African-Americans Writing Horror

Being Full of Light, Insubstantial

Author: Addison, Linda D.
Format: Trade Paperback
Type: Poetry Collection
Page Count: 132pp.
Pub. Date: September 1, 2007
Publisher: Space and Time
Links: Linda D. Addison’s Web Site
Book List for Linda D. Addison

Winner of the 2007 Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in Poetry

An exciting new collection of poetry, most never seen before, from the first African-American to receive the HWA’s coveted Bram Stoker Award.

Dark Thirst: An Anthology

Editor: Allen, Angela C.
Format: Trade Paperback
Type: Anthology
Page Count: 320pp.
Pub. Date: October 5, 2004
Publisher: Pocket Books
Also Pub: October 30, 2004 (eBooks — Adobe Reader 7, Microsoft Reader, eReader)

A haunting anthology of vampire fiction — one that brings a colorful new dimension to one of the world’s most erotic and enduring myths. Featuring stories from some of today’s most popular African American writers:

OMAR TYREE, writing as The Urban Griot The Old South falls prey to a handsome young vampire with a real taste for the ladies. Love at first bite never hurt so good.

ANGELA C. ALLEN The mafia is no match for the wicked charms of a beautiful young vampire once she’s let loose on the New York City streets.

MONICA JACKSON Can a pair of fangs help a sister burn more calories? A full-figured woman goes on a thirst-quenching search for the perfect low-carb diet.

LINDA ADDISON It’s a matter of life and the living dead for a half-vampire whose greatest wish is to save lives . . . and become human again.

DONNA HILL A sensuous vampire thirsts for something more . . . but can she find it without getting a dagger in her own heart?

KEVIN S. BROCKENBROUGH A vengeful vampire pushes one woman to the edge, unaware that her family secret gives her the power to fight back.

Table of Contents:

• The Ultimate Diet by Monica Jackson
• Vamp Noir by Angela C. Allen
• Human Heat: The Confessions of an Addicted Vampire by The Urban Griot
• Whispers During Still Moments by Linda Addison
• The Touch by Donna Hill
• The Family Business by Kevin S. Brockenbrough

The Darkness (The Vampire Huntress Legend #10)

Author: Banks, L. A.
Format: Trade Paperback
Type: Novel
Page Count: 512pp.
Pub. Date: February 5, 2008
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Links: Leslie Esdaile Banks, Author
Links: The Vampire Huntress Legend Series
Book List for L. A. Banks
Series List for The Vampire Huntress Legend

After the battle at Masada, the Neteru team returns to San Diego believing forty-thousand demons had been eradicated and that Lilith’s spawn has been killed. But somehow the treacherous little creature got away. Just as had been prophesized at the dawn of the Armageddon, the anti-Christ has been born and will soon rise to power.

Rewarded for her creation, Lilith is given the daylight bite and power to make Councilmen day-walkers. Having Fallon Nuit and Sebastian able to withstand sunlight is a huge problem, especially when they are adding new master vampires at recordbreaking levels. Meanwhile the dark realms are healing and adding to what had previously been wiped out — feeding off the dark energy of the newly created anti-christ who is only waiting to emerge.

Fledgling: A Novel

Author: Butler, Octavia E.
Format: Hardcover
Type: Novel
Page Count: 352pp.
Pub. Date: September 8, 2005
Publisher: Seven Stories Press
Also Pub: January 1, 2007 (eBooks — Adobe Reader 7, Microsoft Reader, eReader)
Also Pub: January 1, 2007 (eBooks — MobiPocket)

In Fledgling, Octavia Butler’s first new novel in seven years, is the story of an apparently young, amnesiac girl whose alarmingly un-human needs and abilities lead her to a startling conclusion: she is in fact a genetically modified, 53-year-old vampire. Forced to discover what she can about her stolen former life, she must at the same time learn who wanted — and still wants — to destroy her and those she cares for, and how she can save herself. Fledgling is a captivating novel that tests the limits of otherness and questions what it means to be truly human.

Joplin’s Ghost: A Novel

Author: Due, Tananarive
Format: Hardcover
Type: Novel
Page Count: 496pp.
Pub. Date: September 20, 2005
Publisher: Atria
Links: Tananarive Due — Official Website
Book List for Tananarive Due.

When Phoenix Smalls was ten, she nearly died at her parents’ jazz club when she was crushed by a turn-of-the-century piano. Now twenty-four, Phoenix is launching a career as an R&B singer. As the protegee of rap superstar G-Ronn, Phoenix is living the life young artists envy and seems destined for fame and fortune. But a chance visit to a historical site in St. Louis ignites a series of bizarre, erotic encounters with a spirit who may be the King of Ragtime, Scott Joplin.

With growing violence in G-Ronn’s inner circle and a ghost bent on living forever through her, Phoenix’s life suddenly hangs in the balance. Can the power of her own inner song and the love of a music writer who believes in her give Phoenix the strength to fight to live out her own future? Or will she be trapped forever in Scott Joplin’s doomed, tragic past?

Havoc after Dark: Tales of Terror

Author: Fleming, Robert
Format: Trade Paperback
Type: Short Story Collection
Page Count: 224pp.
Pub. Date: March 1, 2004
Publisher: Kensington
Original Pub: 2002 (Hardcover — Sadorian Publications)
Links: Robert Fleming — Official Website.

Ohio Connection: Robert Fleming was born and grew up in the Cleveland area.

Here is a collection of 14 horrific short stories by Robert Fleming.

Table of Contents:

• Life After Bas
• The Tenderness of Monsieur Blanc
• The Ultimate Bad Luck
• In My Father’s House
• The Inhuman Condition
• Bordering on the Divine
• Havoc After Dark
• The Blasphemer
• Arbeit Macht Frei
• Speak No Evil
• Punish the Young Seed of Satan
• A Lizard’s Kiss
• The Garden of Evil
• The Wisdom of the Serpents

Fever in the Blood

Author: Fleming, Robert
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Type: Novel
Page Count: 320pp.
Pub. Date: May 1, 2006
Publisher: Kensington
Links: Robert Fleming — Official Website

Ohio Connection: Robert Fleming was born and grew up in the Cleveland area.

Eddie Stevens is burning inside . . . and he’s burning mad at the world. He’s mad at the family he lost — his parents and sisters viciously killed by a gang in their own home; and he’s mad at the foster family that rescued him — headed up by a powerful Harlem congressman who sees Eddie as a campaign ploy. Mainly, Eddie is mad at himself, for getting caught by the cops with blood on his hands. Blood he should have washed off right away. He was sloppy this time. It won’t happen again. Because Eddie knows the fever that ignites his rage is wasted — unless it’s put to use. And he intends to put it to use again and again. . . .

A Drop of Scarlet (The Voice of the Blood Series #4)

Author: Jefferson, Jemiah
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Type: Novel
Page Count: 368pp.
Pub. Date: January 2, 2007
Publisher: Leisure/Dorchester
Links: Official Site of Horror Author Jemiah Jefferson
Book List for Jemiah Jefferson
Series List for Voice of the Blood Series

Ariane Dempsey is a dedicated scientist specializing in blood diseases. None of her colleagues suspect that she is also a vampire. Lately, her research has taken a very personal turn — she is trying to find a drug that will help her lover, John, whose mind has been unstable since Ariane first made him a vampire.

But the drug she develops has unforeseen effects and word spreads instantly through the vampire community. Vampires from all over the globe descend upon the city. They will pay anything for the drug — or they will kill for it. Ariane will soon learn that, even to those of their own kind, nothing is more dangerous than a desperate vampire.

Blood Lust

Editor: Jeffries, J. M.
Pseudonym of: Jacqueline S. Hamilton and Miriam Pace
Format: Trade Paperback
Type: Novel
Page Count: 241pp.
Pub. Date: September 1, 2005
Publisher: Genesis Press
Links: J. M. Jeffries — Official Site

Mignon Du Plessis is a vampire, over two hundred years old and currently assigned to track down and rogue vampire. Ryan Lattimore is a police detective assigned to uncover a serial killer who leaves his victims drained of blood. When they meet, the sparks fly and neither one will every be the same again.

The Best of Curse of the Spawn

Author: McElroy, Alan
Illustrator: Miki, Danny and Turner, Dwayne
Format: Trade Paperback
Type: Collected Graphic Novel
Page Count: 512pp.
Pub. Date: August 16, 2006
Publisher: Image Comics
Collects: Curse of the Spawn #1-8, 12-16 and 20-29
Book List for Alan McElroy
Series List for Curse of the Spawn

Ohio Connection: Alan McElroy was born and grew up in the Cleveland area.

Meet new Spawns and delve deeply into the cast and characters of the regular series Spawn mythos as well. The Best of Curse of the Spawn features 23 handpicked issues of this series written by popular Cleveland author Alan McElroy. Featuring the stunning artwork of industry favorites Dwayne Turner and Danny Miki.

Don’t Ever Tell

Author: Massey, Brandon R.
Format: Trade Paperback
Type: Novel
Page Count: 384pp.
Pub. Date: July 1, 2008
Publisher: Pinnacle/Kensington
Links: Brandon R. Massey, Official Author Site
Book List for Brandon R. Massey

Dark Secrets.

With a new identity, a new city to live in, and a wonderful new husband, Rachel Moore believes she’s finally free of the demons in her past. But nothing could be farther from the truth. For the deadly secrets she thought were long-buried are now on the brink of being exposed.

Have a Way.

Someone has a vendetta against Rachel. Someone whom she betrayed a long time ago. Someone who is determined to make her pay — no matter the cost.

of Coming Back With a Vengeance.

Now Rachel knows it’s just a matter of time before her dangerous past meets up with her present — and destroys everything she’s worked so hard for. Because if there’s one thing that can be counted on — her enemy never forgets or forgives and will do whatever it takes to see Rachel suffer . . .

Whispers in the Night (A Dark Dreams Anthology #3)

Editor: Massey, Brandon
Format: Trade Paperback
Type: Anthology
Page Count: 304pp.
Pub. Date: July 1, 2007
Publisher: Dafina/Kensington
Links: Brandon R. Massey, Official Author Site
Book List for Brandon R. Massey
Series List for The Dark Dreams Anthology

BEYOND YOUR DARKEST DREAMS —
From the deceptive safety of your very own bed to the seeming stillness of country roads and the bustle of urban streets, your darkest realities reveal themselves as you enter hidden realms, crossing the threshold into one man’s tortured mind — a mind haunted by the mocking, derisive voices of his youth. Quench your insatiable thirst for terror at a bar where the drinks are abominable and the patrons never leave. Relive the infamous, harrowing Middle Passage that brought millions of African slaves to America, but this time with a spellbinding twist. . .

LIE YOUR DEEPEST FEARS —
From scenes of pulsating ecstasy to unspeakable tragedy, surrender yourself to a world inhabited by bizarre sex cults and violent gangs. Meet the malevolent entities that feed on human misery in the midst of a hurricane’s wrath. Endure a sweltering summer on a swamp inhabited by mischievous spirits intent on possessing the most innocent within their slimy grasp. Submit to the tantalizing temptation and the irresistible pull of the unknown in eighteen stories that will illuminate the horrors within — and without. And whatever you do, don’t turn off the lights.

Table of Contents:

• Summer by Tananarive Due
• Scab by Wrath James White
• And Death Rode with Him by Anthony Beal
• Are You My Daddy? by Lexi Davis
• To Get Bread and Butter by Randy Walker
• Dream Girl by Dameon Edwards
• My Sister’s Keeper by Chesya Burke
• The Wasp by Robert Fleming
• Hell Is For Children by Rickey Windell George
• Flight by Lawana James-Holland
• Hadley Shimmerhorn: American Icon by Michael Boatman
• Nurse’s Requiem by Maurice Broaddus
• WET PAIN by Terence Taylor
• The Taken by Tenea Johnson
• Mr. Bones by Christopher Chambers
• Rip Crew by B. Gordon Doyle
• Power and Purpose by L. R. Giles
• The Love of a Zombie is Everlasting by Tish Jackson
• Ghostwriter by Brandon Massey

Out “A” Order

Author: Rhodes, Evie
Format: Trade Paperback
Type: Novel
Page Count: 304pp.
Pub. Date: January 28, 2007
Publisher: Dafina/Kensington
Links: Evie Rhodes — The Author
Book List for Evie Rhodes

From the Editors of Barnes and Noble:
Stephen King’s The Stand meets Donald Goines’s Black Gangster in this novel by Evie Rhodes, a spiritually powered supernatural thriller set on the mean streets of Newark’s crime-ridden Central Ward.

Shannon Davenport is an infamous Newark OG (original gangsta) who, after the birth of his daughter, Jasmine, has tried hard to keep himself out of trouble and make a better life for his family. Now 36 years old and married to Tawney, a successful bank manager, Davenport is shattered when eight-year old Jasmine is gunned down in broad daylight while playing hide-and-seek with her friends. Obsessed with tracking down his daughter’s killer, the streetwise Davenport becomes entangled in a quickly escalating conflict between two ruthless thugs. As the power struggle ignites into all-out gang warfare — and the body count skyrockets — Davenport uncovers the unbelievable truth: There is a vengeful presence behind all the tragedy, busily collecting souls for the kingdom of darkness . . .

Fueled by darkly poetic imagery and allegory — as well as numerous relevant biblical references (Proverbs 1:16: “For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.”) — Out “A” Order is equal parts gritty crime fiction thriller, graphic inner-city fantasy, and spiritual cautionary tale. Readers who enjoy edification with their literary escapism should definitely check out this novel.
–Paul Goat Allen

The Book of a Thousand Sins

Editor: White, Wrath James
Format: Trade Paperback
Type: Short Story Collection
Page Count: 191pp.
Pub. Date: October 30, 2005
Publisher: Two Backed Books
Links: Words of Wrath
Book List for Wrath James White

Delve into the tantalizing works of Wrath James White with this thrilling romp through 15 of his most disturbing stories. Devilishly thought provoking, this collection explores some of the darkest aspects of lust, faith, death and human nature. Travel with the downtrodden and the disillusioned through personal hells of their own making, populated by terrifying monsters and skulking demons. Not for the faint of heart, this collection is a wild ride.

Table of Contents:

• He Who Increases Knowledge
• More Maggots
• Don’t Scream
• Couch Potato
• Resurrection Day
• The Sooner They Learn
• Munchausen by Proxy
• Awake
• A Dialogue Between a Priest and a Dying Man
• A Friend in Need
• My Very Own
• Fly
• The Myth of Sisyphus
• The Book of a Thousand Sins
• No Questions Unanswered

Orgy of Souls

Author: White, Wrath James and Broaddus, Maurice
Format: Hardcover
Type: Novella
Page Count: ???pp.
Pub. Date: Jun 15, 2008
Publisher: Apex Publications
Links: Words of Wrath
Links: Maurice Broaddus
Book List for Wrath James White

Twenty for one.

Twenty souls for his brother’s life is a price that seductively beautiful Samson is willing to pay. Twenty souls drenched in blood, powdered with cocaine and more than one kind of ecstasy. A fair trade for the life of a brother. A fair trade for the life of a priest. And everyone he meets seems so willing to give theirs away.

Samuel’s faith often wavers. Diagnosed with HIV and in rapid decline, he hides his disillusionment in the rituals of the priesthood. But when Samson brings him the first blood-signed contract for a young woman’s immortal soul, the steamy world of high fashion male models and the quiet decay of a sickly priest begin to writhe against the realities of life, death, and otherworldly power.

Brotherly love is a deadly seduction, beauty a dangerous game. Come worship in the brutal temple of Orgy of Souls. Your faith will never be the same again.