So, as I mentioned in my last post, TODAY is the DAY! Get ready to be introduced to some amazing sci-fi, fantasy, and horror writers of the African diaspora in:
The Butler-Banks Blog Tour!
If you aren’t familiar, this tour is where my blog (and 15 other blogs) will be showcasing 15 days of Speculative Fiction (Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror / Paranormal) written by and about Black people.
Each day, a different author will take the stage and bring us into their world – or worlds – through exciting book excerpts, reviews of their books, cool book trailers, audio recordings of a chapter or two, and more! Each author involved will share that day’s featured post on their own blogs as a guest post, so strap in and get ready for an incredible ride! Today is launch day!
IMPORTANT FYI: I was blessed enough that my work as a sci-fi writer was the first on the blog tour roster for a guest post. However, since it’s super weird for me to hype myself and my work in an entire post on my own blog, launch day here at Colby’s Cove is going to look a little different!
I’ll have a two part post, wherein I’ll introduce you, in FULL FORCE, to the awesome folks we have coming up during this blog tour. In the first post, though, we MUST pay homage to the two wonderful writers for which this tour was named: Octavia Butler and LA Banks.
Who Are Octavia Butler and LA Banks?
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the BADDEST DIVAS in the sci-fi writing game, both Octavia Butler and L.A. Banks (among many others) made some AMAZING strides in the speculative fiction writing industry.
Just a small cross section of Octavia Butler’s MANY books!
They helped to pave the way for writers just like the ones you’ll meet on the tour and more! This is especially true for traditionally published sci-fi, fantasy, and horror work that is written by, for, and/or about Black folks. So let’s meet these two pioneers!
Some of L.A. Banks books!!
Octavia Butler
Octavia Estelle Butler, often referred to as the “grand dame of science fiction,” was born in Pasadena, California on June 22, 1947. She received an Associate of Arts degree in 1968 from Pasadena Community College, and also attended California State University in Los Angeles and the University of California, Los Angeles. During 1969 and 1970, she studied at the Screenwriter’s Guild Open Door Program and the Clarion Science Fiction Writers’ Workshop, where she took a class with science fiction master Harlan Ellison (who later became her mentor), and which led to Butler selling her first science fiction stories.
Butler really spearheaded the Black speculative fiction movement, and she’s been awarded with numerous Hugo and Nebula awards (as well as MANY others) for her wonderful works. Her influence on speculative fiction authors in the African diaspora will live on forever.
Check out her works HERE.
L.A. Banks
L. A. BANKS was the author of the Vampire Huntress Legend series and the Crimson Moon Novels, including Left for Undead and Never Cry Werewolf. She had a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business and a master’s in fine arts from Temple University. Banks considered herself a shape-shifter, writing romance, women’s fiction, crime and suspense, and of course, dark vampire huntress lore. She lived with her daughter in Philadelphia until her death in 2011.
Best known for her Vampire Huntress and Crimson Moon series, L.A. Banks really took Black speculative fiction to the next level, and she is sorely missed in the writer’s community and as in the world at large.
Check out her works HERE.
And now… the new wave!
So these are just two of our inspirations as Black speculative fiction creators, and there are many more we’ll introduce you to in the future. In the meantime, though, here’s the April line up of the next generation of Black sci fi writers! Tune into my next post for more information on each of us! 😉
15 Alan Jones
16 Balogun Ojetade
17 Milton Davis
18 Valjeanne Jeffers
19 Jeff Carroll
20 Keith Gaston
21 Carole McDonnell
22 Kai Leakes
23 Milton Davis, because his backlist is too big for one post! (Go indie!)
24 K. Ceres Wright
25 Milton Davis
26 Valjeanne Jeffers, because her backlist is too big for one post! (Go indie!)
27 DaVaun Sanders
28 Clarence (“Zig Zag”) Young
29 Crystal Connor
30 Balogun Ojetade, because his backlist is too big for one post! (Go indie!)
So there you go, imagineers! Stay tuned for the next post, enjoy the works, and of course…
Keep it indie,
<3 Colby