Welcome to the last STOP in this month-long blog tour to celebrate the Peter Pan retelling, Dust, by Kara Swanson. Thrilled you have taken to the skies to join us! Ready to spread your wings one more time?

First, let’s get a clue out of the way. You’re tired, I’ll just tell you, ha! The clue for this stop is pieces.”

And now, here’s a fun interview with Kara sharing her fun-loving Peter and serious-minded Claire with us:

1. What drew you to write about Peter Pan?

I think that I have always loved the sense of whimsy, adventure and daring that the original tale centers around. I also have always loved the Disney movie Peter Pan: Return to Neverland and the exploration of a character who has seen a very dark, grown up world and needs to be taught how to fly and believe in magic again. That always resonated with me as a kid.

2. In Dust, Claire does not believe in magic. Why?

She is a foster kid who has bounced around a lot, been mistreated and bullied, and whose brother went missing when she was a young teen, so she has seen too much of the real world and grown up too fast to believe that magic exists. Her pixie dust also very much relates to her mood, so at the very beginning of the book, she has repressed it so much that her dust doesn’t even shine and looks more like pale flecks.

3. Peter seems ungrounded as he’s exploring London and escaping the Lost Boys. What is he afraid of?

He’d say “nothing”, but really, he’s terrified as he watches his body age and the world around him age and without Tinkerbell, he really doesn’t have the magic he’s always relied on. He’s afraid this may be the one battle he can’t win.

4. Describe Peter in one word. Describe Claire in one word.

Peter: Mischief (or… Weightless)  Claire: Soul (or…Light)

5. Other than their flights from childhood, what are some elements pulling Peter and Claire together that readers can anticipate?

Good question! I suppose they both end up in London, they both get in a few scrapes involving Captain Hook and the Lost Boys, they both need to coax out the pixies that have gone into hiding, and they both desperately need to get back to Neverland, but don’t realize the other is the key they’re missing.

Oh my, this sounds like a fun fun book! I’m looking forward to reading all about Peter and Claire!

About Kara Swanson

Kara Swanson spent her first sixteen years overseas in the jungles of Papua New Guinea, as the daughter of missionaries. Able to relate with characters dropped suddenly into a unique new world, she quickly fell in love with the Fantasy genre and was soon penning stories herself.

Swanson received the Mount Hermon Most Promising Teen Writer Award 2015. She has published many articles, including ones in Brio and Encounter magazine. In June of 2017 she released the 2018 INSPY Award Finalist and the winner of multiple cover awards, The Girl Who Could See. She is a faculty member of the Young Writer’s Workshop where she teaches thousands of young writers how to use their words to inspire and engage.

When she’s not creating new stories and placing characters in peril, she’s probably binge-watching Marvel movies, playing with her huskies, reading till two in the morning or experimenting with homemade mocha Frappuccinos.

SOCIAL MEDIA:

Facebook: Kara Swanson, Author
Twitter: @karaswansonauthor
Instagram: @karaswansonauthor
Pinterest: Kara Swanson, Author
Website: karaswanson.com

Where Next? Straight on ’til Morning!

Read the previous Stop #34 here.

Next Stop: On to Neverland!

Yayyy! You made it! Congratulations!!

To enter and find your goodies (or to check out all the other STOPs for all the blog post clues), head over to this link: DUST Blog Tour Finish Line!