BLACK SPECULATIVE FICTION MONTH SPOTLIGHT #19

Posted by John F. Allen Author on October 23, 2013

TODAY’S BLACK SPECULATIVE FICTION MONTH SPOTLIGHT IS JOE ROBINSON CURRIE!

My name is Joe Currie aka That Strictly Kid

I am the Head Creator and Publisher for Strictly Underground Comics.

I have been in the comic book business as a publisher and a creator for about 17 years.

My credits: Include,Co-Creator, Co-Writer and Publisher for the “Huntsmen” 3 issue mini series. Published in 1996.

Co-Creator, Co-Writer and Publisher for the “Something” 4 issue mini series.

Creator, Writer and Publisher for the “Prodigy” 4 issue mini series.

Creator, Writer and Publisher for the “PUNXofRAGE 6 issue mini series.

Dodger & Prodigy
PUNXofRAGE
Pic: Stanley Weaver

My Website www.punxofrage.com

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

BLACK SPECULATIVE FICTION MONTH SPOTLIGHT #17

Posted by John F. Allen Author on October 21, 2013

TODAY’S BLACK SPECULATIVE FICTION MONTH SPOTLIGHT IS DERRICK FERGUSON!

I’m always told by other writers whose opinions I respect highly that I need to have a proper bio handy so that folks can ‘connect’ with me. They say that in this brave new world we find ourselves in that the rules have changed for writers. We have to make ourselves “accessible” to the readers and “open up.” We have to show we’re “vulnerable.”
I dunno about all that. I actually have a hard time believing that anybody would want to know anything about my day-to-day activities which are actually pretty mundane and boring. I do pretty much the same things a lot of you guys do. I shop and go to the movies/dinner with my wife. I play games on my Xbox. I watch movies on Netflix. I read books and graphic novels. I go out with the fellas for an occasional night of telling lies and doing the six-ounce curl. The most interesting thing about me you can find is in my books as the one thing I have over most folks is that I’ve trained my imagination to tell highly entertaining stories. Okay, that was the part where I relate to you. Now here comes the boring stuff…

My name is Derrick Ferguson and I was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York where I have lived for most of my still young life. I’ve married for 30 years this past March 12th to the wonderful Patricia Cabbagestalk-Ferguson who lets me get away with far more than is good for me. Both my parents are still living, Thank God. My mother Corine Ferguson resides here in Brooklyn, NY while my father has returned to his hometown of Bennettsville, SC. My sister Jan lives in Long Island while my sister Valarie lives here in Brooklyn with her domestic partner.
My interests include but are not limited to: radio/audio drama, Classic Pulp from the 30’s/40’s/50’s and New Pulp being written today, Marvel/DC fan fiction, Star Trek in particular and all Science Fiction in general, animation, television, movies, cooking, loooooong road trips and casual gaming on the Xbox 360.
Running a close second with writing as an obsession is my love of movies. I’m currently the co-host of the Better In The Dark podcast where my partner Thomas Deja and I rant and rave about movies on a bi-weekly basis. If you’re interested then by all mean go on over to http://www.betterinthedarksite.com/ and you’ll find over a hundred episodes where we do so. We also welcome suggestions on movies we should be talking about and guest hosts.
I’m also a rotating co-host of the PULPED! podcast along with Tommy Hancock, Ron Fortier and Barry Reese where we interview writers of the New Pulp Movement as well as discuss the various themes, topics, ebb and flow of what New Pulp is and why you should be reading it.

Bounce on over here for a listen: http://pulped.libsyn.com/

I currently have three blogs where you can keep up with my work:

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BLOOD & INK: http://dlferguson-bloodandink.blogspot.com/ is where you can find any and all information about most of my work that has already seen print and in the works. I also occasionally will throw up a book review. I also have my “Kickin’ The Willy Bobo” series where I interview other writers and creative folks.

DILLON: http://derrickferguson1.wordpress.com/ this is the blog that features my signature character, Dillon. I won’t go into details about him here. That’s what the blog is for. Bounce over there and check it out. But trust me when I say you’ll be glad you did.

THE FERGUSON THEATER: http://derricklferguson.wordpress.com/ The last time I checked I had over 400 movies reviews there. This blog started out with me posting movie reviews on my Live Journal (remember LJ?) mainly because I got tired of people asking me my opinion on movies. So I figured that if I just posted reviews, it would take care of that problem. The reviews outgrew LJ and eventually I had more than enough to justify a blog of their own. Please feel free to check it out and if you have a suggestion for a movie I should review, by all means, please let me know.

Okay, that covers the basics. Now that you know where to find me, anything else you want to know, just ask. You can contact me through my Facebook page or by email: DerrickFerguson@gmail.com is my preferred one but if there’s something you need a response to right away then email me at DerrickFerguson1@aol.com

Okay, I think that’s enough for now. We have a whole week to talk and get acquainted so I suggest you guys take advantage of it. Thank you for your kind attention and may God Bless you in all your creative endeavors and bless your families as well because He knows that they truly need it. Talk to you later.

Derrick’s story “Dillon and the Alchemist’s Coffee” appears in the Pro Se Productions anthology, Black Pulp!

Black Pulp is a collection of stories that features characters of African origin, or descent, in stories that run the gamut of genre fiction. The concept was developed by noted crime novelist Gary Phillips.

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

BLACK SPECULATIVE FICTION MONTH SPOTLIGHT #15

Posted by John F. Allen Author on October 19, 2013

TODAY’S BLACK SPECULATIVE FICTION MONTH SPOTLIGHT IS LINDA ADDISON!

Linda Addison
(photo attached, photo credit Brian J. Addison, my son)

Linda D. Addison grew up in Philadelphia and began weaving stories at an early age. She moved to New York after receiving a bachelor of science in mathematics from Carnegie-Mellon University and has published over 280 poems, stories and articles. Ms Addison is the author of “How To Recognize A Demon Has Become Your Friend” short stories and poetry collection which won her a third Bram Stoker Award(R) (Necon E-Books, 2011) and the first African-American recipient of the world renowned Bram Stoker Award(R). “Dark Duet” (Necon E-Books, 2012), a collaborative book of poetry written with Stephen M. Wilson, was a finalist for HWA Bram Stoker Awards(R).

She was published in “Four Elements”, a collection of prose and poetry published in 2013 by Bad Moon Books, which has four sections, each written by a HWA Bram Stoker winner (Linda Addison, Marge Simon, Rain Graves, and Charlee Jacob).

Ms Addison is the only author with fiction in three landmark anthologies that celebrate African-Americans speculative writers: the award-winning anthology Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction (Warner Aspect), Dark Dreams (Kensington), and Dark Thirst (Pocket Book). Her work has made frequent appearances over the years on the honorable mention list for Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror and Year’s Best Science-Fiction.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Linda Addison Summary Bibliography

290 Total Publications (246 poems, 23 fiction, 21 non-fiction)

BOOKS (4)

1-“How To Recognize A Demon Has Become Your Friend”

Short stories and poetry (Necon E-Books, 2011) (How) -received HWA Bram Stoker award® 2011

2-“Being Full of Light, Insubstantial”, 100 poems (Space & Time, 2007) -received HWA Bram Stoker award® 2007

3-“Consumed, Reduced to Beautiful Grey Ashes”, poetry (Space & Time, 2001) -received HWA Bram Stoker award® 2001

4-“Animated Objects”, sf, fantasy, horror poetry & short stories (Space & Time, 1997) (AO)

Books with others:

5-“Dark Duet” collaborative poetry collection with Stephen M. Wilson (Necon eBooks, 2012); HWA Bram Stoker finalist 2012

6-”The Four Elements” poetry/prose collection with Rain Graves, Charlee Jacob and Marge Simon (Bad Moon Books, 2013)

POETRY (246) published in (summarized list, see Linda’s site (www.lindaddisonpoet.com for details)

-Magazines: Essence, Asimov’s SF, Star*Line, African Voices, Doorways, Abyss & Apex, Eye to the Telescope

-Anthologies: Dead Cat Bouncing, The Big Book of Necon, Dark Faith, High Stakes (2013)

FICTION (23)

1. “Night of the Living and Dead”; Outer Darkness mag.

2. “Little Red in the Hood” (Tomorrow magazine)

3. “Am I Repeating Myself?” (Outer Darkness magazine)

4. “Dust to Dust”, (Poison Apple)

5. “Boo”, (Going Postal anthology, Space & Time)

6. “One Night At Sheri-Too-Long’s Popcorn Bar”,(AO)

7. “Just Passing Through”; (AO)

8. “The Box”; (AO)

9. “The Christmas Ghost”; Dark Matter magazine

10. “Homecoming”; More Monsters in Memphis, collaboration with Beecher Smith

11. “Twice, At Once, Separated”; Sheree Thomas’ Dark Matter anthology, Warner Books

12. “Excerpts from The Unabridged Traveler’s Guide as UFOs in Galaxy A.G.2” (Scars anthology)

13. “The Power”; Dark Dreams I (Kensington Publishing Corp)

14. “Whispers During Still Moments”; Dark Thirst (Pocket Book)

15. “Milez To Go”; Voices From The Other Side, Dark Dreams II (Kensington Publishing Corp)

16. “When We Dream Together”; Genesis: An Anthology of Black Science Fiction (Graves Sheffield Publishing)

17. ” 369 Gates of Hell”, (How)

18. “Future, Past, Imperfect”, (How)

19 “Artificial Unintelligence”, (How)

20. “Working Up the Corporate Ladder”, (How)

21. “Live and Let Live”, (How); 2013 reprinted in Mothership Tales from Afrofuturism and Beyond

22. “Unrequited”, (How); reprinted in

23. “Heart Throb”; Slices of Flesh (Dark Moon Books)

NON-FICTION (21)

1. Nancy Kress interview, (Pirate Writings)

2. Painfreak by G. Houarner book review, (Pirate Writings)

3. Painfreak by G. Houarner book review, (Poison Apple)

4. Pirates of the Universe by T. Bisson book review, (Pirate Writings)

5. The Orange Cat Bistro by Nancy Linde book review, (Pirate Writings)

6. Terry Bisson interview, (Pirate Writings)

7. HWA Stoker Weekend article w/G. Houarner (Hellnotes)

8. NECON 17 convention article (Hellnotes)

9. The Wings of Honneamise, video review w/Brian Addison (Space & Time)

10. Inside the Works by G.Houarner/T.Piccirilli/E.Lee review; (Pirate Writings)

11. Barry Malzberg interview, (Pirate Writings)

12. Going Postal review, (Pirate Writings)

13. KeeneCon 2000 report (DarkEcho)

14. The Cell movie review, www.feoamante.com

15. “Never Consumed, Never Reduced” article, Jobs In Hell online

16. History & My Writing essay, TheAngryBlackWoman blog

17. Introduction to poetry section in book on Neil Gaiman

18. Recognizing Demons and Angels” article, HWA newsletter, Blood & Spades column

19. The Inner Circle, From the Trenches article for HWA Newsletter

20. Keeping Up, From the Trenches article the HWA Newsletter

21. How Geek Girls Will Rule the World, interview

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

BLACK SPECULATIVE FICTION MONTH SPOTLIGHT #14

Posted by John F. Allen Author on October 19, 2013

TODAY’S BLACK SPECULATIVE FICTION MONTH SPOTLIGHT IS CHYNA MCCOY!

Chyna McCoy

Andre’ Milan McCoy also known as Chyna McCoy, moved to Los Angeles, California in ‘1995’ to pursue his dreams in acting.

Landing on the shores of Venice Beach, Ca, he got his first start at doing Extra work for Television Shows such as Baywatch, Charmed and Pacific Blue. Later, Chyna went on to become the Action Fight Stunt Double for Morpheus in the critically acclaimed film The Matrix & Matrix Reloaded.

Soon after the success of The Matrix, Chyna began focusing on what he does best which is writing. He wrote and conceptualized his first Comic book at the early age of 12 and continued writing mini Novels and cartoon strips into his late teens.

After straying from writing for over 10 years, he returned back to his passion and began hammering away at numerous Screenplays as well as his Graphic Novel Bayne Legacy Apocalypse along with the Animated version of the Novel.

Bayne Legacy Apocalypse Website: http://baynelegacyapocalypse.weebly.com/

All 2D artwork is done by Jay Reed StyleUniversal

Visit Jay Reed’s website @: http//:www.Jreedart.com

Check out this video of Bayne in action!

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

BLACK SPECULATIVE FICTION MONTH SPOTLIGHT #13

Posted by John F. Allen Author on October 18, 2013

TODAY’S BLACK SPECULATIVE FICTION MONTH SPOTLIGHT IS NISI SHAWL!

Nisi Shawl

Nisi Shawl is an American writer who when she was little, I told her middle sister Julie convoluted tales of how she was a mermaid that had come to dwell in the small midwestern town of Kalamazoo, Michigan. This odyssey involved the Saint Lawrence Seaway, several of the Great Lakes, and mysterious underground passages her schoolteacher called aquifers. Her own origin was much simpler, of course; their parents, she explained, had found her in a garbage can.

In 1971, at the age of sixteen, Nisi from Kalamazoo to Ann Arbor to attend the University of Michigan’s Residential College. She took several French courses, Oral History, Cosmology, and a poetry seminar that taught her ten weeks of nothing. Most classes took place in the dorm, and Nisi got a job in the dorm’s library. One day she was startled to notice an extremely short person walking towards me. They were less than two feet high. It took Nisi several seconds to realize that this was a child.

Anyone under a certain age had become alien to her experience. It wasn’t this isolation that led to Nisi dropping out of school. She had an abortion, became depressed and quit going to classes two weeks from finals. She failed to finish her assignments, and left the University without a degree.

Nisi moved into a house called Cosmic Plateau and lived with people who called themselves Bozoes. She paid $65 a month rent and worked part-time as a janitor, an au pair, a dorm cook, an artists’ model. Nisi wrote and performed her writings publicly, at parks and cafes and museums. She learned a lot.

I read Charnas, Russ, Delany, Colette, Wittig. I sent out a horrible story about fornicating centaurs and got a wonderfully sweet rejection letter. Then our landlady kicked all the Bozoes out of Cosmic Plateau, and I had to live by the sweat of my brow.

Nisi worked at a natural foods warehouse, sold structural steel and aluminum, sold used books, got married and joined a band.

In the midst of all of that she kept writing and got better at it.

Nisi’s first science fiction appearance was in the nude. She modelled for one of Rick Lieber’s illustrations for Bruce Sterling’s Crystal Express (the Arkham House hardcover–I’m the Dark Girl of “Telliamed”).

Her first science fiction publication was in Semiotext(e) (see the bibliography below for dates on this and the rest of her print oeuvre). Nisi shared the table of contents with William S. Burroughs, J.G. Ballard, Bruce Sterling, William Gibson and a bunch of less well-known but quite cool others. She states that she owes her part in this literary conspiracty to Crowbar, publisher of the ‘zine Popular Reality.

In 1992 NIsi attended a cyberpunk “symposium” in Detroit. Sterling, in his inimitable manner, supposed that no one in the audience had heard of Semiotext(e), let alone read it, and she was able to retort from the third row that she was in it. So NIsi got to hang out with him, and with Pat Cadigan and John Shirley, which last professional offered to read her stories! He was of the opinion that she could write. He recommended that Nisi attend the Clarion West Writers’ Workshop, where he and Cadigan were to teach that summer.

At Clarion West she learned in six weeks what six years at the University could never have taught her.

Because of Clarion West and another writers’ program in the Puget Sound area (Cottages at Hedgebrook, a retreat on Whidbey Island), Nisi put Seattle near the top of her list when considering a move from Michigan. She’d gotten divorced, sold her house and when she asked her ancestors where she ought to live, they said this was the place.

Her apartment is one block off of the #48 bus route. King County Metro takes Nisi all the way to the beach. Grey and wild, or smooth as oil, the water is unfailingly beautiful. By ways as circuitous as those she described to her sister almost four decades ago, this mermaid has returned to the sea.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://www.nisishawl.com/Bibliography.html

Please visit Nisi’s website @: http://www.nisishawl.com

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

BLACK SPECULATIVE FICTION MONTH SPOTLIGHT #12

Posted by John F. Allen Author on October 18, 2013

TODAY’S BLACK SPECULATIVE FICTION MONTH SPOTLIGHT IS JIBA MOLEI ANDERSON!

Jiba Molei Anderson

Jiba Molei Anderson was born in the city of Detroit, MI on August 17, 1972. The son of Liberian mother and and African American father from the Motor City. He was the product of two environments that were similar, but too different for him to fit comfortably into either world. The four-color world was where Jiba found his solace. His father introduced him to the world of speculative fiction and opened the doors of his imagination. Jiba’s desire took him first to the University of Michigan where he obtained his BFA in Illustration and Photography.

He soon traveled to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where he completed his studies earning an MFA in Visual Communications. Jiba paid his dues. He also walked the corporate route working for companies such as DraftFCB, KBA Marketing, Manga Entertainment, Ryan Partnership and Landmark Sign Group. Jiba worked creating websites for companies like On The Street Promotions, ICEE Records, Oopala Fortifying Shampoo and others.

In 1999, he formed Griot Enterprises, a publishing company / creative studio and created its flagship property, The Horsemen.

The first Horsemen volume, Divine Intervention was released in 2002 to critical acclaim with The Horsemen: The Book of Olorun released in 2009. Jiba has also written the educational text Manifesto: The Tao of Jiba Molei Anderson, which focuses on the creation of comics. In addition, he was Lead Writer and Art Director on the graphic novel Hip Hop Chronicles for Spacedog Entertainment in partnership with Universal Music Group.

Jiba is currently working as lead artist/ art director on Taletown, an independent Facebook game for Tuxedoman Entertainment and completed the animated music video, Start A Fight, for the rock band The Ex-Senators. He currently, as Adjunct Faculty at the International Academy of Design and Technology teaching courses in Animation, Game Design and Fashion Design. Recently, He was an Associate Professor at the Illinois Institute of Art – Schaumburg, teaching courses in Animation and Video Game Design. Jiba has also been featured in the book Black Comix and spoken at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and The Smithsonian National Museum of African Art with his book, The Horsemen, being included in The Smithsonian’s permanent library. Jiba’s work is defined by pop culture. From Alphonse Mucha to Frank Frazetta, from comic books and animation to “Grindhouse” films, these “low-brow” creations sparked my imagination. Their bold and shameless design and marketing aesthetic inspire the way that he creates images and brings his message to the masses…and according to him, they are a lot of fun!

_____________________________________________________________________

Check out his website @: http://www.griotenterprises.com

also,

http://www.behance.net/jazintellect

PUBLISHED WORKS:

• The Horsemen: Divine Intervention – Griot Enterprises

• The Horsemen: Book of Olorun – Griot Enterprises

• Manifesto: The Tao of Jiba Molei Anderson – Griot Enterprises

• High Concept – Griot Enterprises/ The Illinois Institute of Art – Schaumburg

• Even More Fund Comics – Comic Book Legal Defense Fund

• JBD: The Devil’s Due (with LaMorris Richmond) – B.L.A.M. Comics/Griot Enterprises

• The Holy Bible: Dignity & Divinity (with Walter D Greason) – Griot Enterprises

• The Horsemen: Mark of the Cloven (with Jude W. Mire) – Griot Enterprises

PRINT: http://indyplanet.com/store/index.php?manufacturers_id=10781

DIGITAL: http://comics.drivethrustuff.com/index.php?manufacturers_id=359

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

BLACK SPECULATIVE FICTION MONTH SPOTLIGHT #11

Posted by John F. Allen Author on October 17, 2013

TODAY’S BLACK SPECULATIVE FICTION MONTH SPOTLIGHT IS TANANARIVE DUE!

Tananarive Due

Tananarive Due is an American author and educator born in Tallahassee, Florida. She is the oldest of three daughters of civil rights activist Patricia Stephens Due and civil rights lawyer John D. Due Jr. Tananarive was named her after the French name for Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar. She went on to earn a B.S. in journalism from Northwestern University and an M.A. in English literature, with an emphasis on Nigerian literature, from the University of Leeds. While studying at Northwestern, Due lived in the Communications Residential College.

Tananarive serves as the Cosby Chair for the Humanities at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia where she resides. She has written a dozen supernatural suspense novels, including the African Immortals series that began with “My Soul to Keep.” Tananarive won an American Book Award for her supernatural thriller “The Living Blood”, and along with her husband, science fiction author, Steven Barnes, won an NAACP Image Award for the mystery novel “In the Night of the Heat.” Barnes was co-author of the novel and they both worked in collaboration with actor Blair Underwood.

Due worked as a journalist/columnist for the Miami Herald when she wrote her first novel, “The Between,” in 1995. This, like many of her subsequent books, was part of the supernatural genre. Due has also written “The Black Rose”, historical fiction about Madame C. J. Walker (based in part on research conducted by legendary author, Alex Haley (prior to his death) and “Freedom in the Family”, a non-fiction work about the civil rights struggle she co-authored with her mother, Patricia Stephens Due.

She also was one of the contributors to the humor novel, “Naked Came The Manatee”, in which various Miami area authors each contributed chapters to a mystery/thriller parody. Due is also the author of the “African Immortals” novel series and the Tennyson Hardwick novels.

Tananarive is a member of the affiliate faculty in the creative writing MFA program at Antioch University Los Angeles.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Speculative fiction novels

The Between (1995)
The Good House (2003)
Joplin’s Ghost (2005)

African Immortals Series

My Soul to Keep (1997)
The Living Blood (2001)
Blood Colony (2008)
My Soul To Take (2011)

Mysteries

Naked Came the Manatee (1996) (contributor)

The Tenneyson Hardwick novels

Casanegra (2007; with Steven Barnes & Blair Underwood)
In the Night of the Heat (2008; Steven Barnes & Blair Underwood)
From Cape Town with Love (2010; Steven Barnes & Blair Underwood)
South by Southeast (2012; Steven Barnes & Blair Underwood)

Short Stories

“Like Daughter”, Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora (2000)
“Patient Zero”, The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Eighteenth Annual Collection (2001)
“Trial Day”, Mojo: Conjure Stories (2003)
“Afternoon”, Dark Matter: Reading the Bones (2004)
“Senora Suerte”, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction (September 2006)

Other works

The Black Rose, historical fiction featuring Madam C.J. Walker (2000)
Freedom in the Family: A Mother-Daughter Memoir of the Fight for Civil Rights (2003) (with Patricia Stephens Due)

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

BLACK SPECULATIVE FICTION MONTH SPOTLIGHT #10

Posted by John F. Allen Author on October 17, 2013

TODAY’S BLACK SPECULATIVE FICTION MONTH SPOTLIGHT IS CORY WILLIAMS!

Cory Williams

A native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Cory attended the Philadelphia High
School for the Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA), enrolling in the school’s first
year hen it was a fledgling program, where he majored in Creative Writing and
minored in Videodrama, becoming an award-winning director of video projects.
In addition, he was a founder, writer, and cartoonist for CAPA’s newspaper THE
PAINTED WORD, for which he eventually became editor-in-chief. Listed in
WHO’S WHO AMONG AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS and
commended by the National Honors Society, he graduated with CAPA’s second
graduating class in 1981.
Attending STANFORD UNIVERSITY in Stanford, California, where he majored in
Drama and minored in Dance, Cory performed in an average of five to six major
productions per year. He taught art to autistic, learning-disabled, and educable
mentally retarded children at the Peninsula Children’s Center in Menlo Park,
California, was active in the Stanford University Rape Awareness Program,
occasionally wrote for THE STANFORD DAILY, and toured for two years with the
BALLET FOLKLORICO DE STANFORD MEXICAN FOLKDANCE COMPANY.
He received a Bachelors of Arts Degree in Drama in 1986.
As a performing artist, Cory has performed in dance productions, touring shows,
and Off-Broadway productions of ANTIGONE, THE TRIAL OF SUSAN B.
ANTHONY, WE HAVE STORIES TO TELL OF AFRICA, FRATERNITY, NOTES
ON 6FINITY, THE AMEN CORNER, and A FEW HOURS IN HELL, making his
West Coast theatrical debut as the Duke of Cornwall in KING LEAR with the
Pasadena Shakespeare Company in Pasadena, California, following that up as a
member of the ensemble cast of the Fountain Theatre/BAND critically-acclaimed
production of Rita Dove’s THE DARKER FACE OF THE EARTH, then
continuing on to the West Coast premiere of the VoxBox Arts Collective original
production of JIGSAW. In addition, Cory has acted in various commercials,
industrial films and videos, television shows, and feature films such as WHO
SHOT PAT?, PHILADELPHIA, LET’S TALK, THE C-SHIFT, REFLECTIONS
AGO, RED HERRING, FIGHTING WORDS, A DAY OF ATONEMENT and
STRAIGHT ON ‘TIL MORNING.

______________________________________________________________________
Cory is also the author of three science fiction novels, TOTENTANZ, THE
TAKING OF CYNDRIEL’S HOPE and HUNTER’S MOON, all of which are
currently available through the online content marketplace http://www.lulu.com.
Cory Williams is currently living and working in Los Angeles, California.

______________________________________________________________________

DARKSPEED ARYDANI

ISBN 978-1-304-47446-9

http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/darkspeed-arydani/14053220

HUNTER’S MOON

ISBN 978-0-9765739-0-6

http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/hunters-moon/8075083

THE TAKING OF CYNDRIEL’S HOPE
ISBN 978-0-6151-3793-3

http://www.lulu.com/content/571709

TOTENTANZ
ISBN 1-4116-7793-5

http://www.lulu.com/content/187915

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

BLACK SPECULATIVE FICTION MONTH SPOTLIGHT #9

Posted by John F. Allen Author on October 16, 2013

TODAY’S BLACK SPECULATIVE FICTION MONTH SPOTLIGHT IS CAROLE MCDONNELL!

Carole McDonnell

Carole McDonnell holds a BA degree in Literature from SUNY Purchase and is a writer of Christian, speculative fiction, and multicultural stories. Her writings appear in various anthologies including “So Long Been Dreaming: Post-colonialism in science fiction,” edited by Nalo Hopkinson and published by Arsenal Pulp Press; “Jigsaw Nation” published by Spyre publications, and other publications. Her reviews appear in print and at various online sites. She is a columnist for several Christian and African-American magazines. She lives in New York’s Hudson Valley with her husband, two sons, and their pets. Her first novel, Wind Follower was published by Juno Books in September 2007. Her second novel, The Constant Tower, was published in June 2013

Her Published Fiction and Essays include:

— “Oreo Blues”– Essay in LIFENOTES: Personal Writings By Contemporary Black Women, edited by Patricia Bell-Scott. Published by W.W. Norton.

— “Homecoming” – Short story. Won first prize in New Mass Media’s Annual contest and was a third place winner in the annual national Contemporary Western Fiction contest.

— “Lingua Franca” – Short story. So Long Been Dreaming: Post-Colonialism in Science Fiction — Arsenal Pulp Press – October 2004.

— “Black is the color of my true love’s hair,” – Short story. Fantastic Visions III – Fantasist Enterprises – August 2005.

— “The Australians”– Essay in LIFE SPICES from Seasoned Sistahs: Writings By Mature Women of color, Published by Nubian Images Publications.

— Homecoming at the Borderlands Cafe – Short story to be published in Jigsaw Nation anthology – DNA Publications March 2006

— “The Cat Came Back” – Nudges from God anthology.

— “That Smile” – “Then an angel came along” anthology.

— Additional devotionals appear in Christian print magazines and websites.

The Gleaners — in Black Faery anthology

So Far — in Black Science Fiction Society anthology

Changeling — in Griots edited by Milton Davis and Charles Saunders

Housewarming — in When the Morning Stars Sang anthology edited by Lyn Perry

A Cry For Hire – Fantastic Stories of the Imagination, edited by Warren Lapine

Her stories are included in her short story collection, Spirit Fruit: Collected Speculative Fiction ebook – http://www.amazon.com/Spirit-Fruit-Collected-Speculative-ebook/dp/B0069VMX22

FOR THIS WEEK, CAROLE HAS MADE THE SHORT STORIES FREE ON KINDLE!!!

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

BLACK SPECULATIVE FICTION MONTH SPOTLIGHT #8

Posted by John F. Allen Author on October 15, 2013

TODAY’S BLACK SPECULATIVE FICTION MONTH SPOTLIGHT IS AUTHOR JAMES LEE NATHAN III!

James Lee Nathan III

James Lee Nathan III author, was born in Birmingham, Alabama and moved to Jackson Heights Queens NY in 1963. He grew up in Corona and East Elmhurst and graduated from the HS of Art and Design in 1979. He entered the US Air Force shortly thereafter,served 20 years and retired in August of 1999. He was stationed overseas for 18 of the 20 years and has been to 40 states and 10 different countries. He loves pugs, jazz, beer, and the company of an intelligent and pretty woman on occasion. James is single and resides in Severn, Maryland with his two daughters and two pugs.

My motivations

Throughout my life’s travels, I have always been fascinated with history, spirituality and the intense passionate relationships between us all. My works of speculative urban fiction are unique and captivating simply because one never truly knows if these are works of fiction or actual real accounts

The Characters

I created a world of sensual erotic dominance, and a main character called Robert Manis as a homage to the sexual freedoms of the 60s and 70s. It is also representative of exactly what occurs when one can have all one wants. Robert Manis is the master of sensual erotic dominance who expands the realms of romance into the erotic crime drama world.

Charles StClaire is the irrepressible hero from Better Off Dead. Charles is the reluctant Archangel Michael s Captain; as such he is the commander of Gods Army on Earth. To me he represents the hero children want to intercede on their behalves during traumatic domestic events.

Ibrahim and his descendant Bass Reeves are from my historical fiction work Are there no more Dragon Warriors? These characters will bring a common theme to this series by consistently forcing the reader to question what makes for a good person? A hero? Please join me on these Parallel Journeys of the mind.