boy,” will be published by 4RV publishing in early 2013. You may visit her website, http://www.margaretfieland.com.

Valjeanne Jeffers, Author –is an editor and the author of the SF/fantasy novels: Immortal, Immortal II: The Time of Legend and Immortal III: Stealer of Souls. Her fourth and fifth novels: Immortal IV: Collision of Worlds and The Switch: Clockwork will be released this spring. Visit her at:http://valjeanne.wordpress.com and http://qandvaffordableediting.blogspot.com/

Thaddeus Howze, Author–is a veteran of the Information Technology and Communications industry with over twenty-six years of experience. His expertise is in re-engineering IT environments using process-oriented management techniques. In English, that means he studies the needs of his clients and configures their offices to optimize the use of information technology in their environment. Visit him: http://ebonstorm.wordpress.com or http://ebonstorm.weebly.com

Alicia McCalla, Author—writes for both young adults and adults with her brand of multicultural science fiction, urban fantasy, and futurism. Her debut novel, Breaking Free will be available February 1, 2012. The Breaking Free theme song created by Asante McCalla is available for immediate download on itunes and Amazon. Visit her at: www.aliciamccalla.com

Carole McDonnell, Author–She writes Christian, speculative fiction, and multicultural stories. Her first novel is Wind Follower. Her short fiction has appeared in many anthologies and have been collected in an ebook, Spirit Fruit: Collected Speculative Fiction. Visit Carole:http://carolemcdonnell.blogspot.com/ or http://writersofcolorblogtour.blogspot.com/

Rasheedah Phillips, Author–is the creator of The AfroFuturist Affair in Philly. She plans to debut her first spec/sci-fic novel Recurrence Plot in Spring 2012. You may catch her ruminating from time to time on her blog, AstroMythoLosophy.com.

Nicole Sconiers, Author-is also a screenwriter living in the sunny jungle of L.A. She holds an MFA in creative writing from Antioch University Los Angeles, and she recently published Escape from Beckyville: Tales of Race, Hair and Rage. Visit her: http://nicolesconiers.com/index.html

Jarvis Sheffield, M.Ed. is owner & operator of TheDigitalBrothers.com, BlackScienceFictionSociety.com & BlackCommunityEntertainment.com. Visit him: http://www.blacksciencefictionsociety.com/profiles/blog/list?user=2stjwb1h216fd