Interview with Nicole Knapp

Nicole Knapp is the author of Hook and Crown, recently released through the Parliament House Press. The book is a retelling of Peter Pan, and from the reviews, is very different from the Disney version.

Synopsis:

You’ve heard of Neverland and its inhabitants… Fairies, pirates, mermaids and a boy who didn’t want to grow up. But you can’t always believe the stories.

Elena Hart arrives in London, bound for a new boarding school operated by her estranged uncle. A fresh start is exactly what she needs. But when strange things begin happening, things she can’t explain, she begins to wonder if she has lost her mind.

Until the night a strange girl appears in her room, claiming to be a fairy from Neverland, come to take her to the fantasy world at the request of its ruler. 
Skeptical, Elena refuses. But the following night, a young man with strange green eyes appears, and though she tries to resist his charms, something about him draws her in and Elena is whisked away from the world she knows, to a world she always thought was make believe.

But when she arrives in Neverland, it is nothing like the stories and Elena realizes that she must figure out for herself who the true heroes and villains are.

What inspired you to write Hook and Crown ? What is special about it?

My latest work was, of course, inspired by my love of Peter Pan and retellings. I love a dark retelling and a role reversal type of thing and Hook & Crown has both!

What character in your book are you most like? Unlike?

I feel like I relate to Elena pretty well. Just a girl looking for her place, fiercely independent, yet a hopeless romantic. Feisty, but soft. That describes me pretty well!

I am definitely not like Aiden. He is self-absorbed, power-hungry, narcissistic. No thank you.

What inspired you to write a retelling?

I adore retellings. The classics are classic for a reason, but taking a favorite story and crafting something new from it… it’s my favorite. I love putting new twists on classic stories and making the well-known world something my own, something fresh.

Artwork by Aislinn Honeycutt

Tell us more about you as a writer. How long have you been writing? Did you always know you wanted to be a writer?

I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. But the original plan was to be a lawyer, so glad that didn’t pan out!

Using facts, I’m sure a lawyer has to do a little storytelling. How often do you write? Do you have another job besides writing?

Aside from being a writer, I also have a full time job at a newspaper, a part time restaurant job, and I’m a mom of 2.

Tell us about your writing process. What is the journey from idea to a published piece?

My writing process is a mess … An idea pops into my head, I write it down in a notebook. Then I just start writing and see what happens. If it flows, I do a rough outline and keep running with it. If it doesn’t flow, I save it for later.

I think I know the answer to this one. Do you plot out your stories, or have the characters drive it?

I am the world’s worst plotter. I like to let the story just flow and let the characters drive it and spin the story themselves.

It’s a lot of fun to see where characters take the story. I have an office that I seldom use in my house. Where do you write?

At my kitchen table, on the couch, in bed, at my kids’ sports practices. The better question is where DON’T I write?

What helps you most when it comes to writing?

I have to have
background noise, preferably music. I can’t write without it.

Do you have a writing goal you want to achieve? What does success look like for you?

My current writing goals are to finish the Hook & Crown sequel, and to finish a special short story project I’m working on. To me, success is getting my work out there, into reader’s hands.

Who, or what inspired you to be a writer?

Books inspired me to be a writer. Words were my first love. It may have taken me a while to really get serious about writing, but it’s something I’ve always done.

Do you have a favorite review of Hook and Crown ? Why did you like it?

There has been one review that really hit me so far. It was so passionate, and described my characters and the world the way every writer wants their work described. I cried when I read it, and I have re-read it many times.

What else do you like to do besides writing?

I’m big into movies and music, and I love to cook and bake. oh, and read of course!

Where can fans connect with you?

Fans can connect with me on Facebook, on Instagram and on Twitter!

Nicole Knapp was born in Palm Springs, California on May 10th, 1990. She lived in California until the age of 16, when her family relocated to Oklahoma, where she currently resides. Nicole loved books from a very young age, and has been an avid reader all her life. At 24, she started freelance writing, which she continued for two years before deciding it was time to write something she was passionate about. Her first book, The Missing Piece, was released in August 2017. Her newest project, Hook & Crown, a dark and twisted retelling of Peter Pan, will be released Summer 2019 by The Parliament House.

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