Jessica talks about representation in romance and interracial relationships with author Peyton Banks!

Peyton Banks is the alter ego of a city girl who is a romantic at heart. Her mornings consist of coffee and daydreaming up the next steamy romance book ideas. She loves spinning romantic tales of hot alpha males and the women they love. Peyton is a USA Today Best Selling Author who currently resides with her husband and children in Cleveland, Ohio.

Check out Peyton's Website and connect with her here: https://www.peytonbanks.com/

Jessica talks about her unexpected hiatus and dives into the dynamics of Author - Reader relationships. She explains why she believes more authors should focus on creating a safe space for their readers.

We talk with Stella Williams about the rules to World Building and the tightrope of Genre Hopping! 

Author Bio

Stella Williams is a USA Today Bestselling Paranormal Romance Author, who lives in Washington State. She has a degree in Anthropology from The University of California, Santa Cruz. Stella prides herself in using her studies to create diverse worlds and characters for her novels.

https://www.stellawilliamsauthor.com/

B. Sharise Moore is an award-winning writer whose poems and short stories have appeared in Chosen Realities, These Bewitching Bonds, Mermaids Monthly, FIYAH Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction, Starline, and Fantasy Magazine. Her short poem, “Black Beak” is currently nominated for a 2022 Dwarf Star Award.

At present, she is a writer/educator, curriculum designer, poetry editor for FIYAH Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction, and the editor of Conjuring Worlds: An Afrofuturist Textbook for Middle and High School Students. Her middle grade compendium, Fangs, Feathers, and Folklore: Africa’s Amazing Beasts is forthcoming from Algonquin Young Readers in 2023 and Fatimah’s Fantastic City, her social justice picture book, is forthcoming from HarperCollins in 2025. Her YA historical magical realism novel, Dr. Marvellus Djinn’s Odd Scholars, is now available wherever books are sold. She lives in Baltimore, MD with her husband and young son. You can find her online at bsharisemoore.com, tweeting @sharise_b or on TikTok and IG: @b.sharise

-Her YouTube channel “Moore Books with B. Sharise” offers book suggestions for prek-12 audiences, mini-lessons, instructional strategies and activites. 

Nicole Givens Kurtz is an author, editor, and educator. She’s the recipient of the Ladies of Horror Grant (2021), the Horror Writers Association’s Diversity Grant (2020) and the two-time Atomacon Palmetto Scribe Award Winner (2021 and 2022). She’s also the editor of the groundbreaking anthology, SLAY: Stories of the Vampire Noire. She’s written for White Wolf, The Realm’s The Vela: Salvation series, and Baen’s No Game for Knights and Straight Outta Tombestone. Nicole has numerous short stories published as well as numerous novels and three active speculative mystery series. She enjoys reading scary stories and watching true crime.

Check out Nicole's Website and buy her books! 

Support the Blackened Roots Anthology! 

In this episode, Jessica talks with the author, Antoine Bandele author of TJ Young & The Orishas, about the themes and messages in Middle-Grade Fantasy and about how to write for your younger self. 

Visit Antoine's Website

Check out TJ Young  & The Orishas

In this episode, we discuss shaping our futures through storytelling and the impact we have on younger generations of readers. 

Connect with our guest, E.M. Lacey www.emlacey.com

Get Minor Mischief: https://amzn.to/3RfWgYU  

In this episode, I talk with Michael LaBorn about the experiences of BIPOC authors in Publishing and what it means to Diversify your bookshelves by actively seeking out stories of own voices. We also discuss his book, Alfajiri!

Follow Michael  on Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@michael.laborn

Grab her book: https://www.dybpublishing.com/pre-order

Check out DYB Publishing: https://www.dybpublishing.com/