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January 2024, Issue 23
Happy New Year! I'm not sure about you but 2024 feels like a tiring year already despite it just starting. It feels like I'm just catching up with things from 2023 still. Recently we did do some great interviews on The Artsy Raven podcast, with a sci-fi Analog Magazine editor and a quirky zine founder. AI is making strides, with the recent news of a Taylor Swift fake conversing in Mandarin catching my attention. Is it real or fake? That is a question we'll have to start asking ourselves on whatever media we consume soon!
Best,
The Artsy Raven Podcast Updates
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Episode 48 - It's not an exaggeration to say all writers are looking at the future of AI wearily given all the recent news about AI plagiarizing writers. However, speaking to Analog Magazine's Editor Trevor gives me some hope! We have a great conversation in this episode about the impact of AI on writers, the effect AI has on the editing process and how AI can be used as a tool for writers and editors.
Episode 49 - We spoke to writer Cormack Baldwin who describes what it was like growing up in a family of writers, why he started an online zine featuring unusual formats for telling stories, and how he juggles multiple jobs while pursuing a literary career.
Artsy Fun - Taylor Swift Deepfake in China
Chinese start-up HeyGen recently made headlines by creating a series of videos with Taylor Swift conversing fluently in Mandarin. The lip movements were synced to make it look like she was speaking in Mandarin along with the sound of her voice. These videos sparked a huge debate about the potential use of AI deepfakes to defraud people by pretending friends or family members are in trouble and need to be transferred money. This is already a reality and people are being scammed as your read this, so please be careful! (Reference for photo and information - https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/deepfake-video-of-taylor-swift-speaking-mandarin-sparks-discussion-over-ai-in-china)
Free Book Giveaways and Promos
(click book title to access free ebook download link or book preview)
The Mona Lisa Effect by Claudine Marcin (click to download). The Maiden of the Manor had been part of the Chalmers family for a century, passed down from mother to daughter, each woman placing the portrait at the top of the stairs where she could watch over the children. But where did she begin? And what happens when she's discarded like common trash? Don't look now--she might be watching!
The Ring Keeper by A.J. Park (click to download). Run. The demons are coming. A girl hiding an enchanted ring flees from creatures of darkness. The ring exposes a web of love, hatred and unimaginable betrayal. Though its power drains her life force, the fate of the empire depends on her ability to unlock the ring’s secrets. She must find the will and strength to use it, for its magic can save the lives of everyone Ana has come to love. Or it can destroy them completely…
Hometown Space Pirate by C.G. Harris (click for preview). Ben Roberts hears voices…alien voices. When word of his abilities spreads through the galactic grapevine, Ben ranks number one on an A.I.’s most wanted list to become their cybernated slave. A bleak prospect, but what if they offered him everything he ever dreamed of in exchange?
Spirit of the Dragon: An Epic Progression Fantasy by Erynn Lehtonen (click for preview). Every dream comes at a price. Twins Genshu Masanori and Genshu Hidekazu watched in horror as a woman was kidnapped from the annual Midsummer Festival. Delving into the case, they discover she wasn't the first victim of the sorcerer who took her, nor will she be the last.
Oasis by Joan De La Haye (click to download). In a world devastated by solar flares, the surviving population has turned into flesh-craving zombies due to solar radiation. Only a few remain unaffected. Led by a family of civilians and a squad of battle-worn soldiers, they must reach the safety of a UN base called New Atlantis at the South Pole. But as they face relentless undead hordes, their journey becomes a race against time. Will they make it to the oasis alive or become part of the undead themselves?
Bad Boy Dragons by Lilly Wilder (click for preview). My sheltered life ends when I find myself at the wrong place at the wrong time. A robbery turns into my kidnapping. What I saw will cost me my life once the two dragon shifters deliver me to their clan. Only they don’t. When a dark secret comes to light, will our new love survive or will revenge tear us apart? Bad Boy Dragons is a standalone paranormal romance with a HEA and NO cheating!
Heavy Water by Mark Jenkins (click to download). Vulcanologist Archimedes Jackson falls while solo climbing a steep glacier route in Alaska and is rendered unconscious. Waking, he finds himself in unfamiliar territory and encounters a secretive band of armed men. Archimedes must discover their true intention if he’s to survive and find his way home.
The Helm of Darkness by A. P. Mobley (click to download). The Greek gods are real, and they've come back with a vengeance. Andy and Zoey are two normal teenagers living in the year 2018—that is, until they're knocked unconscious in a freak storm sweeping the United States. When they wake up, the world they know has been tossed away. Their city is in ruins, strange creatures walk the earth, and worst of all, everyone is gone.
Group book promos
Children's Book Winter Giveaway! Download these free eBooks to entertain the little ones by February 15th! Click here to download
Free Fantasy and Science Fiction! Over a dozen eBooks and short stories for reading, download by February 1st! Click here to download
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