When life gets stressful and it feels like there's no escape, why not treat yourself to a warm, restful getaway from reality? The bed-and-breakfast at the heart of Sarah Beth Durst's The Faraway Inn offers just that, housing a cast of lovable, well-rounded characters and plenty of enchanting surprises, too. Part quaint cozy fantasy, part charming young adult romance, and entirely magical, this feel-good listen offers a sweet reprieve. In this conversation, Durst shares what inspired her to write a book for younger listeners, how she developed her characters and setting, and the storytelling power of "The Rule of Awesome."
Alanna McAuliffe: With The Faraway Inn, you bring your knack for cozy fantasy romance to young adult listeners. What inspired you to craft the world and characters of this latest listen, and to extend the reach of this gentle whimsy and wonder to a younger generation?
Sarah Beth Durst: I write to give people an escape—a sanctuary where they can rest, regroup, and return ready to face whatever they need to face. People always talk about escape as if it’s a luxury, but I think it’s a necessity. You can’t keep bashing yourself against a brick wall all the time. Sometimes you have to step back and let the bruises heal. The Faraway Inn is, at its heart, about healing. Also, magic, wonder, love, family, and cake.
To me, cozy fantasy should feel like a warm hug from a friend. And as I was writing The Spellshop, I started thinking that there is a group of people who really need that hug, a group who sees the world falling apart but isn’t old enough yet to have the power to fix it: young adults. So with The Faraway Inn, I wanted to offer them—and anyone else in need of a refuge or a hug—a place where they can go and be surrounded by kindness, enchantment, cake, and maple syrup.
Young love and heartache are at the center of this story. Our teen heroine, Calisa, is trying to heal and move on after a crushing breakup when she crosses paths with Jack, the kind, charming son of the inn’s groundskeeper. Their friends-to-lovers romance is so sweet. How did you go about developing these characters and their budding connection? How did their personalities and relationship develop as you wrote?
Calisa is 16 years old and fresh off her very first breakup. She thought they were in love, but he cheated on her—it’s her first betrayal. But she has the emotional maturity to recognize that she needs space to heal. So she decides to spend the summer as far away as she can get: her great-aunt’s bed-and-breakfast in upstate Vermont.
So that’s where I began: with Calisa’s need to heal. I crafted Jack to be just the right person to make her believe in love again. More than anything else, he’s kind, and that’s exactly what Calisa needs. Honestly, I think that’s what everyone needs: more kindness.
Their relationship grew through the writing process—I discovered who they are, as they discovered one another. That’s how it usually works for me—my fingers find the voices in the keyboard. I loved writing their story!
The bed-and-breakfast is also a character in its own right, full of eccentricities and magic that make the inn come alive. What did the world-building process look like for crafting this setting and its memorable inhabitants?
I very much wanted Auntie Zee’s bed-and-breakfast to feel like a place where everyone is welcome. So I spent a lot of time picturing exactly what it would look like and feel like, as much time as I spend on developing a character. For the guests of the Faraway Inn, I thought about why a person would want/need to escape from their day-to-day life, and that went into forming each of them.
Also, I followed what I like to call the Rule of Awesome. The Rule of Awesome is: You make one decision about your story and then you ask yourself, “If that’s true, what’s the most awesome thing that also has to be true?” I use that technique when I’m writing all my books.
The Faraway Inn is narrated by award-winning performer Soneela Nankani, whom you’ve worked with before for titles including The Girl Who Could Not Dream and The Bone Maker. What made her the perfect voice for this listen?
I am absolutely thrilled that Soneela is narrating The Faraway Inn! She is so talented and so fantastic, and she has a beautiful warmth to her voice that is such a perfect fit for this book. I can’t wait to hear how she interprets all the different characters and brings the story to life.
Cozy fantasy audiobooks are continuing to win the hearts (and ears!) of listeners, with their low-stakes, heartfelt adventures, warm sense of humor, and quirky, lovable casts. Why do you think it is that so many are drawn to cozy fantasy?
Sometimes we just need a hug. It’s a reminder that, as Samwise Gamgee said, “There’s some good in the world.” Life can be hard. And exhausting. And cozy fantasy is a chance to surround yourself with people who are kind, magic that is sweet, and love that is sweeter.
Are there any cozy fantasy listens you’ve enjoyed yourself that you’d recommend to fans of The Spellshop or The Faraway Inn?
So many! A few I’ve loved recently include The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong; Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett; Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne; The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna; Until the Clock Strikes Midnight by Alechia Dow; The Elsewhere Express by Samantha Sotto Yambao; Uncharmed by Lucy Jane Wood; Violet Thistlewaite Is Not a Villain Anymore by Emily Krempholtz; and many others. Happy listening!
