Characters From The Motherland: Twinja Book Reviews Top Ten List of African Main Characters in Spec Fic #BSFM

So we've highlighted Afro-Latinos, Bi/Multi-Racial and for the most part African American main characters in books. But what about the selected few who are able to identify with specific countries in Africa?

Many Black Americans have parents whom are immigrants from all over the continent of Africa. Since it's also the birth of humanity, it doesn't hurt to make a list highlighting main characters who can trace their ancestry before slavery.

For our last list, we cover Characters From The Motherland.

We'll try to make sure every book on the list can highlight specific countries, as opposed to pretending Africa is a monolithic continent, where every culture is the same. But if it's not stated, it is possibly a fictional world based on Africa.

Never Too Young To Be a Hero: Twinja Book Reviews Top Ten List of YA Black main characters in Speculative Ficition #BSFM

Been a little distracted over the past few days, so we're revealing five lists in one day to conclude our month long event for Black Speculative Fiction!  

It's kind of no secret that we have an insane preference for Young Adult. Young Adult is just about one of the most versatile categories a writer can write in and while all the haters out there who think YA is just for teens, Libertad and myself pride ourselves in our love of YA titles!

There's something about reliving your Young Adult stage through a book. We all remember what it was like to be 15, awkward and going through things for the first time. It's always interesting to see teens have to go through these things WHILE having to save the world too.

 Twinja Book Reviews presents our Top Ten List of books highlighting Black teens in Spec Fic!

Black Speculative Fiction Month, Day 1: Author Balogun Ojetade #BSFM

It's his third time around on Twinja Book Reviews, but he's always full of great stuff! Black Speculative Fiction Month was created by Balogun Ojetade and his associate and fellow author Milton Davis. October is a month of celebrating Black Authors in the Speculative Fiction genre. It was created last year, but hopefully there are many more to come, the more awareness we give the month.

Hear how Balogun celebrates Black Speculative Fiction Month!

Debuting a new organized Review Page!

If you dont already know, it's Black Speculative Fiction Month!

Stay Tuned for a month full of features, interviews and awesome book lists to add to your book shelves, and support Black Speculative Fiction authors!

We Welcome You To Join us for Black Speculative Fiction Month!

We at Twinja Book Reviews are constantly trying to introduce new ways to highlight diversity in books with our blog. Whether they be nationally recognized events, or events throughout the blogosphere(That may one day be recognized as national events!) we always try to take advantage of points in the year that promote diversity, especially in Fantasy and Science Fiction.

We hope that you join us for our Twinja Book Reviews hosted event: Black Speculative Fiction Month for the month of October!

April 2014 Martial Artist Spotlight: Balogun Ojetade

After hosting a great event on diversifying "Steampunk" , we just couldn't end the month without highlighting fellow martial artist "Balogun Ojetade"

Diversify Your SteamPunk Day 5: Welcome Back Balogun Ojetade!

During our month of highlighting diversity back in December of 2013, we introduced our audience to Balogun Ojetade for the first time. Clearly with his followong he doesnt need to be introduced, but we couldnt think of a more deserving candidate to end our first week of Diversifying our Steampunk.
1. You've been here before, so while we don't require an introduction, our new followers do! What can you tell us about yourself the person, the author and the steampunk innovator?

My name is Balogun Ojetade. Although my name  is Yoruba, I am descended from the Ateke people of Gabon and the Seminole Nation of the Southeastern United States. I am a husband, father of eight children – seven girls and one boy – and I am also a grandfather twice over.

I am author of six novels, one non-fiction book, several articles and short stories I wrote are in anthologies and magazines and I am contributing co-editor of two anthologies. I am also a filmmaker and fight choreographer and I have created two short films and two feature films and choreographed three films, thus far.

Are you catching up on Balogun Ojetade? Good! Check out this week's list of interviews!

Hope everyone's reading and enjoying a sit down with Balogun Ojetade. He delighted us by being our first guest for our month long spree of interviews. Were still working out the aesthetics for our giveaway(Just look at it this way, more and more authors are donating books, we're just trying to get everything ready for everyone to enter!) but in the meantime, here's a list of this week one's sit down:

Steamfunk, Sword and Soul and A Kick Ass version of Harriet Tubman!- Sit down with Speculative Fiction Author, Balogun Ojetade

To kick off our first day of a Month filled of Interviews and giveaways, We wanted to introduce an author that has come up our radar a multitude of times while searching for Diverse Steampunk. He's published several books and had lead several discussions at conventions for Black Speculative Fiction and to top it off, he is one of the founders of a very dope(and we mean DOPE!)movement going on in Fiction right now.  We missed the chance to meet him this year @ DragonCon but we still caught up with him to talk about him and all of his AWESOMENESS! 

Now without further adieu, we'd like Love to introduce to you...

Mr. Balogun Ojetade

My sister and I haven't had the pleasure of reading any of your books yet but there has been a lot of buzz surrounding you in various places. It's like we can't conduct an online search pertaining to diversity in books without your name being mentioned! Why don't you tell our readers a bit about yourself, as well as your writing?

I am very grateful for the buzz and I thank everyone for their ongoing support.

For those who don’t yet know me – and I would imagine that’s a lot of folks – I am an author; a father of eight children; grandfather of two; a husband; a Steamfunkateer / Steampunk; a filmmaker; a screenwriter; an actor (sometimes); a creator of role-playing games and a priest in the traditional Yoruba system of Ifa. I am also owner, master instructor and technical director of the Afrikan Martial Arts Institute, which has representatives in Atlanta, Macon, GA, Raleigh-Durham, NC and London, England.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah,Habari Gani and Eid Mubarak! Make sure to make your New Year great!

We may be a little late for Hanukkah and Eid al-Adha, but that doesn't mean the season for giving is over! For the month of December, we are hosting a series of interviews of authors, bloggers, agents, editors and many more who promote diversity in books. Some will be traditionally published, some self published, and we will also be hosting a giveaway of several ebooks, as well as an audiobook, a 5 dollar Amazon giftcard for the US site, and a bundle featuring Tiffany Trent's books "The Unnaturalists" and an ARC for it's sequel "The Tinker King!"

Our first guest will be Steampunk fiction author Balogun Ojetade! Not only does he star a strong historical figure like Harriet Tubman as his leading lady in his "Moses: The Chronicles of Harriet Tubman", he drops her off in a world he created, as well as battle an often invisible war in the Black Community: Colorism.

We are still in the aesthetics of our the giveaway options(waiting on a few who may donate, and how the entries will be determined), so we will put up the rafflecopter widget as soon as it's ready to start accepting entries. Until then, here is a list of what is to come!