Melody Writes

I found this Sleepy-saurus kit a couple of months prior to the first lockdown at a thrift store. Not sure what my ultimate plans for the book were once complete, I started working on it. I thought it was cute and it was my first time completing a kit. The pattern was pre-printed on each page, making it very easy to follow. There were two flaws though. 1. The string was not labelled. I had to figure out on my own which colour matched which description. This would be a nightmare for anyone who is colour blind. I don't think this was a consequence of the kit being used because I have since acquired other kits and unlabelled string seems to be the norm. 2. Also, the directions were printed on one large two-sided piece of paper. The legend for the symbols was on the back and this kept me flipping back and forth to verify I was sewing the right colour. It wasn't a huge problem since so much of it was the same colour in a large pattern. One bonus was there was plenty of thread left ov...

  Goodreads link   This dark fantasy anthology features novellette length stories about "deadly magic". Each of the seven stories in this volume are engrossing and emotional. The magic systems featured are diverse, yet all are primal and powerful with components of elemental magic and the fae.   The stories are longer than the short stories I have been reading lately and each one requires pause and reflection once done. They feel more like "mini-novels" than "short fiction" because the emotional depths and the characters featured are strong and complex. It took me a bit of time to get through this volume, but not because the quality was lacking, rather the opposite. My personal favourites are (descriptions are from the amazon page): Wynne F. Winters - "The Spring in the Desert": There is a world of drought and destruction, where magic is currency and water is life. What dark mysteries await you there?   The first story takes place in the desert...