<center>https://s20.postimg.org/ws864mckd/image.png</center>

* In spirit of Curie's mission to promote undiscovered but exceptional content, we wish to use this twice weekly section to provide an author showcase for some of the outstanding authors who received Curie upvotes in past week. Curie curators and reviewers nominate authors for inclusion in this showcase and author approval is sought and attained.

* For those new to Curie, please follow @curie, and join us on Discord: https://discord.gg/jQtWbfj

* Follow @curie's votes to support the authors. Please consider following our trail and voting for curated authors. If you are a SteemAuto user, @curie is an available trail to follow.

* Vote @curie for witness to support Curie operations (all witness payouts are used to fund Curie operations).

<center>https://s20.postimg.org/m7kggzbot/image.png</center>

<center><h2>Featured Author: @gabyoraa
<a href="https://steemit.com/portraitcontest/@gabyoraa/portrait-photography-of-the-venezuelan-protests-retratos-de-una-protesta">Portrait Photography of the Venezuelan Protests<br> - Retratos de una Protesta</a></h2></center>
https://s20.postimg.org/m3zts1kx9/image.png
<center><i>Image used with the permissions of @gabyoraa</i></center>
While they are overused cliches, "every picture tells a story" and "a picture is worth a thousand words" are usually true. It is why they are cliches. In @gabyoraa 's post of photos capturing scenes from the Venezeulan Protests, it has never been more true. As such, I will keep my comments on the post short and let the photos do the talking. I will say it is amazing what Gaby captures in the faces of the subjects of the photographs. Thank you for sharing your awesome photos and for telling your country's story with so few words.

Since her post was all about the photos and not the words, Gaby was happy to share some of her story with us.<div class="pull-right">https://s20.postimg.org/t4a1fwvi5/image.png</div>
>I was born in Venezuela, and since I was 7 years old, I've been living all over the world. So you could say I'm a citizen of the world. I guess in some level this has also made me value more my home country.

>Photography has always been my passion, but it wasn’t until my role as a photo journalist in the protests of 2017 in Venezuela that I decided to pursue my dream of becoming a professional photographer. Thanks to that I am now studying documentary photography.
April 1st 2017, after the Supreme Court of Justice in Venezuela deprived the National Assembly of its power, being seen internationally as a serious violation of democracy, which provoked a lengthy series of demonstrations in Venezuela. At the beginning, I took part in the protests only as a demonstrator. I would march for hours under the scorching sun of Caracas and call out the slogans of freedom from the top of my lungs. At the same time I observed with admiration the photojournalists taking account of the movement that was fast escalating in severity as police forces started introducing rubber bullets, teargas grenades and water cannons into the conflict. 

>I chose the censorship that we live in Venezuela as my personal battlefield. I grabbed my camera and went out to document the historical days we were living—days I would never forget; days when my camera served as inspiration and hope. More than the conflict which was already being photographed by so many, I wanted to document the feelings, the emotions. The person behind the mask. If things escalate again, I will not hesitate to go out and use my camera once again.

<center>https://s20.postimg.org/m7kggzbot/image.png</center>

<center><h2>Featured Author: @paulobassman
<a href="http://steemit.com/@paulobassman/steemit-open-mic-week-79-you-ve-been-there-original-song">Steemit Open Mic Week 79 - ''You've been there'' - Original Song</a></h2></center>
https://s20.postimg.org/l6tej69f1/image.png
<center><i>Image used with persmission of @paulobassman<br>Pictured left to right: @pedromrmourato, Bertilio Santos, @paulobassman</i></center>

This was a great performance by Paulo and Pedro with amazing vocals from Brtilio. It all came together so well to create the type of song you can listen to again and again. I think I have listened to it about 10 times since it was posted, perhaps more. I am a big 1980s music fan, especially what are considered "hair bands." (Think Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Motley Crue and the like.) When listening to this song the rhythms and tones give me a sort of Mr. Big or Extreme ballad vibe for some reason.

When I let the guys know they were invited to be part of this Author Showcase @paulobassman left a nice thank you for all of us in the @curie community.

>Wow, wasn't expecting that! Your support is really important for the OpenMic comunnity, it's really good you always keep an eye on us, thank you!

I am sure I speak for many at Curie when I say we look forward to many more exceptional performances from you guys and all of the Open Mic competitors.

<center>https://s20.postimg.org/m7kggzbot/image.png</center>

<center><h2>Featured Author: @ravenruis
<a href="https://steemit.com/history/@ravenruis/homo-explorans-voyagers-who-would-link-the-world">Homo explorans – Voyagers Who Would Link the World</a></h2></center>

<center>https://s20.postimg.org/ahkb4kf99/image.png
<i><a href="http://blogs.bfischool.org/2016/12/age-of-exploration-15th-century-explorers-in-the-elementary-school-library-catalog/">Image Source</a></i></center>

>What drove people in the fifteenth century to look to expanding from their known boundaries into the unknown?

That is the opening line and main question asked and answered in this wonderfully put together history post. Was it fame, fortune, freedom, or simply the thrill of being able to think you were the first person to ever set foot in a certain location? In reading this educational and interesting essay you will learn there were a number of reasons explorers and nations wanted to seek out new lands. 

Author @ravenruis covers all the famous explorers you remember, or quite possibly have totally forgotten about since middle school history class, and most likely many you may have never heard of. Columbus, Cabot, and de Gama are all in there but so are the possibly lesser-known (to the non-history fanatic) Columbus (this time I refer to Chris's brother Bartholomew), Dias, and da Covilha.

This post is a great example of what a history post here on Steem blockchain can be. Many come across as or are a copy of a Wikipedia-like page. This is a whole other level and it is great to have it here on the site, and now backed with a Curie upvote.

<center>https://s20.postimg.org/m7kggzbot/image.png</center>

<center><h2>Featured Author: @dirge
<a href="https://steemit.com/onstellar/@dirge/steemit-exclusive-narcissus---short-horror-story--1522737216-1643836">Steemit Exclusive: Narcissus - Short Horror Story</a></h2></center>

<div class="pull-left">https://s20.postimg.org/itbxbpjp9/image.png<br><center><i><a href="https://www.edvardmunch.org/anxiety.jsp">Image Source</a></i></center></div>  This week while reviewing all of the @curie upvoted posts to decide what to put in this Author Showcase I discovered a most enjoyable story by an author with many such other stories.

>“When I got on the train back last week, something terrible happened. I sat on the subway, trying to clear my head, when I realized that the whole car was silent. Absolutely silent. I looked up, and…”

The players in this dystopian story are old war buddies Dr. Karl Steiner, Seymour Pike with Steiner's wife Caroline in a small role, and Jimmy Peterson in an unseen supporting role. the story twists and turns through Steiner's mind while being told by Pike. I won't spoil the story for you, but will leave you with a bit about the author (and more) @dirge (T. Dalton) in his own words.

>The stories come to me. Sometimes its horror, sometimes its not. It’s similar to music. The melody may come at any moment, attacking your mind. It’s up to you as the writer to put it down on paper. The trick is learning to avoid waiting for that inspiration to come. Don’t be passive with it. Cultivate your creative mind. Grow it like a muscle.

>Fiction writers are at a certain disadvantage when publishing on Steemit. We don’t meme or tackle gossip. We put up art, without a guarantee of payment. We rely on readers to reward us. It’s arguable how many readers are left in today’s world, let alone on the internet, or on Steemit.

>For this reason, efforts like those of @Curie are commendable. Rewarding writers and artists for their labor is what will keep Steemit afloat on an ocean of spam. There’s a growing, lively community of fiction writers and contests on the platform. We do what we can for each other.

>Despite the few drawbacks, I’ll continue to post short fiction on Steemit. I hope further updates to the platform will fix some of the issues the wider community are quite vocal about. In any case, it’s nice to find the occasional reader and connect.

>I don’t do selfies. Here’s my dogs.
https://s20.postimg.org/m1l02gsrx/image.png

>I self-published a small collection of short stories on Amazon if anyone is interested, inspired by my favorite writers like Ligotti and Borges.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07375V8PV

Go check out his other stories on his blog page @dirge and on Amazon.

<center>https://s20.postimg.org/m7kggzbot/image.png</center>

We here @curie have started a new initiative. We want to hear your Curie stories! Simply create your own post using the tag #mycuriestory and tell us your Curie story. Tell us about the first time you got your own Curie upvote, what affect it had on you in your life and here on Steem blockchain.

We have decided to add one #mycuriestory post to each Author Showcase. Since I am kicking off this new addition to the Showcase I choose to start by sharing @carlgnash 's #mycuriestory. I choose him because with him is where my own Curie story began, a story I will be sharing in the coming days on my own blog. For now though let's learn how the one-eyed alien found Curie.

<div class="pull-left">https://s20.postimg.org/boypg39fx/image.png</div><center><h2>Featured Author: @carlgnash<br>
<a href="https://steemit.com/mycuriestory/@carlgnash/my-curie-story">My Curie Story</a></h2></center><br>I did not know what Curie was when I woke up one morning to discover I had the #2 trending post in #art. I do know that I ran screaming...

<center>https://s20.postimg.org/m7kggzbot/image.png</center>

This Curie Author Showcase was written by Curie Curator @randomwanderings (Gene) with input from other Curie curators and reviewers. Author permission was sought and obtained from all authors featured in this showcase. All works are the copyright of their respective authors and used with permission.

<center>https://s20.postimg.org/m7kggzbot/image.png</center>