Maurice Broaddus's Blog, page 15
April 4, 2017
Apex Magazine #95 is out! Plus Revive the Drive!
It’s here, it’s here! Issue 95 of Apex Magazine, guest edited by moi, has been released.
Original fiction by Walter Mosley, Sheree Renée Thomas, Kendra Fortmeyer, and Chesya Burke.
Interview with Sheree Renee Thomas by Andrea Johnson. Interview with cover artist Angelique Shelley by Russell Dickerson. An essay about diversity and inclusion by Tanya DePass.
Poetry by Linda D Addison and Lawana Holland-Moore.
I hope you enjoy it!
Also, over on Apex Magazine’s Revive the Drive, I have a copy of The Voices of Martyrs and The Knights of Breton Court omnibus up for purchase. Autographed to you!
April 3, 2017
I’m on Fiyah! (updated with a review)
If you ain’t up on Fiyah – Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction, you have no idea what you’re missing. Issue #2 is out with my story, “Vade Retro Satana.” UPDATED: A review of the issue in Quick Sips – Fiyah #2 Spilling Tea says this about my story:
“This is a complex and powerful story that revolves around faith and colonization, assimilation and freedom. The piece is set on a far-off world where Christian colonizers, spearheading a vast Christian organization, has arrived on Nambra in order to “civilize” it. Macia, the main character, is a soldier in that organization, encased in a biosuit that separates her from the world of Nambra, and from the people she both protects and polices. And Macia is a person in conflict, her background very similar to what’s going on on Nambra, her parents converts who died violently, her own past since then dominated by her anger and funneling it into whatever mission the church gave her. I love the way the story tackles the complexity of colonization and religion, the way that these themes find mirrors on Earth, in our past and in our present. And I love the way the story affirms stories and the stories we tell as being foundational to who we are and where we go. That it is not a defeat to recognize that there are things in the past that cannot be reclaimed, and that moving forward is often fraught and difficult. Throw into the mix the heady violence of the story, of the setting, of the characters, and things move from bad to worse pretty quickly. At the heart of the story for me, though, is the way the story pictures faith and religion as most dangerous and damaging at their most rigid. But when more adaptable, when more catered to the needs of the people and not treated as some universal to be “equally” and brutally applied, religion can be a great tool to bring people together. Because it is a story and because stories can inform each other, can bridge distance and culture. Can make enemies into friends. But that the power of stories can also be used to harm, can be used as a weapon, can be used to corrupt and erase. It’s a difficult story at times because of the way it doesn’t look away from violence and conflict, and it also makes it a very hopeful story, in the end, which is beautifully done. An amazing read and a fantastic way to kick off the issue!”
Check out the rest of the amazing TOC of issue #2:
CONTENTS:
VADE RETRO SATANA // Maurice Broaddus
Not even Macia’s thick armor can protect her from her own conscience. A story of redemption, self-determination, and discovering what faith truly means.
TALKING TO CANCER // Khaalidah Muhammad-Ali
Layla has the power to save or end a person’s life with a few words. In this story, we learn the true limits of power and responsibility.
THE HARD SHELL // Russell Nichols
The story of a hard boiled detective, a chick, and town steeped in lies. You think you know the truth behind the rhymes, but the truth is you don’t know Jack from Jill.
THE BEEKEEPER’S GARDEN // Christopher Caldwell
In this dreamy tale, a young woman is trapped in a strange house with a strange woman and no memory of her past. She must brave her captor’s garden and learn its secrets if she is to make her escape.
HOME IS WHERE MY MOTHER’S HEART IS BURIED // Wole Talabi
Arin wants to go home to Earth, and Tinu wants to let go of her Earthborn memories. In this story, we explore the true meaning of family and belonging.
WE LAUGH IN ITS FACE // Barbara L.W. Myers
What good is forever if you have no one to spend it with? In this story, we explore the true cost of life eternal.
GRAVEROBBING NEGRESS SEEKS EMPLOYMENT // Eden Royce
Wanted: one negress to find a certain lost cargo. Welcome to a Charleston of the past filled with a very necessary magic.
INDIE SPOTLIGHT : COAL // Constance Burris
I’m on Fiyah!
If you ain’t up on Fiyah – Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction, you have no idea what you’re missing. Check out this TOC of issue #2:
CONTENTS:
VADE RETRO SATANA // Maurice Broaddus
Not even Macia’s thick armor can protect her from her own conscience. A story of redemption, self-determination, and discovering what faith truly means.
TALKING TO CANCER // Khaalidah Muhammad-Ali
Layla has the power to save or end a person’s life with a few words. In this story, we learn the true limits of power and responsibility.
THE HARD SHELL // Russell Nichols
The story of a hard boiled detective, a chick, and town steeped in lies. You think you know the truth behind the rhymes, but the truth is you don’t know Jack from Jill.
THE BEEKEEPER’S GARDEN // Christopher Caldwell
In this dreamy tale, a young woman is trapped in a strange house with a strange woman and no memory of her past. She must brave her captor’s garden and learn its secrets if she is to make her escape.
HOME IS WHERE MY MOTHER’S HEART IS BURIED // Wole Talabi
Arin wants to go home to Earth, and Tinu wants to let go of her Earthborn memories. In this story, we explore the true meaning of family and belonging.
WE LAUGH IN ITS FACE // Barbara L.W. Myers
What good is forever if you have no one to spend it with? In this story, we explore the true cost of life eternal.
GRAVEROBBING NEGRESS SEEKS EMPLOYMENT // Eden Royce
Wanted: one negress to find a certain lost cargo. Welcome to a Charleston of the past filled with a very necessary magic.
INDIE SPOTLIGHT : COAL // Constance Burris
March 31, 2017
5 Things That Inspired ‘The Voices of Martyrs’
This week we welcome author Maurice Broaddus to Geek Speaks…Fiction! Maurice has written many pieces of wonderful speculative fiction that have appeared in places such as Lightspeed Magazine, Weird Tales, Asimov’s, and more. Most recently, several of his stories have been collected in The Voices of Martyrs, available now from Rosarium Publishing (Rosarium is a fabulous small press headed by Bill Cambell. I highly suggest you check out all their books!). In this article, Maurice talks about five things that inspired this new anthology!
My first love is writing short stories, so, naturally, I love short story collections. Such collections brought me into the genre (Edgar Allan Poe, Stephen King, Clive Barker) and showed me what all could be done with the genre (Walter Mosley, Kelly Link, Tananarive Due, Ted Chiang, Jeffrey Ford, Octavia Butler). Collections can be a kind of sampler platter to illustrate what all an author does. With over 50 short stories published from which to draw, what I wanted to do with The Voices of Martyrs was look at the African American experience through the lens of history. That’s the overarching idea behind the collection, though I do have five things in particular that helped inspire some of the stories.
March 30, 2017
Writing the Other Workshop (Signal Boost!)
Writers often wonder and worry about if it is possible to write characters whose gender, sexual orientation, religion, racial heritage, or other aspect of identity differs from their own. Many authors are afraid to try even though it is possible to do so sensitively and convincingly. In this five-week course, authors Nisi Shawl and K. Tempest Bradford delve into this tricky skill through a combination of readings, videos, discussions, and writing exercises in a safe, supportive atmosphere. The class is appropriate for all writers (fiction, plays, comics, screenplays) from all backgrounds and any skill level.
This class will cover Language & Description, Characterization & Identity, Dialogue & Dialect, Worldbuilding Without Appropriation, Researching the Other, and MUCH more. In addition to instruction from Shawl and Bradford, students will have access to the video and resources from three Writing the Other Master Classes on writing Native American characters, Trans & Non-Binary narratives, and Deaf and Blind characters, plus exclusive access to a guest lecture on worldbuilding without appropriation by Max Gladstone.
The course does not have set meeting times. You can access class material and discussion and participate in class at any time, day or night, from anywhere in the world as long as you have an Internet connection. All class discussion will take place in an accessible private online forum and all class work done on Google Drive.
There are 20 spots available for open enrollment. The course costs $500, but we have several options for writers who wish to take the class but need financial flexibility, such as Payment Plans, Pay What You Can Afford, and full Scholarships. The scholarship deadline is April 2nd, so please click the link below to find out how to apply right away if you’re interested.
Writing Inclusive Fiction April 6 – May 14 (students may enroll in class up to April 9)
March 20, 2017
Apex Magazine #95 – Guest Edited by Maurice Broaddus (Sneak Peek)
Stories by Walter Mosley, Sheree Renée Thomas, Chesya Burke, and Kendra Fortmeyer.
Poems by Linda D Addison and Lawana Holland-Moore.
Essay by Tanya DePass. Interview by Andrea Johnson.
Cover art by Angelique Shelley.
March 19, 2017
Claim the Throne Photo
I haven’t made a big deal out of this, but I wanted to at least share this pic. For context, I’m slated to receive a community award at the Claim the Throne event. “Claim the Throne is aimed at recognizing and celebrating the lives and achievements of men who have and are playing pivotal roles in the building and uplifting of the people and communities that we live in…With this knowledge, we will celebrate the hard work and dedication that our men have shown towards family, community, arts, education and more.”
(For more information, go to their EventBrite page)
With that in mind, I was invited to be a part of their photo shoot. Here is the result (Chandra Lynch of ANKH Photography):
You can find my actual author pics on my Press Kit page, but I may have to add this one … just cause.
March 14, 2017
March 11, 2017
Q & A with Maurice Broaddus
While Tor.com has a very full and impressive lineup of novellas coming out in the near future the one that stood out the most to me was Buffalo Soldier by Maurice Broaddus. A secret agent escorting a mysterious young boy through a North America completely different from our own? What is not to want? After reading the tale, and enjoying it very much, I asked if the author would be willing to answer a few questions. Thankfully he agreed! But first, some information on the upcoming tale!
Having stumbled onto a plot within his homeland of Jamaica, former espionage agent, Desmond Coke, finds himself caught between warring religious and political factions, all vying for control of a mysterious boy named Lij Tafari.
Wanting the boy to have a chance to live a free life, Desmond assumes responsibility for him and they flee. But a dogged enemy agent remains ever on their heels, desperate to obtain the secrets held within Lij for her employer alone.
Assassins, intrigue, and steammen stand between Desmond and Lij as they search for a place to call home in a North America that could have been.
Publication Date: April 25 - Available for pre-order NOW
First of all, thank you so much for agreeing to a Q & A. I loved Buffalo Soldier and have a major fascination with GOOD alternative history and just had to ask a few questions.
March 8, 2017
The One Book That Taught Me How to Explore Faith in My Writing
Issues of faith matter a lot to me and I’m always fascinated by how they are explored in fiction. It’s something that’s been a theme in some of my writing, but when I was starting out, it was something I shied away from. It took Stephen King’s Desperation to show me the light.
[continued on the Tor.com site]
