Title: Alias Hook
Author: Lisa Jensen
Genre: Fairytale Retelling
Release Date: 8th July 2015
BLURB from Goodreads
"Every child knows how the story ends. The wicked pirate captain is flung overboard, caught in the jaws of the monster crocodile who drags him down to a watery grave. But it was not yet my time to die. It's my fate to be trapped here forever, in a nightmare of childhood fancy, with that infernal, eternal boy."
Meet Captain James Benjamin Hook, a witty, educated Restoration-era privateer cursed to play villain to a pack of malicious little boys in a pointless war that never ends. But everything changes when Stella Parrish, a forbidden grown woman, dreams her way to the Neverland in defiance of Pan’s rules. From the glamour of the Fairy Revels, to the secret ceremonies of the First Tribes, to the mysterious underwater temple beneath the Mermaid Lagoon, the magical forces of the Neverland open up for Stella as they never have for Hook. And in the pirate captain himself, she begins to see someone far more complex than the storybook villain.
With Stella’s knowledge of folk and fairy tales, she might be Hook’s last chance for redemption and release if they can break his curse before Pan and his warrior boys hunt her down and drag Hook back to their neverending game. Alias Hook by Lisa Jensen is a beautifully and romantically written adult fairy tale.
Meet Captain James Benjamin Hook, a witty, educated Restoration-era privateer cursed to play villain to a pack of malicious little boys in a pointless war that never ends. But everything changes when Stella Parrish, a forbidden grown woman, dreams her way to the Neverland in defiance of Pan’s rules. From the glamour of the Fairy Revels, to the secret ceremonies of the First Tribes, to the mysterious underwater temple beneath the Mermaid Lagoon, the magical forces of the Neverland open up for Stella as they never have for Hook. And in the pirate captain himself, she begins to see someone far more complex than the storybook villain.
With Stella’s knowledge of folk and fairy tales, she might be Hook’s last chance for redemption and release if they can break his curse before Pan and his warrior boys hunt her down and drag Hook back to their neverending game. Alias Hook by Lisa Jensen is a beautifully and romantically written adult fairy tale.
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
Can you tell us about Alias Hook in 30
words or less please?
Exploring the Neverland from Captain
Hook's viewpoint, Alias Hook is a time-traveling love story about love and war,
male and female, and the delicate art of growing up.
What made you decide to write a
fairytale retelling? and Why Peter Pan?
My book is not exactly a retelling of Peter
Pan. It takes place in the Neverland, and Pan and his Lost Boys are in it, but
it's an original story about Captain James Hook, an adult cursed to live in a
world run by children, and how awful that could be. I thought it would be
interesting to give him one last chance to escape. Why Peter Pan? Well, I've
always had a crush on Captain Hook!
How long did it take you to write Alias
Hook, from the original idea to finishing writing it?
It took about eight years, off and on,
from the first glimmer of an idea to publication. The first three years were
spent hammering out a decent manuscript, then I spent another four years
writing revisions for various interested parties. And then it took another year
of sending it out before someone (finally!) bought it.
Do you show a different side to Hook than
we have previously seen within the Peter Pan tale? What made you want to do
that?
I've always like Captain Hook better
than Peter Pan—he's funnier, and he has a much more cool wardrobe! Pan and the
boys just seem like bratty little bullies who murder the pirates for fun. At
the end of Peter Pan, Hook gets a raw deal, being fed to the crocodile, which I
always thought was a terrible waste of a great character. I wanted to give
James Hook a chance to become the hero and rewrite his own story.
How did you come up with the Title and
Cover Designs for your Alias Hook? Who designed the Cover of your books?
Even before it was written, I knew I
would call the story Alias Hook. The idea is that James' inner self is hidden
behind this identity as the villainous Captain Hook. I can't take any credit
for the marvelous cover of the book; it was designed in-house by the talented
art department at Thomas Dunne Books/St.Martin's Press. The designer is Lisa
Marie Pompilio.
Is Alias Hook going to be part of a series?
Or is it more of a standalone read?
I wrote it as a standalone, one complete
story. When I was done, I really didn't want to drag James and my heroine,
Stella, through any more complicated adventures; I thought they had earned a
rest! But my editor asked about a sequel, so I'm working on an idea about going
back to the Neverland from a different viewpoint, with new characters.
Do you have a favourite character from
Alias Hook? and why are they your favourite?
Well, obviously I love James Hook! His
situation is tragic, at the beginning, but I tried to give him a lot of caustic
wit to cope with the boys and the Neverland. I'm also very fond of Stella, a
forbidden grown woman who dreams her way to the Neverland and changes
everything. She didn't really work as a character at first; it wasn't until I
started letting her be funny that she came alive on the page, and became a good
match for James.
If you had to choose to be one of your
characters in your book Alias Hook which would you be? and why?
Oh, definitely Stella! She's strong
enough to dream her way to the Neverland, despite all of Pan's rules against
"ladies," and forgiving enough to see the good in James Hook. Plus,
she gets to hang out with mermaids, fairies, and Indian tribes.
Do you think the Peter Pan fans will
enjoy Alias Hook?
That all depends on how they feel about Captain
Hook. My James Hook is more sympathetic than the original, and my Pan is more
of a spoiled brat. But I think the reader (and Hook) comes away with a deeper
understanding of Pan, as well, and what he's sacrificed over time to be an
eternal boy and rule the Neverland.
Will there be more fairytale retellings
to follow?
I have my version of Beauty and the
Beast coming out early in 2017. (At the moment, it's called Beast: A Love Story,
although that may change.) It's about a young woman who falls in love with
Beast as he is, and doesn't want him to change back into a handsome prince.
Would you like Alias Hook to become like
Wicked, performed in theatres? Or perhaps made into a movie?
It might work on the stage; after all,
that's where the very first version of Peter Pan began. But I think it would be
a great movie! My story really delves into the various societies—mermaids,
fairies, tribes—which would be cool to see onscreen. And I think the love story
of James and Stella is strong enough to hold it all together.
Do you already have ideas about the
actors/actresses who should play your main characters in Alias Hook?
If they made the movie tomorrow, I'd say
Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz for James and Stella. They would be perfect right
now!
Where can readers follow you?
Blog: Lisa Jensen Online Express http://ljo-express.blogspot.com/
Facebook page:
Lisa Jensen Books https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lisa-Jensen-Books/326174064165389
Goodreads author page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1131057.Lisa_Jensen
Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Lisa-Jensen/e/B001K8X9EK/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/ljensenauthor/
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