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Insane Messiah

Insane Messiah
Stafford L. Battle
978-0-9818262-1-9
$15.95
Spring 2012
Trade Paperback
An African-American scientist seeks to stop an invasion from within.



Global warming is making life difficult as raging tsunamis are ripping the continental coastlines causing considerable commercial and human loss. The world's economies again are drowning in hyper-inflation as the super rich struggle to secure better financial control and safer places to live.

However, according to one discredited African college professor, humankind has even bigger problems to consider. He tries in vain to warn his colleagues about the wrath of a superior alien species that has been living on earth for millions. But nobody will believe him unless he can produce proof and prevent a devastating retaliation that could utterly wipe out all human civilization.

Read a preview here.

Call for Submissions - Speculative Fiction Anthology

NOTICE: This anthology has been pushed back until 2012. Invitations will be sent when the project is back on track.

Announcing The Black Fantastic Anthology 'zine

Tales of Space, Romance and Weirdness on the black hand side




Submissions open  thru July 30,.


  • Publication Date: October 2011. Please do not submit your stories before then. 
  • DEADLINE: Before July 15, 2011 would be rightgeous!.
  • WORD LENGTH: 1,500 to 6,000 words. Preferably around 5,000 words.
  • No reprints
  • Theme: Speculative Fiction (includes science fiction, fantasy, and horror) from, about, and pertaining to members of the African diaspora. 
  • Guidelines 
  • Payment: Original fiction - advance payment is $0.025/word, Poetry - $15 per piece; plus contributor copy of the issue.
    • Rights: First rights electronic and print - see publishing agreement. No reprints at this time.
    • No multiple submissions

  • Art Submissions needed for full color cover work and interior. Queries with samples 6" wide x 9" tall (trade paperback size) at 300 DPI
     or website portfolio links.
  •   

AfroCyberspace

Afro Cyberspace
Stafford L. Battle and Rey O. Harris
978-0-9818262-0-2
$16.95
Spring 2011
Trade Paperback
7.5”x7.5” perfect bound
178 pages
72 B&W Photos

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1000 plus websites that will enrich your world. The web is wide and it can often be difficult to find exactly what you need solely through search engines. AFROCyberspace is more than just a Web guide to more than 1000 of the best Black Web sites online. It is a resource of Internet destinations not easily found by popularity or ranking on search engines. This book can help simplify searching the Web for specific African or African American content.




National Black Writers Conference

We are updating with the happenings at the conference with facebook photo uploads (check them out now) and live tweets. Check back periodically for updates.

Sunday began the morning with individual 'talkshops' covering Book Reviews, Dramatic Writing, Book Proposals, Poetry with Sonia Sanchez, and Memoir writing. The afternoon started with a panel discussing Speculative Fiction featuring L.A. Banks, Michael Boatman, Jewell Parker Rhodes, and Cheo Tyehimba.

Saturday was a long day that began with Hip Hop and Internet panels and ended with a VIP reception featuring Toni Morrison, Imamu Baraka, Sonia Sanchez, Cornell West, and Susan L. Taylor. Ah yes . . . the icons were in the house. It was indeed a rare treat to have been in the presence of Ms. Morrison. For those of you that missed it, the entire event was recorded and will be available on DVD.

The last session on Friday featured the venerable Sonia Sanchez waxing poetic on the memory of literary revolutionary Toni Cade Bambara. If you missed it, you must check out the recorded proceeds that will be available from the conference.

Ms. Sanchez was also gifted last night with a photo poster commemorating her 75th birthday. You can see that on our facebook page.

Follow my tweets on my blog throughout the conference.
 

Blog Posts

Free Preview of Books From BEA 2013

Publisher's Marketplace announced the trade edition of BUZZ BOOKS 2013 FALL/WINTER is available for download.

Start reading exclusive pre-publication excerpts right now from 40 top fall and winter titles, including many featured on stage and on the show floor at Book Expo America. Last year we featured over 15 bestsellers and books that went on to acclaim as "Best of 2012" picks.

The samples are available on Net Galley, and also as epub though Adobe Digital Editions or Kindle files. Click on the Kindle or Net Galley logos below to download.

Posted by Diane on May 13, 2013 at 10:21pm — 1 Comment

QUIET WHISPERS

In homage to Yvette Cade*

And here I stand.
Quiet whispers silenced
by the desire
to see you as my truth.
messages went unheeded
while I danced to your music.
Problems, warning signs ignored
because the you that I adored
remained my fantasy.
Staying because of what I wanted it to be
not because of what it is.
Embarrassed to admit I might be wrong
Stubbornly believing I could make wrong right
I chose to stay and fight.
the internal whispers begged me for flight.
whispered slivers of scorn
cut like a knife
when made to feel less than,
smaller than life.
The bond between us
made, when promises were spoken
now permanently broken
forsaking all -- family concerns, my child's cries
I took all your controlling lies
and made them a part of me.
I forgot what my daddy told me:
Love is as love does. Love doesn't hurt.
Crisis now a true disaster
Help me God, make me run faster!
Now I see that
He'd been offering me a ride all along.
But like Phoenix from the fire
Again I shall rise, much the wiser.
Purposed now to
change your mind
when you think that you will find
love, when all the warning signs
Whisper.

*Yvette Cade, a beautiful African American woman, who heeded the warning signs too late. Her husband came to her workplace, doused her with gasoline and set her on fire. She survived, incredibly burned, to share her story as a cautionary tale about love and ignoring the warning signs.

Posted by E. Joyce Moore on April 18, 2013 at 8:46pm

Revolutionary Me

Marcus, Malcolm, Mumia, and Huey planted the seed,

for Revolutionary Me.

Being beat by the police at 17,

was the conception of Revolutionary Me.

The unwarranted harassment and checks for id,

strengthened the embryo of Revolutionary Me.

If there were no PG County police,

there might not have been the need

for the birth of Revolutionary Me.

 

I see life through the eyes of a victim of an oppressive system.

Who never wanted me; to grow up to be, Revolutionary Me.

 

Flashlights,handcuffs, and other police accessories,

were the play things of Revolutionary Me.

Knowledge,history, and the times that be,

was part of the education of Revolutionary Me.

 

All my life I pushed against systems if I didn't feel free.

I guess I was born to be...

Revolutionary Me!

-Dominick Quarles

Posted by Dominick Quarles on April 25, 2013 at 3:35pm

EBook Freebie Time - Sci Fi Space Opera

Locus Origin The Never Born by Christian Matari

“When society is ruled from behind the scenes by massive corporate conglomerates that control powerful secret organizations and even the very Republic itself, the clones will come to question the world they live in, their fellow soldiers, and even the very nature of their existence. What’s more, they must struggle to establish their own identities in a world that has little respect for human life, and even less for that of a clone.”

Find the free download on:

AppleKoboAmazon and Nook 

This is not an endorsement or review by BAS. It is for informational purposes only.

Posted by Diane on April 27, 2013 at 12:00pm

"OLD FRIEND, NEW SEASON" (a little Flash Fiction)

 

And so, I’m thinking…I know this is not happening! But, that’s not quite true because in actuality, I do know its happening. As a matter of fact, it’s happening in my face—right now. Maybe I could pretend to faint like the folks on TV and get out of it that way. Or maybe I should just be honest and roll out. Nah, that wouldn’t be right. Okay, only one thing left to do—pull myself together. After all, this is my girl we’re talking about here. Whewww…breathe in…and release. That’s right, breeeeaaatthhee, you can do this!

Our eyes, set on one another, communicate far more than syllables and consonants ever could at this moment: mine telling her, ‘I’m scared’ and hers telling me, ‘I’m excited.’ New seasons do that to people. And just because ...READ MORE
 
 

Posted by Dr. Vivi Monroe Congress on August 21, 2012 at 12:54pm

Love Ain't That Bad...Is It?

Love ain't that bad...is it?



     How many times have you said "i love you" and you knew doggone well that you had more love for the piece of toilet paper you just flushed than you did for the person you just said it to?

      Maybe you said it in the heat of passion. Maybe you said it out of guilt. Maybe you said it to be polite. Maybe you said it because you were standing at the alter in front of the the Pastor and two hundred and fifty guests, and  "uh...I like you a lot" just didn't seem appropriate for the setting.

      Maybe you've been infiltrated by the Jezebel spirit and you said "i love you" just so you can manipulate an unsuspecting fool into doing what you want them to do.

     Maybe just maybe you said it because you really felt love at that moment...

      Love ain't that bad...is it?

                                                                                Scary Love.

 

     Before I met  "THE MAN", I used to always say to my sisters, "I never want to be in love. I ain't got time to be committed to nobody like that!"

    Those words were the product of a young and inexperienced mind.

     Yesterday I was in love with the same dude for twenty-two years. Today I'm in love with the same dude of twenty-two years. And if GOD sees fit to allow me to open my eyes to the dawning of a new day, I'll be in love tomorrow with the same dude of twenty-two years. Never say never. As Mint Condition said in one of their songs "...it's crazy just how love can go. It's the never that you'll never know."  

      When I said never, it may have been said in the sense that people fear what they don't know and what they don't understand. It's easy to say what you don't want when you've never had it.

      Love ain't that bad...is it?

 

     Do I have days when I just want to hold on to him and never let…

Continue

Posted by NaTrina T. Willis on June 3, 2012 at 10:31pm

 

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Get Featured on Black Author Showcase

Would you like to be featured on the Black Author Showcase? Any member that contributes useful information that helps the entire community is not commercial can be featured.  It's easy,just write a blog entry, book review, article/essay, start a discussion, lead an active group, upload a book, graphic art, useful photos or videos, sample chapters, or writing samples.

 Have an existing website or blog? You can republish any article or blog entry on your Black…

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Created by Diane Aug 25, 2012 at 6:08pm. Last updated by Diane Aug 25, 2012.

 
 
 

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Spam is unsolicited advertising, whether it is posted as comments on other members' pages or is emailed for marketing purposes.

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Latest Activity

Diane posted a blog post

Advice on Exploring Erotica in Your Writing

MediaBistro's Morning Media Menu had a conversation with author Jamie Brenner about advice for writers looking to explore this newly crowded genre. An excerpt from Brenner: My first erotic novel came out two years ago. The landscape feels completely different. There is not just the hope to reach a mainstream audience with erotic novel, but the expectation that success is reaching everyone, not just the genre readers. Fifty Shades of Grey really raised the bar for that. At the same time, working…See More
May 15
Diane posted discussions
May 13
Diane posted a blog post

Free Preview of Books From BEA 2013

Publisher's Marketplace announced the trade edition of BUZZ BOOKS 2013 FALL/WINTER is available for download.Start reading exclusive pre-publication excerpts right now from 40 top fall and winter titles, including many featured on stage and on the show floor at Book Expo America. Last year…See More
May 13
Diane posted a discussion

Tracey Edmonds’ Looking for ‘Faith-Friendly’ Web Series Pitches

From Janell Harris' interview on mediabistro:Her newest venture is the family- and faith-oriented Web network, Alright TV with her partner Bob Johnson of BET fame, launched last March.Edmonds wants to prove there is a market for feel-good programming. Busy as always, she also recently signed on…See More
May 7
Diane posted a blog post

EBook Freebie Time - Young adult or teen / Sci-Fi & fantasy

By Andrea Heltsley Published: April 25, 2013  Words: 19,197 (approximate) ISBN: 9781301766093"How far would you go to keep your nightmares a secret? Wendy has been struggling with vivid, chilling nightmares that leave her exhausted and horrified. What will Wendy do to…See More
May 4
Diane posted a blog post

EBook Freebie Time - TV Tie-in/ Sci-Fi & fantasy/Gaming

Defiance:The Essential Guide by Syfy, Trion Worlds". . . an informative companion to the groundbreaking TV series and the incredible multiplayer game.  Set in the near future, Defiance introduces an exotically transformed planet Earth, its landscapes permanently altered following the sudden – and tumultuous…See More
May 1
Diane posted a blog post

EBook Freebie Time - Sci Fi Space Opera

Locus Origin The Never Born by Christian Matari“When society is ruled from behind the scenes by massive corporate conglomerates that control powerful secret organizations and even the very Republic itself, the clones will come…See More
Apr 27
Diane posted a discussion

Poetry - Ebon Venus

This was written by Lewis H. Latimer, Renaissance man, son of slaves, worked with Edison & Bell - holder of patents for incandescent electric light bulb. He wrote this for his wife for their wedding. Perfect for National Poetry Month. The photo is the work of Milos Gazdic http://hirtc.comSee More
Apr 23

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