EACH DAY WILL FEATURE A SPECULATIVE FICTION AUTHOR/ARTIST OF COLOR!

Greetings Staunch Perusers!

The month of October is BLACK SPECULATIVE FICTION MONTH! During this time we celebrate the work and contributions to speculative fiction by People of Color. Many people are either unaware and/or simply choose to ignore the various creative works of ethnic minorities in the genres of: Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror to name but a few.

I will be listing a speculative fiction writer or artist of color for every week of the month starting today and spotlight that author/artist with background info and a listing of their work(s).

I challenge my readers to pick up a novel or purchase a piece of artwork from each of the featured creators each week in support of them and BLACK SPECULATIVE FICTION MONTH in general!

Learn more about these talented creators and their work(s) while finding NEW exciting entertainment and enlightenment.

THIS WEEK’S SPOTLIGHT CREATOR IS THE LEGENDARY L.A. BANKS!

Biography

Leslie Esdaile Banks: New York Times and USA Today Best-selling author, L.A. Banks has penned over 40 novels and 12 novellas in a wide range of genres and is the recipient of the 2009 Romantic Times Booklover’s Convention Career Achievement Award for Paranormal Fiction and the 2008 Essence Magazine Storyteller of the Year Award, as well as the 2008 Best 50 Women in Business Award for the State of Pennsylvania. Recently she was featured as a speaker on the HBO Special on Vampire Literature and Legends as a prelude to the True Blood premier.

A native of Philadelphia, Banks is a graduate of The University of Pennsylvania Wharton undergraduate program, and alumnae of Temple University’s Master of Fine Arts in filmmaking program. She writes under the pseudonyms; L.A. Banks, Leslie Esdaile, Leslie E. Banks, Leslie Banks, and Leslie Esdaile Banks. She has won several business as well as literary awards, and writes in genres as diverse as romance, women’s fiction, crime suspense, and paranormal. She has contributed to magazines, newspaper columns, and has written commercial fiction for a variety of major publishers: St. Martin’s Press, Simon and Schuster, Harlequin, Kensington Publishing, BET/Arabesque, Dark Horse Press, Genesis Press, Parker Publishing, Harper, and Tor. Her non-fiction work includes the riveting and motivational story of Bank’s life journey in her contribution to the Chicken Soup for the African American Soul anthology.

Banks’ writing career took a new twist when she won the coveted contract with Paramount/Showtime in collaboration with Simon & Schuster/Pocketbooks to write a book series for the popular cable network television series, Soul Food. Banks was also contracted to write the Universal Studios/Dark Horse Press novelization of the movie, Scarface, which takes a look at the main character Tony Montana’s life two years before he immigrated  from Cuba to American in 1978. In addition, Banks penned a four-book crime thriller for Kensington/Dafina, beginning with Betrayal of the Trust, under her alternate pseudonym, Leslie Esdaile Banks. From there, Banks transitioned into another hot genre in the world of paranormal fiction, where she has penned a 12 book Vampire Huntress Legend series under the pseudonym, L.A. Banks, for St. Martin’s Press.

There is one woman who is all that stands between us and the eternal night.

Here is an account of her legend….

All Damali Richards ever wanted to do was create music and bring it to the people. Now she is a Spoken Word artist and the top act for Warriors of Light Records. But come nightfall, she hunts vampires and demons—predators that people tend to dismiss as myth or fantasy. But Damali and her Guardian team cannot afford such delusions, especially now, when a group of rogue vampires have been killing the artists of Warriors of Light and their rival, Blood Music. Strange attacks have also erupted within the club drug-trafficking network and drawn the attention of the police. These killings are a bit out of the ordinary, even for vampires. No neat puncture marks in the neck to show where the life’s blood has been sucked from the body. These bodies have been mutilated beyond recognition, indicating a blood lust and thirst for destruction that surpasses any Damali has encountered before. Damali soon discovers that behind these brutal murders is the most powerful vampire she has ever met, and this seductive beast is coming for her next. But his unholy intentions have also drawn the focus of other hellish dark forces. Soon Damali finds herself being pulled deeper into the vast and horrifying vampire world.

 

 

She also penned a hot werewolf series titled the Crimson Moon Series (a six book series.)

Sasha Trudeau knows all about working beneath the shadows, back-alley deals, and things that go bump in the night. She also knows that the world is unaware of the existence of the paranormal—and that the government would like to keep it that way.

As a highly trained Special Ops soldier, Sasha and her team are an elite group of individuals who are survivors of werewolf attacks, now trained to be loyal to only to each other and their government. But when she returns from a solo mission, she finds that her team has mysteriously gone missing. Shocking government conspiracies, double-dealing vampires, and a host of stunning revelations about who—and what—she really is are only just the beginning…

 

 

 

 

Banks has also moved into ebooks with Red Rose Publishing, graphic novels, comics, manga and even a new YA, entitled, Shadow Walker, for her thriving Vampire Huntress Legends series, as well as a young adult paranormal series that is under development.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sadly, L.A. Banks passed away August 2, 2011 after a short but courageous battle with cancer.

Ms. Banks was an inspiration to me as a writer and I owe her a lot. She is sorely missed.

BE SURE TO HELP CELEBRATE BLACK SPECULATIVE FICTION MONTH BY CHECKING OUT THE WORK(S) OF THIS WONDERFUL WRITER & REMEMBER TBIYTC!!!