John Bryant

Chapter 7: If the lion doesn’t tell his story, the hunter will.

Stories traveled faster and further than people.
But in this foreign land, Nanyamka’s story hadn’t been told.
Not yet, anyway.

#OpeningLines #amwriring #histfantasy #afrofantasy

And now ,,, chapter 7. #amwriting #histfantasy #afrofantasy 📚

My #WIP is set in the early 1800s so I feel you on that one.

The #WIPSnips word for February 7th is "redeem." Here's a snipped from my historical fantasy joint, SLAVES OF GOD: The reverend stared at Ezekiel’s empty seat. Hadn’t seen him in days. He never missed Sunday service. Never. Though most called him Zeke, everybody knew his story. A punchline, the town drunk, a cautionary tale. Reverend Copeland had given him purpose. A place to lay his head. A few humble tasks to keep his restless mind occupied and idle hands busy. His living, breathing sermon. A man redeemed. But when the reverend needed proof that the Word worked miracles, sitting plain for all to see, Ezekiel missed his cue. Had Zeke fallen back to his old ways? Not now. Not in front of them. Not in the house he’d built.

Where's Ezekiel? Reverend Copeland needs his poster boy. #WIPSnips #amwriting #histfantasy #afrofantasy

The #WIPSnips word for Feb. 5th is "except." Here's a snippet from my historical fantasy joint, SLAVES OF GOD: “Let’s go for a walk.” She returned the letter and stepped into the night. Cope snatched the long linen shirt hanging from the doorknob and pulled it over his head. Anything to keep folks from spotting the preacher in his skivvies following a woman in the dark. The fabric clung to his sweat-soaked skin, sticking where it shouldn’t. Birdie took the lead. He followed, keeping a few paces between them. They passed through the garden. He scanned the streets, eyes darting for any sign of movement. Except for a dog down by the general store, likely barking at a squirrel, not much else prowled. No curious eyes. No gasps of impropriety. Safe, for now.

Cope and Birdie getting up to no good at night. #WIPSnips #amwriting #histfantasy #afrofantasy

"You write in order to change the world... if you alter, even by a millimeter, the way people look at reality, then you can change it."—James Baldwin

A rough pass a the book bio for my urban fantasy joint, SLAVES OF GOD: Slaves of God is a Southern Gothic historical fantasy rooted in the early American frontier, where enslaved people, con men, and old gods collide, for readers of Toni Morrison, Colson Whitehead, and Octavia Butler who crave brutal honesty, moral reckoning, and a story that refuses to let them look away.

Had a visit from writer's block over the weekend so I spent some time working on a book bio for SLAVES OF GOD. It's pretty generic, but it's only a first pass. More to come. What's your book bio? #writesky #authorsky #writingcommunity

Thank you! I appreciate that.

I can't stop thinking of the line: "the meat of me." That does so much work. Love it.

Right?! Definitely a reason to respect nature.

Today's #WIPSnips word is "bone." Here's a snippet from my historical fantasy joint, SLAVES OF GOD: Trees grew close together here, bowed under moss and time. Roots curled, vanishing beneath the dark water and silt, like they tried to escape whatever tethered them to this dead place. Deeper into the swamp, the air turned. Old rain. Fish bones. The slow decay of things too stubborn to die. Off in the distance, a dark shape drifted, half-submerged near the edge of a clearing. She mistook it for an old log until it blinked.

What's worse? Getting lost or getting lost in a swamp. 🐊 #WIPSnips #amwriting #histfantasy #afrofantasy

The #WIPSnips word of the day is "gold." Here's a snippet from my historical fantasy joint, SLAVES OF GOD: Nanyamka didn’t understand the language, but she’d heard it before. On the tongues of men who came to her homeland with their god, guns, and greed. They stripped her of her clothes. Fine garments, bright with colors, bold patterns threaded with gold. Craftsmanship their simple minds never imagined. Her locs lay scattered across the dirt floor. Hacked. Torn. Left behind. Stripped of the silver and jewels once braided in. Still smelled of moringa oil. Faint. Nutty. Green. A reminder of home. They wanted to shame her. Break her. Make her small. But she had no humanity to lose. Not the kind they understood.

You can't dehumanize a god. #WIPSnips #amwriting #histfantasy #afrofantasy

It's snowing on Cherokee Street in St. Louis.

Let it snow! ❄️ #stlwx

Thank you!! You are too kind. I appreciate you. 💯

The #WIPSnips word of the day is "climb." Here's a snippet from my historical fantasy joint, SLAVES OF GOD: “It’s called a Lebanese cedar,” she remembered him saying. “Comes all the way from the Ottoman Empire.” Like he could find it on a map. But to Adelia, it meant something more. She’d climbed the giant dozens of times. Read to it while perched on its branches. Whispered her most guarded secrets into its bark, trusting the tree to keep them safe. Now, reunited with her old friend, she ran her fingers over the crooked letters carved into its trunk by tiny hands all those years ago. D-E-E-L-Y.

Adelia is reunited with a childhood friend. 🌲 #WIPSnips #amwriting #histfantasy #writesky

The #WIPSnips word of the day is "table." Here's a snippet from my historical fantasy joint, SLAVES OF GOD: Her mother’s room. Adelia felt the tug of ghosts. Many late nights, she’d crept into the room and tended to wounds no child should ever have to tend. Wiped away tears her mother tried to hide. Pressed a cool, damp cloth against tender bruises. A bouquet of lilacs waited on the bedside table. Fresh, fragrant, too carefully placed. An olive branch? A bribe? A warning? Too deliberate not to mean something.

Adelia returns home, haunted by memories. 📚 #WIPSnips #amwriting #histfantasy #afrofantasy

Screenshot of an AI detector showing the pasted text is AI-generated. The text is from Psalm 23 in the KJV Bible: “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”

I ain't siding with AI-authors, but use AI detectors with a grain of salt. One of my characters, Reverend Copeland, is prone to spouting Bible verses. ZeroGPT thinks this passage from Psalm 23 KJV is AI-generated. 🤔🤖 #amwriting #histfantasy #afrofantasy

Hey, thanks! I appreciate that. I try to be creative with my word choice. Works sometimes. Other times... 🤔

The #WIPSnips word for December 30th is "sun." Here's a snippet from my historical fantasy joint, SLAVES OF GOD: The church held more souls than it ever meant to hold. It cradled the heat and humidity, sweating through the walls and into the pews, more like punishment than penance. To temper it, churchgoers waved hats, bonnets, and paper fans. Wink chuckled under his breath. Days, years, a lifetime baking in the sun, working tobacco for Davis Brown. He endured. Survived. Yet the townsfolk fussed over a few hours of discomfort in pews.

The new meaning of Sun-day 🌞 #WIPSnips #writesky #amwriting

#BluePit A Storytelling Hype/Pitch Event What It Is: An event designed to uplift storytellers of any media. All works are welcome, regardless of the stage (e.g., Drafting, Editing, Querying, On Submission, or Published). When: Jan 13, 2026 (24 Hours) #BluePit Rules: Limit 3 posts per WIP; multiple works allowed. Include correct emojis to appear in media specific feeds Use appropriate tags (see Tag list) All images must include ALT text. No AI. Everyone is encouraged to like and repost Use the #BluePit feeds to find and support others. Agents, editors, and publishers are welcome to participate and can also use #BluePit feeds without a BlueSky account Emojis Writing (e.g. “#bluepit 📖”) Game Dev (e.g. “#bluepit 🎮”) Comics (e.g. “#bluepit 💥”) TTRPGS (e.g. “#bluepit 🎲”) Questions? BluePit.Carrd.Co @BluePit.Bsky.Social @ZProspero.bsky.social

#BluePit Tags MEDIA: #BluePit 💥 - Comics #BluePit 🎮 - Game Dev #BluePit 🎲 - TTRPGs #BluePit 📖 - Writers STAGE: #W - Work In Progress #Q - Querying #OS - On Submission #P - Published AUDIENCE: #PB - Picture Book #MG - Middle Grade #YA - Young Adult #A - Adult #NA - New Adult REPRESENTATION: #OV - Own Voices #LGBT- LGBTQIA+ #DIS - Disabled Creators #WF - Women's Fiction #POC - Person of Color #ND - Neurodivergent #TR - Transgender GENRE #F - Fantasy #R - Romance #H - Horror #SF - Sci-Fi #M - Mystery #PN - Paranormal #C - Crime #HS - Historical #SP - Speculative #PO - Poetry #NF - Non-Fiction GAME SYSTEM: #D20 - 20-sided die based #D6 - 6-sided die based #D100 - 100-sided die based #NAR - Narrative based #DUN - Dungeon Crawler #RO - Rogue-Like

#BluePit is ready to kick off 2026! Creators in the #WritingCommunity, #GameDev & #IndieDev, #TTRPG, and #Comic communities get ready to pitch or promote your projects!

#BluePit will be taking place on Jan 13th, 2026!

And #BluePitHype starts January 8th!

#WriteSky #Writers #AmAgenting #LitAgents

Close up of keyboard keys. The letters QWER, ASDF, ZXC and the ALT key are visible.

Letters to words to sentences to paragraphs. #amwriting #writesky

Phew! Crisis averted.

The #WIPSnips word of the day is "doctor." Here's a snippet from my historical fantasy joint SLAVES OF GOD: Then he saw it. Over her shoulder. A plume of dust on the horizon. The low rumble of wagon wheels stopped townsfolk in their tracks. The stagecoach never came early. Even when Yellow Fever once burrowed its way into Lafayette County, when Mayor Badar sent for doctors with lancets and leeches, it still ran behind. Not today, though. Dry earth trembled under a thunderstorm of hoof beats.

The anticipation of arrival. #WIPSnips #amwriting

a close up of a man 's face with the words " nooooo " written below it Alt: A close up of a panicked man 's face with the words " nooooo " written below it

TFW you wake up bright and early to work on your manuscript and your PC starts with a blue screen of death. 😱

Diptych image. On the left, and open laptop with words on its screen, inside a coffee shop. On the right, I'm wearing glasses and headphones while rocking my New Orleans Saints hoodie.

Taking advantage of time off from the day gig so I can get words outta my head and onto the page. #amwri̇ti̇ng 📚

The #WIPSnips word of the day is "type." Here's a snipped from my historical fantasy joint SLAVES OF GOD: A simple wooden plank marked the grave. Nothing like the nearby raised granite slabs perched atop four legs, elaborate chiseled marble crosses, or wrought iron enclosures reserved for the town’s elite. A few of Zeke’s friends attended. No, associates. Reverend Copeland knew their type. Bunch of degenerates and lowlifes. Still smelled the whiskey on them, spilling from their mouths like dragon’s breath. Lingered like vultures. Zeke owed them money. Kept their secrets. Death severed those ties.

When the vultures come a callin'. #WIPSnips #amwriting #writesky

“The truest writers are those who see language not as a linguistic process but as a living element.”—Derek Walcott

The #WIPSnips word of the day for December 19th is high. Here's a snippet from my urban fantasy joint in progress, SLAVES OF GOD: The garment felt rough on her skin. Not like the hand-woven Kente and Aso oke, offerings from highly-skilled artisans. Regal. Ceremonial. Those she wore like second skin. This felt utilitarian. A met expectation. “Ye look grand,” Eithne said. “Weren’t much on me, but ye bring it to life.” Nanyamka adjusted the fabric at her waist. “If you say so. Let’s be done with this place.”

Clothes make the woman. #WIPSnips #amwriting #histfantasy

#Felt

“You hit publish, and nothing happens.

No likes. No shares. Silence.

But writing isn't about applause.

It's about leaving pieces of yourself for someone else to find.

Sometimes it takes days.

Sometimes it takes years.

But write anyway.” #bvm