STEAMFUNK WRITERS, GET READY! Seeking your stories for the Steamfunk II anthology in 2019!

STEAMPUNK & STEAMFUNK WRITERS, GET READY! Seeking your stories for a new anthology!

Iyalogun Ojetade as Harriet Tubman, leader of the Guardians.

Balogun Ojetade and Milton Davis, the contributing editors of the Steamfunk! anthology will soon team up again for the second Steamfunk anthology  – Steamfunk II: Road to Nicodemus.

The stroies in this anthology will be set in a world conceived by authors Milton Davis and Balogun Ojetade, based on the short story Rite of Passage by Milton Davis.

Stories will be set during (or a little before) the era of reconstruction (1865 – 1877) and will begin anywhere in the world, but will end up in – or on the road to – Nicodemus, KS.

Main characters – be they Guardians or Emissaries (see below) – will be in possession of an artifact – a special item that grants the user incredible powers. This artifact will have been bestowed upon the Guardian by a Mentor. Artifacts can be anything: a book; a gun; a sword; the saliva of a werewolf; a drum; etc. and the method of bestowal is up to the author. All artifacts are linked to some African deity.

MENTORS / GUARDIANS / ARTIFACTS

Harriet Tubman – the living embodiment of the power of the artifacts – had a vision that told her Jedediah Green – a powerful and dark entity whose power comes from the consumption of the artifacts’ power through consumption of the wielders of the artifacts’ souls – would descend upon the thriving Black-owned town of Nicodemus and from there, gather the ability to subjugate the world.

Harriet – whose power is fueled by the use of the artifacts (whether used for good or evil) – traveled the world, gathering the original bearers of the artifacts and convinced them to pass on the items and how to use them (which eventually brought about a severe depression and longing for release from the responsibility of bearing the artifact) to new bearers who would help her oppose Jedediah Green and his Emissaries.

The original bearers thus became Mentors and the new bearers of the artifacts became known as Guardians.

Harriet has called for all the Guardians to take up residence in Nicodemus, KS and has personally brought a few there herself.

The known Guardians thus far, their Mentors and their artifacts are:

Harriet Tubman – Mentor: Akingbe; Artifact: She is an artifact.

Dorothy Wright – Mentor: Akingbe / Harriet Tubman; Artifact: Sango’s necklace.

Bass Reeves – Mentor: Unknown; Artifact: Carbine and revolver/shotgun hybrid (Deity unknown)

John Henry – Mentor: Ogunlana (“Lana”); Artifact: Twin hammers of Ogun.

Jake Jessup – Mentor: Tara Malloy; Artifact: Shapeshifter’s blood, a gift from Esu.

Henry Turnipseed / John D. Konkeroo (Mayor of Nicodemus) – Mentor: Mr. Giggles; Artifact: Baron Samedi’s top-hat.

Osho Adewale / The Dentist of Westminster – Mentor: Falana; Artifact: Tome of Obatala.

James and Corliss Riley (“the twins”) – Mentor(s): Grandma and Grandpa Riley; Artifacts: James uses goofa dust, black cat bones and other “conjure” tools; Corliss uses a fiddle. Both artifacts are from the Ibeji twin spirits.

JEDEDIAH GREEN’S EMISSARIES

Mark Curtis – Steampunk and Cosplayer – portrays vampire leader, Greasy Grant in the feature film, Rite of Passage.

Jedediah Green is the living embodiment of the dark energy that gave birth to vampires, ghasts, ghouls, lichs and other undead and evil. As such, these creatures do his bidding. Also, Jedediah maintains several Emissaries, who he is the sole Mentor of and to whom he grants an artifact forged by unknown dark deities.

The known Emissaries are:

The Piper / Tillman (once helped to escape to freedom by Harriet Tubman) – Artifact: Flute

P.T. Barnum – Artifact: Money clip

Peter Pan – Artifact: None; Peter is one of the oldest and most powerful vampires in the world who loyally serves Jedediah Green, who he narcissistically believes is his shadow self.

So, there you have it. If (or when) you feel you have a compelling story to tell – one that will enhance and / or expand the Rite of Passage universe – please, submit it to mv_media@bellsouth.net.

Now, hop offline (after you read a few more of my posts if you’re new here) and get to writing; and most of all…have fun!