Article contributed by Yakira Goldsberry
Kara Swanson, the award-winning author of The Girl Who Could See, has written a bold and passionate sequel to her Peter Pan retelling/sequel Dust, a darker, captivating tale perfect for fans of Straight on Til Morning and Lost in the Never Woods. We chat with author Kara Swanson about her latest novel and last book of her Heirs of Neverland duology Shadow, book recommendations, and more!
Hi Kara! Thank you so much for taking the time to answer questions for The Nerd Daily! Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I’m a young adult author and coach who was first published as a teen. I fell in love with fantasy stories as the daughter of missionaries, growing up running barefoot through the jungles of Papua New Guinea and reading as many whimsical tales about characters finding themselves in unique worlds as I could. Now I live in Southern California, teaching teens how to use their voices to craft soul-stories and soaking in all the sunshine I can.
Now tell us a little bit about your Heirs of Neverland duology, particularly your newest release,
The Heirs of Neverland duology is inspired and based off of JM Barrie’s Peter Pan, but is a sequel to that book set in contemporary London – and Shadow takes place mostly on Neverland, and digs more deeply into the Peter Pan mythos and aspects of childhood trauma and loss that are hinted at, but never fully dealt with, in the original novel.
What was the biggest challenge when writing Shadow?
Juggling all the backstory and character threads set up in Dust, and crafting a final installment to the series that pulled everything together and did the source material justice.
How was writing Shadow different from writing Dust?
Oh, so many ways! Peter and Claire have grown so much and Neverland really brings out a new side of them, and a deeper aspect of the story as a whole.
Claire and Connor may be alike in looks, but as siblings, they are very much different. What inspired you to create the siblings and their very tragic but intriguing backstory?
Well, I have a passion for crafting stories that are authentic and genuine in the way they touch on the events and oftentimes the traumas that impact us and shape our view of the world. Claire and Connor sort of took on lives of their own as I fleshed them out, and in many ways Connor takes some of the selfishness Peter exhibits and carries it to the full extent that Peter never does. He’s a reflection of both Peter and Claire, and that was fascinating to develop.
In your duology, Neverland is much darker than the more innocent Neverland in Peter Pan. You also gave Neverland a very interesting backstory, explaining how it came to be. What inspired you to take this approach, and what inspired your story behind Neverland?
Well, Neverland was never that innocent in Peter Pan to begin with, we just gloss over a lot of the darker parts. Instead of glossing over them, I wanted to flesh them out…but also explore what growth and healing in a place like that would look like.
What is the main message of Shadow? What would you like your readers to take away from it?
That there is a place where even lost things are found, hope can blossom from brokenness, and that we can all choose to let light shine through the shadows we face.
With your duology now finished, do you have any plans for other future projects? If so, what can you tell us about them?
I do have a trilogy I am working on, but can’t give any more details on that just yet 😉
And lastly, what are you currently reading, and do you have any recommendations for our readers?
I’m currently reading Story Raider by Lindsay Franklin! (A little behind on that series) And for recommendations…actually, my best friend RJ Conte has a Frog Prince retelling coming out soon called Frog Prince’s Courtship which is a delightful fantasy romcom, so I would suggest that!
