Hellooo!

Last week I reviewed the excellent https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/blog/2022/8/12/hooked-by-ac-wise and I was very lucky to have another chance to catch up with AC Wise to ask sone questions about this tale exploring the darker side of the Neverland tales

How do you like to Booktempt Hooked?

Heh. Well, if I’m trying to keep it short and sweet, I would go with something like: Have you always thought Peter Pan was kind of a jerk? Do you like queer pirates who are also disasters? Then Hooked might just be the book for you!

If I have slightly more time to explain the book, I would also say it’s a companion novel to Wendy, Darling, which came out last year and relates the story of what happened to Wendy after her time in Neverland as a child. Hooked picks up eight years later, but also fills in Captain Hook’s story both before and after the events of Wendy, Darling, hence a companion novel, not strictly a sequel or a prequel. Hopefully that doesn’t cause people’s eyes to glaze over and tune me out!

Did you always plan to explore the Captain’s story and what drew you towards him as a lead character?

The idea of Hooked and exploring the Captain’s story came about somewhat organically during the process of writing and editing Wendy, Darling. To be perfectly honest, I never even thought Wendy, Darling would become a novel when the idea first occurred to me. It started off as a flash fiction story. ThenI tried to turn it into a novella, but it just kept growing as I found more facets of the world and the characters that I wanted to explore. Hooked evolved in the same way. There were questions I wanted to answer about Peter’s enemy, as well as other elements of the world I wanted to continue to explore.

For example, I wanted to look at the lasting impact revisiting Neverland as an adult had on Wendy. I wanted to contrast Jane being taken there against her will versus her mother choosing to visit Neverland as a child. And I was curious about what it would be like to be an adult (i.e. Hook) caught in a child’s world on a permanent basis. I figure it be rather hellish, especially when the child in question is Peter Pan, and you aren’t given any choice in your role in his story.

On top of all that, I just couldn’t resist writing my own take on Hook, and making my own attempt at giving him more depth and motivation beyond “Peter’s enemy who is always out to thwart/beat/capture him for reasons”.

Luckily for me, my editor was interested in what happened to Neverland’s pirates as well based on the mention they got in Wendy, Darling and gave her blessing for me to answer that question with a whole other book!

What does our love for a good villain tell us about being human?

Putting aside the reprehensible things villains do, I think there’s a certain power fantasy element that makes villains fascinating. They’re out there trying to conquer worlds and pull off dastardly schemes. Their ambition and their temporary, inciting successes that draw the hero’s attention to them in the first place, makes them seem fearless and untouchable. Many villains have minions to do their bidding. People scramble to avoid them and nobody messes with them. There are certainly times when I would like people to take one look at me and go scurrying the other way.

Maybe villains are all deeply insecure under the surface, but most of the ones we see portrayed in media (books, television, movies, videogames, etc.) are darned good at hiding it. That level of confidence, both in their ability to get what they want, and in knowing exactly what it is that they want and ruthlesslyand unapologetically pursuing it, can’t help but be appealing. Add to that the fact that so many villains are snappy dressers, have fabulous over-the-top lairs/abodes, and live decadent lives of abandon, and it’s kind of hard not to be drawn to them.

We see a wilder and more stranger version of Neverland in this story what led to that location?

I’ve always been drawn to stories where although the hero(es) may triumph, their actions have repercussions and lasting consequences. I like stories where the world isn’t the same at the end as it is at the beginning. While it isn’t always perfect, one thing I really appreciate about the MCU is that things do change. Aliens don’t wreck half of NYC one day and everything goes back to normal the next day like nothing happened. We get to see the impact of the Avengers’ first big battle rippling outward and having an ongoing impact even years later.

The ruins of Neverland that appear in Hooked are a direct consequence of Wendy’s choices at the end of Wendy, Darling.

Aside from that, I also wanted to take the idyllic world created by Peter Pan, where nothing ever changes and life is constantly fun and games, and make it even darker and more dangerous. In my mind, that darkness was always there under the surface. I wanted to peel away the last veneer and let all the horror sit right there in plain sight.

What else can we look forward to from you and where can we find out more?

Well, if you’ve read Hooked, but not Wendy, Darling, you might enjoy going back and seeing where it all began. While the novels are meant to stand alone, they do also inform each other.

If you’re into short fiction, I also had a collection come out last October called The Ghost Sequences, and I have short stories coming up later this year and early next year in Nightmare Magazine, Looming Low Volume II, and Tor.com

At the moment, I’m also working on a new novel, and a novella, but I have no idea yet whether either of them will even work, let alone where they’ll end up!

What great reads have you enjoyed recently?

Oh my gosh! This is something I could go on and on about, since I love recommending books and short stories to people, but I’ll try to keep myself somewhat under control. Off the top of my head, a few recent reads that I’ve loved, in no particular order: Echo by Thomas Olde Heuvelt, Helpmeet by NabenRuthen, The Talosite by Rebecca Campbell, Reluctant Immortals by Gwnedoyln Kiste, The Hacienda by Isabel Canas, Boys, Beasts, Men by Sam J. Miller, Red X by David Demchuk, Siren Queen by Nghi Vo, Base Notes by Lara Elena Donnelly, and The Pallbearers Club by Paul Tremblay.

See? I mostly managed to keep myself under control there.