A review by tracythewriter
A Season of Sinister Dreams by Tracy Banghart

5.0

I started writing A SEASON OF SINISTER DREAMS years ago. I was on vacation with my family, and I was struggling with my writing...it looked like my dreams of being published might not come true. I was looking for a way to process my grief and feel hope and joy in my writing again. I decided to write a traditional fantasy just for myself, inspired by the books of Robin McKinley that I'd loved as a teenager, and by my dog, Scrabble, who was big and yellow and looked so at home in the wilds of Northern Ontario, where we were staying. The book changed and grew over the years. But at its heart, it's always been a story about managing grief, the hope that those who leave us are never really gone, and what it takes to be at peace with yourself and what you can offer the world. The irony, for a book about grief, is that a week before its release, I had to say goodbye to Scrabble, my inspiration and constant companion for almost 15 years. And now, as his book goes out into the world, I find myself hoping, as ever, that those we love stay with us, and that I'll see him again someday. <3 I hope you all enjoy A SEASON OF SINISTER DREAMS.