Derrick Ferguson Enters THE CRYPT OF DRACULA

Paperback: 230 pages

Publisher: Quickdraw Books (May 27, 2013)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0984954821

ISBN-13: 978-0984954827

Product Dimensions: 0.5 x 4.9 x 7.9 inches

In the forward to his homage to those classic Hammer Dracula movies THE CRYPT OF DRACULA, Kane Gilmour relates his glee at watching Universal and Hammer horror movies on late night TV during the 1970’s. While reading this I nodded my head in agreement because like him, I also grooved on those self-same movies back in the day. I lived for Saturday afternoons and nights when those movies were usually aired. He clearly sets for forth his mandate in his forward: he’s not out to re-invent the vampire novel or Dracula as a character. He just wants to present a simple, familiar Dracula yarn that hopefully will invoke the spirit of classic Hammer horror. Well, that he does. Maybe a little too well, for my taste. But we’ll get to that after the obligatory plot summary;

Master stonemason Andreas Wagner accepts a commission to work on restoring an old castle high up in the Carpathian Mountains. Wagner eagerly accepts the commission as he sees it as a way for him and his beautiful wife, Anneli to start life over. Their young daughter has died from a strange malady and since then, Anneli hasn’t uttered a word.

Upon arriving at the castle, Wagner finds things are a little odd, to say the least and the eccentric Count Dracula who owns the castle has a strange set of instructions for the way he wants the work to be carried out. Wagner also notes that the man keeps some really weird hours and has a servant who is never around but must be watching Wagner constantly as he appears to be able to anticipate Wagner’s every need.

You know how this goes…at first everything is sweet potato pie. But then the weirdness starts. Wagner is almost killed by falling masonry. Strange, gorgeous looking women in smoky flowing nightgowns roam the halls of the castle at night. The villagers seem to know something but they ain’t saying what. There’s a mysterious old man who sits in the corner of the tavern drinking, watching everything and biding his time. Despite his growing misgivings, Wagner stays on the job as he’s arraigned for his wife to join him, along with his best friend/assistant Fritz and Fritz’s lusty, busty girlfriend Gretchen. And once they arrive at the castle, that’s when the crazy really gets cranked up.

While reading THE CRYPT OF DRACULA I couldn’t help but feel that next to his keyboard Mr. Gilmour had a checklist of elements that had to go into a Dracula story: Crumbling Old Castle? Check. Vampire Brides of Dracula? Check. Half-Mad Faithful Servant Totally Dedicated To Dracula? Check. Cowering, Fearful Villagers? Double Check. Aged Fearless Vampire Killer? Triple Check. If you have even a passing familiarity with Hammer’s Dracula movies then there’s nothing here that’s much going to surprise you. Which is what Mr. Gilmour tells you right upfront. He’s not trying to startle his readers with innovation or re-invention. His purpose is to tell as simple and straightforward a Hammer inspired Dracula story as possible.

And in doing so, It's my thinking that maybe he bent over a little too backwards to color inside the lines. There’s plenty of wiggle room he has in this story to really bust loose and indeed, there were several spots in the story where I wondered if he reined himself in, dedicated to his self-imposed mandate to present the familiar.

As a result there isn’t anything in this story that’s going to take you by surprise if you decide to read it. The characterization is just enough so that we recognize the roles these characters are going to play in the story. Dracula himself is off screen for much of the story and he’s very much in the style of Christopher Lee’s Dracula, who spoke very little and in a couple of them didn’t speak at all. But when he shows up, believe me, he makes his presence felt.

So should you read THE CRYPT OF DRACULA? If you’re looking for a prose version of a Hammer horror movie then you’ve come to the right place. Mr. Gilmour’s prose is lush and lavish and he works damn hard at evoking the right atmosphere and mood for this type of story. The language, violence and sex is PG-13 level so you don’t have to worry about being offended or shocked. It’s an undemanding, casual read and should be approached in that spirit. I’d like to see Mr. Gilmour write another Dracula novel but this time allow himself the room just amp up the crazy, splurge with the sex and gore and really go nuts. 

Kickin' The Willy Bobo With: MILTON DAVIS

Derrick Ferguson: Who is Milton Davis?

Milton Davis: I’m a part-time speculative fiction writer and publisher. I write speculative fiction about African Americans and people of African Descent. I’m the author of seven novels and editor or four anthologies.

DF: Where do you live and what is your profession? Besides being a writer, that is.

MD: I live in Metro Atlanta with my wife and two children. I’m a research and development chemist.

DF: When did your love of science fiction, heroic fantasy and speculative fiction begin?

MD: I began reading science fiction and fantasy in college at the urging of one of my English instructors. She thought I was wasting my time majoring in Chemistry and should be pursing and English degree. I guess she decided to share science fiction with me because of my major. Once I read it I was hooked.

DF: How long have you been writing?

MD: Off and on, about thirty years. I took writing classes soon after college and went through the submission rejection cycle for a while. Then the children came and I stopped writing for a long time. I resumed about eight years ago as a self-publisher.

DF: What’s your philosophy of writing?

MD: I think writing should be fun. I’m not one to deal with deep issues, at least not intentionally, because that’s not what I like to read. My only constant is Black main characters. As a reader I was well aware of the absence of such characters in speculative fiction and I seek to rectify that in my own way. I also like the good guys to win.

DF: What writers have influenced you?

The two biggest influences on my writing are James Baldwin and Frank Herbert. James Baldwin’s “Giovanni’s Room” was the first fiction novel I ever read. I was 16 and home sick for a week. My sister, a big reader of fiction by Black writers, dropped a pile of her books for me to read. It was the first book I read and I was fascinated on his eloquent and economic style.

Frank Herbert’s “Dune” was the first book I read that involved serious world building. I was stunned at how someone could make a fictional world seem so real. Dune is the blueprint I use for every world that I build.

DF: What is MVMedia and what are its goals?

MD: MVMedia is my publishing company. Its goals are to develop speculative fiction novels that highlights African American and African descent characters and to develop this material into other media forms such as graphic novels, animation, movies and video series.

DF: For the few who don’t know, tell us what Sword and Soul is.

MD: Sword and Soul is heroic or epic fantasy based on African culture, traditions, history and spirituality. It was created by Charles R. Saunders in the late seventies with the release of Imaro, the first sword and sorcery character of color. The phrase ‘Sword and Soul’ was coined when Charles was asked to describe his form of writing.

DF: As a genre, Sword and Soul has grown tremendously in the past few years. To what do you attribute the growth of the genre?

MD: I think a number of factors. Charles R. Saunders, the creator of Sword and Soul, has built on his cult following over the past few years by releasing new Imaro and Dossouye books. I believe the release of my books and the Griots Sword and Soul anthology has contributed as well. But most of all I think it’s due to the power of social networking. Information spreads so much faster these days and we have been able to build a network of writers and readers interested in what’s happening.

DF: Tell us about MEJI.

MD: MEJI is a duology about twin brothers Ndoro and Obaseki. They are born to a royal family then separated because their birth is considered an abomination by the father’s people. The novels follow both brothers as they grow into their unique abilities and discover there is a reason for their birth.

MEJI was my first novel. I consider it my homage to my African roots. I tried to convey the diversity of the Continent and its people while delivering an exciting tale.

DF: Tell us about CHANGA’S SAFARI.

MD: CHANGA’S SAFARI is a historical fiction action adventure series. Changa Diop is the son of a deposed Kongo ngolo (king) who was forced to flee home at a very young age. The series begins with Changa as a successful Swahili merchant determined to build enough wealth to raise a mercenary army then return home to claim his father’s kingdom. His adventures are told through a series of kitabus (books), novellas that take the reader throughout the Spice Trade World and the African continent during the 15th century.  The series will consist of four books. The first two books are complete; books three and four will be released in 2014.

DF: Tell us about WOMAN OF THE WOODS.

MD: With WOMAN OF THE WOODS I return to the Meji universe. It’s my first book with a woman main character so I was a little nervous about how it would be received. Sadatina is the child of a Shosa, women warriors trained to fight demons that are threatening her people, the Adamu. Sadatina eventually grows up to be a warrior herself, aided by two female lions she raised from birth. It’s an exciting story that follows Sadatina from birth and expands the world of Meji. 

DF: You’ve recently written a children’s book: AMBER AND THE HIDDEN CITY. Why a children’s book and will you be writing more?

MD: Amber came from my interactions with readers at conventions. I was constantly asked by parents if I was going to write books for children and young adults. Many of them told me how their children were reading books like Harry Potter and wishing there were books like that with Black main characters. So I came up with Amber to help fill that void. My wife, a teacher, was also a major reason Amber was completed. She would light a fire under me whenever I got distracted. Amber will be a trilogy so there will be more. I have ideas for a few more YA books as well.

DF: You’re also a mover and shaker in the field of Steamfunk. Tell us about this genre.

MD: Steamfunk is subgenre of Steampunk. We incorporate the trappings of steampunk, such as steam-based technology and other concepts such as aether but our main characters are people of African descent. We also incorporated the history and culture of people of African descent during the time period which most Steampunk focuses on, the 19th century.

DF: You and Balogun Ojetade have formed quite the extraordinary partnership. How did this come about and where is it going?

MD: I met Balogun when searching for a source for indigenous African martial arts. Little did I know he was a renaissance man; writer, director, rapper and fight choreographer. Balogun and I have a similar vision when it comes to speculative fiction, which is why we work together often. We both have our separate endeavors, but we do come together often to work on projects.

I believe we’ll be working together for a long time. It’s our goal to move forward into speculative fiction movies and animation.

DF: You’ve been very vocal in promoting Black Speculative Fiction. What do you see as the major obstacle to Black Speculative Fiction being accepted by the larger reading public?

MD: Exposure. The last few years have proved to me that there is a demand for what we produce. The challenge is making people aware of it. Because I don’t have the funds to support widespread marketing my efforts have been more localized and more focused.

DF: Should writers of Black Speculative Fiction be seeking acceptance by the larger reading public?

MD: The reality of writing is that you won’t please everyone. Any writer pursuing any form of writing should realize that. The goal, in my opinion, is to find YOUR audience. As you write and promote your work the readers who like what you do will come forward. That’s the best you can hope for. And if you happen to be that lucky writer where your work appeals to the larger reading public, all the better. No one can predict that.

DF: You are seen (at least by me) as a major inspiration to those who are working and writing in the related fields of Black Speculative Fiction, Sword and Soul and Steamfunk. But how do you see yourself at this stage of your career?

MD: I’m still learning and hopefully growing as a writer, but I’m comfortable where I am right now. I’ve accomplished everything I wanted to accomplish in my first 5 years doing this, and I’m looking forward to the next five years. I’m inspired by the folks that have supported my work over the years and I hope I stay in their good favor in the future.

DF: How important is it to you, personally, that Black people be represented in the fields of speculative fiction and heroic fantasy?

MD: It is vitally important. Entertainment is such a large part of our life these days. The images that we are exposed to on a daily basis have an effect on what we think of ourselves and the world. For so long we have been flooded with negative images about us and our history. Some people seek inspiration from fiction, so it is essential that they find positive images if fiction as well as real life. So I personally believe that we have to be represented and we have to be represented well.

Derrick Ferguson: What’s A Day In The Life of Milton Davis like? Anything else we should know?

Milton Davis: It’s rather routine. Wake up, write, go to work, come home, write, repeat. Not much else to share unless we want to put folks to sleep. I’d like to thank everyone who has taken the chance to read my work and especially thank those who continue. If you keep reading I’ll keep writing. Thank you Derrick for the interview.

For more information about Milton Davis and his work: WAGADU

Kickin' The Willy Bobo With: JOSHUA REYNOLDS

Derrick Ferguson: Who is Joshua Reynolds?

Joshua Reynolds: I'm a literary mercenary with a modest level of talent and more-than-modest level of self-confidence. I'm a hack, a penmonkey, an ink-stained wretch, a word-dribbler.

I am, in other words, a freelance writer.

DF: Where do you currently reside and what do you do for a living?

JR: I currently reside in the city of Sheffield, which is in the north of England and, as oh-so subtly hinted at by my previous answer, I write for a living. 

DF: Share some of your personal background with us.

JR: I was once bitten by a rattlesnake.

It died.

DF: Access the memories of the 12 year old Josh Reynolds. Are you right now doing what the 12 year old Josh Reynolds dreamed of doing?

JR: Insomuch as it doesn't involve reigning over my own country like a power-mad dictator, I would say no. This was like three, maybe four down the list from that particular dream.

Definitely in the top fifteen, though.

DF: What is your philosophy of writing?

JR: I dunno...quantity has a quality all its own? No, but seriously, my philosophy is hard to put into words. Polite words, I mean. It mostly involves cursing and throwing papers up in the air, and having men with guns come through doors every two thousand words or so.

DF: How would you describe your style?

JR: Gratuitous? I don't know really. I think that's one of those questions you have to ask somebody who's not me to get a good answer.

The thing is, I don't think about it much. Writing is a job, and it's one I've gotten mostly adept at. But beyond that, I don't think about it in terms of style or philosophies or anything like that. I sit down, I write, I submit, I move on to the next thing. If something works, I repeat it until it stops working. If it doesn't work, I discard it and come up with something new.

Hey, maybe that's my answer to both this question and the previous one! My philosophy and my style is 'whatever works'.

DF: You’ve written an hellacious amount of short stories. Obviously you like the short story. Why?

JR: It is, in my opinion, one of the most efficient and effective ways of delivering an entertaining story. A short story forces you to pare and tweak and chisel at everything that isn't story. Books and novellas can take their time, they can have flabby bits and tangents and bits of business that add to characterization and the setting. But short stories have to get to the point--whatever that point might be--very quickly. You have to establish characters, plot and setting right from page one, paragraph one, sentence one.

DF: Exactly how many short stories have you written and if you had to pick three as your best, which ones would they be?

JR: Written, or had published? If it's the latter, almost two hundred. If it's the former...three, maybe three-hundred and fifty? I write between sixteen and twenty five a year, on average, these days.

As far as three of the best...the first is maybe "Just an Old Fashioned Love Song", which was published in 2007 in a magazine called Not One of Us. It's got a weird, funky rhythm to it that I've only managed to replicate once or twice since.

Second would be "Corn Wolf", which appeared in a 2010 issue of Necrotic Tissue. It's a straight-edge horror story, with Jamesian wallop to the rural horror twist. It's got one of my usual tricks--something horrible moving through something innocuous in a disturbing fashion--and a fairly nasty climax, which make it one of my more effective stories.

Third would have to be "Bultungin", which was published in 2013 in the anthology Shapeshifters. I think this is one of my better ones because I went outside of my comfort zone with it. Not necessarily in terms of plot, but in terms of setting and characters. Plus...were-hyenas. Hard to top that.   

DF: Some of my favorite stories of yours are an insane mash-up of horror, steampunk, pulp action adventure and historical fiction. Do you ever worry that your work cannot be easily classified or labeled?

JR: Nah. If it sells, it doesn't matter to me how it's labeled and if it doesn't sell...well it's moot, ain't it?

DF: I’m a big fan of your Mr. Brass stories. How did you give birth to the character?

JR: I wanted to write something steampunk-y, so I decided to go all in from the get-go. A brass robot-man punching out characters from Victorian literature seemed fairly steampunk.

Granted, what I considered steampunk at that point was 'like that Alan Moore thing, only less subtle'.

DF: Do you plan on writing a Mr. Brass novel or do you feel the character is more suited to short stories?

JR: If someone offered me the right terms, I'd whip up a novel in a heartbeat. But as that has yet to occur, I think I'll be sticking with short stories for the time being.

DF: In the New Pulp community whenever Jim Anthony, Super Detective is mentioned, your name is sure to be mentioned as well. How did you come to write Jim Anthony and why do you think you understand the character and his world so well?

JR: When I was first invited to submit something to Airship 27 several years ago, Ron Fortier was kind enough to send me a list of public domain pulp characters. The write-up of Jim Anthony on that list began, I think, with the phrase 'second-rate Doc Savage clone', and that immediately caught my attention. More for the Doc part than the second-rate bit.

Thing is, I've always wanted to write Doc Savage. It's on my bucket-list. And, frankly, I think Jim Anthony is as close as I'll get. Which is no bad thing. The Super-Detective is a fun character, with as much going for him as Doc, at least from the point of view of a writer. Jim Anthony is a very human character. He's passionate, opinionated, arrogant and lusty. He gets angry and depressed and frightened. And he can punch supervillains. What's not to like?

DF: Can we expect more Jim Anthony adventures?

JR: I'm actually in the process of writing a sequel to my last novel with the character, Death's Head Cloud, right now. The working title is Red Shambhala, and it sees Jim and co. face off against a murderous Russian aristocrat as they hunt for a treasure hidden in the wilds of Mongolia.

So the short answer would be 'yes'.

DF: You’ve written several novels for the prestigious Black Library. How did you get a contract to write for them and what advice can you offer to those who would like to write for them?

JR: I got the first contract the old fashioned way. I submitted a proposal, the commissioning editor liked it and I got offered a contract. As to advice, the best I can think of is, quite simply, write something else. Black Library rarely hire first-time writers, and my resume played a large part in getting me that first offer.

DF: I really enjoyed KNIGHT OF THE BLAZING SUN. Where’d you come up with that story?

JR: It evolved naturally out of my interest in real-world knightly orders like the Templars, and how they functioned. It was really just a matter of taking that interest and figuring out how to explore it through the lens of the Warhammer Fantasy universe.

DF: For those who don’t know, tell us who Gotrex & Felix are.

JR: Gotrek & Felix are Black Library's oldest and, perhaps, best-loved franchise. Created almost twenty years ago by veteran fantasy writer Bill King, Gotrek is a dwarf warrior determined to find a fitting doom, in order to expunge some heretofore unrevealed sin. Felix is a human poet who, after a being rescued by Gotrek, is honour-bound to follow him on his adventures and record his eventual demise.

I've written two novels about the duo--Road of Skulls in 2013 and The Serpent Queen which will be released in 2014--as well as a novella and a number of short stories.

DF: Can you tell us about any future novels you’ll be writing for Black Library?

JR: Unfortunately, I can't. They'd send somebody by my house to break my thumbs if I mentioned anything. Suffice to say, I'm writing at least two more novels for them. After that...who can say?

DF: A particular type of fictional hero that you have demonstrated a huge love for is that of The Occult Investigator or Psychic Detective. Where does that come from?

JR: Mostly it comes from a love of the central concept behind such a character--someone who fights monsters. A person who faces off against every nightmarish horror the Outer Dark can produce as a matter of professional and personal responsibility. Like the detectives of Conan Doyle, Chandler and Christie, the occult detective seeks to bring the monsters to justice, only in the latter's case, the monster isn't a poisoner or a blackmailer, but a werewolf or a vampire or a gibbering horror. And that's something I just plain dig.

DF: Who is The Royal Occultist and what is his job?

JR: The Royal Occultist is the man--or woman--who stands between the British Empire and its occult enemies, be they foreign, domestic, human, demonic or some form of worm of unusual size. If there are satyrs running amok in Somerset or werewolves in Wolverhampton, the Royal Occultist will be there to see them off.

The current Royal Occultist is Charles St. Cyprian, who's best described as Rudolph Valentino by way of Bertie Wooster. In the same vein, his assistant, Ebe Gallowglass, is Louise Brooks by way of Emma Peel. St. Cyprian is the brains and Gallowglass is the muscle; he likes to talk things out, and she likes to shoot things until they die.

Together, they defend the British Empire of the 1920s against a variety of gribbly monsters, secret societies and eldritch occurrences.

DF: Tell us about THE WHITECHAPEL DEMON.

JR: The Whitechapel Demon is the first book in Emby Press' 'The Adventures of the Royal Occultist' series. It sees Charles St. Cyprian and Ebe Gallowglass go up against a secret society of murderists and an otherdimensional doppelganger of one of history's most notorious killers. The book serves as an introduction to the world of the Royal Occultist as well as delivering an exciting adventure for new readers and old fans alike to enjoy.

DF: Can we expect to see future adventures of Charles St. Cyprian and Ebe Gallowglass? Please say yes.

JR: Definitely. Next year will see the release of The Jade Suit of Death, the follow up to The Whitechapel Demon. There are also a half dozen short stories waiting to appear in the pages of forthcoming anthologies and magazines, and two more audio productions in the works. Too, there may be a collection of short stories forthcoming from a well-known New Pulp publisher.

DF: What’s a Day In The Life of Joshua Reynolds like?

JR: Very boring, actually. I get up, I eat breakfast, drink some coffee, and get to work around eight, eight-thirty in the morning. I work on whatever project has the closest deadline until twelve, break for lunch and a coffee until one, and then work on a second project, or answer emails, mail contracts and invoices, run errands and/or update my blog until five or six. I generally try and get some more writing in between seven and midnight most nights.

Like I said, not very interesting.

Derrick Ferguson: Anything else we need to know?

Joshua Reynolds: The best present you can get an author, besides buying one of their books, is taking the time to leave a review somewhere. So, if you've read something, please consider taking a few minutes to review it on Amazon, Goodreads, Smashwords or wherever. I, and most every other author out there, would appreciate it immensely. 

HUNTING MONSTERS

17 Months Later With: VALJEANNE JEFFERS

It’s been a while since the original Kickin’ The Willy Bobo interview with Valjeanne so I thought it about time we caught up with what she’s all about and what she’s doing 17 MONTHS LATER…

Derrick Ferguson: Have there been any major changes in your life since we last talked?

Valjeanne Jeffers: Actually, yes. I’m pleased to announce that my new grand-baby, Kyle Toussaint will arrive in December of 2013. My first grand-baby, Logan Alexander, turned four this year; and he is a continual source of joy in my journey.

I’ve been published in two anthologies, which were just released this year: Griots: Sisters of the Spear, and Genesis: An Anthology of Black Science Fiction Volume II. And I’m releasing two new novels, Colony: Ascension, An Erotic Space Opera and Mona Livelong: Paranormal Detective.

Colony: Ascension, is a spin-off of my earlier short stories, “Colony” and “Probe.” It is a full-length novel about an apocalyptic, dying Earth. . .and what becomes of it. In the year 2045, Earth’s leaders are hell-bent on colonizing new planets. But an alien species has its own agenda, its own ideas, about what the future of Earth should hold. Here’s a short excerpt from Colony: Ascension.

Earth’s atmosphere was polluted. The weather was a miasma of storms, heat waves and solar flares; shifting from twenty to ninety degrees within the space of a day. Mutated animals roamed the streets. Those without jobs, panhandled and squatted in alleys and deserted building. When their rationed water was gone, they used homemade filters. They ate rats, insects, dogs—anything they could find. Some had even become cannibals. Those with jobs lived under the Domes.

I thought I’d be finished with both novels by the end of the year, but they won’t be ready until sometime in 2014. Quinton Veal, my cover artist and fiancée, is releasing his fourth book, Fire and Desire, in 2014—which is also a very big deal for me.

I have two audio books, too, which are coming out soon (both narrated by voice actress Darla Middlebrook). The audio book of my first novel, Immortal, will be released on December 31, 2013. The audio of the second novel of my series, Immortal II: The Time of Legend, will be out in March 2014.

DF: How do you feel your writing has developed since we last talked?

VJ: As writers we are always developing, always growing. When I wrote my first novel, it was more fun than work. I would slip into my characters’ world during the day, like a beautiful waking dream. Even when I wasn’t writing, my characters were never far from my mind.

Now, as a more seasoned author, I’m still just as consumed with my writing. But I have to remind myself to have fun. Writing is hard work. But authors also have to enjoy themselves. That’s a lot more difficult than it sounds. Especially when you have self-imposed deadlines and quotas to meet.

I have to remind myself, too, to slip into my characters’ skin; to let let them evolve emotionally and connect with them emotionally. In this way my characters become “spirits who walk across the page,” rather than chess pieces I’m pushing across a book. I enjoy them, love them, and so do my readers.

DF: In what direction do you think your work is heading now as opposed to seventeen months ago? Or is it heading in the same direction?

VJ: I believe that in last year or so, I’ve learned to take my time—to not rush my writing. I’d venture to say that I’ve actually developed more patience, which is no mean feat for me. Anyone who knows me well, will tell you patience is not my strong suit. But I am learning.

DF: Tell us about Mona Livelong.

VJ: Mona Livelong: Paranormal Detective is a new series, in which I introduce Mona Livelong, a seasoned detective who is takes on a case, “The Case of the Angry Ghost”, of a family haunted by an angry poltergeist, an evil spirit if you will. Mona grudgingly takes the job, and finds herself swept up into a dangerous plot to turn North America on its head. But she’s “sharp as a mosquito’s tweeter,” as one of my characters describes her, and gifted with preternatural abilities.

In “The Case of the Angry Ghost” the first novel of the Mona Livelong series, I introduce my readers to a whole new cast of characters: Mona, the darkly beautiful sorceress and sleuth; her on-again/off-again lover, Curtis Dubois, a Haitian detective; his partner and best friend, Harold Polanski.  And a charming Southern gambler, who also happens to be a ghost, “Larry Junebug Walker.”

Here’s a short excerpt:

Mona turned the crank on her steam-powered auto and trailed Bouvier, traveling east to Bourbon one of her town, Clearwater’s, Black communities. The home was a freshly painted, two-story, bone-white house with a wraparound porch complete with swing, and roses blooming in the yard.

The moment she stepped out of her auto, she felt it. Negative energy surrounded the house. In the second-story window, Mona saw the silhouette of woman. And she knew she wasn’t human. Broke as she was, Mona was starting to think this was a bad idea. Vengeful spirits were among her least favorite preternatural beings. They couldn’t be trusted.

Sneaky, unreliable hants. Like this one, being quiet until these folks moved in and then raising all this hell. She’d known them to lay low for weeks at a time, sometimes years, lulling folks into a false sense of security. Only to attack the new owners of the house later.

This is a new series I hope my readers will love, as much as they love my Immortal series. But it is detour off the beaten path for me. Mona Livelong is a detective novel, and a horror/steamfunk book, with shades of Voudon.

In writing a horror novel, I deliberately steered away from my comfort zone. Those who are familiar with my writing will tell you that I like to mix genres. But this was the first time that I’ve gone out my way to scare my readers. I hope they enjoy it.

DF: You’ve got a story in Griots II. Tell us about it.

VJ: Griots: Sisters of the Spear (edited by Charles Saunders and Milton Davis) is the second volume of the Griots Anthology series; and my short story, “The Sickness” is included in it. In “The Sickness”, the journey of Nandi, a young West African woman, continues. Nandi is also the heroine of “Awakening”, my story which was published in Griots: A Sword and Sword Anthology. She is a warrior who has taken control of her own destiny— with a little supernatural help from her friends.

This anthology features some exceptional writers; including the man himself, Charles Saunders, Carole McDonnell, Ronald Jones, and Joe Bonadonna. It is a pleasure and an honor to be listed among them.

DF: Tell us about Steamfunk and your place in the genre.

VJ: Steamfunk is a sub-genre in which Steampunk is written from an African American’s, really any person of color’s worldview.  This genre gives me an opportunity to be creative with gizmos and gadgets, as well as to tie them to other plot mechanisms; such as (as one of readers described it) environmental racism. And when writing within this genre the author is automatically creating an alternative universe—which I love.

I found my niche in Steamfunk back in 2011, when I wrote The Switch. In the beginning, The Switch was an open-ended short story that I really enjoyed writing, but had no intentions of continuing. But, at the urging of my oldest son, Toussaint, I revisited it and developed it into a full novel: The Switch II: Clockwork: which includes The Switch as a Prologue and The Switch II as the Conclusion.

The Switch: Book I, was later published in the Steamfunk! anthology. It was also nominated the 2013 E-festival of Words for Best Novella Award. Since 2011, I’ve become very comfortable with Steamfunk. I’ve written two more short stories, “Mocha Faeryland” and “Outcasts”, a story of an alternate Haiti and Toussaint L’Overture’s revolution. And then, of course, there’s Mona Livelong.

DF: Where do you see Valjeanne Jeffers in five years?

VJ: In five years, Quinton and I plan to edit and release at least one SF/Fantasy anthology. I also plan to write four more novels, and connect with more of my wonderful readers, so that I go on to become a bestselling author.

DF: Hollywood calls and says that they’re going to give you 500 million dollars to make a movie out of one of your books and let you pick the director. Which book do you let them have and which director do you choose?

VJ: I don’t even have to think about it. Immortal. Not only is the first novel, of my first series, very near and dear to my heart, I believe that Immortal would make a dynamite movie. The special effects alone would be off the chain.

The director? Also a no-brainer. I’d pick filmmaker/director M. Asli Dukan, who is writing and directing a film documentary of Black Speculative Fiction, entitled “Invisible Universe”. I’m very, very honored to be listed among the authors of the “Invisible Universe.”

DF: Recommend a movie, a book and a TV show.

VJ: I’d recommend “Sugar Hill”, a Blaxploitation Horror classic about a young woman, Diane Hill, who avenges her lover’s death with the help of a powerful Voudon Loa. For books, how could I pass up a chance to recommend The Switch II: Clockwork? It’s got science fiction, time-travel, Steamfunk and even a little erotica. What’s not to love?

For TV shows, my all-time favorite is “Supernatural”—a horror series. This show features deep, subtle commentary about life, from some very likable characters. It even manages to be funny. “Supernatural” also has one of the best rock soundtracks I’ve had the pleasure of listening too.

Derrick Ferguson: Anything else we should know?

Valjeanne Jeffers: Readers can preview or publish my books at: www.vjeffersandqveal.com

I’d like to thank Derrick Ferguson, Author Extraordinaire, for taking the time to interview me.