I am excited to welcome Lisa Jensen to Books-n-Kisses today to talk about her new book, Alias Hook. This book gives us a look at the infamous Captain Hook and a different take on the tale of Peter Pan.
1. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself.
My first professional writing gig was writing film reviews for an alternative weekly in Santa Cruz, CA—a job I still have. I also contributed book reviews to the San Francisco Chronicle for many years, which is how I fell in love with the idea of writing my own books! I also have a thing for pirates—who knows why?— so my first couple of forays into fiction have involved swashbuckling!
2. Tell us about your new release, Alias Hook.
It’s an adult romantic fantasy that views the world of the Neverland from the caustic perspective of Captain James Hook, its prisoner. He’s trapped playing villain to a pack of malicious little boys in a pointless war that never ends—until Stella Parrish, a forbidden woman, tumbles into the Neverland in defiance of Pan’s rules against grown-up “ladies.” The magical elements of the Neverland—the Sisterhood of the fairies, the First Tribes, the mermaids in their grotto beneath the lagoon—open up for Stella as they never have for Hook. And in James himself, she begins to see someone far more sympathetic and complex than the storybook villain. She might be James Hook’s one last chance for redemption and release—if they can break the curse that binds him there before the boys can capture Stella and drag Hook back into their neverending game.
3. Where did you come up with the idea to tell Captain Hook’s story?
Captain Hook has always been one of my favorite pirates. He has the funniest lines in Peter Pan! But when I re-encountered Peter Pan as an adult awhile back, I was also struck by the pathos of a grown man trapped in a world run by little boys. Who was Captain Hook before he became the villain of the Neverland? What on earth had he ever done to deserve such a fate? And most important—how can he ever get out? As soon as I got this idea, I started hearing James Hook’s voice in my head, and I knew I had to tell his story.
4. Have you always wanted to be a writer?
I’ve always written for myself, ever since I was a child—stories, journals, comic strips. It never occurred to me I could make a living at it until I lucked into my newspaper job! Writing fiction is what I’ve always really wanted to do; I just picked a roundabout way to get to it!
5. Which authors do you feel have influenced you to become a writer?
Well, let’s see: Charles Dickens, for the complexity of his stories and all his colorful characters, Diana Gabaldon for the emotional depth of her love stories, J. K. Rowling and Patrick O’Brian, for telling such cracking good yarns.
6. What are you working on now?
Still dabbling in retold fairy tales, I have a Beauty and the Beast story in the works with another unique perspective.
7. Favorite TV guilty pleasure? Favorite movie? Favorite book that you’ve read lately?
Game of Thrones; I’m in withdrawals during the off-season. Too many movies to mention! (But here’s a random shuffle: Midnight In Paris, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, A Hard Day’s Night, Captain Blood.) I loved The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, and The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley.
Thank you so much for answering my questions and being here on Books-n-Kisses.
It was my pleasure! Thanks for having me.
About the Author:
LISA JENSEN is a veteran film critic and newspaper columnist from Santa Cruz, California. Her reviews and articles have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Cinefantastique, Take One, and Paradox Magazine. She has reviewed film on numerous area TV and radio stations. She also reviewed books for the San Francisco Chronicle for 13 years, where her specialty was historical and women’s fiction.
“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.
Jennifer’s Review of Alias Hook
Review (3.5 Stars): I was very excited to read this book because I enjoy books that have a different take on well-loved fairy tales and I couldn’t wait to read Captain Hook’s side of things. In Alias Hook, we see another side to the infamous Captain Hook and it changes how we look at the beloved story of Peter Pan. Captain Hook isn’t really a villain in this story but a pawn in Peter Pan’s wicked game and Peter Pan is the bad guy in this tale. We find that Hook is actually trapped in Neverland, destined to repeat events over and over again without any way to escape this never-ending nightmare. This is all changes when a woman falls into Neverland by mistake and gives Captain Hook a chance at freedom to break this dreadful curse once and for all.
For me, Alias Hook had a lot of potential with beautiful descriptions of Neverland in such vivid detail and glimpses into Captain Hook’s true personality since the book is mainly from his point of view. I felt sorry for Captain Hook and was amazed that being in this never-ending nightmare hasn’t slowly driven him insane. I loved his personality and by meeting Stella, it finally gave him hope and the one opportunity to defeat Peter Pan to change the end of his story. My only complaint with this book was the pacing of the story, at times it felt very slow and drawn out, which had me skimming pages of this story to see when things picked up again. With that said, I feel that Alias Hook was a very enjoyable adult fairy tale that I’m sure will please fans of the beloved Peter Pan. I would recommend that people take their time reading this book and savor the rich vivid world that Ms. Jensen has created and hopefully will like Captain Hook as much as I did.
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