Night Ride

NIGHT BITERS is the first in a series of fast paced horror novels targeted toward readers who enjoyed Harry Potter and the Twilight series, but yearn to read about characters that reflect their own rich diversity.
NIGHT BITERS tells the story of 16-year-old Jamilah and her 14-year old brother Omari when the two arrive in the city of Oakland, CA. A mysterious stranger gives Omari a magical compact disc and crucifix. Upon listening to the CD the siblings learn that the lyrics and the crucifix can aide them against the danger of vampires, but danger has never been as attractive as the handsome and charismatic heartbreaker Tyrone, or as beautiful and deadly as the vengeful Jennifer. Soon the siblings find themselves in twined with rival gangs, the Crimsons and the Cobalt’s. Their leaders transformed into vampires whose hatred for another threatens to destroy the city.

The First Pinoy Werewolf?

The true star of  my  Tales of Urban Horror series is the  Bay Area and its rich cultural diversity, which is why in Night Biters you have Latino, African  American and Vietnames vampires.

In Were Wolves the Mix Tape,  my soon to be release  second novel,  I introduce  Joseph Babay a Filipino werewolf.

I was asked is this the first Pinoy werewolf in print?

To which I answered,  I don’t know

Are there any other Pinoy werewolves out there?

Here’s a link to Chinese werewolves

here Werewolf in Bangkok

Click here to go to site

sci-fi/fantasy writer Iya Ta’Shia Asanti

To borrow from an insightful blog Obama is representative of the Black american we seldom see in publishing. Meaning, he is not a whore-monger, drug-dealer, drug user or absent baby-daddy. He is not a slave to designer labels and he does not wear bling. We have not seen him ducking into a bodega to buy a forty, he does not congregate on street corners, and no source has come forward to reveal that he smoked a blunt before his debates with John McCain. If he wears a “wife-beater” it’s hidden beneath his shirt, exactly where it’s supposed to be. He does not wear his pants down around his knees, nor does he throw up gang signs at the end of his wildly televised speeches.

OK so after nearly a decade of the market being deluged with books focusing on the aforementioned stereotypes what happens now?

Will publishers change gears and begin publishing works written by African American that speak to a multitude of people? Or will they remain stagnet and committed to a shattered belief system?

Publishers may remain committed to a shattered belief system, but its the Black writing community’s job to expose our own talents, which is one of the many things that will happen on this blog  starting with sci-fi/fantasy writer, poet, filmmaker, producer, and founder-your world tv Iya Ta’Shia Asanti who talks about her newest novel

The Seer Legacy of Stone & Spirit-

Correction officer by day, psychic by night, Violet Brown struggles to understand her medium abilities while her dreams lead her to a fourth world where ancient African dieties perform miracles in every day life. Violet’s main spirit guide materializes to take her on a journey to rediscover her African roots and reconnect her with the last living descendent of her tribe. As she searches for Olokun, her ancestral sister, Violet finds herself in the middle of a deadly ring of human traffickers who have kidnapped Olokun. As she tries to make sense of the magic and mysticism that has become her reality, Violet meets the love of her life, a handsome attorney, named Darryl Collins who will one day be her saving grace. Will Violet find Olokun before she is sold off into human slavery? Will the Orisa’s, the God’s of West Africa, be strong enough to protect Violet from a regime more deadly than anything she could ever imagine? Is Darryl the man she thinks he is or is he a lying, cheating dog like her ex, David? There is only one person who knows the answers to these questions. And she is Violet Brown, the world’s most gifted Seer….

Q. Where did you find the original impulse to write The Seer?

Ta’Shia. The Seer is based in theory on my own life experiences as a seer and medium, as well as my journey is exploring African history pre-slavery and becoming a Yoruba priestess.

Q. Who inspired the characters of your novel
Ta’Shia. The characters in my book were inspired by the Orisa, dieties of the West African spiritual tradition, Ifa, as well as the ancesters who came to visit me in my dreams for nearly 20 years.

Q. Looking at the book now, what surprises you?

Ta’Shia I thought mainstream America would really have a problem with this book but so far, it has touched all who’ve read it.

Q. Many writers describe themselves as “character” or “plot” writers.
Ta’Shia. Which are you? What do you find to be the hardest part of writing?

I would classify myself as a Character writer though I love a strong and moving plot.

Q. Who has influenced you in your writing?

Ta’Shia. Eric Jerome Dickey, Octavia Butler are two of my greatest influences though I’m a fan of Robin Cook and a huge lover of all things Sidney Sheldon.

Q. What was the book that most influenced your life and why?

Ta’Shia. One of the books that really moved me was Robin Cook’s Outbreak as well as Sydney Sheldon’s If Tomorrow Comes.

Q. What are your 2 favorite books and why?

Ta’Shia. Two of my favorite books are The Other Woman by Eric Jerome Dickey and The Interruption of Everything by Terri McMillan. I also love EJD’s newest hitman series, Sleeping With Strangers etc.

Q. What are you currently working on?

Ta’Shia. I am currently working on the sequel to The Seer. It’s called, The Bones Do Talk.

To order The Seer click here

Visit her at Black Science Fiction Society

or at http://www.tashiaasanti.com

Of Aliens and Asperger’s Syndrome

According to the author, Dwayne G. Anderson, Partially Human is a story about “Being Different”. It was based on my own experiences after being diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome.  I too felt like an outcast, ridiculed, mocked, and left out, even before the diagnosis. Even today, I still feel like an outsider, different from everyone else.

For Joshua Plofhard, a teenage Good Samaritan from Los Angeles, life is good. Well-known and well-liked by the city, loved by his friends, and adored by his new girlfriend, Joshua had it all. But when he becomes the victim of a freak mugging, a shocking revelation about him is revealed, triggering a chain reaction of events that will forever change his life.

When it is discovered that Joshua carries the genes of a dying alien species in his body, life for him is turned up-side down. Now an outcast, rejected by the city that once embraced him, Joshua is emotionally shattered by the events that have taken their toll upon him. With only his mother Alicia, friends Peter Christjes, Eric Blonfly, Rick Warris, girlfriend Kimberly Derth, and several others who come to sympathize with his plight, Joshua begins to pick up the pieces of his life.

But Joshua’s problems are only just beginning. Not only has Patrick Urtoma, a government agent sent to investigate this alien teenager, but Veranda Oltzon, a candidate in the upcoming mayor election is exploiting the discrimination Joshua suffers to rally the public to her side. Also not helping is a mysterious serial killer who has now marked Joshua for death, driven by extreme prejudice against people like him.

As the countdown to his nineteenth birthday continues, the day when the alien return to reclaim what they created, Joshua learns many lessons of self-acceptance, friendship, compassion, loyalty, love, and how being different makes on unique. Together, he and his friends shall stand together against the prejudice of an entire city and plea for tolerance towards all individuals, no matter who they are.121`

Check out author Dwayne Gerald Anderson and story excerpt here

Curious to note, despite the cover the protagonist of the novel is not Black, the cover’s designer just thought it a good idea

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”