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I certainly didn’t mean to, not consciously. “Cozy fantasy” wasn’t a thing when I set out to write A Turn of Light, my first fantasy novel, but as the term’s used today? In hindsight, what a perfect fit! A bit of backstory, if I may. I kept my intention to write fantasy secret for decades. For a couple of reasons. Most importantly, I was already, and happily, writing science fiction for Sheila E. Gilbert at DAW Books, with several novels under contract, as well as editing my own anthologies. Not the best time to put forth such a, well, off-track notion. And, I confess, I was hesitant. Could I write the type of fantasy I wanted? Lyrical, filled with wonder, immersive—to write it, to do it justice, I’d have to find my fantasy voice, distinct from my science fiction one. To develop a living landscape in terms that wouldn’t feel like my customary science-based planet-building, even to me. I like challenges but those seemed daunting. (Note to amuse you later: I was also firmly convinced I could and must do all that in under 90K.) The easy part was knowing what kind of fantasy I’d write if I had the chance. It had to be joyous. No victims. No violence. No wars. I craved wonder and wild magic. More than that, I wanted a story with community. People who were kind to one another, coming together as needed to work to a common goal. You know, ordinary folks living ordinary lives, just surrounded by wild—as in natural—unpredictable magic, under no one’s control. Lacking the term “cozy,” I thought of it back then as my “cup of cocoa and a blanket on a chilly damp afternoon” story. To write, one day.