Feature Articles

Fantasy Pioneer Continues to Build His Legacy

by Veronica Henry

We have Charles Saunders to thank for bringing color to the world of fantastical fiction. He is an African American man, writing stories based on fictious Africa. His work is full of rich imagery, exquiste scenes and heroes that before him, didn't exist in the genre. The author of the Imaro and Dossouye series, was gracious enough to grant an us interview. For those of you who have yet to delve into the world of fantasy, this is a good place, in fact, the only place you should begin the quest. Read more

An Interview with Author - Milton Davis

by Veronica Henry

Milton Davis is a chemist finally pursuing his dream to write. The author of Meji, an African based fantasy novel writes African based fantasy and science fiction, with a little historical fiction thrown in every now and then.

Meji Synopsis: On the continent of Uhuru, in the grasslands of the Sesu, Inkosi Dingane is granted his wish. His Great Wife Shani bears him a son, an heir to his growing empire. But the ancestors have plans of their own. Shani bears him twin boys, meji, an abomination among the Sesu, but a blessing to Shani’s people, the Mawena. Thus begins the story of two brothers destined to transform their world. One brother, Ndoro, fights for his place among the Sesu, hoping to shed the stigma of abomination. The other, Obaseki, grows to a man among the Mawena, struggling with a gift that alienates him from his family and eventually leads to his exile. Each brother sets out to find his destiny, revealing a prophecy that changes them and their world forever. Read more

Man Up!

by Steve Perry

Man Up! is a hard hitting, hip, introspective look into what the Black community must do to save itself. Finally, a voice speaks to the complex relationship between personal and community responsibility. Steve Perry effectively calls to task organizations such as the NAACP and the Black church as well as talking heads like Michael Eric Dyson and Cornell West for their role in the retardation of the Black community. Ultimately Man Up! is about the simple solutions offered in each chapter.

Read Excerpts and Purchase here.

Afro-Future Females: Black Writers Chart Science Fiction's Newest New-Wave Trajectory

Edited by Marleen S. Barr, is the first combined science fiction critical anthology and short story collection to focus upon black women via written and visual texts. The volume creates a dialogue with existing theories of Afro-Futurism in order to generate fresh ideas about how to apply race to science fiction studies in terms of gender. The contributors, including Hortense Spillers, Samuel R. Delany, Octavia E. Butler, and Steven Barnes, formulate a woman-centered Afro-Futurism by repositioning previously excluded fiction to redefine science fiction as a broader fantastic endeavor. They articulate a platform for scholars to mount a vigorous argument in favor of redefining science fiction to encompass varieties of fantastic writing and, therefore, to include a range of black women’s writing that would otherwise be excluded. Afro-Future Females builds upon Barr’s previous work in black science fiction and fills a gap in the literature. It is the first critical anthology to address the "blackness" of outer space fiction in terms of feminism, emphasizing that it is necessary to revise the very nature of a genre that has been constructed in such a way as to exclude its new black participants. Black science fiction writers alter genre conventions to change how we read and define science fiction itself. The work’s main point: black science fiction is the most exciting literature of the nascent twenty-first century.

Marleen S. Barr is a science fiction pioneer who broke new ground in feminist science fiction criticism with her book Alien to Femininity: Speculative Fiction and Feminist Theory. She won the Science Fiction Research Association Pilgrim Award for Lifetime Achievement in science fiction criticism.

The Inspirational Journey of A GlobeTrotter - Jon Haggins

by Veronica Henry

If ever there was someone for whom a memoir was befitting, its Jon Haggins. Rarely do most of us have the opportunity to embark upon such amazing journeys. From his modest roots in a small Florida town to Manhattan, Jon truly has seen it all. Yet, I get the unmistakable impression that there is still so much more to come.

The term “done it all”, has been tossed around more than a baseball, but when it's used in context with Jon, this is no overstatement. The memoir, entitled, Yes I Can should be tops on your summer reading list. Of his message, Jon says, “ I want people realize they can do anything, all they need is a dream and to take action.” Full Story

Books

Sin No More

by Kimberla Lawson Roby

Reviewed by Tina C., Beatties Ford Road Branch

Roby pulls you in until you are hooked with plenty of action. Sin No More has a central theme that’s timely and draws readers of all backgrounds. Her characters come to life and are so realistic; there are also a few that you love to hate. There are plenty of scandals to keep you wondering what will happen next. Reverend Curtis Black, the bestselling author, and his wife Charlotte think that love is enough to untangle the web of lies they have woven. Charlotte doesn’t trust that Curtis has stopped his cheating ways while on the road promoting his latest book. However, she has kept many secrets from Curtis while he was away as well.

Murder, Mayhem And A Fine Man

by Claudia Mair Burney

Amanda Bell Brown's birthday dinner with her sister turns into both a murder investigation and the meeting of a very fine man. Amanda is a forensic psychologist who does most of her work with jail inmates. But this case becomes hands-on work when she begins helping in the investigation of two men found murdered in a house. A house she once visited during research on a religious cult. And as she begins helping the very attractive Jazz Brown with the case, their chemistry resurfaces again and again, despite Jazz's claim that he is "unavailable". Burney's first novel in this series has moments of breath-taking suspense, witty dialogue, and Christian-faith values. This quick-paced novel, written in Bell's honest, well-meaning voice, will leave readers searching for the sequel.

Paulo Coehlo - Author of The Alchemist