Available at www.vjeffersandqveal.com
Author Valjeanne Jeffers at the Alabama Phoenix Festival
‘I’ve been writing stories since I was around nine or ten years old. As a little girl I loved stories of the paranormal too. During the 1990s I rediscovered my love of SF reading folks like Octavia Butler and Tananarive Due. When I caught the “fire” and started writing fiction again it had to be speculative fiction. I’m in love with this genre — in love with stories of the fantastic and strange.
In the 21th century there are very still few characters like us, and out of this small pool many are post-modern “Step-and Fetchits” (stereotypes). This is why speculative fiction is so important. This genre helps us to see outside reality, to say: what if? It helps us to imagine and create spectacular, wondrous realms, step back and find the beauty and wisdom there, and then transform our own space.
We need to dream, and we need our writers to help us to dream. Even if – especially if – these dreams are of fantastic, imaginary creatures and happenings. We need this because dreaming can be an escape. One should never underestimate the power of escape. Imagine a child living in squalor, and escaping into pages of a novel. Or a slave reading by lamplight and envisioning her freedom. Or a man working as a sharecropper, and at sunset telling his story with harmonica. We all need to escape, at least sometimes, into the worlds of those who dream like us, who understand us; who look like us. To paraphrase B.B. King, we need authors who get us where we live. Second of all dreaming helps us to change. If you can dream it, you can do it. You can move yourself and your corner of life forward.’
Author Valjeanne Jeffers, orginally submitted on BlackFaery (UbatiMweze mythwhispering)
Valjeanne Jeffers is a poet, artist and the author of five SF/Fantasy novels Immortal, Immortal II: The Time of Legend, Immortal III: Stealer of Souls, The Switch II: Clockwork (which includes Book 1 and 2) and Immortal IV: Collison of Worlds and several short works of fiction.
Valjeanne is well-known for mixing the quest for liberation with science fiction, erotic fantasy and horror. Her novels can be previewed or purchased at her site: Authors Valjeanne Jeffers and Quinton Veal.
Book I of The Switch II has been published in the groundbreaking anthology Steamfunk! (edited by Milton Davis and Balogun Ojatade). Valjeanne has also been published in numerous other anthologies including: Lunewing, Griots: A Sword and Soul Anthology, Pembroke, The Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South, and Say It Loud: Poems about James Brown.
She works as a freelance editor and is co-owner of Q & V Affordable Editing with her fiancee writer and cover artist, Quinton Veal.
Valjeanne is working on two more novels: Colony: A Space Opera and Mona Livelong. The prequel Colony is available at smashwords.
Readers taken on ‘Immortal’ Journey by Genea Webb
Readers taken on ‘Immortal’ Journey by Genea Webb/ New Pittsburgh Courier
Beautiful and transforming are the words that first come to her mind when author Valjeanne Jefferies describes what excites her about the craft of writing.
“It allows you to change the circumstances around you. If you can envision a world that’s better than you live in, you can create an imaginative environment and fill it with extraordinary people,” explained Jefferies who currently resides in Alabama and is a graduate of Spelman College and North Carolina Central University.
That’s the exact formula Jefferies implemented when she wrote the science fiction/fantasy Immortal series of books. The series includes “Immortal”, “Immortal II: The Time of Legend” and “Immortal III: Stealer of the Souls.”
Other novels include “The Steamfunk novels: “Immortal IV: Collision of Worlds 2nd and The Switch II: Clockwork” and “Space Colony.” Her work has appeared in The Ringing Ear; Black Poets Lean South, Revelry, and A Sword and Soul Anthology.
Jefferies chose to self-publish her novels usually through create space under the names Valjeanne Jefferies or Valjeanne Jefferies Thompson. Jefferies has had her poetry published traditionally, but found that getting science fiction published was a different beast…
Read the rest of the article here.
Preview or purchase my novels here.
Edward Uzzle’s Vision
RETRO-KM by EDWARD UZZLE
Set in what used to be the Americas; now a dystopic and balkanized litter of Nation-States. A surreal glimpse into the spiritual growth of a warrior-soldier from an emerging Black nation. It is a startling vision of ethnic conflict, voudon technologies, and soul bending revelations. Retro-KM is novel that embodies a brand new genre of speculative fiction; cifer-RA (High-Science-Entertainment), brought to you by Daathrekh Publishing.
“This is the worst time for a reconnaissance action. Aten (the sun) won’t be up for an hour and I’ve been ‘tracking’ all night. This place was once a thriving Metropolis. Now it’s a wasted city…”
Worlds will collide. Prepare to have your mind blown.
Edward Uzzle has created a stunning vision of the not too distant future, a universe peopled with techno-warriors, mystic supermen and more. Pro-black and action packed RETRO-KM: Lord of the Landlords is a hard SF tour de force, a journey of epic proportions and a definite must read.
~Valjeanne Jeffers, author of The Immortal series and The Switch II: Clockwork
Pick up your copy of RETRO-KM at Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Daathrekh Publishing
Tag You’re It! Get Out of My Dreams…and Into My Spaceship!
I was tagged by Balogun author of the riveting series The Chronicles of Harriet and Once Upon a Time in Afrika.
Rules are: Answer ten questions about your current Work In Progress on your blog. Tag five writers / bloggers and add links to their pages so we can hop along to them next.
So I’m tagging: H. Wolfgang Porter, Quinton Veal, A. Jarrell Hayes, Ronald Jones, Carole McDonnell. and Author DjaDja Medjay. I assure you, I can count to five. I just cheated a little and added six, awesome authors.
On to my questions :)!
What is the working title of your book…
The working title is Colony.
Where did the idea come from for the book?
I’ve always dug space dramas. I cut my teeth on the original Star Trek series. Later, I became addicted to the predator movies. Most especially Predator vs. Aliens in which Sanaa Lathan received the tribal markings of a predator warrior! This triggered my “what if” mode. As in: What if the earth was dying, and aliens saw this as an opportunity to harvest our planet? And what if these aliens used every tool at their disposal– including love and sexuality?
What genre does your book fall under?
Colony is a space opera, which in layman’s terms, means science fiction emphasizng melodramatic adventure, set in outer space. Romance, wars, space travel… How cool is that?
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
My main character Allandra is strong, sexy and intelligent– as well as being handy with a laser gun. So I’d love it if Erika Alexander would play the lead role.
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Allandra has always dreamed of life on other planets. But this mission she’ll find more than she ever dreamed of.
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I might shop around for a publisher. But chances are, since I’ve become a stubborn Indie author that I’ll publish it myself.
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
It took me about three months. Hopefully, I’ll be finished with it by early next year.
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Colony is a space opera, so my genre is not unpresedented. But the direction I chose is.
Who or What inspired you to write this book?
I was inspired by the mind-bending space operas of Ronald Jones, author of Warriors of the Four Worlds, and Angela Nicole Parker, author of Spectar of War. The battles in both novels are edge-of-your-seat, bloody conflicts, with suspenseful, human plots. Right up my alley.
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
Readers can check out the first chapters of Colony (including Probe) on smashwords. I’ve also posted a few chapters on this site. Colony is definitely a break from my previous works. It’s hard science fiction with a techie, futuristic feel; which takes me out of my fantasy/drama comfort zone.
But that’s what makes it so much fun.
Sir Charles Saunders’s Spectacular Review
The legendary Charles Saunders (The acclaimed Imaro and Damballa series) just dropped a spectacular review of my novels, Immortal IV: Collision of Worlds and The Switch II: Clockwork. And I am on cloud nine :)!! Here’s an excerpt:
Valjeanne “Sister Moon” Jeffers continues to rise in the ranks of speculative-fiction authors with the release of her latest novels in her interlocking Immortal/Switch series. her writing weaves vivid threads of science fiction, fantasy, horror and erotica into patterns as intricate as those in a kente cloth… read the rest here (click Recommended then Sister Moon Rising)
And you can read excerpts from both novels on wordpress or my personal site
Immortal IV: Collision of Worlds/Valjeanne Jeffers
Chapters 1 and 2
1/Prologue
They were riding the steam train again, sitting behind Ripple, the edges of their seats smudged with black and velvet. The train lurched to a stop, and the doors slid open.
Beyond was utter darkness.
“This is our stop!” Ripple shouted. Even as he spoke these words he had the queer feeling of time doubling over.
The Copper man leaped up and ran to the exit, Karla and Joseph at his heels. They jumped down and the metal doors slammed shut behind them.
Outside, the station’s wood was rotted, the doors boarded up. The windows were dusty and smashed—the few remaining shards of glass, hanging like broken teeth. Ahead, the train disappeared into the fog.
“Hurry up!” Ripple shouted, “Or we’ll be trapped here!”
Another wave of déjà vu washed over him, this one so strong it made him dizzy. Nevertheless he took off running past the train into the fog. A mist shrouded forest stood in the distance, and he sprinted toward it. Karla and Joseph followed.
Time slowed to a crawl. They moved in slow motion now—struggling through a syrupy wave of moments…seconds…minutes…
“Keep running!”
Joseph reached out and took Karla’s hand.
And they began to change.
Ripple became a black wolf, his fur streaked with silver. Karla, a smaller dark lupine, Joseph, a wolf with burnt sienna fur—running through the towering redwoods, oaks and weeping willows.
Thin light pushed through the treetops and made splotchy patches at their feet. Mist floating in the air, thick and cloying.
Ripple vanished.
“What’s happening!” Karla cried out, glancing wildly around.
Joseph took a few aimless steps forward, squeezing his head between his hands. Grandfather—! Grandfather where are you!”
The sound of approaching hoofs echoed through the forest. A creature ran toward them, weaving easily between the trees. From the waist up, she was a fetching Bronze woman of twenty or so odd years with sepia skin.
But her torso curved out into a burgundy mare’s hindquarters, her hair curled about her shoulders, her small breasts cupped by a silver bustier.
The last time they’d seen a centaur, had been during the Time of Legend. Then the female centaur had been a Guardian.
But they sensed that this creature was no ally. An aura of malevolence floated about her, as cloying as the fog.
“Hello!” she said, her lashes fluttering prettily above her green eyes. “I haven’t seen you here before. Are you lost?”
They stared at her. Joseph opened his mouth. For several seconds nothing came out. “We uh—my grandfather came in with us.” he stammered.
Her eyes glittered balefully. “You mean Ripple? Yes, I know where he is. He’ll be staying with us now. And you have business elsewhere.”
“Wha-what are you saying?” Karla gasped moving closer to Joseph.
But he was melting away in her arms.
She screamed horribly—clutching at the floating flesh that was her lover.
The centaur galloped past her into the woods, her mocking laughter mixing with the Indigo woman’s cries.
* * *
The New World awoke to a roaring wind, light blazed from the mirror—swallowing the planet—a churning, savage vortex. Tundra’s inhabitants cried out, as their flesh bled from their bones like wet clay.
The world shuddered.
And was still.
2/Stranger
Joseph came to on a carpeted floor and lifted his head to gaze at her. She stood with her back pressed against the wall, her face twisted in fear.
“Karla?”
She looked down at him: a slender, dark woman with a long face, high cheekbones and full lips. She was dressed in a sheer nightgown. Wavy tresses spilled over the Indigo woman’s shoulders.
“Who are you?”
He rose from the thick carpet: a tall, muscular man with reddish-brown skin. His thick hair was gathered into a ponytail at the nape of his neck.
“I’m Joseph…”
“You called me ‘Karla.’ Why? That’s not my name. I’m Sonya. Where did you come from?”
His eyes searched her face. “I don’t know.”
Karla…The name was like a caress. It reminded him of a song—the words forgotten, but the melody etched upon his heart.
Joseph tore his eyes away from her and scanned the bedroom. To his right was a high bed with a canopy. A wardrobe sat beside it. Across from him, stood a vanity table and mirror. Filigreed lamps were arranged here and there about the room.
The furniture spoke to him of antiquity—of an older, bygone age. Yet above the vanity hung a triangular clock, full of visible cogs and dials and encased in metal. It was ticking loudly.
The Copper man looked behind him, at the tall mirror encased in a delicately carved frame.
“I think…I think I came from inside your mirror.”
Her eyes shot to the glass, and a curious mixture of fear and longing played over her face.
“From my mirror?” He nodded. “Ho-how did you do that?”
How indeed? “I’m not sure.”
BAM! BAM!
“It’s one of the servants! Hide there!” She pointed behind the bed.
Sonya cracked the door. A plumb face peered inside. “Yes, Elsie?
“Are you alright, mum?”
“I’m fine.”
“But I heard you scream!” Despite her humble demeanor, Elsie sounded annoyed not to know what was troubling Sonya, and not to be confided in. She pushed at the door—a polite but insistent way of trying to get inside.
The young woman put her weight against the door. “I had a nightmare.”
“Would you like me to stay with you?” Elsie said imploring; but the plea didn’t reach her eyes, they were cold and hard.
“No. Goodnight.”
In the next moment, Sonya’s face was above him. “You can get up, she’s gone now.” She turned away from him, pulled a robe from her dresser and slipped it on.
“You can’t stay here. Someone’s bound to find you.” She picked up a huge candle from the vanity, and lit it. “I was just about to go downstairs for some hot chocolate and biscuits. Would you like some?”
He nodded. “Alright.” Sure. Why not? Your mirror spit me out and I don’t know who I am. You don’t know either. But yeah, I’d love to share some chocolate and biscuits. An ironic smile curled about his lips, as he followed her out of the room.
Sonya watched him out of the corner of her eye. I should just scream again and have him dragged out of here. But…I’ve seen him before.
They came out into a long hallway, and made their way to staircase that split the hall in half. The carpet was a deep wine color, and oil lamps were interspersed along the walls.
Paintings of citizens wearing top hats and derbies hung from the walls; some with high buttoned coats and collars, others with walking canes. Still others wore glass monocles, and dresses with cinched waists, bustles and petticoats.
Many also sported curious short metal tubes with gears, strapped to their waists. Those are firearms!
And at this, a sense of wrongness swept over him.
Joseph glimpsed more of the portraits across the stairwell. All at once he realized that he was dressed in a likewise fashion. He wore a jacket with wide lapels, a high collar shirt and stovepipe pants. But he had no weapon. And for this, he felt strangely grateful.
Downstairs, Sonya led him past the staircase, and to the right to the kitchen. While he sat at the wooden table, she rummaged about in the cabinet, sneaking glances at him as she did so. At length, she pulled down glass canister of chocolate and sugar, and set them beside the gas stove.
“Do you know what you were doing,” she asked, “you know just before?” He shook his head.
The Indigo woman turned a knob on the stove, and held the candle to the eye until the flame caught. She blew out the candle, poured water into a tin, coffee pot and put it on the unit to heat.
Sonya fished biscuits from the glass container on the table. “Well, you must remember something.”
Joseph leaned forward, his face twisted in concentration. “Very little… I remember being with you—well, somebody that looked like you. But I don’t think we were here.”
Sonya gazed down at him for another long moment, then turned away, pouring hot water into two mugs and stirring chocolate and sugar into them.
“Come on,” she said, handing him one. “Let’s eat in the breakfast room, I can think better in there, and the servants are less likely to stumble across us.”
She led him back out into the hall, past the staircase into an adjacent alcove. They sat in the low chairs, a small table between them. To their right, an entire wall had been crafted of glass.
Beyond it, he glimpsed an alien city.
Sonya sipped her chocolate. “You’ll have to get out of here, you know. If my father finds you, he’ll turn you over to the enforcers.”
Joseph looked confused. “What’s an enforcer?”
“The peacekeepers. They make sure we citizens don’t break the law,” she smirked, “nobody can break any laws but them. If they detain you, they’ll stick you with an indentured family and keep you there—maybe for as long as ten years.”
I don’t like the sound of that.
“Or they’ll make you fight in the wars,” she went on, “After your service, municipal lets you start to pay your bond off. That could take another two years.”
“Sounds like slavery to me,” Joseph said dryly.
A hard smile curled about her lips. “Yeah, I guess it is. You got ID? Look in your jacket.”
He patted his coat. He pulled a folded parchment from his inside pocket.
“Let me see that,” Sonya unfolded it to reveal an ink drawing of him. Beneath it a calligraphy inscription read:
Joseph 22833
Race: Copper
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black
Height: 6 feet 0”
Weight: 200
Profession: Artisan
The bottom of the page was stamped with the wax insignia of a T.
“You’re an artist! Well, that’s a start. Too bad you can’t remember anything else. But it’s still dangerous for you to go wandering around Topaz with amnesia.”
Topaz. This name too, sparked a faint memory. “That’s where I am?” he asked.
“That’s where you are. And if they pick you up—even with amnesia, even with papers―they’ll throw you in an asylum. It’s where they put crazy people. But not all the time.”
Sonya chewed at her bottom lip. “I’m betrothed to a man twice my age. When I told my father I wouldn’t marry him, he threatened to commit me.”
“Do you have any bills? If an enforcer stops you, you might be able to bribe him into letting you go.”
Joseph’s head spinning was from all the foreign information being thrown at him. He reached into his pants pocket, and pulled forth a small bundle of rectangular bills.
A man’s face was engraved in the center of each one… a cruel face crafted of angels and sharp edges, and stamped with the letter T.
Joseph tapped the image with his finger. “Who is he?”
Sonya handed the currency back to him, with a trembling hand. “Tehotep, my betrothed. He rules the empire.”
The Copper man stared down at the face a moment longer, before shoving the bills into his pocket. Once more, vague formless images tugged at his memory.
“I want you to go to my friend Joan’s house. You’ll be safe there. When you get there, offer to pay your way. She’s always strapped for bills…It’s near morning, you better get going.”
Sonya led him out of the alcove to a heavy oak door. She opened the door onto a tree lined street. Three houses down, it dipped down into a steep hill. Ten feet away, a trolley car idled on the tracks in the middle of the lane; puffs of steam poured from the corkscrew pipe at the front of the car.
She followed his eyes to the trolley. “It’s safer for you to walk, sometimes enforcers ride the train,” and pointed to the incline. “Go down that hill, and follow the street for a mile. Take a right at Culpepper. Travel another two miles and make a right at Mulberry.”
“Then just keep walking. You can’t miss it. Joan’s building is 2000 Mulberry. It sits between two others. Cobblestones lead up to her door. Her apartment is H-12; it’s upstairs.”
Sonya lifted her arm to display a bracelet with objects hanging from it. “Here help me get this off… Show her this and tell her I sent you.”
“Give me your papers too.” She carried the sheet to the end table behind them; then dipped the feathered quill into an ink well, turned the paper over and scribbled on the back.
The Indigo woman waved the paper a few times to dry the ink. “Give this to her too.”
Joseph hesitated, he was loathe to part company with this mysterious woman. He felt connected to her somehow.
“Will I see you again?”
Sonya smiled. “Count on it. Joan is my best friend.”
* * *
Outside he turned the paper over.
She’d written one line.
Look at his arm.
Copyright Valjeanne Jeffers 2012 all rights reserved
Contact me for purchase here
Also available at amazon and barnes and noble
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 https://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 http://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 http://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/ , http://www.renpetscifi.com or on Facebook – http://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: https://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: http://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
The State of Black SF 2012: Why Race Matters
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 http://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 and http://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: https://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: http://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
Immortal by Valjeanne Jeffers
HER DREAMS ARE TERRIFYING. In the year of our One 3075 Tundra has been at peace for 400 years. There is no racism, poverty or war. Karla is a young Indigo woman working as a successful healer. Yet she is tormented by lucid and erotic dreams. Dreams in which she is: IMMORTAL. Two men emerge from these phantasms: the first a Copper shape shifter and the other a demon more dead than alive. But when this creature appears in her apartment Karla realizes that they share a lust that may one day consume her.
HIS DREAMS WILL UNLOCK A MYSTERY. Joseph has always dreamt of becoming an artist, a warrior…and a shape shifter. Now he’s dreaming of a sorceress who commands that he leave his homeland. Together they will journey to the end of time. To a nightmarish world of revolution and magic.
But will they save Tundra or perish in it’s destruction?
Check out Immortal here
Collision of Worlds 