Dew Songs: Addicted to Envy (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798315056874)

An envious donkey watches the grasshoppers sing and wishes for their sweet voices. But when he tries to imitate them, he finds that some gifts are not meant to be taken-and some desires can never be fulfilled. This timeless lesson lies at the heart of Dew Songs, where characters chase after voices that do not belong to them, only to learn that envy carries a price.

• Fable-Like Wisdom, Modern Imagination - Rooted in timeless folklore, these stories transform classic themes of longing, imitation, and self-worth into bold speculative fiction.
• A Tapestry of Desire and Consequence - From cursed melodies to stolen dreams, each tale explores what happens when we yearn for what was never meant to be ours.
• Fantasy with a Touch of the Uncanny - Enchanted looms, haunted flutes, and mythical creatures fill the pages, blending the beauty of high fantasy with the eerie echoes of gothic folklore.
• For Fans of Spirited Storytelling - If you love the thoughtful narratives of The Paper Menagerie, The Starless Sea, or Piranesi, this collection will resonate.

These stories weave a world where envy hums beneath every whispered wish, where the yearning to be more can lead to either revelation or ruin. Through dreamlike landscapes and hauntingly real emotions, Dew Songs explores the delicate balance between admiration and obsession.

• A struggling mechanic becomes addicted to the alien tech that gives him telekinesis.
• A fashion-obsessed mermaid rescues a marine biologist, a forbidden intimacy blooms forcing them to face ancient laws, impossible choices, and a love as fragile as sea silk.
• Aa disillusioned composer time-travels to 1967 to witness The Beatles in their chaotic prime.
• A housekeeper discovers her employer's bathwater holds the power to strip away age -and she must decide how much of herself she's willing to lose to remain young.
• A fallen angel-turned-barista teams up with a stockbroker and a cursed heir to break a demonic contract.
• In a society that eliminates desire for the past, a teenager's obsession with a BB gun sparks a rebellion.
• When a desperate city turns to a forgotten tide witch to stop a rising storm, they unleash a force far older.
• A jaded PR agent for superheroes uncovers her own power of influence and must decide whether to save a precognitive hero from exploitation.
• In a steampunk London controlled by a tyrannical Ministry, a gifted engineer must decide whether to rewrite history with a time-altering machine.
• A vampire artist trapped in an immortal nightmare searches for a way out before she loses herself entirely.
• A ceramic artist falls under the spell of a seductive AI promising viral success-until she must battle to reclaim her craft, her identity, and the soulful imperfection that gives art its magic.
• A political candidate's rise is haunted by ghostly manifestations from cursed newspapers-conjured by his jealous wife using ancient family magic.
• A drought-wracked survivor joins a locust-worshipping cult in exchange for water, only to discover that the Queen they revere is dying.

Dew Songs is a collection of wonder and warning, of voices lost and found. A.I. Freeman invites readers to explore the fine line between admiration and theft, between desire and destiny.

Some songs must be learned.
Others were never meant for your voice.