Join Me On a Visit to the Forest: A Guest Post by Debbie Fong

A delightful story of magic, home and community (with a healthy dose of whimsy) this is the heartwarming start to a charming new series. Read on for an exclusive essay from Debbie Fong on writing The Faraway Forest.

One of the magical things about being a writer is that you have the ability to tell yourself a story when you really need one. In the summer of 2020, during a turbulent time when I was craving a sense of comfort and connection, an idea came to me. I started writing and sketching a story about a cute little animal village, tucked away inside a magical forest, where all sorts of different characters lived and supported each other. From the start I knew this was a self-indulgent idea and I decided to embrace that wholeheartedly, filling the story with things that I loved and would make me smile so that the happiness I felt while drawing could move from my hand to the pen, then into the screen, and onto the page. I created The Faraway Forest to be a warm and safe space that welcomes you each time you open the book—a place that I hope readers will return to again and again.

 This first book in the series introduces you to the world through the eyes of Wally, the tenacious and steadfast raccoon mail carrier, in a gentle story about kindness and community. For me, mail and stationery has been a passion ever since I was a proud kid with my very own stamp collection, so I was excited to craft a story around this idea. And, it seemed quite natural that a mail carrier like Wally would be the one to introduce us to the forest as we could follow him on his delivery route, meeting neighbors along the way. As I worked on the book, I grew quite attached to Wally with his sincere optimism and appreciation for the simple things in life (there’s nothing like a good peanut butter and marshmallow sandwich!), and I can’t wait for readers to meet him and all of his friends.

This is my first time making a graphic novel for such a young audience, and it absolutely delights me to think that The Faraway Forest could be somebody’s first experience reading in the language of comics—my favorite storytelling medium. With this book, I wanted to show that comics could be crafted with as much love and care as a traditional, painted picture book, and I was so lucky to have found my dream collaborator in Kayla Catanzaro, who painted all of the wonderful colors throughout the story. I hope that the lush and bright artwork invites readers to dive in and explore each panel—to discover all the fun hidden gems that I snuck into the backgrounds, hinting at the breadth of each character’s life and the magic of the forest that’s left to uncover. I hope you’ll join me soon on a visit to the forest!