Tenea D. Johnson's Blog

In art news, no doubt because I didn’t take a photo of it at the gallery, this piece, Altared Consciousness I, sold during the Journey to Emancipation show last month. As my sister wisely counseled, it’s always the ones you have a place picked out at home for that never come back. So I’m off to make another. These are my greatest departure from fiction though there’s still an intent to tell a story. The image is real. It’s Isaac and Rosa, two emancipated slave children in New Orleans. This will probably be a new series of mobile installations.

At the Rain and Thunder show opening tomorrow, I take a more literal approach to mobility. Picture to come.

I’m quite pleased to be included in the Horror Writer Association’s interview series celebrating Pride month. Astute readers may remember that I was also featured in February; this tells me I must be pretty good at making people uneasy.

I did my best to keep the relevant answers fresh; some things of course just are what they are. Check me the latest results here and check out other authors in the series throughout the month of June. Happy Pride, y’all.

Full disclosure: I’m much better about doing things than talking about them. This year I’ll try to improve. In that vein, some new blood:

Just a few weeks ago on January 27th, I shared a new speculative story, “The Exhibit” inspired by the work of Emma Amos and the unfortunate current state of American affairs as part of the Museum of Fine Art St. Petersburg celebration of the Spiral Collective, a short lived but impactful group of Black visual artists in the Civil Rights era. I had the good fortune to appear alongside the talented, Butch Thomas, a saxophonist who performed new work (accompanied by Aron Ferrer and Gumbi Ortiz) and Crantston Cumberbatch who shared a short film he wrote, directed and starred in. Here’s a picture of us looking appropriately capable of entertaining folks.

I had a wonderful time and enjoyed the community engagement. If you’d like to hear a bit of Butch’s work scroll through to the video here.

February also sees a couple of interviews come out. One is out today as part of the Horror Writers Associations Black Heritage in Horror interview series. So apparently I’m heritage. Thanks. I’ll take that.

Later this month, you can check out my contribution to the group interview of short fictioneers in Fantasy Magazine (available online February 22nd) or right now if you have a subscription and/or purchase the e-issue.

And (check me out getting out ahead of an event) on February 19th, I’ll be joining Silk Jazmyne to read and discuss life and work as a POC author at ReadOut’s event, Root to Fruit: Producing Speculative Fiction By and About People of Color @1:50pm EST. For those who enjoy multimedia work, there’ll also be video of a short performance from 2021’s, Frequencies, a Fiction Album playing as part of a few sci fi, fantasy readings from 1:15-1:45. For Root to Fruit I’ll be reading from 2021’s Broken Fevers. It’s all on Zoom so everyone’s invited. Just register on the ReadOut (“Out” as in a festival of lesbian literature page.

I like money. It helps me pay for things. Would you like to give me some? If not me, others?

Gabino Iglesias’s review of Broken Fevers is now up on the Locus Magazine website if you’re on the fence or just want to see what others think.

I enthusiastically welcome use of the word ‘superb’ in reference to my work, but the following may be the best encapsulation:

The beauty of Broken Fevers is that Johnson talks about important things while telling an entertaining story, offering a diverse cast of char­acters, and exploring multiple genres. There are discussions here about racism and social justice as well as a very present feminist undercurrent, but these elements are a part of tales that range from horror and science fiction to fantasy and even crime, and none sound preachy.

Original Photo by James Wheeler from Pexels

Award-winning author Karen Lord takes a turn as editor in New Worlds, Old Ways to lovely effect. She also closes out the 3 Minutes series for the Afrofuturism and the Black Fantastic storybundle which ends in just a couple of days (July 2nd).

Describe this work in 3 words.

Ancient, modern, futuristic.

Editors, what’s your general approach to choosing works for an anthology?

First I select for quality. Second, I select stories that contribute to an overarching narrative or theme.

The world is awash in terms right now: Afrofuturism, Africanfuturism, Black Speculative Fiction, the Black Fantastic, Astroblackness, etc. Do they matter? If so, do they do justice to the diaspora? If not, how might we as authors and editors lead a change? Feel free to offer any new terms you think would expand and/or deepen the concept.

Caribbean speculative fiction is the most accurate term for describing this anthology, as it contains works by writers of African, Indian and/or European heritage who participate in and identify with the culture of the Caribbean. That culture is a blend of cultures: Indigenous, African, European, Indian, Chinese and more.

What are you working on now?

I am collaborating with Tobias Buckell on an anthology of original stories/poems and reprints on the theme of Caribbean futures.

What compels you to keep writing/editing?

The literature we create and curate today will speak to this generation and the generations to come.

Original Photo by Riccardo Bertolo from Pexels

We have the great pleasure of sharing 3 minutes with Linda D. Addison, author of How to Recognize a Demon Has Become Your Friend, HWA Lifetime Achievement recipient, SFPA Grandmaster, and all around ray of light. See what all the fuss is about in the Afrofuturism and the Black Fantastic storybundle for just a few more days (until July 2nd).

Describe this work in 3 words.

Entertaining and educational.

How do you define Afrofuturism?

Afrofuturism is a self-affirmation that being Black and writing/painting/sewing/singing ourselves into the Future; in a present world that too often denies us past/present/future representation.

What was the most difficult story/part of your novel to write? Why?

This collection was created while I was struggling with the death of my mother (from illness) and didn’t see when I would write again. Putting this together was suggested by Bob Booth, so it began with reprints, but helped me start writing new work for the book.

What subject do you find most difficult to write about?

I started my career writing more SF and fantasy because I grew up in a fearful environment. It was difficult to face the shadows to write horror; in time I’ve learned to come to terms with that past, which has helped me write horror themed work.

Do you have any writing tics?

I like to write with music, but music without words since my imagination is activated by words.

What influences your work? People, other fields, other authors, events, histories?

Everything influences my work. I have been journaling since 1969, so I write everything down; bits and pieces of poetry/stories and my feelings about the world around me. When writing new work, I go to my journal entries for inspirational seeds to build on.

How do recent challenges of the day (the pandemic, post-Trump/post-Brexit) inform what you’re working on right now? Do they affect the context of this work? If so, how?

I lost half a year in 2020 to covid symptoms/long hauling, surviving that has increased my gratitude at life and confirmed what I’ve always believed: humans can be amazingly loving and/or fearful messes.

What compels you to keep writing/editing?

It’s more that I can’t not write than anything else. I tried stopping many years ago, when rejections were piling up, but the inner pressure to write couldn’t be denied.

Original Photo By Breston Kenya from Pexels

Kicking off the final week the Afrofuturism and the Black Fantastic storybundle will be available, we have J. S. Emuakpor to share her views Afrofuturism and the Black Fantastic mean and could mean as well as more about her work.

Describe this work in 3 words.

African history reimagined.

How do you define Afrofuturism?

Afrofuturism is not so easy to define, because it is both a noun and a verb to me. It is a movement as well as a product. Afrofuturism is what lies ahead for the African diaspora. It’s our endpoint, our “Ultimate Form.” It is the African diaspora as seen through the lens of Speculative Fiction.

How do you define the Black Fantastic?

The Black Fantastic or Afrofuturism. Which came first? I think, in this case, the relationship is not linear. The Black Fantastic refers to the manner in which Blackness has shaped and reshaped popular culture across the world. It is so completely intertwined with Afrofuturism that the two concepts are often interchangeable. The Black Fantastic, like Afrofuturism, is a noun and a verb. It is also an adjective. Frankly, Black Fantastic is who we of the African diaspora are.

What was the most difficult story/part of your novel to write? Why?

The most difficult part of Queen of Zazzau to write was the god of war. When he and I started his journey, I could only see him through the eyes of my protagonist, and she hated him. He was cold and seemingly cruel. Until, one day, I looked into his heart and saw him for what he truly was. After that, I had to figure out a way to keep his edge without the reader hating him, because he wasn’t the awful person that I had believed him to be, and I didn’t want the readers to think that he was. Fine-tuning his interactions with the main character was difficult, but I think I succeeded.

What’s on your desk?

The real question is: what isn’t on my desk?

What direction would you like to see Afrofuturism and/or the Black Fantastic go? What would you like to see come of this moment of greater recognition?

I would like to see more mainstream speculative fiction written by and featuring the African diaspora. I would like to see the Afrofuturism/Black Fantastic movement spur real change in the way people of color are viewed by the world. I want the world to know that we are so much more than what *they* tell us we are. We are accomplished, we are brilliant, and we can slay orcs as well as any Tolkien hero.

What influences your work? People, other fields, other authors, events, histories?

Everything I come in contact with influences my work. But mostly, I am influenced by the Nigerian culture in which I was raised. Our myths, our fears, our superstitions. All of these things are present in my writing.

What are you working on now?

I am currently working a few projects. Two are in the same series as Queen of Zazzau and will feature African gods and monarchs. The one that has been getting most of my time in the past few weeks, however, is a world-hopping, steampunk, with a side of interracial romance. I thought it would be a straightforward story, but there’s a lot more world-building going on than I had anticipated.

Original Photo from Pixabay/Pexels

Welcome the weekend with a closer look at Nicole Givens Kurtz, editor of Slay Vampire Noire and publisher of Mocha Memoirs Press. Below find a bit more about her and delve deeper into the work featured in the Afrofuturism and the Black Fantastic Storybundle available until July 2nd.

What’s your general approach to choosing works for an anthology?

My contribution to the Afrofuturism bundle is SLAY: Stories of the Vampire Noire.It is a collection of short stories that feature vampires or slayers from the African diaspora. My approach for choosing the works for this anthology involved seeking stories that had an emotional impact. Stories that lingered long after I had finished reading and stuck like peanut butter, their flavor continuing to permeate long after I’d ingested their content. Of course, I looked for clean drafts and well-rounded stories where the protagonist had agency and was from the diaspora, but the story’s impact mattered more to me with this anthology.

How do you define Afrofuturism?

I define Afrofuturism as creative art (music, art, writing, film) in which those of the African diaspora are depicted prominently in futuristic or alternate settings. An important aspect of Afrofuturism is in its ability to transcend one type of creative outlet. It’s in music, it’s in film, books, lifestyles. It’s a broad term, to be sure, but I think of it as an umbrella to which the other genres gather.

What compels you to keep writing/editing?

Readers and my own stubbornness keep me writing and editing. There are times when the load gets heavy, and I consider putting it down. Publishing is a difficult and challenging industry. My publishing company, Mocha Memoirs Press, has been around for 11 years now. Each year brings new challenges and struggles, and I have considered quitting–many times. Yet what sustains me are reader responses to our works, and my own stubbornness not to give up. I often feel the *break* I need and the press need are just around the corner, so I cannot stop–even when I have rounded many, many corners. LOL.

What are you working on now?

Currently I am working on a science fiction romance story. I just completed draft 0 of a horror novella that may or may not see the light of day. LOL. Mocha Memoirs Press continues to publish bold, fearless fiction. I encourage readers to sign up our newsletter and check out our blog for updated releases at mochamemoirspress.com.

Original Photo by Lennart Wittstock from Pexels

Michele T. Berger, author of Reenu-You, shares its origin story, what’s next for her, and her influences. Reenu-You and the other fine work in the Afrofuturism and the Black Fantastic bundle is available until July 2nd.

What’s the first Afrofuturist/Black Fantastic/Black Scifi work you read? What was the last?

I read Toni Morrison’s Beloved in college and I consider the novel an example of the Black Fantastic. It’s a literary ghost story that ruminates on being, Blackness, death, slavery, memory and history. I read it in a literature class. The novel made an impression on me. The most recent Afrofuturist work I’ve read is Rivers Solomon’s stunning novel The Unkindness of Ghosts. It, too, ruminates on many of the themes explored in Morrison’s work. 

Why this story?

Reenu-You is a speculative story with elements of psychological horror that explores what happens when a mysterious virus is seemingly transmitted through a hair care product billed as a natural relaxer. Reenu-You grew from several sources of inspiration. One was watching the drama unfold of a real hair product called ‘Rio’, marketed to women of color in the 1990s. Rio promised an easy and healthy alternative to other products on the market. Soon though women began reporting horrible reactions to Rio including itchy scalps, oozing blisters and significant hair loss. A class action lawsuit revealed that there was nothing natural, at all, about the product. It actually contained a number of highly acidic chemicals. 

This news event grabbed me and gave me the inkling for the story. Over several years, I kept asking myself questions about why and how a scandal like that could happen and how different communities might respond to it. I speculated on the mindset of a company that not only deceived the consumer, but endangered their health. I also thought about the consumer, and what desires and longings Rio tapped into. Although I didn’t ever use Rio, I remember the seductive nature of their infomercials quite well. I, like other African American women, was transfixed by their upbeat, exotic marketing that promised an easy and healthy hair treatment.

In watching the events unfold, I thought about how trusting we are as consumers that the products we purchase will be safe. And, also how everyone in the 1990s started to fall for various items labeled ‘natural’. What if that wasn’t the case? What if a hair product that primarily women of color used harbored something deadly? 

I’m also fascinated by viruses. I came of age during the height of HIV/AIDS and remember the terror, fear and stigma associated with the virus. For a long time there were conflicting reports about the transmission of HIV/AIDS and its origins. Often conspiracy theories and popular culture filled in the gap.

I wanted to play with the idea of conspiracy and how different communities might respond to a health crisis, especially before the era of ubiquitous cellphones and social media. A virus was a perfect fit.

Viruses are adaptable, disruptive and frequently are medical mysteries. In just the past two decades, we’ve seen Bird Flu, Swine Flu, SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), Zika, Ebola, and now COVID-19.

I’m also interested in the politics of beauty, female friendships and Black hair culture. In Reenu-You, I can play with these ideas by having different characters reflect on the complexity of their intimate and yet social choices. I love that I get to explore what fascinates and terrifies me, all in one novella.

What influences your work? People, other fields, other authors, events, histories?

Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, Gish Jen, Ntozoke Shange, Octavia Butler, Charles de Lint, Jonathan Lethem, Ursula Le Guin and Elizabeth Hand are writers that I return to again and again to learn from about voice and craft. In the past decade, I’ve been most influenced by the work of Sherri Tepper, Margaret Atwood, Walter Mosely, and Kevin Canty. Writers that I’m currently obsessed with are Cynthia Leitch Smith, Amy Tan, Jeff VanderMeer, Nnedi Okrorafor and Joy Castro. I find myself drawn to the late 1970s and early 1980s (when I was coming of age) and to African American cultural history of the 1920s.

What’s on your desk? 

I don’t have a desk. I have an Ikea table that I have made do with for more than twenty years. On it, I currently have two laptops (a Mac and Lenovo, both tend to get glitchy at the same time), precarious piles of papers, journals, post-it notes and the recent book by Gail Carriger, The Heroine’s Journey: For Writers, Readers and Fans of Popular Culture. I also keep heart shaped and gold star stickers at hand. As a fun reward after a session, I’ll put one on my writing calendar. In answering this question, I see I need a bigger reward—a new desk.

What are you working on now?

I’m three drafts into a horror novel that takes place in the North Carolina areas of the Great Dismal Swamp. Prior to the Civil War, the Great Dismal Swamp housed many fugitive slaves and maroon communities. The novel will be published in the fall by Falstaff Books.