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Ok, my new novel, Banjo Strings, is out in ebook form and the next step in my marketing campaign is seeking good, objective reviews for my controversial and colorful adult epic. Instead of shelling out big bucks to 'pay for review' sites for results that certainly wouldn't be considered 'objective,' I'm choosing this option:
The ebook is on sale (among other places) at Smashwords for $4.95, and to submit a review you have to purchase the book first. So here's the deal...
I will refund the cost of the book for up to five serious, objective reviews by genuine Erotic Horror / SciFi / Southern Gothic / Dark Fantasy fans who will:
1. Read the book sample.
2. Notify me afterward that you intend to purchase and read for review (don't buy the book until after I register you as a 'review reader').
3. Read the entire book.
4. Sign the review and allow its use in promotions.
The book sample covers the first third of the novel, more than enough to gauge your interest in participating. Once the review is officially published at Smashwords, I'll send a crisp (or wrinkled) Abe Lincoln your way either electronically or through snail mail with my thanks.
That's the deal. Holla back. BTW, I've posted this notice at my Facebook, Author Nation and Assn. of Poetry Podcasting pages, and hope to fill the slots by month's end.
However, long before the colonization of Europeans, Africans built kingdoms and monuments that rivaled any European monarchy. Nevertheless, because of racial prejudice, much of Black African history has been distorted and ignored to give justification to the enslavement of millions for financial profit. This paper will be discussing the ancient African kingdoms of Meroë, Ghana, and the Swahili and their rich contributions to the pages of history.
The kingdom of Meroë started around 1000 BC when Nubian rulers built up a politically independent state known to the Egyptians as Kush. Eventually, the rulers of Kush would move to Nubia and establish the kingdom of Meroë (Davis & Gates, p. 30). These rulers established their capital at Meroë around 300 B.C., and the kingdom lasted there for more than nine centuries.
However, some historians feel that because Meroitic culture imitated the Egyptian culture so closely, the Meroitës brought no culture of their own to the pages of history. This is not true According to archaeological evidence discovered in North Sudan that is over 2,500 years old, there was an old civilization along the Nile River at lower and Upper Nubia (modern day Sudan) that was older than the civilizations in the North (Egypt). Also, there is evidence that proves that the known Old Egyptian Civilization was an advanced stage of an even older civilization located in the Sudan (Davis & Gates, p. 35).
This evidence proves that Meroë had a culture and history that was even older than of the Egyptians. If anything, Egypt was a carbon copy of Meroë. This kingdom also had its own language. Most historians however, attributed their language and alphabet system to the Egyptians. It was a common belief that ancient Black Africans could not and did not develop a written language. However, inscriptions in a distinct indigenous alphabet appear in Meroë as early as the 2nd century B.C, proving that these assumptions are not true (Davis & Gates, p. 110).
This evidence proves that Meroë had a culture and history that was even older than of the Egyptians. If anything, Egypt was a carbon copy of Meroë. This kingdom also had its own language. Most historians however, attributed their language and alphabet system to the Egyptians. It was a common belief that ancient Black Africans could not and did not develop a written language. However, inscriptions in a distinct indigenous alphabet appear in Meroë as early as the 2nd century B.C, proving that these assumptions are not true (Davis & Gates, p. 110).
This written Meroitic language was used into the 5th century, when Old Nubian eventually replaced it. Widespread use of Meroitic on monuments indicates that a significant percentage of the population was able to read it. However, the meanings of these inscriptions remain unknown, as this hieroglyphic-derived script is as yet untranslatable.
Another little know fact about the Meroitës is that they had a unusually high number of queens who ruled without male intervention. One queen, Queen Amanirenus led her army against a Roman invasion in 24 BC. She won the first battle, and despite losing a second battle, the Romans had enough, agreed to a truce and went back to Rome. Rome never did conquer Meroë, and this kingdom continued to thrive for another 200 years. Actually "queendom" would be more accurate, since the leader of Meroë was usually a warrior queen, called a "kandake" which means "queen mother" or more simply "gore"meaning "ruler"(Fairservis. p.60).
In terms of economics, Meroë was famed for its massive iron production, the first large-scale industry of its kind in the Nile Valley and had extensive trade with Greece and Rome. Because of the production of iron, the armies had better weapons to use during battle and the farmers had better axes and hoes to work their lands. Meroitë traders exported ivory, leopard skins, ostrich feathers, ebony, and gold and soon gained direct access to the expanding trade of the Red Sea (Shillington, p. 40).
The kingdom of Meroë eventually went into decline. Causes for the decline of the Meroitic Kingdom are still largely unknown. The Meroitic kingdom faced formidable competition because of the expansion of Axum, a powerful Abyssinian state in modern Ethiopia to the east. About A.D. 350, an Axumite army captured and destroyed Meroe city, ending the kingdom's independent existence.
Another little know fact about the Meroitës is that they had a unusually high number of queens who ruled without male intervention. One queen, Queen Amanirenus led her army against a Roman invasion in 24 BC. She won the first battle, and despite losing a second battle, the Romans had enough, agreed to a truce and went back to Rome. Rome never did conquer Meroë, and this kingdom continued to thrive for another 200 years. Actually "queendom" would be more accurate, since the leader of Meroë was usually a warrior queen, called a "kandake" which means "queen mother" or more simply "gore"meaning "ruler"(Fairservis. p.60).
In terms of economics, Meroë was famed for its massive iron production, the first large-scale industry of its kind in the Nile Valley and had extensive trade with Greece and Rome. Because of the production of iron, the armies had better weapons to use during battle and the farmers had better axes and hoes to work their lands. Meroitë traders exported ivory, leopard skins, ostrich feathers, ebony, and gold and soon gained direct access to the expanding trade of the Red Sea (Shillington, p. 40).
The kingdom of Meroë eventually went into decline. Causes for the decline of the Meroitic Kingdom are still largely unknown. The Meroitic kingdom faced formidable competition because of the expansion of Axum, a powerful Abyssinian state in modern Ethiopia to the east. About A.D. 350, an Axumite army captured and destroyed Meroe city, ending the kingdom's independent existence.
The West African Empire of Ghana is another kingdom whose history was downplayed and attributed to outside factors. Although the Berbers originally founded Ghana in the fifth century, it was built on the southern edge of Berber populations. In time, the land became dominated by the Soninke, a Mande speaking people who lived in the region bordering the Sahara (McKissack & McKissack, p. 112). They built their capital city, Kumbi Saleh, right on the edge of the Sahara and the city quickly became the center of the Trans-Saharan trade routes.
Ghana accumulated great wealth because of the Trans-Saharan trade routes. This wealth made it possible for Ghana to conquer local chieftaincies and demand tribute from these subordinate states. This tribute, however, paled next to the wealth generated by the commerce of goods that passed from western Africa east to Egypt and the Middle East. This trade primarily involved gold, salt, and copper (Koslow, p. 70).
A hereditary king called the Ghana ruled Ghana. The kingship was matrilineal (as were all Sahelian monarchies to follow); the king's sister provided the heir to the throne (McKissack & McKissack, p. 115). In addition to military power, the king appears to have been the supreme judge of the kingdom.
Although northern African had been dominated by the religion of Islam since the eighth century, the kingdom of Ghana never converted (McKissack & McKissack, p. 120). The Ghanaian court, however, allowed Muslims to settle in the cities and even encouraged Muslim specialists to help the royal court administer the government and advice on legal matters.
The original founders of Ghana ultimately proved to be its demise. Unlike the Ghanaians, the Berbers, now calling themselves Almoravids, fervently converted to Islam and in 1075, declared a holy war, or jihad, against the kingdom of Ghana. Little is known about what exactly happened but nonetheless, Ghana ceased to be a commercial or military power after 1100. The Almoravid revolution ultimately ended the reign of Ghana.
Europeans and Arabs alike have portrayed the history of the Swahili kingdom as one of Muslim-Arab domination, with the African people and its rulers playing a passive role in the process. However, recent archaeological evidence found shows that the Swahili people are descendants of the Bantu speaking people who settled along the East African coast in the first millennium (Horton & Middleton, p. 70). Although both Arabians and Persians intermarried with the Swahili, neither of these cultures had anything to do with the establishment of Swahili civilization. These cultures became absorbed into an already flourishing African civilization founded by ancient Bantu Africans.
The eastern coast of Africa changed profoundly around the close of the first millennium AD. During this time, Bantu-speaking Africans from the interior migrated and settled along the coast from Kenya to South Africa. Next, merchants and traders from the Muslim world realized the strategic importance of the east coast of Africa for commercial traffic and began to settle there (Horton & Middleton, p. 72). Marriage between the Bantu women and men of the Middle East created and cemented a rich Swahili culture, fusing religion, agricultural architecture, textiles, food, as well as purchasing power. From 900 A.D., the east coast of Africa saw an influx of Shirazi Arabs from the Persian Gulf and even small settlements of Indians. The Arabs called this region al-Zanj, "The Blacks," and the coastal areas slowly came under the control of Muslim merchants from Arabia and Persia (Horton & Middleton, p. 75). By the 1300's, the major east African ports from Mombaza in the north to Sofala in the south had become thoroughly Islamic cities and cultural centers.
The language that grew out of this civilization is one of the most common and widespread of the lingua franca: a lingua franca is a secondary language that is a combination of two or more languages. Swahili or Kiswahili comes from the Arabic word sawahil, which means, "coast." Swahili belongs to the Sabaki subgroup of the Northeastern coast Bantu languages. It is closely related to the Miji Kenda group of languages, Pokomo and Ngazija (Horton & Middleton, p.110). Over at least a thousand years of intense and varied interaction with the Middle East has given Swahili a rich infusion of loanwords from a wide assortment of languages. Even with the substantial number of Arabic loanwords present in Swahili, the language is in fact, Bantu.
The Swahili civilization expanded southwards until they reached Kilwa in Zanzibar (from the Arabic word al-Zan). Later, its inhabitants carved out a small territory even further south around Sofala in Zimbabwe (Horton & Middleton, p. 140). While the northern cities remained localized and had little influence on African culture inland from the coast, the Sofalans actively went inland and spread Islam and Islamic culture deep in African territory (Horton & Middleton, p. 150).
Ghana accumulated great wealth because of the Trans-Saharan trade routes. This wealth made it possible for Ghana to conquer local chieftaincies and demand tribute from these subordinate states. This tribute, however, paled next to the wealth generated by the commerce of goods that passed from western Africa east to Egypt and the Middle East. This trade primarily involved gold, salt, and copper (Koslow, p. 70).
A hereditary king called the Ghana ruled Ghana. The kingship was matrilineal (as were all Sahelian monarchies to follow); the king's sister provided the heir to the throne (McKissack & McKissack, p. 115). In addition to military power, the king appears to have been the supreme judge of the kingdom.
Although northern African had been dominated by the religion of Islam since the eighth century, the kingdom of Ghana never converted (McKissack & McKissack, p. 120). The Ghanaian court, however, allowed Muslims to settle in the cities and even encouraged Muslim specialists to help the royal court administer the government and advice on legal matters.
The original founders of Ghana ultimately proved to be its demise. Unlike the Ghanaians, the Berbers, now calling themselves Almoravids, fervently converted to Islam and in 1075, declared a holy war, or jihad, against the kingdom of Ghana. Little is known about what exactly happened but nonetheless, Ghana ceased to be a commercial or military power after 1100. The Almoravid revolution ultimately ended the reign of Ghana.
Europeans and Arabs alike have portrayed the history of the Swahili kingdom as one of Muslim-Arab domination, with the African people and its rulers playing a passive role in the process. However, recent archaeological evidence found shows that the Swahili people are descendants of the Bantu speaking people who settled along the East African coast in the first millennium (Horton & Middleton, p. 70). Although both Arabians and Persians intermarried with the Swahili, neither of these cultures had anything to do with the establishment of Swahili civilization. These cultures became absorbed into an already flourishing African civilization founded by ancient Bantu Africans.
The eastern coast of Africa changed profoundly around the close of the first millennium AD. During this time, Bantu-speaking Africans from the interior migrated and settled along the coast from Kenya to South Africa. Next, merchants and traders from the Muslim world realized the strategic importance of the east coast of Africa for commercial traffic and began to settle there (Horton & Middleton, p. 72). Marriage between the Bantu women and men of the Middle East created and cemented a rich Swahili culture, fusing religion, agricultural architecture, textiles, food, as well as purchasing power. From 900 A.D., the east coast of Africa saw an influx of Shirazi Arabs from the Persian Gulf and even small settlements of Indians. The Arabs called this region al-Zanj, "The Blacks," and the coastal areas slowly came under the control of Muslim merchants from Arabia and Persia (Horton & Middleton, p. 75). By the 1300's, the major east African ports from Mombaza in the north to Sofala in the south had become thoroughly Islamic cities and cultural centers.
The language that grew out of this civilization is one of the most common and widespread of the lingua franca: a lingua franca is a secondary language that is a combination of two or more languages. Swahili or Kiswahili comes from the Arabic word sawahil, which means, "coast." Swahili belongs to the Sabaki subgroup of the Northeastern coast Bantu languages. It is closely related to the Miji Kenda group of languages, Pokomo and Ngazija (Horton & Middleton, p.110). Over at least a thousand years of intense and varied interaction with the Middle East has given Swahili a rich infusion of loanwords from a wide assortment of languages. Even with the substantial number of Arabic loanwords present in Swahili, the language is in fact, Bantu.
The Swahili civilization expanded southwards until they reached Kilwa in Zanzibar (from the Arabic word al-Zan). Later, its inhabitants carved out a small territory even further south around Sofala in Zimbabwe (Horton & Middleton, p. 140). While the northern cities remained localized and had little influence on African culture inland from the coast, the Sofalans actively went inland and spread Islam and Islamic culture deep in African territory (Horton & Middleton, p. 150).
The major Swahili city-states were Mogadishu, Barawa, Mombasa (Kenya), Gedi, Pate, Malindi, Zanzibar, Kilwa, and Sofala in the far south (Horton & Middleton, p. 155). Kilwa was the most famous of these city-states and was particularly wealthy because it controlled the southern port of Sofala, which had access to the gold, produced in the interior (near "Great Zimbabwe"), and its location as the farthest point south at which ships from India could hope to sail and return in a single monsoon season.
These city-states were very cosmopolitan for their time and they were all politically independent of one another. In fact, they were more like competitive companies or corporations, each vying for the lion's share of African trade. The chief export was ivory, sandalwood, ebony, and gold. Textiles from India and porcelain from China were also brought by Arab traders (Horton & Middleton, p. 175). While the Arabs and Persians played a role in the growth of the Swahili civilization, the nobility was of African descent and they ran the city-states (Horton & Middleton p.195). However, the nobility were Muslims and it was the Muslims who controlled the wealth. Below the nobility were the commoners and the resident foreigners who made up a large part of the citizenry.
However, Islam itself penetrated very little into the interior among the hunters, pastoralists, and farmers. Even the areas of the coast near the trading towns remained relatively unaffected (Horton & Middleton p.198). In the towns, the mud and thatch houses of the non-Muslim common people surrounded the stone and coral buildings of the Muslim elite, and it seems that most followers of Islam were wealthy, not poor.
Still, a culture developed for the Swahili that fused African and Islamic elements. Family lineage, for example, was traced both through the maternal line, which controlled property, an African practice, and through the paternal line, which was the Muslim tradition. Swahili culture had a strong Islamic influence but retained many of its African origins.
These city-states began to decline in the sixteenth century; the advent of Portuguese trade disrupted the old trade routes and made the Swahili commercial centers obsolete. The Portuguese wanted native Africans to have no share in African trade and busily set about conquering the Islamic city-states along the eastern coast (Horton & Middleton, p.225). In the late seventeenth century, the imam (religious leader) of Oman drove the Portuguese from the coast, and gradually established his authority over the coast.
The existence of these ancient Black African civilizations proves once and for all that Africa had a culture and a history of its own other than Egyptian that endured for centuries before the advent of outside factors. The kingdom of Meroë ruled for centuries before the Egyptians and deserves its rightful place as one of the premier ancient civilizations of the world. The kingdom of Ghana proved that Africans were capable of managing their own affairs without the intervention of Europeans. The Swahili and their language were around for centuries before Arabians and others "discovered" them.
These civilizations had their own culture, language and commerce before the advent of Europeans and Muslims in Africa and for the most part, the world does not know anything about them. That is a major crime against the study of history and hopefully, through more archaeological studies and writings, the rich and interesting history of these magnificent civilizations will be told and treasured for future generations.
Bibliography Fairservis, Jr., Walter A. The Ancient Kingdoms of the Nile. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1962.
Davis, Lynn. Gates, Jr. Henry Louis. Wonders of the African World. New York: Random House Publishing, 1999.
Horton, Mark & Middleton, John. The Swahili: The Social Landscape of a Mercantile Society (Peoples of Africa). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing. 2001.
Koslow, Philip. Centuries of Greatness - The West African Kingdoms: 750-1900. London: Chelsea House Publishers, 1995.
McKissack, Patricia & Fredrick Mckissack. The Royal Kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhay - Life in Medieval Africa. New York: Henry Holt and Company, Inc., 1994.
Shillington, Kevin. History of Africa. Oxford: Macmillan Education, 1995.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kathy_Henry
These city-states were very cosmopolitan for their time and they were all politically independent of one another. In fact, they were more like competitive companies or corporations, each vying for the lion's share of African trade. The chief export was ivory, sandalwood, ebony, and gold. Textiles from India and porcelain from China were also brought by Arab traders (Horton & Middleton, p. 175). While the Arabs and Persians played a role in the growth of the Swahili civilization, the nobility was of African descent and they ran the city-states (Horton & Middleton p.195). However, the nobility were Muslims and it was the Muslims who controlled the wealth. Below the nobility were the commoners and the resident foreigners who made up a large part of the citizenry.
However, Islam itself penetrated very little into the interior among the hunters, pastoralists, and farmers. Even the areas of the coast near the trading towns remained relatively unaffected (Horton & Middleton p.198). In the towns, the mud and thatch houses of the non-Muslim common people surrounded the stone and coral buildings of the Muslim elite, and it seems that most followers of Islam were wealthy, not poor.
Still, a culture developed for the Swahili that fused African and Islamic elements. Family lineage, for example, was traced both through the maternal line, which controlled property, an African practice, and through the paternal line, which was the Muslim tradition. Swahili culture had a strong Islamic influence but retained many of its African origins.
These city-states began to decline in the sixteenth century; the advent of Portuguese trade disrupted the old trade routes and made the Swahili commercial centers obsolete. The Portuguese wanted native Africans to have no share in African trade and busily set about conquering the Islamic city-states along the eastern coast (Horton & Middleton, p.225). In the late seventeenth century, the imam (religious leader) of Oman drove the Portuguese from the coast, and gradually established his authority over the coast.
The existence of these ancient Black African civilizations proves once and for all that Africa had a culture and a history of its own other than Egyptian that endured for centuries before the advent of outside factors. The kingdom of Meroë ruled for centuries before the Egyptians and deserves its rightful place as one of the premier ancient civilizations of the world. The kingdom of Ghana proved that Africans were capable of managing their own affairs without the intervention of Europeans. The Swahili and their language were around for centuries before Arabians and others "discovered" them.
These civilizations had their own culture, language and commerce before the advent of Europeans and Muslims in Africa and for the most part, the world does not know anything about them. That is a major crime against the study of history and hopefully, through more archaeological studies and writings, the rich and interesting history of these magnificent civilizations will be told and treasured for future generations.
Bibliography Fairservis, Jr., Walter A. The Ancient Kingdoms of the Nile. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1962.
Davis, Lynn. Gates, Jr. Henry Louis. Wonders of the African World. New York: Random House Publishing, 1999.
Horton, Mark & Middleton, John. The Swahili: The Social Landscape of a Mercantile Society (Peoples of Africa). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing. 2001.
Koslow, Philip. Centuries of Greatness - The West African Kingdoms: 750-1900. London: Chelsea House Publishers, 1995.
McKissack, Patricia & Fredrick Mckissack. The Royal Kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhay - Life in Medieval Africa. New York: Henry Holt and Company, Inc., 1994.
Shillington, Kevin. History of Africa. Oxford: Macmillan Education, 1995.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kathy_Henry
About this project:
The reason I write and produce stories featuring black characters is because their are very little heroes in mainstream media that look like african americans. So I am creating a film called "The Flying Bullet: Peril of the Phoenix Planet" which will be a SCI-FI adventure film dealing with a Tuskegee Airman being transported millions of mile away from Earth in 1943. This film is a 100% science fiction story. I took the rich history of african americans and combined it with the science fiction genre. The story deals with the struggles of african americans to be counted as full citizens of the United States in defense of their country during WWII. Curt Master soons discovers that the planet Earth is entangled in a bigger intergalactic struggle to remain free from a nefarious Warlord.
My screenplay is already complete. I plan to begin shooting in June of 2010. I have enlisted aid from other african american actors, illustrators and visual effects personnel. The film will be
shot in a studio using green screen technology, on location in Hunstville, Alabama for outdoor scenes and at the U.S Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama for interior sci-fi scenes. The film should be complete by February 2010. I plan on entering it in the the Atlanta Film Festival in April of 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia for its premiere. Also I will premiere it at the Boys and Girls Club of Huntsville, Alabama for free to all the kids. Then the film will go on sale for the public in June 2011.
Special bonus features will include upcoming projects and a "making of/ director commentary."
The cost will cover studio time, CGI work, fees, software. I have several actors involved in the project doing it for free. They are doing it because they love sci-fi and want to see a project like this so all kids and adults can enjoy. But I would like to have something left over in order to pay them a nominal fee.
Heroes Like Me Entertainment wil produce original, low-budget, short films in the action, adventure and sci-fi genre starring african americans. I'm not asking for a hand-out but an opportunity to market the films to cable companies like TV-One, BET, SCI-FI Channel, Nickelodeon, and others networks.
Check out my website at heroeslikeme.com where you can see my other published work and content. If you have any further questions plesase email me at chris@heroeslikeme.com
I believe that everyone deserves heroes that look like them.
Project location: Huntsville, AL
There's nothing wrong with editors; they're signing the checks so, if they want changes, they should be entitled to ask for them. But there's something about letting folks see stuff the way I meant it originally that appeals to me.
If things go well with this first book I'll be doing more via TWP and not just my own stuff.
Anyway, here's the official pitch.
HURRY! HURRY! HURRY! ESHU... A lonely god at the end of the universe? Sounds like a party. DR. EIDLING... A scientist with a physics problem that just might be murder. ANTIOPE... A young girl with a secret bundle, monsters in the dark woods? Not your grandmother's fairy tale. Geoffrey Thorne, author of Star Trek: Titan: Sword of Damocles, assembles these tales and many more under one tent for the first time. Bring your friends! Bring your lovers! Bring your cats! There's something in the Dreamnasium for everybody!  |
I have started my response to the movie: Avatar. I have created a short story called: Revival. The scenario starts out the same -- greedy humans invade peaceful people on beautiful, unspoiled planet. But I added a few land mines into the story. This is part one, I hope you enjoy it. Also, you can get a free copy of my E-book, " A Cup of Paradise" at the site.
Go to: http://www.sbattle.com
Yes, if it come from your tap,in a bottle,or from reverse osmosis,because that water is acidic. Our body needs "ALKALINE" water........To be blunt,"Kangen water is radically changing the lives of so so many around the world.....Kangen means "Return To Black Orgin" and that's exactly what this water does....By no means am i trying to make money.....However, " What If Something as simple as changeing the water you drink could have a profound impact on the health of your family............ www.drinkangen.org
First, let me saythat I do not wish to exists at any cost. If I must cast off all that Iam, and myself become an abomination to myself and others, I wouldrather that I not have been born at all. And likewise for this country,if we yield to the vulgar nature of fear and loathing to continue ourexistence then we have already forsaken all those things we claim tobe, and we make a mockery of the creed "One Nation Under God".
Secondly, it seems equally clear to me that "we" must push against thecurrent of hate and rage, with all the vigor of our beings, that allthat we have worked for may not perish from the face of the earth. Yes,this country is at great risk right now, but not from anythingpresident Obama has done, but rather from the lips of those who opposefreedom when the candidate of their choice is not elected. Where werethese voices the previous eight years? With very few exceptions, thoseclamoring the loudest to that we are on the wrong track, are the verysame ones who sold and embarrassed themselves for the preivousadministration. Where was their outrage then?
Thirdly, we mustconfess that we are a country of morally dishonest people when it comesto politics. We take up truths that line up with our predeterminedposition or affiliation. Many know the truth but they are too afraid tosay it. The truth is, that President George H Bush (the father) was agood president. He corrected the fiscal policies for President Reagan,that led to the last major recession. President Reagan was a greatleader, but his policies were very flawed. President Clinton benefitedfrom President Bush's fiscal policy, but had the good sense to buildupon them. And as the years pass and the media spin wears off,President Carter will look better and better. While not right oneverything, he was right on so much, that we as a nation were just notready to hear (he called for energy independence before it was a coolthing to do).
So, the question in my mind is just how do wechange the conversation? How do we affect change, such that we speakand act upon real issues and not rhetoric and blind ideology born outof fear of those different from ourselves?
We write.
We write upon this gigantic blackboard called the Internet. We write tonewspapers large and small. We write to the radio stations thatbroadcast programs that prey upon our fears and promote incivility. Wewrite to our legislators and congress persons. We write articles,opinion pieces and letters to national and local magazines. We writeanywhere where we have the right to express ourselves and our sharedbelief of a better existence here in this life. We write the truth, nomatter how painful it may be, whether it benefits us personally or not,and whether it offends or not. We must have faith in the truth, andthat by its inherent power; we will be delivered from this currentclimate of bitterness and deceit.
Lastly, let us remember thatnothing is impossible for those who have faith in what is good andjust. Whether we see the harvest in our generation, does not matter incomparison to the preservation of the process, built upon the beliefthat all men are created equal, and that we might pass this hope alongto future generations, granting them the faith to continue on...
Sincerely,
Alan Jones
This story has its origins in my dreams. Let us hope it inspires the makings of a wonderful narative.
Night was fast approaching and I felt compelled to go outside. I think I lived alone and I do not know why I needed to go outside.
As I came out of the building I saw on my left two people, one atop a camel, robed completely in black. Only his dark eyes were visible. The other, in a dirty white Arab outfit and a turban, looked directly at me and smiled. I walked towards him. I had instantly trusted him, almost like I knew him. And then the ground beneath me shifted, turned into sand, and it seemed like we were in a small desert heaped high with with dunes, right here in the outskirts of this lush green town. I approached the pair on unsteady feet. The one atop the camel reached into the inner folds of his black robes and retreived what looked like a black cloth wrapped around an uneven wooden stick.
"Perhaps he will do better this time," he intoned in a deep but gentle voice that gave me the sense of ages, eons, as he handed me the stick. His companion urged me to unwrap it. I did.
It was like my eyes opened for the very first time; almost like I had been asleep the whole time and new sensations were stirring in me and all around me.
When I looked up, the black-clad man was gone. So was the sand. His white-clad companion, however, remained. He asked me what to do. His name came to me-Andreshan-was this a memory? Or was it the scroll? He lifted his hand and pointed. I followed it and spotted a little girl who was beckoning to me. She was sitting on the veranda of a nearby house, regarding me expectantly as I approached. Something above the house distracted me. Night had now fallen, save for slight silver splashes on the clouds now illuminated by the moon. A small chubby dragon flapped its wings and flew towards us. I looked at Andreshan who smiled still, nodding.
"Can everyone see this?" I asked, feeling as though I was rapidly losing my grip on reality.
Andreshan shook his head. The dragon hovered in the air in front of me, smiling as it stretched out its hand.
"Hello, Henry," the dragon said, as I took its hand for a firm handshake. Then it was gone. My attention once more returned to the little girl. It seemed not at all unusual to her to be talking to an imaginary being.
She pointed at the sky,covered with scattered clouds. It seemed to be bigger. The moon, peeping from behind a cloud, was now grander and more magnificent than I had ever imagined. "I saw it yesterday." She was pointing at a constellation of three bright stars. "Right there, I saw the comet." But I could not see it.
The clouds had almost completely obscured the constellation when the three stars formed a triangle with more glittering stars. It then began an acrobatic dance in the sky, drawing multiple white rays of light. Then the rays of light changed, seemed to be emanating from a rotating house floating in the sky. Again it seemed that only I and my new companion saw this.
Angreshan urged me toward this unreal wonder. Our flight of sand would have to wait.
Tools:
Movie editing software (Windows Movie Maker WMM, Wax, imovie [I think that's what the Apple version is called]). I list these options, because they are free, easy to use and with a little creativity can give good results.
A picture of your book cover
You may want to include a picture of yourself if you like.
The blurb from the back of your book
Royalty free images and music
Time patience and practice!
I'm just going to imagine that some of us are clueless about computers here and explain the process using WMM. Go to Start > Programs > WMM.
When the program opens you will see at the bottom of the window, a Timeline. At the upper right, a screen. At the upper left a Task panel and in the center, a section where you will be see your images/music that you will be working with. This middle pane can also show the different options offered in Effects/Transitions found under the Edit section of the Task panel.
I would recommend that you start off with playing around with the options so as to get a general idea of what everything does. From the Import section of the Task panel, click on pictures, find the ones you want to use. When you have made your choice (press and hold the Ctrl key to select more than one at a time), they will become visible on your center panel, same for any other media you import. Bear in mind if you are going to use a film clip (say of yourself speaking about your book), WMM only caters for wmv and avi formats. Any other formats will have to be converted. I use the free version of Any Video Converter to do this (Google it).
Click and drag your pictures onto the Timeline, do the same with your audio/music files. You might want to juggle them around a bit, make the duration of a particular picture longer than another, trim down the music etc. Try right-clicking on your files in the Timeline to see other options, like fade in/out. Click on an image that you have dragged into the timeline and select Effects from the Edit section. Have a go at applying each one and seeing how it works, and which is best for to highlight on the story you are trying to tell with that image. Do the same with Transitions.
Like anything it might take a little practice to get things the way you want it, but simple works best. Also bear in mind that a good trailer lasts about 60-90 seconds. You don't want your audience to zone out before you get your message across. Think of the way tv commercials work.
Things to consider:
Copyright. You don't want to shoot yourself in the foot before you even get anywhere. Using a track from 50cent or any other artist without prior (written) permission will get you in trouble.
Use royalty free music and pictures. Images can be found for free using advanced search options on google. Being that our genre is predominantly sci-fi, bear in mind many of NASA's image stock are under creative commons license (free to use), but do cross check to make absolutely sure.
Most of my images are my own personal photos that I took myself. Even if you don't have much to work with, the fonts used can make your trailer eye catching. Notice in the book trailer for my second novel (Let Sleeping Gods Lie), at times I have used capitals to give the sentence a different visual appeal and break the monotony of it.
I get royalty free music from a site called Incompetech - http://incompetech.com/m/c/royalty-free
You are invited to make a donation, but if nothing else the owner of the tracks Kevin Macleod appreciates if you give his name a mention or add a link back to his site.
For sounds, like the shots heard at the end of my most LSGL trailer, I go to soungle.com they have hundreds on offer, all free to use.
Its a good idea to watch as many trailers as you can, both for books and movies. Learn from other peoples mistakes, how would you improve on my trailer for example? Too long, okay make yours shorter and snappier. Boring music? Choose something lively, but be sure it compliments your story line.
When choosing music, I try to keep it neutral, I love RnB, but I don't use it on my main trailer. If I really think something fits, I might do a second trailer so it appeals more to the market of readers who would benefit from knowing my book has a soulful vibe to it.
I hope this helps, feel free to ask questions if you find yourself needing further clarification on anything.
The formal publication launch is set for Memorial Day. The eBook is priced at $4.95. Here's the updated cover:
The next step in this literary experiment will be daunting indeed - marketing the ebook as if it were an already printed self-published novel while searching for an agent and / or traditional publishing company to make that Herculean goal a reality. This is exciting!
From Politics, to relationships to Jobs we'll help you get through it!
Saturday 5/15/2010 9:30pm CST 90 Minutes CLICK ON THE LINK or call 718/508-9683 and TELL US WHAT'S ON YOUR MIND!
Greetings,
This is a new concept to me, but in light of the last seven years of my life, I feel compelled to post this. I am a 38 year old author, musician, educator, entreprenuer with hundreds of creative concepts that I am positive would net millions of dollars in revenue for anyone willing to invest in me. I am not skilled in marketing myself or managing my creativity because it flows out of me so fast I don't have time to grab a hold of it.
I have written eight books (seven can be found at www.lulu.com/karaam and my first work, The Human Race Bible can be found anywhere online). I write about what inspires me from within the Human perspective with an emphasis on what affects Nubian/African-American people. I do inspirational speaking for youth and am currently working on a newsletter for children (interested investors can get more info).
I started a cultural/private learning center for children in 2004 and am currently working on an online aspect of the school so that children globally can partcipate in the curriculum which developed myself. I currently teach and administrate and am looking to establish my center in a suitable location.
I created three card games for children and adults, two of which I am working on trademarking so they can be presented to casinos.
I created a musical group with members of my family (my wife and seven children) and we released a double cd in 2007 completely in an ancient African language, which my family and I speak amongst each other (language is culture and I am all about culture).
I am working on an outdoor game for children and adults that I will be unveiling in June of this year (2010).
I have a ton of other ideas and concepts that pop into my head on a daily basis and basically...
I NEED HELP!!!
What I am looking for is someone to assist me in managing and marketing my ideas, concepts and potential. I am also looking for investors who are looking for a gold mine of creative ideas that have a global span (I haven't given you any of my ideas).
But here's a teaser...
In 1996 when the Olympics came to Atlanta, I came up with a commercal concept for Coca Cola while walking to work. Having no idea where and how to submit a commercial idea, I called Coca Cola in California who told me that they get their ideas from an advertisement company but asked me to give them my idea (yeah, right!) I dropped it but about two years later, an ice tea company came out with a commercal similar (but not exactlyI) to mine. To bad for Coca Cola...
Here was my idea...
A cut-away shot of a mountain (probably Stone Mountain in Atlanta, GA) is shown with a man or woman climbing to the top. The camera focuses on his hands, his backpack and maybe his shoes. When he reaches the top of the mountain, he takes off his back pack and reaches in. He pulls out a small tape recorder, a microphone and a can of something (you can't see what it is yet). He sets the recorder down and presses the REC and PLAY buttons and holds the microphone out from the mountain. The camera zooms to an elderly gentlemen who is working in his yard who begins to hum the Coca Cola song. The camera zooms to another part of the world where some schoolgirls are on their way to school and they are humming the tune as well, but in harmony with the first gentleman. Camera zooms again to a shopowner sweeping the front of his shop and singing in harmony. The camera zooms to maybe two or three more places and goes back and forth as the crescendo of the song picks up. As the song reaches its climax you see people heading to the Olympic parks in Atlanta and as the song finishes, the camera zooms back to the microphone. The person clicks the recorder off and takes a drink from his can, which of course is Coca Cola. On the screen, you see, "Coca Cola, uniting the world in Atlanta, GA, Olympics 1996) or something to that effect and...fini
...and that's just one idea!!
if you are an investor or someone who feels you can assist me please contact me through email first at drkaraam@yahoo.com. We can take it from there.
I thank you in advance and look forward to much success and prosperity.
Dr. Karaam
We are not anomalies as suggested by todays media and we are not having lost our "Blackness" just because we are techno smart. What I have found is that among us there are a lot of late bloomers because we have believed the "BS" ourselves. When we discover we are smarter than we've been told all our lives, we instantly start making up for lost time. Because we've needed lawyers in our civil-rights struggles and needed doctors for our specific health demands, we see them but we are not sure about needing computer techs and also how many Black architects can you recall? If Black scientist, architects and computer technologist are science fiction to them, it is ten times still strange to us.
Also most times we are so busy proving ourselves and our skills over and over to people that we posthumously make a name for ourselves. Give'em hell while their breath'n, thank'em at their funeral.
As you all write into the world's story, you are also writing us into the future, at least that is how I see it. When you visualize it in fiction, we might actualize it in hardware/software.
Here's what I saw on the BIT site, a Black man wearing a dashiki, He is a Christian, a Computer professional. This is not possible if you stereotype it all out. There are over a hundred different persona's on this site alone that don't match the white media geek stereotype, which is a rouse to deflect us. We watch lots of media, we don't want to appear stupid as that, we avoid that. Simplistic? Yes. True, you judge.
Greetings fellow film buffs. I can’t count the number of films I’ve watched over the years in which I’ve thought to myself, “hey that was a great film, but the ending just killed it”. (Yeah, I’m talking to you, M Night Shyamalan.) I’ve started this blog because I’ve just discovered a remedy to this problem. A friend of mine who has had her movies screened at prestigious film festivals such as Sundance and Cannes led me to www.imadeamovie.com. I am so stoked about this website that I’ve created this blog solely for the purpose of documenting my experience with imadeamovie.com.
Ok, so here’s how it works: $50 makes you an associate producer on any of the movies on imadeamovie.com. As an associate producer you’re entitled to give your input to the executive producer, thereby affecting the outcome of the film. You vote on casting, location, music, style (you all know I prefer Noir), and other important decisions, like choosing the appropriate ending! You also have the option to communicate directly with the crew via video. During the process, you learn the roles of the important, but often overlooked behind-the-scenes crew (who knows what a key grip does?). As an added bonus, they send you a bunch of schwag: hats, t-shirts, and, when the movie is completed, a DVD with your name in the credits.
Imadeamovie.com also provides an awesome opportunity for up-and-coming actors/actresses to break into a virtually impenetrable industry. All an aspiring actor needs to do to be considered for a part in a film is upload their audition video to the website. The “big break” which once consisted of headshots, an agent, and flying to LA, has been reduced to a digital camera, your bathroom, and a computer.
So what have I done so far, you ask. Without divulging too much information about the film, we’ve chosen the lead actress, the set, and the script. We’re still collaborating on the style, music, and a couple other aspects of the film. However, the ball is rolling, and we’re on schedule to begin filming at the end of this month. I’d have to say that I’m pretty active on this project… let’s just say the director hears my input on a daily basis.
Overall, this is turning out to be a pretty interesting experience. I mean, short of joining the film industry (no easy feat!), how else could a guy, far-removed from the glitz of Hollywood, affect the outcome of a film?
Stay tuned, I’ll be sure to keep you all updated on my movie...
Oh, and if you have film fanatic friends, a membership at imadeamovie.com makes a unique gift for movie lovers. $50 to be a part of the movie making experience, an experience that spans months + lots of goodies to boot = not a bad deal.
By Mikki Kendall -- Publishers Weekly, 4/12/2010 12:00:00 AM
Nnedi Okorafor’s gentle demeanor is so disarming that it’s impossible not to relax in her company. The Chicago State University professor has a sweet smile, three graduate degrees, numerous awards and prize nominations for her writing, and a razor-sharp mind that is changing the face of speculative fiction. The latter soon becomes apparent when the discussion turns to genocide, rape, female circumcision, fantasy, and Nigerian culture.
Born in the U.S. to Nigerian immigrants, Okorafor, 36, grew up in the same suburb of Chicago where she now resides with her own daughter. As a child, she was mostly interested in sports and the sciences, dreaming of becoming an entomologist, but she was always fond of reading, and by age 12, she found her mind had been “corrupted by genius white male storytellers” like Stephen King and Clive Barker. “I was working my way through the library reading whatever caught my eye,” Okorafor recalls fondly. “I read a lot of books that I definitely had no business reading at that age.” A writing class in college sparked her creativity and while obtaining an M.A. in journalism and an M.A. and Ph.D. in English, Okorafor began to write the stories she always wanted to read.
Okorafor’s books feature the cultural and social touchstones of her youth: Nigeria, strong girls and women, and the strange, beautiful lives of plants and insects. The YA novel Zahrah the Windseeker (Houghton Mifflin, 2005), which won the Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature, is a classic magical quest set in a world in which Earth is a legend and everything from clothing to computers grows from seeds. In the Parallax Award–winning The Shadow Speaker, her second YA, a Muslim teen in West Africa must avert interplanetary war.
Okorafor’s first adult novel, Who Fears Death, which will be published in June by DAW Books, combines science fiction and fantasy in the story of Onyesonwu, a young sorceress making her way in a postapocalyptic future Saharan Africa where men use rape as a tool to eradicate a culture on the genetic level. “Who Fears Death addresses the push and pull in African culture that powerful women face when their culture has certain duties and beliefs that can stifle them,” Okorafor says.
As she channels the past, present, and future into one complex tale, Okorafor walks a fine line between sincere respect and unstinting examination of tradition: mixing futuristic technology with magic rooted in the beliefs of Nigerian, Tanzanian, and other African cultures, exploring why many women willingly practice female circumcision and see it as a necessary rite of passage even as others find it horrific. These somber themes seem a drastic departure from her previous work, but Okorafor refuses to gloss over the realities on which she builds her fiction.
“What initially brought me Onyesonwu’s character,” she explains, “was reading a Washington Post news story: ' “We Want to Make a Light Baby”: Arab Militiamen in Sudan Said to Use Rape as Weapon of Ethnic Cleansing.’ I wondered what these children would be like, what would their struggles be, how would they survive, who would they grow up to be. And that’s when Onyesonwu came to me to tell her story.” Okorafor adds, “I am not trying to be shocking or exceedingly graphic. Onyesonwu’s story was told to me in just this way and she is not one to tell lies, embellish, or mince words.”
Okorafor’s upcoming projects include a YA novel that Penguin will publish in 2011, Akata Witch, with a focus on the tension between African-Americans and Africans as well as “deep, deep Nigerian witchcraft”; two screenplays in collaboration with award-winning Nigerian film director Tchidi Chikere; and a science fiction novella set in Nigeria. She also has plans for another adult novel. “I’ll know what that one is about when I start writing it,” Okorafor says. “When it comes, it’ll come like a tidal wave.”
Author Information
Mikki Kendall is an occasional adult and constant writer.
A young Vegan wise beyond her years. A futuristic city. And a doorway just outside the edge of reality. Brilliantly imaginative and exquisitely written Dazjae Zoem’s Wonderdark: The Awakening of Zuza, blends the fantastic and mundane in a mosaic that grabs you and holds tight as you slowly enter worlds upon worlds that are not quite what they seem to be -- peopled by vengeful elves, high-minders, faeries and other magical creatures. The Awakening of Zuza is a hip, high-fantasy journey and I recommend it to travelers not faint of heart who yearn for a taste of Afro Steampunk. Trust me you’ll enjoy the ride!
Valjeanne Jeffers author of Immortal & Immortal II: The Time of Legend
http://immortalfantasynovels.com
Check out: Wonderdark: The Awakening of Zuza (to be released)
& The Books of Zambarau Maji Omnibus by Dazjae Zoem at
Valjeanne Jeffers is a Spelman graduate and a member of the Carolina African American Writers' Collective. Her poems have appeared In Revelry 2006, Pembroke Magazine 2007, Drumvoices 2007 & 2008, and the anthologies: The Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South, Making Sense of the Madness, Little Black Book Vol II: Bedtime Stories for Lovers, and Liberated Muse Vol I: How I Freed my Soul 2009, the featured anthology for the Capital City Soul Fest and PurpleMag #7
She also writes under the pen name Valjeanne Jeffers-Thompson. Valjeanne is the author of Immortal 2nd edition and Immortal II: The Time of Legend. She is also an active member of RIM.
1. Introduce yourself to our readers.
I’m Valjeanne Jeffers poet, SF author and artist. I’m also the author of Immortal and Immortal II: The Time of Legend. Sister Moon is my wolf totem sprit and muse and I gladly embrace her. I believe that we should love God, ourselves and our world. One of the ways we can do this is by changing something to make our planet better in any way that we can no matter how small.
I’ve been published in Revelry, Drumvoices, The Ringing Ear, How I Freed my Soul Volume I, Pembroke Magazine and PurpleMag.
2. Tell us about your books. And the world of Immortal that you created.
In the year 3075, Tundra has been at peace for 400 years. There is no poverty or racism. Yet the planet is threatened by an ancient evil. Karla, a young Black woman, is a recovering addict working as a drug counselor. Intelligent and capable, she knows exactly where she’s going and what she wants.
Until she closes her eyes at night and enters a seductive and dangerous world.
To save Tundra Karla must find Joseph -- the one man who can unravel the mystery of her dreams -- and unleash the werewolf sleeping inside her.
In Immortal II the journey continues as Karla and Joseph fight to save their planet -- and their love. More characters are introduced each with their own set of personal issues which must be resolved before they can grow. So you see there are layered struggles taking place in Immortal: the struggle between the characters and themselves, and the struggle to save their world.
I strive to make my art imitate life and there are no totally “good” or “evil” characters in the Immortal series. All of my good guys and gals have a little “evil” in them -- and my villains a little “good.”
3. Why did you become a writer?
Writing is not what I do it’s who I am. I write because I don’t have a choice: creating new characters and worlds is as vital to me as my next breath. I am in love with writing.
4. Tell us about your publishing journey.
I began my journey the way I believe a lot of authors have: trying to break into the traditional industry with an agent who would help me get published. Even as I did I knew, as a Black science fiction author, that the odds were stacked against me. Back in 2004 when I began writing Immortal, I knew of only four published Black SF authors. Years later I would find a whole community of them at
http://www.blacksciencefictionsociety.com but still many of them are still, like myself, self-published.
I had a lot of doors slammed in my face and it made me mad -- I know writing and I knew my novels were phenomenal! I’d also seen trash, more times than I can count, sitting on library shelves. So I decided to self-publish. It hasn’t been easy, but I found a supportive niche online and I’ve never regretted my decision. I’m doing my thing and I love it.
5. Has your work touched anyone? How?
Honestly I believe it has. I’ve had readers tell me that Karla, Joseph and my other characters are realistic and likable. I’ve also been told that my writing projects true hope for the future and optimism.
6. What's on the horizon?
I’ve finished my third novel Immortal III: Stealer of Souls, the third novel in the Immortal series which I plan to release this summer (2010). In Stealer of Souls, new characters, like Annabelle, are born and old friends are reunited. Stealer is fast-paced, imaginative, very sexy and blurs the lines between SF and horror.
An excerpt from Immortal III has been published in Pembroke Magazine and another excerpt will appear in the Black Science Fiction Society anthology, Future Passage (2010).
I’ve also had three stories, The Visitor, Grandmere’s Secret, and Awakening published in anthologies.
7. Encouraging words for aspiring authors.
If you chose to write, do so because you love it and you can’t imagine not being an author. Second of all, be stubborn. Don’t listen to anyone who tells you don’t have what it takes. And finally, find a supportive, loving writing group that meets at least once a month where you can share ideas and have your work critiqued. Don’t give up!
8. Morning Rituals?
Each morning I smoke my first cigarette of the day -- a bad habit I know, but the last one I have -- start my coffee pot and check my emails. This is usually the time of the day that I get my best ideas too. I’m sure this is because mornings are the time of day when our minds are least cluttered, so our creative spirit can whisper to us without interfering noise. In the AM dialogue and plots often leap into my head and I mentally bookmark them until I have a chance to write.
9. Describe your perfect writing environment.
For me this is a room with a computer and a notebook, and with no one awake but me. I like to write from 12AM on, because by then everyone is asleep. A full moon makes this “space” even more stimulating.
10. Who are some of your favorite authors and why?
I love Octavia Butler. She has the ability to say so much with so few words -- like conjuring a room from thin air. I’m also a big fan of Charles Saunders. His writing is like water -- fluid and beautiful. Charles takes African myths and history, both very difficult subjects to work with, and weaves magic in a genre he created called Sword and Soul.
Milton Davis is also one of my favorites -- he can write anything. But Sword and Soul is also his specialty. Brother Davis make his characters come to life and walk across the page, and his Afro-mythic battle scenes make the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
Edward Uzzle is one of the most imaginative authors I’ve had the pleasure to read. When I read him he blows me away -- one of those writers that make you wonder: “How did he come up with this?” I always get a militant, pro-black buzz from his novels too.
I also enjoy erotica and I feel that sexuality when written about should caress the ear like the brush of lips and evoke delicious imagery (e.g., juicy mangos, billowing silk etc.) So for writing that sizzles my picks would definitely be B. Sharise Moore and Quinton Veal.
I ’m also a big fan of Zora Neale Hurston, Richard Wright, Ralph Ellison, Audre Lorde, Tananarive Due, Steven Barnes, Stephen King, Dean Kootz, Tad Williams and too many others to name.
11. Favorite books?
Some of my favorite novels are:
Wild Seed
(Octavia Butler)
Neters: Issue O and RETRO-KM (Edward Uzzle)
Taste (B. Sharise Moore)
Imaro I & II
(Charles Saunders)
Meji I & II
(Milton Davis)
The Friday House
(DK Gaston)
Banjo Strings
(Larry Winfield)
Their Eyes were watching God
(Zora Neale Hurston)
My Soul to Keep & The Good House
(Tananarive Due)
IT (Stephen King)
The Talisman
(Stephen King & Peter Straub)
Invisible Man
(Ralph Ellison)
I could go on and on!
12. How did you come up with the title?
I didn’t have to think about, the title just jumped in my head -- like the story itself. There was no question in my mind that Immortal was it and would always be it. Later I was amazed that the title I chosen (well before I was anywhere close to being finished) fit so wonderfully with the main characters that grew to people my books: all of them immortal.
13. If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
I’d have to say Octavia Butler, not just because she’s an awesome writer but because she opened the gate for so many of us. Before I read Wild Seed, I didn’t even know that Black folks wrote SF, and I’d been reading authors like Stephen King for years. Octavia made me believe that I could conquer this genre -- that I could be a SF/fantasy author. I’ve also been told that our writing styles are similar which I consider a huge compliment.
14. Parting words.
I’d like to thank Brother DK for taking the time to interview me and for his support. And to all my creative brothers and sisters: peace and strength to your writing hands!
Visit me at: http://immortalfantasynovels.com/
I like to personally thank Valljeanne Jeffers for taking the time to interview with me.
I've always felt profound spiritual joy when experiencing the superhero ( fictional and REAL ) in society. This isn't meant to offend anyones faith nor the institution of organized religion. Quite the contrary. Superheroes also are a celebration of the same values. They just do it a bit differently. Speaking only for myself I become transcendent while encountering superhero print and other content. This transcendence can only be called spiritual. I've read great text from religions great and small. While not saying comic books and pulp novels are on the same plane I know what they do to quicken my spirit. Superheroes are a non-denominational, non-sectarian way to apply timeless lessons from the Bible; Torah; Quran and other holy books in a colorfully contemporary fashion. As a creative concerned citizen I'm always on the look out for inspiration and with superheroes I find it. In a real world where one faith beats the other over the head it's rewarding to find a secular form promoting doing good because it's the right thing to do. Period! Superheroes have been a creative " church " for me all my life. They are infinitely more than escapism or, in the case of real life superheroes ( RLSH ), delusion. I hope I haven't stepped on anybody's religious toes but to me, superheroes are expressed spirituality, minus preaching or places of worship. They speak loudly about what the One Super Power ( however you do or don't term God ) offers anyone caring enough to become more. NADRA ENZI AKA CAPT. BLACK promotes crime prevention and self-development. (912) 272-2898 NADRACAPTBLACK@YMAIL.COM ( Pay Pal address ) and http://reallifesuperheroes.org/wiki/index.php?title=Captain_Black |
