Olympic Pan

(Two screen caps merged together)

Last night, along with billions of others, Buttercup and Gil and I watched the Opening Ceremonies for the 2012 Olympics.

Imagine my surprise when this picture came on the screen!

That's right, a line from Barrie's masterpiece.  And correct, thank goodness.  (Meaning with no "star" in the directions.)

It ushered in a section of the opening ceremony dedicated to and by The Great Ormond Street Hospital (where Barrie bequeathed the profits from Peter Pan) which had children in beds attended by doctors and nurses.  It flourished into a dance number with light up beds.  J.K. Rowling read the lines about the island Neverland.

And then the nightmares kicked in... unleashing a Queen of Hearts, Cruella deVille and Captain Hook along with an enormous Voldemort.  I don't understand why Hook had been represented as a Jack-in-the-Box, though, when the others had not been.  Hook on the correct hand, though.

Pan-tastic!

Well, folks, my main editor/proofer/test subject beyond the justifiably harsh (yet very satisfied!) critics of Jones and Anon has finished her perusal. Please forgive the length of time it took her to complete the task. I have, without anything ever being there to forgive in the first place. As we know from Wendy’s plight alone, being a mother while trying to accomplish other tasks proves difficult enough. Couple that with another pregnancy and Life throwing curve balls. But even more importantly than the usual round-up of Time-stealing-&-fleeing cues, this proofer went, of her own volition, beyond the call of duty.

Which is to say she read them all!  She could have just read Peter Pan: Betwixt-and-Between and proofed it. But she opted to read Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens beforehand, so as to better appreciate and understand my interquel novel. Except she didn’t stop there. She also re-read Peter and Wendy. Good thing, too, for the interquel, being such that it connects one book to the other, also uses elements from the well-known Pan adventure. And yet, she read on for another go at Peter Pan’s NeverWorld as well. Thus, she immersed herself in the full scope of both mine and Barrie’s works on the eternal boy.  And truthfully?  Even PPNW connects back to Betwixt-and-Between. {Naturally - it's meant to be a "set."}

And her verdict? LOVED IT!!!!!!!

Other quotes from her:

You have made an excellent bridge between Kensington Gardens and Peter and Wendy! When I read PPIKG, I was definitely not left with the concept of the Peter I have come to know. You so excellently brought him out of the Thrush's Nest boat and into the rather scary/sociopathic egomaniac I am coming to love.

PHENOMENALLY done! (Spoken about a particular handling of a subject.)

You have a gift - thank you for sharing it with me.

That last line really got to me. The validation of my efforts always means a lot, you know?  Especially when it comes from a voracious reader such as her. She’s no stranger to books and editing, you see. She ran a bookstore in the past (which sadly had to close via circumstances beyond control) and has helped many an author polish to perfection. In this case, she didn’t find much to change (as it has been through the proofing process a few times before with different eyes) but what she did find will bolster the book quite well given her suggestions. Nothing story-wise jarred her, thank goodness.  She even gave her helpful two cents regarding the illustrations.  I'll be sure to attend to them.

So, there you have it. Another person has adored my extra back history to Peter Pan. Any reservations I’ve had with it while writing it (...perhaps you recall I’d originally been wary of one part of the storyline...) have completely disappeared at this point. I’m prouder than ever, and cannot wait for you all to experience it. I’ll try lighting a fire under the final pair of eyes for the book.

So to all who have been incredibly patient: I am grateful. Just a little longer.
Apparently it’s worth the wait.

Another, Beyond Belief

Here’s yet another sequel to the adventures of the eternal boy.
It's called Peter Pan II: Beyond Neverland

and is written by Carla Peele.

This one, though, is a stage play. Pardon me, but I’m not pleased given the description.

Wendy has aged three years, and because Peter has come so often to Earth to watch over her, unable to forget her, he has begun to age as well. To stop this process, and to stop Neverland from disappearing altogether, Peter asks Wendy once more to return with him to Neverland. This time, she does... Years pass without them realizing how long, and they are faced with a threat to their beautiful home and the Fairy Kingdom: An alternate mirrorverse called Nega Land, the evil antithesis of everything in Neverland... Can Peter and Wendy survive their quest and save their kingdom? Or, will the evil Nega Fairies win the day?

For one thing, Peter Pan is eternal from the get-go, that’s sort of the point. And (with the exception of my own novel, Peter Pan’s NeverWorld) the boy doesn’t ever leave Earth. [Many people seem to think the Neverland is in the stars or whatnot.] He doesn’t grow up. Going “back” isn’t going to make that happen - a la he lived in London for a very long time and never aged - it’s not going to happen from frequent visits, which, I might add, he made all the time.

It also seems to ignore the fact that Wendy went back the Neverland twice in the three years that followed the end of their first adventure.

Perhaps it tells us, but why does Wendy being in the Neverland matter about whether or not Peter ages or it disappears?  What sort of magic does SHE have?

Gone for years? Oh my word! Wait. So what? It’s possible she’d been there years the first time.

The alternate Nega Fairies? That, my good people, is something that has been done on the joyous cartoon The Fairly Odd Parents. (Called Anti-Fairies, though.)  And not to mention self/mirror-battle of Scott Pilgrim vs. Nega Scott! It doesn’t belong in the tale of Peter Pan. Perhaps Ms. Peele isn’t aware of the fact that Barrie’s fairies as “nega” fairies are already self-contained within them as they are. They can be very mean and mischievous and would just as soon harm a human as help. They’re not just cutesy delights.

So, I’m going to dismiss this one for reasons of contradiction.