Cold. Blooded. The worse case scenario in the Trayvon Martin murder
Cold. Blooded. That’s a term used frequently in the 70s to describe someone who could take the life of another, and exhibit no sign that it meant anything. The first thing I looked for while viewing this video tape is signs of a struggle that could have ended with either Zimmerman’s or Martin’s life. I don’t see evidence of a broken nose (as per Zimmerman’s lawyer’s account) or even that his clothes are disturbed (stained, torn, etc.)
For Trayvon
The two lawyers stood on the steps of the judicial building. Both were black, and dressed in dark suited uniforms that accorded them respect in a courtroom. Both too were clean-shaven and well-groomed, another nod to judicial etiquette.
But one, Charles, was grim-faced. While the other Milo looked jubilant. They watched the press file out and surround the parents of the slain seventeen year old. While his murderers’ lawyers looked on: sick at heart.
They’d lost the case. Their client had been sentenced to life without parole for killing an unarmed Black youth.
“What are you looking so sour for?” Milo asked his colleague. “We won. Justice was served.”
Charles’s mien was solemn. “Was it?”
Milo looked annoyed. “Well what did you want for the S.O.B.— the death penalty?”
“Him serving life won’t bring that child back.”
“Charles what do you want?”
“I’ll tell you what I want! I want the Justice Department to go through their police files with a fine-toothed comb! I want them to pull apart every shady case going back for the last 20 years!” Charles’s eyes flashed fire. “And I want this investigation to spread across the country!” he growled. “From the tragedy of this child’s lost life, let a movement be BORN! A movement that will stop our young black men from being executed in the streets—that will stop them from being unjustly imprisoned. A movement that will end racial profiling once and for all.”
“Let a legacy be born in this child’s name. Let this tragedy transform our nation. Then justice will be served!”
Like this:
Justice For Trayvon Martin
Justice for Trayvon Martin
Three weeks ago, 17-year old Trayvon Martin was gunned down by self-appointed neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman. Despite Zimmerman admitting to following, confronting, and killing Trayvon, he has yet to be arrested or charged with any crime. Just minutes before Trayvon was killed, Zimmerman had called police stating that Trayvon looked “suspicious.” Please join us in calling on the Department of Justice to investigate this crime, prosecute Trayvon’s killer, and hold the local police accountable for mishandling this case.
Three weeks ago, George Zimmerman shot dead 17-year old Trayvon Martin. Despite Zimmerman admitting following, confronting, and killing Trayvon, he has yet to be arrested or charged with any crime. This is unacceptable.
Please join us in calling on the Department of Justice to take over the case, arrest Trayvon’s killer, and launch an independent investigation into the Sanford police department’s unwillingness to protect Trayvon’s civil rights.
http://colorofchange.org/
MONARCHS OF MAYHEM: AN INTERVIEW WITH DERRICK FERGUSON
“Fortune nodded pleasantly at those who acknowledged his presence. There were many who did not. A significant number of who had enjoyed the hospitality of Fortune’s gambling ship and had drunk champagne with him and laughed at his jokes. But here, they looked right through him as though he simply were not there.
Fortune wasn’t offended. Despite his wealth, his obvious culture and intelligence, he was still a Negro and therefore, even though his wealth afforded him access into company such as this, he would never be truly accepted by them.
United Souls by Quinton Veal
“Baby you know what I like, and I love showing you time after time. Let me give you my lips— anywhere I want to put them on you. . . so romantic and very intimate.”
She said: “I love doing what’s right to you— giving you all of me—being freaky and naughty to make you happy…”
From United Souls…Twilight Time (an Erotic Tale)
Cover art by Quinton Veal
Copyright 2012 all rights reserved
Contact Quinton Veal at quintonveal@hotmail.com
also available at amazon
And barnes and noble
The Switch II: Clockwork…Coming this Spring!
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 a** 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.”
“Look, we can file a curiosity report without taking any heat. It’ll probably be ignored anyway. But just in case something is wrong, we’ll be in the clear. We might even get a promotion…I’d love to see her knocked off her high horse.”
Dazz snickered. “And on all fours?”
“You got it.”
Cover art by Quinton Veal
Copyright 2012 all rights reserved
I’ll release my steampunk/SF novel The Switch II: Clockwork this Spring. It will include the original story as a prologue and the sequel as a full-length novel. Stay tuned 
!
What President Obama Has Done
There’s been a lot of talk about President Obama’s accomplishments — or lack thereof. Some politicians have referred to him as “the worst president in American history.” And then they’re those newscasters and such who refuse to give him the well-deserved title of “president.” They’ll call him “Barack” or “Obama” but I guess they’d choke if they put President in front of his name.
I even had a conversation recently with a facebook friend who criticized him for saving the auto industry! Perhaps, if this gentleman had to feed his family with an auto indutry salary, he’d feel differently. So I decided to post President Obama’s accomplishments. I won’t change everybody’s mind, and I know I’m going to piss some people off. But I’m the messenger of truth today– dropping that science.
The link to this info and more are listed here: http://www.2012obama2012.com/President_Obama_s_Accomp.html and on my blogroll.
http://newsontheline.blogs.com/blogapalypsecom/This list is NOT exhaustive.
President Obama’s first six months have been even more active than FDRs or LBJs the two standards for such assessments. Yet, there is little media attention given to much of what he has done. Of late, the media is focusing almost exclusively on Obama’s critics, without holding them responsible for the uncivil, unconstructive tone of their disagreements or without holding the previous administration responsible for getting us in such a deep hole. The misinformation and venom that now passes for political reporting and civic debate is beyond description.
President Obama has accomplished so much not from a heavy-handed or top-down approach but from a style that has institutionalized efforts to reach across the aisle, encourage vigorous debate, and utilize town halls and panels of experts in the policy-making process. Beyond the accomplishments, the process is good for democracy and our democratic processes have been battered and bruised in recent years.
•Passing the “largest” economic stimulus bill in American history.
•Ordering the closing of Guantanamo Bay military detention facility and abolishing “enhanced interrogation techniques.”
•Setting a fixed timetable for withdrawing U.S. combat forces from Iraq.
•Ordering 21,000 additional troops to Afghanistan and enlisting, with modest new assistance, European allies in a new multi-layered strategy there and in Pakistan.
•”Returning science to its rightful place” by lifting the Bush restrictions on federally funded embryonic stem cell research.
•Signing laws to expand children’s health insurance (financed by a 61-cent per pack increase in the federal cigarette tax the adviser did not tout).
•Signing a law meant to improve the ability of women who allege pay discrimination to sue their employer.
•Diminishing the role of lobbyists in the White House.
•”Forge a meaningful statement from the United Nations” criticizing North Korea’s launch of a ballistic missile.
•Lifting travel and remittance restrictions for Cuban Americans who seek to travel more frequently to the island and send more US currency to their immediate family.
•Appointed the first Latina to the US Supreme Court.
•Engaging world leaders in Europe, Turkey, Latin American and the Caribbean with “strength and humility.”
Plenty more accomplishments to consider:
•Within one year, pulled the US economy out of its nose dive, revived credit markets & nudged the economy towards growth of 2.2% in final quarter.
•Also within one year, halted the devastating rate of monthly job losses he inherited, from an average 700,000 monthly in the first quarter of 2009, to 35,000 in first quarter 2010 – a major achievement the last administration was not capable of doing
•Passed the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 in February – has played a key role in turnaround of economy over the last 3 quarters www.recovery.org
◦Stopped decline & grew GDP – from a -6.4% drop in 1st Qtr 2009, to -0.7 rate in 2nd Qtr and +2.2% growth in 3rd Qtr
◦Further 2010 growth in GDP is estimated at 4.4% by year end
◦$90 billion invested in clean energy economy of the future – jobs, lower dependence on foreign oil, enhance national security, clean environment
◦$10.5 billion investment in modernization of national electric grid
◦$18 billion for upgrades & modernization of public transport systems, including new high speed rail
◦$23 billion investment incentives to small businesses
◦Over $1billion in job training grants for jobs in new clean energy sectors
◦Tax credits to stimulate development of clean energy manufacturing – wind turbines, solar panels, electric vehicles, batteries, etc
◦Distributed education grants to US states, to keep teachers in schools
◦$1 billion investment in advancing use of cutting edge Health IT – By 2014, HIT will be made available to 100,000 hospitals & physicians & thousands of people trained for careers in HIT & health care, from nurses and pharmacy techs to IT technicians and trainers.
◦$650 million for Communities Putting Prevention to Work, public health program to address obesity, increase physical activity, improve nutrition, and decrease smoking.
◦Subsidized extended COBRA benefits for unemployed
◦NOT ONE REPUBLICAN VOTED “YES” FOR THIS IMPORTANT BILL, NOW CREDITED AS SAVING US ECONOMY FROM DISASTER, BY SEVERAL INDEPENDENT NON-PARTISAN GROUPS
•Passed the largest middle-class tax cut in history – $288 billion
•Saved, or created around 2,000,000 US jobs
•Cash for Clunkers Program: ◦690.114 new cars sold
◦Dept of Transportation claims 52,000 jobs were saved
•Guided GM & Chrysler through bankruptcy
•Passed the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
•Passed the Human Rights Enforcement Act of 2009
•Passed the Credit Card Holders Bill of Rights Act of 2009
•Passed Ryan White CARE Act of 2009 – repealed HIV entry ban
•Approved California’s adoption of car emission standards for cleaner air & climate control – had been blocked by President Bush for 6 years
•Launched the White House Food Safety Working Group – initiative to modernize the US food safety systems & better protect Americans www.foodsafetyworkinggroup.com
•Lived up to campaign promise & helped file the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act of 2009, which ◦Repeal tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas & replace with incentives to create jobs in USA
◦Crack down on US citizens & companies using offshore accounts to avoid paying taxes -22,000 parties identified & $210 billion in back taxes and penalties to be collected over next 10 years
◦Collected $780 million fine from UBS for offshore banking violation
•President Obama has cracked down on high level of financial losses from across-the-board fraud & abuse of Medicare (estimated $600 billion lost over last decade from inattention to Medicare fraud)
◦January 2010 National Summit on Health Care Fraud
◦New inter-agency Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) introduced – www.stopmedicarefraud.gov
◦5 new Strike Force Teams added in 5 new cities – 13 more to be added in 2011 (Strike Force teams have collected $250 million in restitutions, fines & penalties since 2008)
◦Expanded Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control (HCFAC) Program – $13.1 billion has been returned to Medicare
◦7 new Obama initiatives, starting in 2010/2011 will generate a further $15 billion in savings for Medicare over next 10 years
◦Successful completion of largest pharmaceutical fraud case awards Medicare $2.5 billion from Pfizer
◦January 2010 launch of nation’s first Health Security Strategy – comprehensive strategy to protect Americans’ health during a national emergency
The State of Black SF 2012: And the winners are…
Well, Sisters and Brothers this is it. The final day of our The State of Black SF 2012 blog. I had an awesome time sharing my thoughts and feelings on how far we’ve come during Black history month; as well as honoring one of dearest writing mentors: Charles Saunders.
And I had a blast sampling the science of my fellow writers. Hopefully, we’ll do this again sometime soon. I hope that y’all enjoyed my posts, and please check out the musings of the other wondrous SF griots (listed at the end of this post and on my blogroll)
The winners of my giveaway are the talented, prose-folk Carole McDonnell and Balogun Ojetade who will both win a copy of Immortal!
And here is my contribution to our SF bracelet: an excerpt from my upcoming novel Immortal IV: Collision of Worlds.
She was walking through the mist, it clothed her — draped about her—the sheerest of garments. Longing suffused her being. She was yearning for the one who had first stepped out of her dreams.
When?
In another life, another time, another world.
His voice drifted through the night fog toward her: “Seek me, I need you.”
Suddenly he was before her, his hands stroking her like a whisper. Gently, tenderly roaming over the body he knew so well.
She came into his arms eagerly, his body was a refuge, and entwined her hands in the black, oily hair that lay about his shoulders. Folding herself into him, molding and merging with his skin—his very soul.
His mouth, his tongue tasted like some dark, luscious fruit and when he pushed inside her, it was as if they’d never parted. . . their moans a medley of mutual surrender and belonging. . .
She loved him.
She would never love another.
And she would find him.
Copyright 2012 Valjeanne Jeffers all rights reserved
Winston Blakely, Artist/Writer– is a Fine Arts/Comic Book artist, havinga career spanning 20 years, whose achievements have included working forValiant Comics and Rich Buckler’s Visage Studios. He is also the creator ofLittle Miss Strange, the world’s first black alien sorceress and the all- genreanthology entitled – Immortal Fantasy. Both graphic albums are availableat Amazon, Barnes and Nobles and other online book store outlets. Visithim: 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: AShifters Novel, was released in 2010, and the follow-up Posers: A Shifters Novel will be released this spring. For more informationvisit her blog http://shiftersseries.wordpress.com/ or her websitewww.shiftersnovelseries.com.
Milton Davis, Author– Milton Davis is owner/publisher of MVmedia, LLC . As an authorhe specializes in science fiction and fantasy and is the author of Meji BookOne, Meji Book Two and Changa’s Safari. Visit him: http://www.mvmediaatl.com/Wagadu/ andwww.wagadu.ning.com.
Ja Ja (DjaDja) N Medjay , Author—DjaDja Medjay is theauthor of The Renpet Sci-Fi Series. Shiatsu Practitioner. HolisticAfroFuturistic Rising in Excellence. Transmissions from The Future Earth can befound at: http://authordjadja.wordpress.com/ ,www.renpetscifi.com oron Facebook – www.facebook.com/RenpetSciFiNovelor on Twitter – https://twitter.com/#!/Khonsugo .
Margaret Fieland, Author– lives and writesin the suburbs west of Boston, MA with her partner and five dogs. She is one ofthe Poetic Muselings. Their poetry anthology, Lifelines http://tinyurl.com/LifelinesPoetry/ is availablefrom Amazon.com Her book, “Relocated,” will be available fromMuseItUp Publishing in July, 2012. The Angry Little Boy,” will bepublished by 4RV publishing in early 2013. You may visit her website, http://www.margaretfieland.com.
Valjeanne Jeffers, Author– is aneditor and the author of the SF/fantasy novels: Immortal, Immortal II: The Timeof Legend and Immortal III: Stealer of Souls. Her fourth and fifth novels:Immortal IV: Collision of Worlds and The Switch: Clockwork will be releasedthis 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 yearsof experience retooling computers to best serve human needs. Unknown tohumanity, our computers have another agenda. Thaddeus recently released hisfirst collection of short stories, Hayward Reach. In a coded format, he hassecretly informed Humanity of the impending computerized apocalypse. You canread 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 ofmulticultural science fiction, urban fantasy, and futurism. Her debut novel, Breaking Free isavailable in print or immediate download on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes,and other booksellers. The Breaking Free theme song created by AsanteMcCalla is available for immediate download on iTunes and Amazon. Visit her at:www.aliciamccalla.com
Carole McDonnell, Author–She writes Christian, speculative fiction, and multiculturalstories. Her first novel is Wind Follower. Her short fiction has appearedin 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 WarriorWithin” (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 todebut her first spec/sci-fic novel Recurrence Plot in Spring 2012. You maycatch 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. Sheholds an MFA in creative writing from Antioch University Los Angeles, and sherecently 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. Visithim: http://www.blacksciencefictionsociety.com/profiles/blog/list?user=2stjwb1h216fd
The State of Black SF: Portrait of the Giant Charles Saunders
I first met Charles Saunders in 2008. Although I was releasing my second novel, Immortal II: The Time of Legend, I had only recently become aware of the flourishing community of Black science fiction — right under my nose.
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)
http://www.charlessaunderswriter.com/
And to read more about him visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_R._Saunders
The State of Black SF: Giveaway number 2
It’s about that time again… time for the second giveaway which will end on February 27 Me and my awesome, blogging SF family of writers will all be participating. This time I’ll be giving away one copy of my Immortal novel series — the winner gets to choose which one!
To enter the giveaway contest:
Post a comment on my weekly discussion here at http://valjeanne.wordpress.com
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
