Welcome to Amberveil,

a world steeped in shadows and honey, where homes are made from hollow trees, birds bake pies, and Death lights his lantern with an emerald flame.

Never run out of bones.

Never let the fire go cold.

Never stop stirring.

When Grandmother Marrow discovers ghostly mushrooms sprouting from the lip of her coffee cup, she knows that Death is coming for her. Eager to outrun her fate, she hardens her heart and sharpens her cunning. Using a magical spoon, unquenchable green fire, and a bottomless supply of bones, she brews a longer life. But her quest for immortality soon spins a web of heartache, and sets into motion a series of tales as eerie as they are enchanting…

A flock of grackles lure a lonely woman into the woods with slippery promises of love; three sisters in a traveling show use phantom mushrooms to commune with the dead; a woman grows vegetable children to protect her garden; the king of glass is driven to madness by the taste of his beloved’s tears; and a boy burdened by family tradition must bake seven perfect pies with the help of a yellow-eyed bird.

In The Stirring Season, Stephanie Stephan weaves together a feast of ten darkly whimsical fairytales about food, family, memory, and magic. Together, they uncover the strength it takes to hold on to what you love and the courage it takes to let go.