Guest Host Mazie Lovie

Welcome to the Stone Soup Weekly Digest! This is where I share what I'm up to and some of my favorite things from around the internet. Subscribe to Stone Soup to get this in your inbox every week.

This week’s digest gets a guest host! I’ll be back in your inbox next week with a brand new installment of Stories About Stories, plus a double-decker Fave Reads round-up that will include a new rules-light RPG you won’t want to miss. In the meantime, meet this week’s Digest host:

Mazie Lovie is an illustrator and comic artist from Southwestern Ontario, Canada. She attended Seneca College for Illustration, where she focused on comics. She has previously published short memoir comics with Dirty Diamonds Anthology and The Nib, though her favorite genre is fantasy. The Lucky Poor is her debut graphic novel and the true story of her family’s experience with Habitat for Humanity Canada.

The Lucky Poor by Mazie Lovie

Mazie's family has been offered a fantastic gift: their very own, brand-new house, built for them by Habitat for Humanity. But it's a present that comes with a number of strings attached, and soon, they'll learn just how many problems even a new home can't fix.

An inside look at inequality and second chances, struggle and hope, hard work and charity, The Lucky Poor is the incredible true story of one life-changing event, and every unexpected thing that happens next.

That’s all from me for this week. Take it away, Mazie!

- Gailey

Silly Art Collection

As I go by Silly Art Collector on most social media, I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t share some of my favourite silly artists. Part of what inspired this “persona” of mine was when I participated in my first art gallery show since art school. I was nervous about my goofy little drawings, but at the end of it, they told me one of my pieces was the most popular in the show! I figured that not everyone always understands the fine arts, but everyone can appreciate a good silly art!

• MomoDraws creates cute, little comics about little creatures living how they like.
• Liliuhms is one of my favourite artists. Her work is childish in the best possible way, but most of what she makes is for adults: purses, jackets, other apparel, and smaller items, too. I adore my Long Bee plush!
• MeganRoseRuiz has worked on some big movies like Trolls 3 and the Mario movie! They make so many silly little guys in a variety of ways, their paintings of the goofiest little creatures are wonderfully weird.
• Doggie Down, I recently found these short animations on instagram. They’re hilarious and have little to no sound, so they’re funny even across language barriers.
• Jushmu makes adorably silly merchandise for a number of uses, even some cute dice to go with one of my following recommendations…

Gaming with kids

I’m a big fan of D&D, and I know plenty of kids that love fantasy and make-believe (and would love to play pretend with me). However, D&D is a bit complicated, even for adults new to the game. I’ve been scouring TTRPG Kids for the past week or so, looking for games to play with my young sister and other kids in my life. I’ve found quite a few good ones, particularly Princess Guard! 

Ever heard of Risograph?

It’s a special type of printer that essentially creates a stencil for the ink to be pushed through, so it can only print one colour at a time, but these inks are so much more vibrant. Dreaming In Colour is to be the first book published by Peow2, a really great comics publisher (originally Peow) which is reentering the industry. Natalie Andrewson is an expert in utilizing risograph to make beautiful works, and I think you should join me in getting a copy.

Mazie’s Currently Reading: Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White

I’ve been wanting to read this book for so, so long, and I couldn’t resist when I saw it on sale. I’m not usually one for horror, but the premise of Hell Followed With Us is very intriguing to me. I grew up in a Christian church that taught me to love, but lost faith as a teenager when I saw others not doing the same. Though it’s not a new idea, sharing stories of Christians as villains still feels taboo, but I think that’s the fun (and horror) of the story; as a queer person, you never really know who is safe to confide that part of you.

Sixteen-year-old trans boy Benji is on the run from the cult that raised him—the fundamentalist sect that unleashed Armageddon and decimated the world’s population. Desperately, he searches for a place where the cult can’t get their hands on him, or more importantly, on the bioweapon they infected him with.

But when cornered by monsters born from the destruction, Benji is rescued by a group of teens from the local Acheson LGBTQ+ Center, affectionately known as the ALC. The ALC’s leader, Nick, is gorgeous, autistic, and a deadly shot, and he knows Benji’s darkest secret: the cult’s bioweapon is mutating him into a monster deadly enough to wipe humanity from the earth once and for all.    

Still, Nick offers Benji shelter among his ragtag group of queer teens, as long as Benji can control the monster and use its power to defend the ALC. Eager to belong, Benji accepts Nick’s terms…until he discovers the ALC’s mysterious leader has a hidden agenda, and more than a few secrets of his own. 

Barnes & Noble | Bad River Website | Local Library | Find an Indie Bookstore

Featured New Release: Lost Stick by Anoosha Syed

I’m very excited for the release of Anoosha Syed’s second picture book as an author-illustrator! As someone with kind of an odd name, I adored her first book, That’s Not My Name. Her new book looks like a very fun and silly tale that follows a puppy as he searches for his lost stick and his owner searches for him! I can’t wait to get a copy and see more of Anoosha’s art for this book, which reminds me of the works of Eric Carle (The Very Hungry Caterpillar) with its handmade illustrations.

Milo loves to make his owner Louise happy because she’s his favorite person in the world. While they’re strolling through the park one day, Louise picks a twig up off the ground and says to Milo, “This is Stick”. She throws Stick across the grass and Milo excitedly brings it back to her. Milo doesn't know why they do this over and over again, but he knows that he can put a smile on her face by running after Stick. So, when Louise throws Stick a little too far, Milo is determined to go the distance too.

Milo starts searching all over the neighborhood for Stick—while Louise simultaneously searches for Milo—but there's one problem: all the sticks look the same! Which one is Louise's stick? Milo sets out on a grand adventure for a little pup, and while his quest takes him all over the globe, he learns that home is where he really wants to be. Anoosha Syed stretches her storytelling talents with this hilarious and tender friendship story.

Barnes & Noble | Bad River Website | Local Library | Find an Indie Bookstore

If you’re a paying subscriber, come by the Stone Soup Supper Club for our weekly chat! I can’t wait to find out how you’re doing.

—Gailey