When I first imagined The Chic Crone, I knew Olivia’s journey needed a place that felt both familiar and otherworldly. I also wanted a place where I’d love to hang out. My perfect English village—filled with tradition, quirky villagers with big hearts, and charming shops and houses.
Enter Rowanswood: a village tucked between the ordinary world and the world of the Folk, beings that live alongside us if only we had the eyes to see. (Just because it’s folklore or myth doesn’t mean it isn’t true.) It needed to be brimming with cobbled lanes, glowing tea shops, and secrets waiting behind every ivy-covered wall.
More Than Just a Setting
For me, Rowanswood isn’t just scenery, it’s a character. Every shopfront, every stone wall, has a story to tell. Villages like this draw us in because they feel safe and cozy, yet they whisper of magic just out of sight.
Cozy Fantasy in Action
Cozy fantasy thrives on community, and that’s exactly what Rowanswood offers. The local tea shop, the Tree of Life café, is where gossip mingles with spells.
The bookstore, The Book Nook, is where the perfect read finds you (but beware the Nigella Lawson cookbooks—those volumes fly off the shelves).
The local inn (est. 1320) is run by a lovely woman with feathery wings that shimmer like iridescent oil when she moves. And The Mermaid Cove, a Michelin-starred restaurant perched atop the cliffs overlooking the sea, serves a lemon and ricotta spaghettini that would make an angel weep. And the can’t forget the sentient houses of the Crones! They become each Crone’s perfect house and deliver what’s needed before the Crone can even imagine it (DO NOT anger one, though)
It’s a place where friends become family, and enemies often lurk closer than you’d like.
On the Edge of Other Realms
Of course, life in Rowanswood isn’t all candlelight and teacups. The village brushes against the fae realm, where bargains are binding and politics can be deadly. And now another, unknown threat is rising. Those shadowy connections are what make Rowanswood so compelling: it’s cozy, but never entirely safe.
Why Readers Love Enchanted Villages
From Hobbiton to Stars Hollow, we’ve always loved stories that unfold in tight-knit communities. Rowanswood adds a twist—an enchanted village where magic, mayhem, and midlife adventures live side by side. It reminds us that adventure doesn’t always mean venturing far afield; sometimes, it begins right on your doorstep.
If you could design your own enchanted village, what would it look like? Drop a comment—I’d love to see how your imagination builds community, magic, and coziness into one place.
Full disclosure: I did have fun with AI creating the images!!
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