Hello All! We have our Top 6 Covers listed below! There were a total of 1,054 votes cast, and our top cover received 248 of those votes! Our author and design winner is Kristin Lim! Kristin is a Christian Author from the Philippines. The Philippine islands are currently weathering the repercussions of several back-to-back natural disasters. Please keep our brothers and sisters in the Philippines in your prayers, as well as Kristin and her family. I know they would appreciate it.
Please scroll down to meet our new Saga Reviewer and for this week's Story Fodder. Also, a reminder that our advertising deadline is this week, on November 15th, for the Winter Edition 2025. Please consider supporting us with advertising. More information can be found at sunsetvalleycreations.com/pricingguide
First Place: Cover 4 Title: The Shard that Binds Author: Kristin Lim Designer: Kristin Lim Facebook: KristinLimStoryteller
Second Place: Cover 16 Title: Dawn of the Elding Author: Demi Griffin Designer: DSM Designs devotedsteps.com
Third Place: Cover 8 Title: Flameheart Author: Dalton and Emily Bequette Designer: Ashley Bustamante linktr.ee/debequette
Fifth Place: Cover 20 Title: Trick or Treat on Graveyard Street Author: C.K. Fyfe Designer: Corbin Davis seafarercreativeco.com
Sixth Place: Cover 7 Title: Line of Fire Author: Taylor S. Newport Designer: Deranged Doctor Designs taylorsnewport.com
This Contest was Sponsored by Author Jessica Bertrand (jessicabertrand.com) and Finding God in Anime Devotional for Otakus (@findinggodinanime).
NEW REVIEWER: We are pleased to announce that we have added a new reviewer to our team, David M W Powers is now our Saga Reviewer. Learn more about David below, and if you know of someone who would be interested in our Contemporary Reviewer or Historical Reviewer positions. Let me know via email.
David [Marti Ward] Powers Author/Reviewer/Scientist Amazon: David Powers (Reviews) David M W Powers (Science) Marti Ward (Science Fiction) Goodreads: Marti Ward Reedsy: Marti Ward Books2Read.com/MartiWard MartiSciFi.blogspot.com MartiWard.blogspot.com
Prof. David M W Powers is a multi-award-winning author, teacher, researcher, and entrepreneur known for his serial startups and his interdisciplinary work from the behavioural, cognitive, health, and information sciences to environmental, biomedical, and robotic engineering. Marti Ward is the pseudonym he uses for his fiction, which is intended to explore the implications and directions of current science and technology are taking, as well as to inspire a new generation of explorers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Neither David nor Marti has been into space yet, but both have travelled extensively on this planet - living in half a dozen countries and speaking and reading a variety of languages with varying degrees of fluency. David hasn't yet built an AI as sophisticated as Al — but is working on it, and Marti has written about it, of course. David has 300+ publications relating to AI, Computational Linguistics, and Robotics, including several non-fiction books under his own name. He is also the founder of Springer-Nature's Cognitive Science and Technology series, SIGNLL, and CoNLL (the society and conference for Natural Language Learning). He was brought up reading a wide range of books, fiction and non-fiction - exploring Encyclopaedia Britannica at the age of four when his parents wouldn't answer his persistent "How?" and "Why?" questions. His first fantasy story, Ghostie, was published in print and audio form when he was seven years old - being used in teacher training. David particularly enjoyed the Robot stories of Isaac Asimov. Intelligent AIs from his childhood, Astroboy and HAL, featured in his PhD thesis - and these stories and characters might just get mentioned in Marti's Paradisi writing too. But he really fell in love with Anne McCaffrey's PERN stories - so don't be surprised to see influences from that source either. Marti is tickled when people see these influences...What's critical about the stories of Clarke, Asimov, and McCaffrey, and Marti Ward's books and stories, about Real/Firm/Hard Science Fiction, is that they seek to explore the scientific and sociological implications of new, interesting, or plausible developments and the measures that are put in place to control them.
STORY FODDER
I would like to use this week to talk about Resonance. I have a degree in Music Education with a focus in voice, and I currently work as a Worship Leader at our church. Originally growing up in a musical family, I cannot remember when I first started to perform in church and at other gatherings, but as I grew, I knew that my voice was above average. In my teen years, I committed my voice to the Lord to avoid the sin of pride. As an adult, I am a vocal professional using my gift to praise Christ and further His kingdom. All of this is to set the scene for the information that comes next.
This is where my experience with Resonance comes in. I am not sure if you know this, but when you play the keys of a piano, ALL of the strings resonate with the strings that are hammered. I know well the power of a conventional instrument, as I grew up with a baby grand piano in the living room of my childhood home. As a child, my father would play us to sleep at night, and I have fond memories of sitting beneath the piano, letting the complementary resonance of the strings wash over me.
You may have known this about a piano or other stringed instrument, but did you know that it is also true of the human voice as well? The sound created by air vibrating over the vocal chords is only part of the equation. Just like the wooden body of a violin resonates with the vibration of the strings, a human body resonates with the sounds of music, both being produced by the person themselves and by the music created around them. If you have ever sung in a choir, you may have experienced this, the moment that the individual voices become one sound. Sometimes a sympathetic resonance can run in families. When I sing with my cousins, aunts, uncles, parents, and siblings, it is much easier to find that unified moment of sound, but I have also experienced it in my work as a Worship Leader with my team and my congregation. That moment of unity can be a powerful emotional pull for all of those caught in the beauty of its experience. But I also think that there is another level to this, one that is spiritual in nature.
Since giving my voice to the Lord, songs that don't directly glorify Him are just missing something for me. I can execute with my normal level of ability, but my voice lacks a certain resonant quality that I commonly experience in times of worship. Our church live streams our services, and I cannot count the number of times I have gone to listen to a particularly engaging song after the fact and found it wanting, missing the unified resonance of the other believers singing with me. How can something as tangible as the taste of sweets on my tongue simply not exist in a digital replication? I have some ideas, but this is where you can go from here. How can the sympathetic resonance within families or the tangible presence of unity in worship be used in your story? I would love to know.
This Story Fodder is based on Resonance. Do you feel inspired? If so, let me know via email or in the comments.
May your day be bright and your reading be epic! ~ Amy Lynn McConahy, Clean Fiction Publisher
REMINDER: We cannot continue to publish our magazine without your help! Please consider either becoming an advertiser, supporting Clean Fiction on Patreon, or directly supporting us with a Yearly Subscription (for as little as $10/year!).
Our Advertising Deadline is November 15th for the Winter Edition 2025.
Please scroll down to meet our new Saga Reviewer and for this week's Story Fodder. Also, a reminder that our advertising deadline is this week, on November 15th, for the Winter Edition 2025. Please consider supporting us with advertising. More information can be found at sunsetvalleycreations.com/pricingguide
First Place: Cover 4
Title: The Shard that Binds
Author: Kristin Lim
Designer: Kristin Lim
Facebook: KristinLimStoryteller
Second Place: Cover 16
Title: Dawn of the Elding
Author: Demi Griffin
Designer: DSM Designs
devotedsteps.com
Third Place: Cover 8
Title: Flameheart
Author: Dalton and Emily Bequette
Designer: Ashley Bustamante
linktr.ee/debequette
Fourth Place: Cover 15
Title: Inheritance of Ink
Author: Grace Soto
Designer: Jess Cantrell
writesofgrace.com
Fifth Place: Cover 20
Title: Trick or Treat on Graveyard Street
Author: C.K. Fyfe
Designer: Corbin Davis
seafarercreativeco.com
Sixth Place: Cover 7
Title: Line of Fire
Author: Taylor S. Newport
Designer: Deranged Doctor Designs
taylorsnewport.com
This Contest was Sponsored by Author Jessica Bertrand (jessicabertrand.com) and Finding God in Anime Devotional for Otakus (@findinggodinanime).
NEW REVIEWER: We are pleased to announce that we have added a new reviewer to our team, David M W Powers is now our Saga Reviewer. Learn more about David below, and if you know of someone who would be interested in our Contemporary Reviewer or Historical Reviewer positions. Let me know via email.
David [Marti Ward] Powers
Author/Reviewer/Scientist
Amazon: David Powers (Reviews)
David M W Powers (Science)
Marti Ward (Science Fiction)
Goodreads: Marti Ward
Reedsy: Marti Ward
Books2Read.com/MartiWard
MartiSciFi.blogspot.com
MartiWard.blogspot.com
Prof. David M W Powers is a multi-award-winning author, teacher, researcher, and entrepreneur known for his serial startups and his interdisciplinary work from the behavioural, cognitive, health, and information sciences to environmental, biomedical, and robotic engineering. Marti Ward is the pseudonym he uses for his fiction, which is intended to explore the implications and directions of current science and technology are taking, as well as to inspire a new generation of explorers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Neither David nor Marti has been into space yet, but both have travelled extensively on this planet - living in half a dozen countries and speaking and reading a variety of languages with varying degrees of fluency. David hasn't yet built an AI as sophisticated as Al — but is working on it, and Marti has written about it, of course. David has 300+ publications relating to AI, Computational Linguistics, and Robotics, including several non-fiction books under his own name. He is also the founder of Springer-Nature's Cognitive Science and Technology series, SIGNLL, and CoNLL (the society and conference for Natural Language Learning). He was brought up reading a wide range of books, fiction and non-fiction - exploring Encyclopaedia Britannica at the age of four when his parents wouldn't answer his persistent "How?" and "Why?" questions. His first fantasy story, Ghostie, was published in print and audio form when he was seven years old - being used in teacher training. David particularly enjoyed the Robot stories of Isaac Asimov. Intelligent AIs from his childhood, Astroboy and HAL, featured in his PhD thesis - and these stories and characters might just get mentioned in Marti's Paradisi writing too. But he really fell in love with Anne McCaffrey's PERN stories - so don't be surprised to see influences from that source either. Marti is tickled when people see these influences...What's critical about the stories of Clarke, Asimov, and McCaffrey, and Marti Ward's books and stories, about Real/Firm/Hard Science Fiction, is that they seek to explore the scientific and sociological implications of new, interesting, or plausible developments and the measures that are put in place to control them.
STORY FODDER
I would like to use this week to talk about Resonance. I have a degree in Music Education with a focus in voice, and I currently work as a Worship Leader at our church. Originally growing up in a musical family, I cannot remember when I first started to perform in church and at other gatherings, but as I grew, I knew that my voice was above average. In my teen years, I committed my voice to the Lord to avoid the sin of pride. As an adult, I am a vocal professional using my gift to praise Christ and further His kingdom. All of this is to set the scene for the information that comes next.
This is where my experience with Resonance comes in. I am not sure if you know this, but when you play the keys of a piano, ALL of the strings resonate with the strings that are hammered. I know well the power of a conventional instrument, as I grew up with a baby grand piano in the living room of my childhood home. As a child, my father would play us to sleep at night, and I have fond memories of sitting beneath the piano, letting the complementary resonance of the strings wash over me.
You may have known this about a piano or other stringed instrument, but did you know that it is also true of the human voice as well? The sound created by air vibrating over the vocal chords is only part of the equation. Just like the wooden body of a violin resonates with the vibration of the strings, a human body resonates with the sounds of music, both being produced by the person themselves and by the music created around them. If you have ever sung in a choir, you may have experienced this, the moment that the individual voices become one sound. Sometimes a sympathetic resonance can run in families. When I sing with my cousins, aunts, uncles, parents, and siblings, it is much easier to find that unified moment of sound, but I have also experienced it in my work as a Worship Leader with my team and my congregation. That moment of unity can be a powerful emotional pull for all of those caught in the beauty of its experience. But I also think that there is another level to this, one that is spiritual in nature.
Since giving my voice to the Lord, songs that don't directly glorify Him are just missing something for me. I can execute with my normal level of ability, but my voice lacks a certain resonant quality that I commonly experience in times of worship. Our church live streams our services, and I cannot count the number of times I have gone to listen to a particularly engaging song after the fact and found it wanting, missing the unified resonance of the other believers singing with me. How can something as tangible as the taste of sweets on my tongue simply not exist in a digital replication? I have some ideas, but this is where you can go from here. How can the sympathetic resonance within families or the tangible presence of unity in worship be used in your story? I would love to know.
This Story Fodder is based on Resonance. Do you feel inspired? If so, let me know via email or in the comments.
May your day be bright and your reading be epic!
~ Amy Lynn McConahy, Clean Fiction Publisher
REMINDER: We cannot continue to publish our magazine without your help! Please consider either becoming an advertiser, supporting Clean Fiction on Patreon, or directly supporting us with a Yearly Subscription (for as little as $10/year!).
Our Advertising Deadline is November 15th for the Winter Edition 2025.
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