Author Interview: Sarah Beth Durst

Get the inside scoop on ‘The Faraway Inn’!

Sarah Beth Durst is the author of our Quarter 2 Cosy ‘A Hearth Between Worlds’ featured book: The Faraway Inn. Read on to get the inside scoop from inspiration to favourite scenes and more!

If you could describe The Faraway Inn in three words to someone who hasn’t had a chance to read it yet, what would they be?

Cake, tea, and magic!

What was the initial spark of inspiration behind the story?

I want to go to this inn! I just really wanted to make a magical escape. I think people use the word ‘escape’ like it’s some luxury, this unnecessary thing that’s like a guilty pleasure, but I think we need all the joy we can get in this world! We wake up everyday to brand new horrors; there’s pain, there’s loss, there’s grief, there’s things that go wrong. And sometimes, you just need to step back and let your bruises heal. That was really the inspiration, to make a place where everyone would feel welcome. A place where everyone would just come and breathe!

The B&B itself feels like a character in its own right. Which came first: the magical inn or the story you wanted to tell?

It was actually the inn! I just pictured this place where the mountains are behind it, the pine trees are all around it; a little inn in this valley that’s filled with wildflowers and an apple tree with its blossoms. And a bubbling brook and maybe a little dragon! So I really started there, not just the place, but the feeling of the place and how I wanted the reader to feel. I think of books as magic, as you kind of create this shared dream between you and someone you’ve never met. So I wanted to make this dream place and invite people in. And after that I put in my characters in, and thought about what they feel and what they need to heal from.

For readers who have fallen in love with your other cosy fantasies, what makes The Faraway Inn unique?

It’s set in our world! It’s set in Vermont, and I love books that give you the sensation that there’s magic just around the corner and that you can have it too. That if you just open your eyes and tilt your head a little, you can see that tea pot rise up, you can see that sparkle around the corner, and you can have that wonder, too. I just really wanted to write a cosy fantasy that was here.

What drew you to write a story centred around an inn that serves as a refuge for people in need?

I think everybody deserves a refuge, I really do. Everybody deserves a sanctuary and everybody deserves magic, so I wanted to create a place that was really welcoming. And I can’t resist writing magic! When I was a kid, every night before I went to bed I would check the closet just in case there was an entrance to Narnia. And honestly, I still do that. I go to a new hotel room, and the first thing I do is check the closet. Also to make sure there are no murderers in there, but mainly for Narnia!

The Faraway Inn explores themes of healing, belonging, and finding your place in the world. Which theme was your favourite to explore, and why?

All of them! I chose Calisa specifically because she’s gone through that heartbreak and wants to come out the other side. But more because she recognised how to heal; she needed space, she needed time, she needed to be gentle with her heart. And I chose belonging, this found family, this community, because, it’s kind of funny, but when you write a lot of books, and I think this is my 31st, you really discover what you’re obsessed with. And one of the things I’m obsessed with is, first of all, hope, and second of all, how to be strong and what it means to be strong. One of the things I’ve been playing with in my cosy fantasies is that community makes you strong. Connecting with others and asking for help is a sign of bravery, not of weakness. To hold out your hand and hope that someone else will take it is a brave, difficult act, and it should be applauded.

Calisa begins the story at a crossroads in her life. What drew you to writing a protagonist who is searching for both herself and her future?

Because everyone is doing that, at every age. In this particular book, she’s sixteen, but I think it applies to everyone because everyone has their ups and downs and everyone should have a chance. She’s just hit her first really big road block, her heart’s broken, but I wanted to write that you can rise again; like a phoenix out of the ashes! You’ll be okay! I wanted to say that you’ll be okay, and I wanted to do it through the lens of someone who’s going through something we’ve all gone through or will go through at some point. You don’t just get one chance of happiness, you get lots, so don’t give up!

Which character was the easiest to write, and which challenged you the most?

When I’m creating my characters, I kind of treat it like an audition process. So I’ll start writing a scene, and I’ll invite a character in and write for a bit, and then I’ll decide whether they can stay or I’ll be like no, next! So by the time I have my full cast, I know them and I love them! So the characters that were the most difficult are the ones that are not in the book, and the ones that are there are all the ones I fell in love with. I think Mulligan was probably my favourite to write. We meet him when he’s making hot chocolate in the middle of the night, and I describe the hot chocolate in very clear details as he loves it very much! I could just hear his voice, and he was fun to hang out with!

Your books are often praised for feeling like a warm hug. How do you go about creating that sense of comfort and magic on the page?

Pretty much, I sit down and think about what makes me happy, and then I write that! I’m in my cosy era right now, and I am loving it, because I can fill it with all the things I think bring wonder and bring joy. But I don’t think I could have written cosy fantasy if I hadn’t written epic fantasy first, because it’s a really technically interesting sub-genre. As a writer, you’re trained to raise the stakes and amp up the tension. But with cosy fantasy, you’re trying to achieve that warm hug! So what you need to do is, is as you’re writing those moments, instead you need to pull the reader back and centre them in the moment, to the here and now.

If you could spend a week at The Faraway Inn yourself, what would you be most excited about?

I would like that very much! I think the cake that Calisa makes, the chocolate with the raspberry jam in it. And yes, the magic! But also the cake.

If The Faraway Inn had a signature scent, what would it smell like?

Definitely maple syrup. But fresh maple syrup, preferably from Vermont. I love savoury maple syrup, you can get raspberry maple syrup. It’s the best!

What’s your favourite thing about the FairyLoot Edition of The Faraway Inn?

Oh my goodness, how can I choose! I think I have to choose the night market end pages, because I want to be there.

Author Recommends

Have you ever wondered which books your favourite author thinks are an absolute must read? Well, wonder no more! Here are four books Sarah Beth Durst thinks everyone needs on their TBR: