John Bryant

@johnbryantwrites

Certified Sailor. ⛵ You had me at tacos. 🌮 Fueled by bourbon.🥃 I write stuff too.📚 Currently #amwriting a #histfantasy joint called SLAVES OF GOD #writingcommunity #writesky

4.875 Folgt1.916 Follower316 Posts

Bluesky

gamer

Ist das dein Profil?Übernimm es — dann gehört dir johnbryantwrites.dirty.social.Profil übernehmen

John Bryant@johnbryantwrites· 7d

Davis Brown warns Adelia of the dangers of traveling Lafayette County at night. #WIPSnips #amwriting #histfantasy #writesky

The #WIPSnips word for August 8th is MELODY. Here's a snippet from my historical fantasy joint SLAVES OF GOD: “Highwaymen?” Adelia folded her arms. “Now you’re just trying to scare me.”
“Sometimes a healthy dose of fear keeps you alive. If we run into any, they’re gonna slit my throat without a second thought. Sell off Wink and Jairus to the first bastard with coin to spare. But you…” He paused, letting his words dangle like an unfinished melody. “They’ll have a lot worse in mind for you.”
She knew what he meant.
Even in New York, vulnerable women fell prey to men rich with ego, drunk with power, blind to consequence. But Adelia learned to swallow her fear, especially from men like her father.
“I’ll rest easier knowing you’ve got my well-being in mind.”

John Bryant@johnbryantwrites· 9d

Wink and Adelia share a moment tryna build a fire 🔥 #WIPSnips #amwriting #histfantasy #writesky

The #WIPSnips word for August 6th is FRONTIER. Here's a snipped from my historical fantasy joint SLAVES OF GOD where Wink and Adelia share a moment tryna build a fire: “S’pose I could use some help,” he said. “You know much about startin’ fires?”
“Not in the slightest.”
Wink tried to catch the chuckle, but it slipped passed his lips.
“Well, any ole thing won’t do.” He snapped a branch in half with a sharp crack. “Need tinder, kindling, and firewood.”
“Isn’t it all wood?”
“No, not exactly, miss. Dry grass, pine needles, small twigs. Anything that catches easy, that’s tinder. Kindling is sticks ‘bout the size of your little finger. Keeps the fire goin’ once the tinder burns up.” He tapped the branch in his hand. “The thicker stuff is what’ll burn slow and last through the night.”
“And here I was thinking a stick is a stick.”
She picked up a branch.
Wink shook his head.
“That’s too green,” he said. “Ain’t no good for burnin’.”
“Green? It’s brown.”
Wink smiled, snapping a twig in half. “Not color, miss. Wood that’s young, still got sap in it. It’ll smoke up bad instead of burn. Dry wood breaks, green wood bends.”
She grabbed another twig and tested it, feeling it splinter between her fingers.
“Look at me. One twig in and I’m halfway to being a frontierswoman.”

John Bryant@johnbryantwrites· 15d

Jairus got that root 🌱 #amwriting #histfantasy #WIPSnips

The #WIPSnips word of the day for July 31st is TWIST. Here's a snippet from my historical fantasy joint SLAVES OF GOD: “Jus’ let the stone do the talking. Gonna make a root worker out of you yet.”
Working in slow circles, Wink crushed the petals, mixing them into the rabbit blood. Jairus poured the drippings from the skillet over it all, thickening it into a paste. The fatty mixture blended into the colors with each twist, each press.
“How come your feet don’t never bother you none?” Jairus asked.
He slid off his shoes.
Hollowed. Flattened. Patched too many times to count.
He scraped a handful of the warm goo into his palm, and slathered it onto his blistered soles. Between each toe.
“I dunno,” Wink replied. “I guess they jus’ stubborn.”

John Bryant@johnbryantwrites· 27d

Nanyamka makes her first appearance in my #histfantasy joint SLAVES OF GOD #WIPSnips #writesky 📚

The #WIPSnips word for July 19th is DIVINE. Here's a snippet from my historical fantasy joint SLAVES OF GOD: At the far edge of Lafayette County, well south of Purity, where no road reached and no map dared speak the truth, the land gave way to the sea.
Not the kind in poems.
Not the kind sung in shanties.
These waters knew how to kill.
Tides dragged men into the brine without malice or mercy. The muddy coast swallowed ships whole if they dared sail too close. Winds howled, not to frighten but foretell.
Then something new happened.
Like some divine hand meant to intervene, then forgot what came next, the sky opened and spat Nanyamka into the sea.

John Bryant@johnbryantwrites· Jul 9

Birdie always comes prepared. #WIPSnips #writesky #amwriting 📚

The #WIPSnip word for July 9th is KEEP. Here's a snippet from my historical fantasy joint SLAVES OF GOD: Birdie followed the stone path to the back of the church. She hiked up her petticoats and drew the small single-shot flintlock she kept tucked in her garter belt.
“When did you start carrying a gun?” Cope whispered.
“After what happened in Blackwater, you don’t?”
“Men of God don’t carry guns.”
Birdie rolled her eyes and slipped through the open door.
“I liked you better before you was a preacher.”

John Bryant@johnbryantwrites· Jul 8

My #histfantasy joint SLAVES OF GOD is set in the rural American south, so humid summers are a way of life. 🥵 #WIPSnips #writesky #amwriting 📚

The #WIPSnips word for July 8th is HUMID. 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 humidity, sweating through the walls and into the pews
More like punishment than penance.

John Bryant@johnbryantwrites· Jul 3

For my #histfantasy joint SLAVES OF GOD, I'm switching things up & using African proverbs for chapter titles. Chapter 1 kicks off with this gem. #WIPSnips #amwriting #writesky

The #WIPSnips word for July 3rd is OUT. I'm using African proverbs for chapter titles, and here's the title for chapter 1 of my historical fantasy joint SLAVES OF GOD: "I pointed out to you the stars and all you saw was the tip of my finger."

John Bryant@johnbryantwrites· Jun 29

Auntie Yemaya rules the waters, so sailors are careful not to anger the Queen of the Sea. 🌊 #WIPSnips #amwriting #histfantasy

The #WIPSnips word for June 29th is WATER. Here's the opening lines to chapter 5 of my historical fantasy joint SLAVES OF GOD: At the far edge of Lafayette County, well south of Purity, where no road reached and no map dared speak the truth, the land gave way to the sea.
Not the kind in poems.
Not the kind sung in shanties.
These waters knew how to kill.
Tides dragged men into the brine without malice or mercy. The muddy coast swallowed ships whole if they dared sail too close. Winds howled, not to frighten but foretell.

John Bryant@johnbryantwrites· Jun 28

Dang! I missed this one, but had to join the party with a trek through the swamp. #WIPSnips #amwriting #histfantasy

The #WIPSnips word for June 27th is ROOT. Here's a snippet from my historical fantasy joint SLAVES OF GOD: "Each step sank deep. Ankle-deep. Sometimes more. She waded through the muck anyway, favoring her right leg. Bleeding down the left. One hand to her ribs.
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."

John Bryant@johnbryantwrites· May 8

Thomas looks for New Laveau to the north. Or south, maybe? Nobody can say for sure. #WIPSnips #writesky #amwriting #histfantasy

The #WIPSnips word for May 8th is NORTH. Here's a snipped from my historical fantasy joint SLAVES OF GOD:

Rumors of New Laveau, a town of free folk and runaways, spread like whiskey at a wedding. Somewhere up north. Folks said maybe as far up as Canada. Others swore the path led down south, near Mexico. But that’s the trouble with rumors. No sense in believing if they ain’t got some truth to them.
Thomas believed.
He said the place scared folks because it threatened their way of life. How Lafayette County worked. Hell, the whole damned country. So they called New Laveau make-believe. A fantasy. A bold-faced lie.
Did their damnedest to make sure others thought so too.
Beat it out of them if need be.
Thomas never shut up about it though. Promised he’d lead Wink there some day. Lead everyone there.

John Bryant@johnbryantwrites· Apr 26

Wink is seeing things. Again. Or is he? 🐰 #WIPSnips #amwriting #histfantasy #writesky

The #WIPSnips word for April 26th is WORK. Here's a snippet from my historical fantasy joint SLAVES OF GOD:
Then that damned hare showed up.
It didn’t twitch. Didn’t bolt the way untamed animals did when humans got too close. It could’ve passed for any other long-eared wild thing, but hares don’t walk upright on their hind legs.
Or speak.
At least he thought it did.
He knew if he ignored it long enough it would go away. Worked before. So he picked up sticks and searched for the flowers Jairus had asked him to find.
“I know you can hear me,” it said, inching closer.
“Leave me be.” Wink stamped his foot on the ground. “You ain’t real.”
The hare flicked its black-tipped ears.
It scooped up a fallen acorn and hurled it, hitting Wink square in the forehead.
“That real enough for you?”

John Bryant@johnbryantwrites· Apr 24

The sound of open-mouthed chewing always grosses me out. No way I could sit at a dinner table with Davis. 🍽️ #WIPSnips #writesky #amwriting #histfantasy

The #WIPSnips word for April 24th is HUNGRY. Here's a snippet from my historical fantasy joint SLAVES OF GOD:
Go on ‘n get you somethin’ to eat,” Jairus said.
Wink stared off into the woods, half expecting the hare staring back.
“Nah, I ain’t hungry.”
“You sure? Ain’t like we gonna come across meat again any time soon. Best take it while we can.”
“My stomach don’t feel right, is all. You go on ‘head.”
Out the corner of his eye, Wink watched Davis eat.
More like devour.
Grunted as he chewed.
Like a hungry dog who fancied itself a wolf, he picked the bones clean, leaving no trace of cartilage or marrow.

John Bryant@johnbryantwrites· Apr 23

Resistance through song. 🎶 #WIPSnips #writesky #amwriting

The #WIPSnips word for April 23rd is "path." Here's a snippet from my historical fantasy joint SLAVES OF GOD:
The punch landed hard.
  “I always hated that song,” Davis said, shaking the sting out of his knuckles.
  Thomas staggered. Dropped to one knee and massaged his jaw. Blood spilled from nose and onto his lips. Wink knew what a broken nose felt like. The rush of pain. The swelling, the bruising, making it hard to breathe.
  After picking himself up, Thomas spat blood onto the dirt, and sang through sang through the pain.
  “Where the water runs sweet and grass grows high,
  Oh Lord, follow the sun.
  Keep your feet on the path and look to the sky,
  Oh Lord, follow the sun.”
  “Enough!” Davis snapped.

John Bryant@johnbryantwrites· Apr 14

Just another Sunday in Lafayette County. Heat is a way of life down south. 🥵 #WIPSnips #amwriting #writesky

The #WIPSnips word of the day is "heat." Here's a snippet from my historical fantasy joint SLAVES OF GOD: This time of year, Lafayette County burned with the kind of fury only Southern summers could summon. It left tempers short, conversations shorter, and provoked even the most God-fearing into swearing under their breaths.

John Bryant@johnbryantwrites· Apr 6

Everyone knows Anansi the Spider, but did you know he had six sons? 🕷️ Like their father, they weave chaos and disorder into the world, and now they set their sights on the American South in the early 1800s. #amwriting #histfantasy #afrofantasy #writesky #WIPSnips

The #WIPSnips word for April 6th is "rampant." Here's a snippet from my historical fantasy joint SLAVES OF GOD: As easily as a summer rain fell from dark clouds or morning fog rose from a valley, six ancient souls stepped through a tear in the world and onto the shores of the New World.
Afirika knew them as Damu ya Buibui, Blood of the Spider.
Brothers.
Their father gave them free rein to roam the world. To influence mortals. To weave chaos into their lives. Chaos ran rampant in their wake. So long as their deeds didn’t interfere with his plans, he let them run amok.

John Bryant@johnbryantwrites· Apr 4

When one of the big bads in your #histfantasy joint SLAVES OF GOD is Anansi, you gotta research how spider webs are built. #amwriting #afrofantasy #writesky 📚🕷️

Diagram of a spider web with the title, "Spider Web Anatomy." It shows the structure of a spider web, calling out spiral lines, radial lines, and drag lines. From Nebraska Game & Parks.

John Bryant@johnbryantwrites· Mar 26

Right?! One my characters is prone to spouting Bible verses. ZeroGPT claims this passage from Psalm 23 KJV is AI-generated. 😖

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.”

John Bryant@johnbryantwrites· Mar 21

Reverend Copeland is feeling guilty, but doesn't let on. He plays his part well. #WIPSnips #writesky #amwriting #histfantasy #afrofantasy

The #WIPSnips word for March 21st is "wake." Here's a snippet from my historical fantasy joint SLAVES OF GOD:
“I ain’t one to speak ill of the dead,” Betty said, wiping away the tearful facade of grief into her handkerchief, “but can’t say I didn’t see this comin’.”
“Did the best he knew how, Sister Betty.”
“You ain’t the one who found him, Reverend. Face all twisted up like that. ‘Best he knew how’ still got him dead.”
Cope couldn’t stop staring at the grave marker.
Reverend, please. Tell her to turn me loose.
Zeke’s last words crawled beneath his skin. A chill gripped his spine like icy fingers, leaving a trail of goose pimples in its wake.
“Seen more folks end up like Zeke than I care to remember, Sister Betty. He’s in the Lord’s hands now. Best not throw stones on hallowed ground.”

John Bryant@johnbryantwrites· Mar 8

Dayo goes from newborn to massive proportions in moments. Hyena's aren't supposed to do that! #WIPSnips #amwriting #histfantasy #afrofantasy #writesky

The #WIPSnips word of the day is "beam." Here's a snippet from my historical fantasy joint SLAVES OF GOD:
The little thing blinked.
Yipped and yawned.
Licked its short and fine black fur clean of fluid.
It wobbled on four tiny legs, then bones snapped and lengthened. Newborn fur gave way to a course tan coat speckled by dark brown spots. Paws stretched and joints shifted with cracks and pops. It grew and grew until its shoulders brushed against the tiny shack’s low beams.
Broad jaws opened wide, revealing teeth made for tearing carcasses and crushing bones.
The beast crept forward, ducking under the doorway.
The men retreated, step after ginger step. They had no name for such a creature.
Nanyamka did.
Dayo.
Laughter spilled from the hyena's throat.
A sound that turned bravado into fear.

John Bryant@johnbryantwrites· Mar 7

It's #amwri̇ti̇ng day! In chapter 7 of my #histfantasy joint SLAVES OF GOD, Anansi's 6 sons, Damu ya Buinui (Blood of the Spider), step through a tear in the world and set foot on the shores of the American South in the early 1800s. #afrofantasy Oh, the drama!

Anansi the spider sits in the center of a web while surrounded by six smaller spiders, his six sons.

John Bryant@johnbryantwrites· Feb 27

Birdie knows how to handle herself. #WIPSnips #writesky #histfantasy #afrofantasy

The #WIPSnips word of the day is "thing." Here's a snippet from my historical fantasy joint SLAVES OF GOD: Birdie followed the stone path and stopped at the back door of the church. She hiked up her petticoats and drew the small single-shot flintlock tucked snug in her garter belt.
“I need to find a better place to keep this damn thing,” she said.
“When did you start carrying a gun?” Cope whispered.
“After what happened, you don’t? You really want me to bring up Sadie again?”
“Men of God don’t carry guns.”
Birdie rolled her eyes and slipped through the open door.
“I liked you better before you was a preacher.”

John Bryant@johnbryantwrites· Feb 20

Reverend Copeland got folks in the palm of his hands. #WIPSnips #writesky #histfantasy #afrofantasy

The #WIPSnips word of the day for February 20th is "corner." Here's a snippet from my historical fantasy joint SLAVES OF GOD: “Good morning, brothers and sisters.”
His raspy baritone washed over the congregation in a comforting wave. He nodded to familiar faces dressed in their Sunday best, even acknowledging those huddled near the door.
He smiled; the kind that formed wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. The kind that made folks trust him before he even spoke.
The church hushed.

John Bryant@johnbryantwrites· Feb 7

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

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.

John Bryant@johnbryantwrites· Feb 5

Cope and Birdie getting up to no good at night. #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.

John Bryant@johnbryantwrites· Jan 26

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

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.

John Bryant@johnbryantwrites· Jan 24

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

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.

John Bryant@johnbryantwrites· Jan 17

You can't dehumanize a god. #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.

John Bryant@johnbryantwrites· Jan 17

Let it snow! ❄️ #stlwx

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

John Bryant@johnbryantwrites· Jan 11

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

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.

John Bryant@johnbryantwrites· Jan 9

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