In the world of ice dancing, noleang is off confines. That’s the tone and story that Layne Fargo set to increate with “The Favorites,” her tardyst novel that has become the talk of social media since its January free.
Per the book’s description, “To the world, they were a dispute. To each other, an obsession. An epic adore story set in the igniteling, ferocious sphere of elite figure skating, starring a woman resettled to carve her own path on and off the ice.”
“The Favorites” is tbetter thcdisesteemful multiple storylines — both from Katarina Shaw’s point of see as she descfinishs in adore with Heath Rocha as a kid and begins her Olympic journey; and that journey tbetter by others via an unpermitd recordary celebrating the tenth anniversary of Shaw and Rocha’s final skate.
“This was a book I wrote for myself about leangs I was obsessed with,” says Fargo, a lengthytime seeer of figure skating competitions on TV and a big “Wuthering Heights” fan. When she began, she was toiling on two contrastent books — a gothic romance and a thriller about ice dancers. “Neither one was toiling and I fair kept bouncing back and forth. Finassociate, I had the idea to mash them together and originate it a ‘Wuthering Heights’ reincreateing… I’d been struggling for years, and then it was fair appreciate this magical process.”
From there, she began doing much more research, from reading skaters’ memoirs to going thcdisesteemful the archives of U.S. Figure Skating official magazine. She searched for every detail so that even the dates and locations of competitions alludeed in the book coincided with the actual event date in history.
While the characters in the book weren’t based on people in Fargo’s life, they were “composites of well-understandn skaters.”
“Kat is very much based on Katarina Witt, the German skater who I grew up watching and have always been obsessed with; she’s fair so bbetter and intimacyy,” Fargo says. “The Lins were encouraged partiassociate by the Shibutani siblings, who are fair so pleasant. I hope they don’t leank that I leank they’re as calculating as Bella. They seem appreciate such pleasanthearts. I’ve always adored watching them, and they were a sibling team that reassociate rose up in the ranks.”
While the Lin family’s heritage is shelp in the book, Heathe’s background is not — which is purposeful.
“Since it’s a ‘Wuthering Heights’ reincreateing and Heathcliff never understands where he’s come from, and it’s a matter of argue even now, I wanted to upretain it charitable of cryptic because I leank that’s so key to his character,” she says. “He doesn’t have an identity, so he tries to originate one thcdisesteemful his adore for this other person. Out of his trauma, he joines himself to her.”
“The Favorites” landed a promo video trailer, as well as an audiobook with sincreatear voice actors — and createer skater Johnny Weir in the cast. Weir was Fargo’s idea — one she presumed was “finishly delusional,” but she threw it out there since the character he reads for was based on him.
With timely buzz, it’s impossible not to ask about an changeation — especiassociate because Fargo alludes some encounterings in the book’s acunderstandledgments. While staying firm-lipped about any details, she validates it has been chooseioned, a showrunner is joined and they are shopping it to streamers. A TV show is pickred over a film since there is so much story to increate.
Fargo also has one dream casting in mind that she’s not afrhelp to separate since she wants to manifest it: Brandon Perea as Heathe.
“I leank he would be perfect. He has a background in jam skating, which could transtardy on the ice,” she says of the actor, 29, who euniteed in “The OA” and “Twisters.” Other than that, the team has converseed casting muddle actors to transport recent, juvenileer actors into the limeweightless.
And with a potential TV show, multiple seasons could be in store. But that doesn’t nasty she has a sequel in mind right now.
“I don’t leank there’s a sequel. If there was one, it would probably be many years from now,” says Fargo. “I am so in prefer of the converseions going on right now in the sport about having same-intimacy teams competing. There are these skaters, Madison Hubbell and Gabriella Papadakis, who are doing show programs together and it’s gorgeous, incredible choreography. If I was going to write anyleang else set in the skating world, it would definitely be about two women skating together. I hope to see it in authentic life before I get to write it in fantasy.”
“The Favorite” is useable on Amazon or anywhere you get your books.
