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Authors Interviewing Characters: Liz Michalski

May 3, 2022 | By Women Writers Women Books | Reply More

ABOUT DARLING GIRL

In this beautiful, grounded, and darkly magical modern-day reimagining of J. M. Barrie’s classic, to save her daughter’s life one woman must take on the infamous Peter Pan—who is not the innocent adventurer the fairy tales make him out to be….

Life is looking up for Holly Darling, granddaughter of Wendy—yes, that Wendy. She’s running a successful skincare company; her son, Jack, is happy and healthy; and the tragedy of her past is well behind her…until she gets a call that her daughter, Eden, who has been in a coma for nearly a decade, has gone missing from the estate where she’s been long tucked away. And, worst of all, Holly knows who must be responsible: Peter Pan, who is not only very real, but more dangerous than anyone could imagine.

Eden’s disappearance is a disaster for more reasons than one. She has a rare condition that causes her to age rapidly—ironic, considering her father is the boy who will never grow up—which also makes her blood incredibly valuable. It’s a secret that Holly is desperate to protect, especially from Eden’s half-brother, Jack, who knows nothing about his sister or the crucial role she plays in his life. Holly has no one to turn to—her mother is the only other person in the world who knows that Peter is more than a story, but she refuses to accept that he is not the hero she’s always imagined. Desperate, Holly enlists the help of Christopher Cooke, a notorious ex-soldier, in the hopes of rescuing Eden before it’s too late…or she may lose both her children.

Darling Girl brings all the magic of the classic Peter Pan story to the present, while also exploring the dark underpinnings of fairy tales, grief, aging, sacrifice, motherhood, and just how far we will go to protect those we love.

Liz Michalski interviews CHRISTOPHER COOKE of her novel DARLING GIRL

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Today I’m interviewing Christopher Cooke, former police officer, war vet, and private investigator, and although he’ll deny it, potential love interest in my novel DARLING GIRL, a Peter Pan retelling.

LM: Hey, come on in. Thanks for seeing me.

CC: It’s always a pleasure to be interviewed. Mostly because I wind up learning just as much as I give away. (Slides gracefully into seat)

LM: We’ll see about that. So, Mr. Cooke, tell me a little about yourself.

CC: (waving a hand) Christopher, please. Truly, there’s not that much to tell. I’m an open book to you. Get it?

LM: So apparently you like bad puns. What else?

CC: I’m a man of many likes. (Reflective pause) Pina coladas, taking walks in the rain … Unfortunately, I’m not really into health food — that seems more of an American thing. And I have been told by several people that a good portion of my cerebral hemisphere is missing.

LM: You aren’t nearly as funny as you think you are.

CC: Oh come on mate, I’m hilarious. (Looks at my face.) No? Fine, let me think. (Scratches chin reflectively with his prosthesis hook, smiles wickedly when he notices me noticing. ) I’m not averse to a good pint in the pub on a damp night. I like watching football — not the type with that poser Tom Brady, real football — and to be honest, I enjoy a good scrap now and again.

LM: Let’s talk about that for a minute. You have a history of violence. I heard it on good authority that you have, at least once, overreacted when apprehending someone. That it is, in fact, the reason you were dismissed from the police force.

CC: I don’t know what you’re talking about.

LM: Really? I could describe the incident if you like. My sources say that you …

CC: Fine. They started it.

LM: Really? They started it? That’s your defense?

CC: (Level stare) I don’t really need one, do I?

LM: (nervously) No. No, I suppose you don’t. Let’s move on. Talk about your life before the war. What were you like?

CC: For starters, I had two hands. Made me first pick for rugby. (Brandishes hook) Of course, I’m first pick for different reasons now.

LM: (Deep breath) Let’s begin at the beginning. What were you like as a child?

CC: Oh, you know. Pretty much as I am now. Handsome, charming, quick-witted…

LM: So a bit of a knob.

CC: Bit of a knob, probably, yes.

LM: Where did you grow up?

CC: In Yorkshire, a village called Marten. Lived there for the first few years, then my parents divorced and my mum moved us to a flat just outside London… why are you looking at me like that?

LM: Sorry. Just hard to imagine you as a little boy. Or who could have been your mother.

CC: (indignantly) Don’t talk rubbish about my mum!

LM: I’m not, I’m not. I’m sure she’s lovely. And the two of you are obviously close.

CC: (Settles back down) We are. It was just me and mum for years, after the divorce. My old man wasn’t around much. I gave her bloody hell as a kid, but I appreciate her now. She’s always been there for me. She’s moved out of London, back to Yorkshire, in a cozy cottage I bought.

LM: Christopher Cooke, mama’s boy. I never would have imagined it.

CC: I have an innate respect for women. Just goes to show there’s lots you don’t know about me.

LM: Fine, enlighten me. What’s your earliest memory?

CC: That’s easy. It’s … (pause). That’s odd. I was going to say it was of playing football in the garden with some mates, but …

LM: But?

CC: Something popped into my head just as I said the words. I remember … it sounds odd, but I have memories of dreams … nightmares really. Of screaming and my mum waking me up.

LM: What were the nightmares about?

CC: Fighting. Always fighting. And this terrible feeling of being betrayed by someone I’d trusted. Of being pushed out of a place I … it’s silly really.

LM: Go on.

CC: A place I loved. (He’s quiet.)

LM: (sensing his sadness) Okay, change of subject. What do you keep hidden in your top drawer?

CC: Excuse me?

LM: You know — everybody keeps something they don’t want people to see in their …

CC: I’M the investigator — of course I know that. What I meant was, you’re really asking me that question?

LM: You agreed to the interview.

CC: Fine. I have some photos there. Old ones.

LM: Who’s in …

CC: None of your business.

LM: (in a sneak attack) Then tell me what’s going on between you and Holly Darling.

CC: A gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell.

LM: So there’s been kissing? And you’re calling yourself a gentleman?

CC: Annnnnd the interview’s over.

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Liz Michalski is the author of Evenfall and a contributor to Writer Unboxed, dubbed a “best of the best” website for writers by Writer’s Digest. DARLING GIRL is her second novel. Liz also contributed to Author in Progress, a manual for aspiring writers. A former reporter and editor, Liz now crafts articles on human interest, living, and health as a freelance writer. She lives with her family in Massachusetts, where she loves reading fairy tales and sometimes, writing them.