Best Horror Books for African American Teens

Here’s a list of books guaranteed to scare the pants off your teens

1. Night Biters: A Tale of Urban Horror by A.J. Harper “Night Biters is a stand out as there are very few vampire books for African American teens. Twilight, New Moon, Breaking Dawn, and the Harry Potter series may be wildly popular, but their not terribly diverse. Night Biters speak to that audience with a cool, modern tale of vampires in the big city. Its action packed, funny and leaves you on the edge of your seat”

2. The Marvelous Effect (Marvelous World) by Troy CLE “Troy Cle’s young African-American protagonist Louis Proof is often referred to as a “Black Harry Potter, I think that title is a dis-service Louis Proof is something more”

3. Voices (Annals of the Western Shore) by Ursula K. Le Guin “The diversity long present in Le Guin’s fantasy’s make her novels a must read”

4. Powers (Annals of the Western Shore) by Ursula K. Le Guin “The slavery/freedom theme of this third book is timeless and compelling”

5. The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm by Nancy Farmer “Even readers who don’t like sf will be drawn to a hero who has a sense of humor about his serious mission.”

6. 47 by Walter Mosley “What if a visitor from another world/universe/galaxy arrived on Earth, in the American South, during the 1800’s? This is the premise of Walter Mosley’s first Young Adult novel”

7. Blokhedz Graphic Novel #1 (Blokhedz) by Street Legends Ink “An amazing graphic novel that explores the true power of words”

8. The Darker Mask by Gary Phillips “Heroes From The Shadows offers an eclectic mix of bestselling black fiction writers offering stories are enveloping and provoking;”

9. Ghost Train by Jess Mowry “Kids of any color would love this book if they like supernatural tales. This one has got it ALL!”

10. Voodu Dawgz by Jess Mowry “The father of Oakland horror stories writes a dark tale of New Orleans gangs and the undead”

11. Crystal Rain by Tobias S. Buckell “Unique Science Fiction with a Caribbean Flare and the hero is a brother with dreadlocks, it can’t get better than that”

12. Ragamuffin by Tobias S. Buckell “Unique Science Fiction with a Caribbean Flare and the hero is a brother with dreadlocks, it can’t get better than that”

13. Sly Mongoose by Tobias S. Buckell “Unique Science Fiction with a Caribbean Flare and the hero is a brother with dreadlocks, it can’t get better than that”

14. Minion (Vampire Huntress Legends) by L. A. Banks “Targeted toward adults, but more mature teens will enjoy the exploits of vampire huntress Damali Richards”

15. Dawn (Xenogenesis, Bk. 1) by Octavia E. Butler “The Queen of Sci-fi, any of Butler’s work is a must read”

16. In the Beginning: Creation Stories from Around the World by Virginia Hamilton “A collection of short stories by one of the worlds most gifted story tellers”

Positive Change on the Horizon

I’m just going to say it, Any person that can get Macy Gray, Joss Stone and Barry Manilow to agree on a single ideal should be President!!!!!!

Seriously, not since the 60’s has a figure inspired Americans to express their thoughts fears and hopes through art more than Obama

Vote O

African American Authors for Young Adult

Found this list on the Durham County  website. So in touch with teens they have both a myspace and facebook pages check them out

Alice Childress

Alice Childress was born in Charleston, but she grew up in Harlem. Her book A Hero Ain’t Nothing But a Sandwich was one of the first teen novels to portray drug abuse.
Angela Johnson

Johnson writes beautiful, short books that squeeze a lot of meaning out of a few words.

A J Harper

A satisfying vampire story, that leaves the reader on the edge of their seat

Christopher Paul Curtis

Try this Newbery award winner’s Bucking the Sarge for a funny look at a young man who must outsmart his mean, mean mama.

Coe Booth

Ms. Booth uses her experience as a social worker to create realistic characters with a lot of drama in their lives.

Dana Davidson

http://thebrownbookshelf.com/2008/02/03/dana-davidson/

For a satisfying romance, try Davidson’s Jason & Kyra or if you like a little more drama, don’t miss Played.

Janet McDonald

This project-girl-genius grew up to be a lawyer who lives in Paris. Lucky for us, she finds time to write lively books about class, race and making it on your own.
Jaqueline Woodson

When Woodson was a kid, she wrote a poem about Martin Luther King that was so good everybody thought she’d copied it. Nowadays nobody doubts her abilities to capture real kids with real lives in a unique way.

Lori Aurelia Williams

Williams says she grew up poor, in a neighborhood where “it was still customary for children to be seen and not heard.” She hopes that her writing can reveal the stories that these kids never got to tell.

Rita Williams-Garcia

This author says her books are about “people who can laugh at themselves in spite of everything.” Try Like Sisters on the Homefront for the story of a New York City teen mom who gets stuck down South.

Rosa Guy

Rosa Guy (rhymes with key) was one of the first people to write teen books about African Americans. Many of her characters are West Indian or Haitian.

Sharon G. Flake

Warning: these books are filled with drama! But Sharon G. Flake’s characters can handle it. These girls are fighters. Don’t count them out.

Sharon Mills Draper

Everybody knows that Forged by Fire, Tears of a Tiger and Darkness Before Dawn are great books. But did you know that Draper was also named National Teacher of the Year in 1997?
Virginia Hamilton
Try this Newbery award winning author for tales of mystery and magic in the lives of everyday folks.

Walter Dean Myers

This beloved and award-winning author dropped out of school at the age of 15. However, he never quit reading and writing. Now he is one of the most prolific authors for kids and teens.

When Wearing Obama is Out of Style

 

Question 

A lady working at my polling place last Election Day was wearing a T-shirt that said “Down with Liberals” on it. Can she wear that?

Answer

Because such a t-shirt doesnʼt actually advocate voting for or against a particular candidate or measure, itʼs not considered electioneering. If the shirt had a statement for or against something or someone on the ballot, it would not be allowed within 100 feet of the polls. If the elections official is aware of the situation, he or she will likely request that the woman cover it up or change into something that does not cause the slightest appearance of partisanship. (EC §18370, 18541, 18546)

An argument can be made that Obama shirts are just fashion statements

But save yourself the grief 

Don’t wear Obama

Cover it up

Turn it inside out

Remember it’s  the vote not the shirt that matters

Do You Have The “Right” To Pursue Your Goals?

I found this great article over at  Purpose Power Coaching

Why does it seem that the bar for what we must do to “deserve” what we want just keeps rising higher and higher?  I suspect it’s because, when we fret about whether we have the right to do something, we’re really just giving voice to our fear of doing it.  We can’t “earn” our way out of this dilemma, because doing or accomplishing more doesn’t really address our fear.

At the deepest level, it seems to me, what’s motivating my friend’s concern about finishing her book is fear — perhaps, for instance, a fear that people will ridicule or shame her for writing her book — not a desire to behave morally.  As psychologistKaren E. Peterson writes in The Tomorrow Trap, “shame is the true source of your ‘impostor syndrome’ — the feeling that you don’t have the right to make healthy decisions, to express yourself creatively, or to fulfill your dreams.”  But it feels more comfortable for my friend, and for the rest of us, to tell ourselves we’re trying to be right and ethical than to admit we’re afraid.

 

Click here for entire article

A Tale of Urban Horror

Night Biters Cover

Above is the new cover for Night Biters a Tale of Urban Horror, the sequel  Werewolves the Remixed Tape will drop in a few months but I wanted to give the first chapter in the series a new look.
I’m happy with the results click here for an excerpt

Palin as President, Inexperienced, You Betcha

Click here then fear

72 Ideas to Simplify Your Life

 

1. Make a list of your top 4-5 important things. What’s most important to you? What do you value most? What 4-5 things do you most want to do in your life? Simplifying starts with these priorities, as you are trying to make room in your life so you have more time for these things.
2. Evaluate your commitments. Look at everything you’ve got going on in your life. Everything, from work to home to civic to kids’ activities to hobbies to side businesses to other projects. Think about which of these really gives you value, which ones you love doing. Which of these are in line with the 4-5 most important things you listed above? Drop those that aren’t in line with those things. Article here.
3. Evaluate your time. How do you spend your day? What things do you do, from the time you wake up to the time you go to sleep? Make a list, and evaluate whether they’re in line with your priorities. If not, eliminate the things that aren’t, and focus on what’s important. Redesign your day.
4. Simplify work tasks. Our work day is made up of an endless list of work tasks. If you simply try to knock off all the tasks on your to-do list, you’ll never get everything done, and worse yet, you’ll never get the important stuff done. Focus on the essential tasks and eliminate the rest. Read more.

5. Simplify home tasks. In that vein, think about all the stuff you do at home. Sometimes our home task list is just as long as our work list. And we’ll never get that done either. So focus on the most important, and try to find ways to eliminate the other tasks (automate, eliminate, delegate, or hire help).

Click here for full article

Vamps in the Hood

The New Video for Night Biters

Set against the gritty backdrop of Oakland, California Night Biters tells the story of Bay Area teens coping with the dangers of urban living while facing the horrors of the Supernatural. Fasten your seat belts, you’re going to a place bustling with hip hop music, drugs, gangs and vampires.

Check it Out

A Little Respect for Dr. Rice

I take issue with Oliver Stone’s W, for the obvious reasons  it was made, but also for using Thandie Newton to portray Dr. Condoleezza Rice. In my blog post on click here how dark skinned women are disrepected in the Hollywood, one of the themes pointed out was Hollywood’s refusal to hire dark skinned Black Women.  For role of Rice does the Stone consider Gabriel Union, Angela Bassett, or any other darker skinned beautyto play the role of the dark skinned Secretary of the State? No, he chose an actress (although a very attractive and fine actress  in her own right) that in addition to being fair skinned, is not even an American. This movie will bomb, How can a movie about an unpopular president be anything but?  However, it further demotrates how hollywood continues to insult black women in it’s refusal to hire them.    Dr. Rice’s bio

Dick Gregory speaks to the plight of Black Women