Sarah Beth Durst is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over twenty-five books for adults, teens, and kids, including cozy fantasy The Spellshop. She’s been awarded the American Library Association’s Alex Award, the Libby Book Award for Best Fantasy, and the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award. Several of her books have been optioned for film/television, including Drink Slay Love, which was made into a TV movie and was a question on Jeopardy! She lives in Stony Brook, New York, with her husband, her children, and her ill-mannered cat. Visit her at sarahbethdurst.com.

Welcome back to the Hive, Sarah! We’re so excited that you have returned to the world of The Spellshop! Tell us about The Enchanted Greenhouse? What can readers expect?

Thanks so much for having me back! The Hive is looking lovely. So much honey everywhere. And I love what you’ve done with the chandelier—the honeycomb is a nice touch.

Thanks! It’s a nightmare to dust…

The Enchanted Greenhouse is a cozy fantasy about Terlu Perna, a librarian who cast an illegal spell to create a sentient plant and was transformed into a statue as punishment. This is the story of what happens after that, when she wakes, alone and cold, on a nearly abandoned island full of magical greenhouses…

It’s about second chances and starting over, plus honey cakes, a winged cat, tiny dragons, sweet love, and lots of magical plants!

Had you always planned to write another novel set in this world or was this something that came to you later on?

I love writing in this world so much!

This world is filled with every bit of wonder and joy that I could pour into it. I wanted it to feel like a sanctuary, an escape for anyone who needs it. And I knew as I was first creating this world in that I wanted to keep writing in it.

This specific story grew out of The Spellshop itself. We don’t meet Terlu in that book, but she’s referenced—and I couldn’t stop thinking about her and worrying about her.

Cozy fantasy is designed to be a refuge, an escape, and to say, “Everything is going to be okay.” I couldn’t leave Terlu not okay!

That said, this book is designed so that you can read it without having read The Spellshop first. I love the idea of connected standalones—same world, same vibe, but different stories.

I immediately became so charmed by your two main protagonists, Terlu Perna and Yarrow Verdane, they’re both so vulnerable in different ways. Did their story arcs and personalities come organically to you as you began writing or was this something you had planned? 

I write a lot by instinct. Yes, I do create an outline, and I do plan out the inner journey of my characters before I start… but I like to leave myself open for discovery.

I think the best stories arise when you are as emotionally true to your characters as possible. After all, the entire point of fiction is to tell truth through lies. We’re always writing about the human condition—what it means to live and love—no matter whether we’re writing about librarians, gardeners, philodendrons, or winged cats. And I believe the best way to do that is to cleave to the heart of the character and follow it where it leads.

I have to ask Sarah, can we have the recipe for Yarrow’s honey cakes and/or zucchini bread please?! (I was so hungry whilst reading!) 

All my cozy fantasy books are fueled by cake, bread, cheese, jam, and hot chocolate. Also, pizza. I love pizza. I can’t write food scenes without becoming peckish.

I don’t, though, have my own recipe for Yarrow’s honey cakes. You’d have to ask Christa at the Old Stagecoach Inn in Vermont—she makes the perfect honey cake! I was at a book event there back in April, and she served little honey cakes with edible flowers on top inspired by The Enchanted Greenhouse. They were fabulous!

In this book, to my delight, we have more sentient plants! What initially drew you to creating talking plants? Which one was your favourite to write?

I love my fictional plants! In real life, I do not have a green thumb. Plants wither at the sight of me, in sheer anticipation of either over-watering or under-watering. But fictional plants… I can grow hundreds of them!

As to which is my favorite… I can’t choose! I do, though, have a special fondness for Dendy. He’s got a good heart, especially for a being who doesn’t technically have a heart.

I have always loved writing about things that talk that shouldn’t talk. This started very early for me. I decided I wanted to be a writer when I was ten years old, but I had no idea how one became a writer. I’d never met one before. So, I did the logical thing: I read the phone book, wrote down all the best names, and then gave them each a magical power and a talking animal sidekick.

I still believe everyone deserves a talking animal sidekick. Or sentient plant.

Now I for one immediately fell in love with The Greenhouse of Belde, it was so mesmerising and magical! What inspired its creation? How did you plan out all the varying greenhouses within? 

Despite my lack of any kind of green thumb, I’ve always thought of plants as magical. I think it’s because when I was a kid, my mom had the most amazing gardens. She grew every flower, every herb, every vegetable that could be coaxed out of the ground… And I was zero help. I was the kid over in the tree, reading a book. So to me, the beautiful plants all appeared magically around me.

Those gardens inspired the Greenhouse of Belde.

As a side note, my mom is still capable of summoning any sprout out of any seed, while my store-bought cactus despairs.

I planned out the varying greenhouses by adhering to my favorite writing method, which I like to call the Rule of Awesome: You sit down at the keyboard and ask yourself, “Given all that has come before with the story and the world and the characters… what’s the most AWESOME thing I can think of?” And then write that.

Did you have a favourite greenhouse? (I’m torn between the greenhouse with the miniature dragons and the ocean one with the sea turtle!) 

Those are my two favorites too! Also, the one with the roses. And the [redacted for spoilers] room. Oh, and the [more spoilers]. And… Nope, I’m not going to tell. I am so very, very excited for readers to explore these greenhouses!

Do you think as an author you get as much comfort out of writing a cosy fantasy as we get from reading one?

Yes! The world in these books is filled with kindness, as well as honey cake, and I love living in it while I write my stories. It’s also an excellent excuse to drink a lot of hot chocolate.

Both of your covers have a wonderful cottagecore aesthetic! I know for The Spellshop you sent a mood board to the cover artist filled with inspirational pictures. Did you do something similar for The Enchanted Greenhouse? 

Yes, I did send a mood board, but really, my contribution to the cover was primarily to squeal about how talented the cover artist, Lulu Chen, is. Her work is phenomenal! I love it so much! The light, the colors, the composition, the winged cat—I just think it’s all so perfect, and I feel so very grateful to have her art grace the covers of my books. Her warm and sweet cover art so perfectly represents the feel of the story that lies within.   

What’s next for you, Sarah? Can we expect another cosy novel set in this same world or something entirely different? What can you share with us?

I have two cozy novels coming in 2026: first, a YA called The Faraway Inn, which is about a sixteen-year-old girl who agrees to spend the summer in Vermont working at her eccentric aunt’s struggling bed & breakfast in order to get over a breakup, only to discover there is more to the inn—and her aunt—than meets the eye.

And then next summer, Sea of Charms, a new book set in the Spellshop world! It’s about a sailor, a musician, a sea serpent, and a sentient shrub who find companionship and love in a changing world.

This book is fueled by hot chocolate and sea shanties. I’m loving writing it!

Are you planning anything fun to celebrate your new release? Do you have any upcoming virtual or in person events our readers may be interested in?

I am going on book tour in the US for the release of The Enchanted Greenhouse, and I am extremely excited to go meet readers and introduce them to Terlu, Yarrow, Lotti, Dendy, and everyone! 

Whenever I finish writing a book, I always feel a little sad—you immerse yourself in a world and fall in love with the characters, and then you have to say goodbye. But going out and meeting readers and knowing that those characters will go on to live in their hearts… it makes it okay to say goodbye. It makes the book feel complete.

For anyone who’s interested, I post all my virtual and in-person events on the Events page of my website: http://sarahbethdurst.com/appearances.htm 

Finally, how do you hope your readers will feel after finishing your novel?

I hope readers will feel happy. And hopeful.

I hope they’ll feel like they’ve gotten a hug from a friend and a whisper in their ear saying, “Everything is going to be okay.”

I wrote this book for everyone who needs an escape from the world—for everyone who needs a few moments surrounded by kindness, love, and magical plants.

I hope you enjoy it!

Thank you so much for joining us today!

Thanks so much for interviewing me! Always a pleasure to be back in the Hive!

The Enchanted Greenhouse is out this week on the 17th July – you can order your copy HERE