BONUS! Behind the Adventure: X Marks the Spot

While we’re still putting the finishing touches on Episode 22 of Adventures on Ahway Island, we invite you to enjoy a special behind-the-scenes episode!

Please enjoy "Behind the Adventure: X Marks the Spot," where we chat about friendship, disappearing librarians, and ice cream. We hope it brings a smile to your day while we finish up Episode 22.

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Episode Transcript

(00:03):
Hello and welcome to Behind the Adventure where you get a behind
the scenes look at Adventures onAway Island.
I'm Christy, part of the writingteam here on Away Island, and
I'm here with Susie, creator andhead writer for Adventures on
Away Island. Hi, Christy.
Today we're talking about Chapter 3.
X marks the spot. This chapter has been a lot of

(00:24):
fun. The mystery gets deeper and the
clues keep on coming and of course Marie keeps trying to put
it all together. So the first thing I want to say
is that I really loved how you handled the friendship tension
in these episodes. What stood out to me was how
Marie and JJ reconciled. Marie was the first to
apologize, but JJ showed throughher actions that she cared by

(00:47):
checking out the book and continuing the mystery, even if
she didn't reach out. It felt really real and
grounded. Was that intentional when he
wrote it? Could you talk a little bit
about how you approach writing this disagreement and the way
they made-up? Yes, it was intentional, my
approach and my hope was that that it would feel real and

(01:08):
grounded. So I'm very happy to hear that
it felt that way to you. I really want to speak to the
relationship that the kids have with each other.
Not only have they been friends for a long time, but they're
growing up. And a really important part of
friendship is to be able to disagree with each other, but
disagree in a way that's respectful and kind.

(01:31):
And sometimes you're disagreeing, but it's because
you're being honest with your feelings towards your friend or
about the situation in this case.
And so it was really important to me to speak to the depth of
their friendship and the fact that they are growing up and
that their friendship is deepening and that they really
can trust and count on each other.

(01:53):
Even when that means disagreeing, they still can work
through that disagreement and move forward, which is what they
did in this situation. Wow, I really resonate with
that. That's excellent advice for
people of any age. Speaking of good advice, I find
it interesting how as soon as Saphos helped the kids, he

(02:13):
suddenly disappeared from the story.
What made you decide to pull himout of the narrative at that
very moment? Well, something has happened
that the listeners don't know about, and so Sophos had to
leave, and that's why he left the narrative at this moment.
And that's kind of the nature ofthe story, as is the nature of

(02:34):
life. Things happen when you least
expect it. And in this case, Marie and JJ
and Christian were counting on Saphos to be there, and he had
stepped in and helped them at moments when they needed him
most. And so it feels to them, and I'm
hoping the listeners feel this way too, kind of scary that he's
just suddenly gone. So it was intentional because

(02:59):
that's the way life happens and that's what's happening in this
adventure, and listeners are going to have to keep listening
to find out if he comes back. True.
And his absence sort of leaves room for another character to
enter the story and take a bigger role.
We heard a lot about about we heard a lot about Madam Amato in
Chapter 1, but in this chapter she becomes part of the mystery.

(03:22):
Can you tell us a little more about what inspired her
character? That's a good question.
I don't really, I didn't really have a specific person in mind,
but I felt like I guess I was a person who never grew up with a
grandma. My grandmother's had passed away
before I was born. Well, one passed away when I was
very young. And so I've always wondered like

(03:45):
what a grandmother does in relation to your life.
And in the context of this story, I feel like a town
sometimes has like their historyand their lore and then the
people who were a part of it or who have witnessed far back into
the history of the of that town.And Madam Amato is that

(04:07):
character. She's the one that everybody
remembers for as long as they can remember.
And she's kind of like everybody's grandma.
So in one part, she was the grandma that I wished I would
have had, I guess like having a grandma and what that would be.
Maybe that's why she runs an icecream shop and and on the other

(04:29):
hand, she is really pertinent tothe town itself because she is
either one of the oldest residents or maybe the oldest
resident, which we haven't revealed yet.
So she's very valued by the whole town and the townspeople
and loved. I'm sure we're all excited to
hear what she has to say when the kids come and meet her

(04:51):
tomorrow at 9:00 AM sharp. While editing Part 3, I actually
went back to double check that the days of the week lined up
because they're supposed to be going to the ice cream shop on a
Saturday and I was really happy to see that.
If you follow the nights and days, it actually is Saturday.
Are you keeping track of the timeline with all the twists and

(05:13):
turns? Do you have a giant calendar
somewhere that's keeping track? I do not have a giant calendar
that's keeping track, but I am tracking it.
I go back and check stories for continuity all the time.
I am one of those dorky people who in movies notices continuity
errors and things like that. So I am trying my best not to

(05:35):
have any problems like that in this story.
And I literally was going back and counting the days myself and
making sure that we were up to Saturday finally.
Because it's important. It feels real then.
That's really impressive that you don't have a separate
document for that. I have a question just for fun

(05:56):
so end this episode on Do you have a favorite ice cream
flavor? What would you order from
Amato's ice cream shop? Well, ice cream is my favorite
dessert. Which, again, I guess it's no
surprise then that there's an ice cream shop that's important
in the story. When I was a kid, my favorite
ice cream was mint chocolate chip or a mint chocolate chunk.

(06:19):
Mint and chocolate, any combination.
Mint chocolate cookie, I loved that and then when I got a
little older and got a chance togo to Italy, I loved hazelnut
Gelato. I fell in love with that flavor,
but I have to admit there isn't an ice cream flavor I didn't
like, so I am always game to trynew flavors.

(06:42):
Do you have a favorite ice cream, Christy?
Oh, thank you for asking. Much like you ice cream, it's
also my favorite dessert and I don't think there's ever a
flavor that I wouldn't try. But my favorite now and since I
was a kid is Mackinac Island Fudge and we got to go to
Mackinac Island, I know every other summer or so and it's just

(07:08):
really delicious. If you haven't tried it, I.
Haven't. That sounds really good.
Does it have nuts in it? No, it's got like like fudge
swirls but also hard chunks of like fudge.
Not hard, but like the chewy. That sounds amazing.

(07:28):
Thank you so much for having this sit down.
I'm excited to see where the story goes in chapter 4 and what
Madam Amato is going to tell Marie, Christian and JJ.
Thanks, Christy.