Is Cozy Fantasy the Genre We’ve Been Missing? A Conversation with Deborah Pettit

What exactly is cozy fantasy, and why is it suddenly everywhere?

In this episode of The Writers’ Bloc Podcast, Cara sits down with children’s fantasy author Deborah Pettit (author of The Heroes of Tuduma Forest series) to explore the rise of cozy fantasy, what sets it apart from epic fantasy, and why this genre may be filling a deeper cultural and spiritual need than we realize.

Deborah shares her personal journey through depression, how Scripture reshaped her thinking, and how that transformation now informs the character-driven stories she writes for young readers. Together, we discuss:

• What cozy fantasy actually is (and what it isn’t)
• The difference between epic fantasy and cozy fantasy
• Why many modern fantasy books leave Christian parents uneasy
• How classic stories like The Chronicles of Narnia, The Hobbit, and The Little Prince fit into today’s evolving definitions
• Writing moral, clean fantasy without relying on occult themes
• Why character arcs matter more than plot in cozy storytelling
• The spiritual hunger beneath the popularity of this genre

Whether you’re a fiction writer, nonfiction writer, homeschool parent, or simply someone who cares about the stories shaping the next generation, this conversation will help you think more critically about imagination, storytelling, and truth.

👉 Deborah will go deeper into the spiritual themes behind cozy fantasy in her extended teaching inside the Writers’ Bloc community.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• The Positive Trait Thesaurus and The Negative Trait Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi
• Deborah Pettit’s Heroes of Tuduma Forest series

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