http://otter.covblogs.com/archives/2009/04/extract-the-constant-tower-by-carole-mcdonnell.html

Here's some info on <a href="http://www.infoplease.com/spot/asianhistory1.html">API Heritage Month:</a>

FYI: National Hispanic Heritage Month will begin on Sept. 15, and American Indian Heritage Month is in November. Arab American Heritage Month is April, actually, so we missed it this year. We'll catch it next time around.

The CARL BRANDON SOCIETY recommends

the following speculative fiction books for Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month:

Ted Chiang STORIES OF YOUR LIFE AND OTHERS: A collection of stories from one of American speculative fiction's most precise and beautiful writers.

Sesshu Foster ATOMIK AZTEX: An Aztec prince or a Los Angeles meatpacker? The protagonist travels back and forth between two alternative realities, never sure which is real.

Hiromi Goto HOPEFUL MONSTERS: Wonderful stories by the author of The Kappa Child.

Kazuo Ishiguro NEVER LET ME GO: In a dystopian England, three children discover that they are clones produced to provide organs to the sick.

Larissa Lai SALT FISH GIRL: Science fiction set in a dystopian near future in which corporate enclaves house lucky employees, leaving most of humanity to deal with increasingly strange ecological developments.

Amirthi Mohanraj (illustrated by Kat Beyer) THE POET'S JOURNEY: A young poet sets out into the wide world on a journey to find poetry; with the help of a few magical creatures, she finds more than she ever expected.

Haruki Murakami HARDBOILED WONDERLAND AND THE END OF THE WORLD: Mad experiments with the unleashed potential of the dreaming brain.

Vandana Singh OF LOVE AND OTHER MONSTERS: The main character wakes up from a fire and doesn't know who he is, but can sense and manipulate the minds of others. He is not alone in this ability. Singh takes us on a metamind ride.

Shaun Tan THE ARRIVAL: A wordless graphic novel about immigration and displacement.

Bryan Thao Worra ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE EYE: Speculative poems that take us from the secret wars of the CIA in Laos to the secret edges of the human soul and the universe.

For more information, please visit www.carlbrandon.org 

Charles Saunders, that excellent Afro-centric fantasist, has just published a new book, 'Dossouye', with Sword & Soul Media.  The book is available via print-on-demand at <a href="http://www.lulu.com/content/2322980"> </a>

'Dossouye' consists of all the short stories about the African Amazon warrior that were published in anthologies over the years, plus a brand-new novella.  He heavily revised the first Dossouye story, "Agbewe's Sword."  The others were slightly altered to make them flow better sequentially.  The new novella, "Obenga's Drum," puts the preceding stories into context, and ends the volume.

Here's the blurb:

<blockquote>Charles R. Saunders, critically acclaimed author of the cult classic Imaro novels, has created yet another heroic-fantasy icon in an Africa of a different place and time. Orphaned at a young age, Dossouye becomes a soldier in the women’s army of the kingdom of Abomey. In a war against the rival kingdom of Abanti, Dossouye saves her people from certain destruction; but a cruel twist of fate compels her to go into exile. Mounted on her mighty war-bull, Gbo, Dossouye enters the vast rain forest beyond the borders of her homeland, seeking a place to call her own. The forest is where Dossouye will either find a new purpose in life… or find her life cut short by the many menaces she encounters.</blockquote>

Sword & Soul will also be publishing the remaining <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Imaro-Charles-Saunders/dp/1597800368/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208127981&sr=1-1">Imaro</a> novels.  So, if you can spread the word about this, I'd really appreciate it.

Well folks,  Worth the price of admission alone!  Everyone please support .  You'll be glad you did!

Tags: black speculative fiction

Stacia is a fellow juno writer. Her book, Personal Demons, is coming out this month. She writes urban fantasy. Here is her latest post: 

http://fictionbeyondtheordinary.blogspot.com/2008/03/march-is-personal-demonstravaganza.html

Here is a description of the book which can be found on Juno's website.

Megan promises listeners to her new radio call-in show that she'll "slay their personal demons," and they believe her. So do the personal demons... although she doesn't know it, Megan is the only human without a demon on her shoulder! Megan and her allies - a demon lover who both protects and seduces her with devilish intensity, a witch with poor social skills, and three cockney guard demons - have to deal not only with the personal demons, but a soul-sucker, ghosts of Megan's past, and a reporter who threatens to destroy Megan's career!

Ooh, doesn't that sound great! I have a thing for demon lovers.
Anyway, if you're interested, go on over to Stacia's place and enter the contest.

-Carole

Tags: fantasy, juno, paranormal romance, urban fantasy

 

 

Tags: spotlight speculative fiction black auth

 Hi all:

My novel Wind Follower will be highlighted on my efriend's blog at myspace and Live Journal. Beginning September 15, 2007


My Space
http://www.myspace.com/moondancerdrake

my space blog:
http://blog.myspace.com/moondancerdrake

Live Journal
http://moondancerdrake.livejournal.com



This is a group dedicated to bloggers who are also writers, or to reviewers who review on Amazon. It's based on networking and the idea of virtual book tours

Every month, we will try to do reviews or post a comment on a book written by one of our members.

Reviews aren't necessary. Although if we do happen to do a review on the blog, I think we shouldn't forget to post it on Amazon or to the publisher of the book. If a person gets a pdf, they can post an excerpt of the book. Or not. If someone receives a review copy, it's only fair they post a review to their blog.


We want everything to be easygoing. We're all busy. This is not supposed to be a burden. Those who can't post a review will also be contributing if they post a jpeg of the book cover and a synopsis or small mention to their blog.

We should try to do the same book all in the same month. That's not too much to ask.

Members of this group may not be forced to tour books for one of three reasons:

1: if they object to the contents of a particular book.
2: if a blogger is sick or extremely busy
3: if a member of the group wants to tour the book of someone not in the group, that's fine. The other bloggers are free to go along but it is not mandatory if they do so. I just don't want us to get into the habit of doing tours for writers who tend be users and after one has spotlighted them they disappear.

Nor do I think we should let strangers email us with synopsis of their books begging us to spotlight them. We aren't there for them. And our goal is to help primarily bloggers in our group.

It would also be good if we posted each other's weblog links to our site if possible. If a blogger reviews a book, the other bloggers taking part in the virtual tour should post a link to that review. 

She writes speculative fiction. We belong to a virtual book tour group called Writers of Color Book Tour. It's made up primarily of speculative fiction but there are a few romance writers in the mix. Christians and Pagans. Will see what happens with the mix.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WritersOfColorBookTour/

It's a nice group...just starting out though. Anyone who wishes to join ....visit the site.

---
Here am I; send me

Hi all:

My present problem is this: I met someone on the internet who is part of an indie band. After going to his site, I liked his CD and asked if I could review it. He sent me the CD. I did an interview with him and got it posted on www.blogcritics.com 
I figure he gave me the CD to listen to and to review it. So I accomplished my part of the bargain.

Then, because 
1) we had developed a kind of friendly acquaintance and 
2) because I had seen his work and 
3) because he spoke of faith (Mahatma Gandhi) and intangible stuff in life

I figured I'd send him to some of my writings around the web:

my blog www.darkparables.blogspot.com where I also talked about living life by faith (although I am a Christian and he is and American Hindu/Buddhist.  
My angel story about an angel encounter I had when I was a kid.
http://geocities.com/scifiwritir/angelstory.html

Excerpt from the first chapter of my soon-to-be-published novel.  http://www.carolemcdonnell.com/CMExcerpts.htm#WindFollower

He did not answer my email. Yet I emailed him about something else -- having to do with his album-- and he answered that email.

Now, I'll grant that we really had no bargain about him looking at MY work. I really am upset about this. I find myself saying "don't cross the line and become friends with anyone you're going to review." There is one zone...the public zone...and there is the social zone. He was someone I was doing a social thing for. He doesn't owe me to look at my writing. But I feel that etiquette demands that he at least should give a corresponding look at something I (another creative type) asked him to look at.
Also, I feel that when someone doesn't say anything about one's work, it's because they are trying to be polite because they hate one's writings.

Also, I feel as if there is some arrogance on his part. He talked all about his hindu-buddhist spirituality, yet I ask him to look at something we both had in common -- LIVING BY FAITH and because I'm a Christian he belittled what I had to say. Of course this is all my assumptions. But it does bug me that he hasn't answered. 

So, should I be so upset? Should I wait a month or so for his commentary? Am I right to feel hurt? Or to expect some kind of give-and-take reciprocation? Do I have a right to be upset? Isn't it really my own assumption about etiquette that is getting my panties all in a bunch? Isn't it also my own assumption about why he hasn't answered me that is also upsetting me? Any comments?

Current Mood: confused

In one more month, my novel Wind Follower will be published by Juno Books. I hadn't gotten any panic attacks about it. Now I'm really beginning to get nervous.

Check this out as a blurb:

Imagine if:

the elders of your culture prophesied that foreigners would deliver the Creator's lost book to your shores.

the shaman in your culture don't mind having the Lost book ...if they are the ones to interpret it.

the Creator told you that you were destined to interpret the Lost Book and defeat the shaman

the culture that brings the lost book is also destined to take over your land and oppress your people.

Imagine love found and fallen!

Wind Follower, written by Carole McDonnell. And published by Juno Books


Okay, i could hype it:

The first book of the brand new genre of CHRISTIAN SPECULATIVE FICTION by red hot author CAROLE MCDONNELL!  Thrills, imagination and God's Holy Word all in (264) BIG PAGES!

 WIND FOLLOWER!  More imaginative than LORD OF THE RINGS!  More pious than THE LEFT BEHIND SERIES!  Good and good FOR you! Akin to literary fiber, scrubbing away the old mess that was old-timey Euro-based fantasy.

CAROLE MCDONNELL is destined to join the ranks of such authors as CS LEWIS (other Christian fantasy folks)

WIND FOLLOWER!  RUN--don't walk--to your bookstore and GET IT TODAY!
 
Publlished by JUNO BOOKS, the House of DEVOTION!

Dang! It's all getting so scary. I suspect the Christians will like it and also have a problem with it. Regular fantasy folks will like it but also have a problem with it. Feminists will like it and have a problem with it. Okay, Blacks shouldn't have a problem with it...but one never knows. I was recently told I was "not black." So we'll see what my people expect of me.

Buy Wind Follower Online