{Interview+Giveaway} Never Never by Brianna Strum @briannashrum

James Hook is a child who only wants to grow up. When he meets Peter Pan, a boy who loves to pretend and is intent on never becoming a man, James decides he could try being a child - at least briefly. James joins Peter Pan on a holiday to Neverland, a place of adventure created by children's dreams, but Neverland is not for the faint of heart.

Soon James finds himself longing for home, determined that he is destined to be a man. But Peter refuses to take him back, leaving James trapped in a world just beyond the one he loves. A world where children are to never grow up. But grow up he does. And thus begins the epic adventure of a Lost Boy and a Pirate.

This story isn't about Peter Pan; it's about the boy whose life he stole. It's about a man in a world that hates men. It's about the feared Captain James Hook and his passionate quest to kill the Pan, an impossible feat in a magical land where everyone loves Peter Pan. Except one.

1. Describe Never Never in a Tweet (140 characters or less)

Trapped in Neverland, in love with Tiger Lily who loves another, obsessed with going home. The story of Capt. Hook

2. What do you think is the hardest part of writing a retelling?

I’d say the hardest part for me was that I REALLY wanted to stay very true to the original. I wanted the events of PETER PAN to play out exactly as they had in the original, but to show you a completely different side of things (as well as a whole new backstory), and there were several events from the original that were realllly difficult to write and still portray Hook as the protagonist. So staying true to the original while still spinning it to be your own is tricky!

3. What are some of your favorite fairy tales? (or their retellings?)

I love Beauty and the Beast (so say we all), and I have a deep love/hate relationship with The Little Mermaid. (I’m blergghhhh on Ariel, but ADORE Ursula.) One of my favorite fairy tale retellings comes from a fairy tale I’m pretty meh about, but the retelling is GREAT: Cinder. Really that entire series is fantastic. I also am not sure if this counts as a fairy tale, but 1001 Arabian Nights? The retelling of it–THE WRATH AND THE DAWN–is INCREDIBLE. It still haunts me. BIGGEST book hangover ever.

4. Did you plan your novel out or did you let inspiration strike your writing as you go?

I planned this sucker out pretty meticulously. Well…kind of. I wrote a one-sentence outline for each chapter, then filled in the details as I wrote. It pretty much stuck to the plan. In fact, the ending was the first thing I wrote, and that last paragraph didn’t change a word from the original draft until the final copy. I let things flow a bit more as I write now, but this book was definitely plotted out.

5. What is one thing that we would be surprised to learn about Hook?

I think Hook’s tendency to be passionate and desperately driven by his emotions would surprise people. He likes to pretend to be this stoic captain, but at his heart, Hook is ruled by his feelings, and they are strong and run deep. He has an extreme capacity for hate, yeah, an equally strong one for love.

6. If we looked under your bed right now, what would we find?

CLOTHES. I am NOT a neat person. It can’t be helped. That, and books. I don’t have any bookshelves; I just have piles of books all around my house–under my bed, in my closet, on my kitchen counters…Books everywhere! I am surrounded by pages!

7. What are some of your bookish pet peeves right now?

Hmmmm this is a good question. I have very few pet peeves around books, to be honest. I’m pretty open-minded with basically ANY tropes. One of the things I guess that drives me crazy is the reluctant hero? Like the one who fights doing anything tooth and nail the whole way through so things wind up happening DESPITE them instead of because of them. I’ve seen that here and there and it gets on my nerves a bit. But honestly, I’ve even loved books with that; as long as the words make me feel something? I’m yours!

———————–

Thank you so much for being here today Brianna. I am totally with you about the reluctant hero thing. I didn’t realize that this was what bugged me about those characters, but you summed it up perfectly. That frustrates me as well

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