Hello writers, artists, and readers,

We, at Sage of Consciousness, would like to thank our readers for their patronage and continued support.
We would especially like to thank all of the authors and artists who have submitted their work to Musings: Resonating Places.

Janet Butler is our featured writer for this issue, and her work is phenomenal in words as well as in the water color works she paints. We are proud and honored to have her.

This issue is about the sense of resonating places. whether it is the place a person holds in the eyes of their daughter, or someone's favorite nature trail along the banks of a river. Places haunt and remind; they are stitches of time residing in our memories that never fade. When we run our hands across those stitches, we feel the texture of life—good and bad—as we move along our paths.

A special thank you to Wade at betterfiction.com, the folks at Places for Writers, Downtown Writers Network, Publisher Database, Arabesques Literary and Cultural Review, and Anthologies Online for sending submitters to our magazine.

The staff has dedicated this issue to the victims of hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. Our hearts, thoughts, and whatever monetary help we could offer are with those who suffered at the hands of these terrible tragedies.

Sincerely,

The Staff of Sage of Consciousness E-Zine

ISSN 1555-192x

A little about us:

Michelle Williams: Michelle is currently seeking her BA in English from the University of Florida and is married to the love of her life, Paul. Michelle writes poetry, short stories, paints, sketches, and takes photographs when she can. She has been published in four literary magazines to date and hopes to continue publishing her work in the future. Her design work and editing work have won top honors in the State of Florida, Florida Community College Press Association publication competition. She has also been editor of two magazines and served as design editor on two others, both online and in print. Her chapbook of poetry and short stories, The Rabid Whole, awaits a publisher. She is the Editor in Chief at Sage of Consciousness and the Office Administrator for a resource and referral agency that helps low-income families with child care and educates providers of child care at their satellite office in Sumter County, Florida.

Paul Douglas: Paul is the co-editor at Sage of Consciousness and an Information Technology Specialist here in Ocala, Florida. He is also married to Michelle, and lovingly puts up with her ever changing eccentricities. He adores history, and graduated from the University of Florida with a BA in history. A good cigar and The History Channel are the second best companions.

Laura Ferguson: Laura is the Design Editor for Sage of Consciousness and a native New Yorker which has been a huge part of her appreciation for the arts in all venues. She has been writing since she was in her teens which was greatly influenced by her English teachers in high school. Laura is also an artist, considering herself creative in many areas. She has been exposed to various cultures and for that she is very grateful. If she were to say what drives her, it would be the search for truth. Laura's passions are music, Native American History, spirituality, and animals. She considers herself a very open minded person. She is very excited to be on the staff and loves being a part of an E-Zine that is an open forum for all artists and writers.

Jason Cline: Jason is the Thematic editor for Sage of Consciousness, and is also in the Information Technology Department with Paul. Jason is the quintessential gamer and a wonderful print magazine designer and editor for Focus Magazine.

Jennifer Calderon: Jennifer is currently studying Journalism at the University of Florida, and was on the staff of their literary magazine, The Mangrove Review for 2004. Currently, she is the President of the 2005 Mangrove Review literary magazine staff. She loves dancing and hopes to go into the magazine publishing business upon graduating. She is the Copy Editor for Sage of Consciousness Magazine.

Marie Poulos: Marie is the Copy Desk Editor for Sage of Consciousness. She majored in English, and loves to read and write. She also served on the 2004 Imprints staff at Central Florida Community College which won 2nd place in general excellence and editing in the state competitions.

Lauren Taylor: Lauren was born in a small mountain town in northwest New Jersey. She is an avid reader and writer. She hopes to spend long years opening young, old, and in-betweeners, eyes to the wondrous world as portrayed through art, invention, literature, religion and so on. You will one day find her at your local museum with a wild look like Indiana Jones sparkling in her eye. Lauren is the Editorial Assistant at Sage of Consciousness E-Zine, and also won awards for her participation in the 2004 Imprints edition.

Please note that all works are protected by their respective copyrights. None of the works contained within this e-zine can be copied, reproduced, or used without the express written consent of the copyright owners (in this case, the authors, writers, poets, photographers, and digital media designers). If you wish to contact a writer or artist to inquire about using and/or purchasing their work, feel free to email the contact information provided in the artist's/writer's biography.