Cynthia Pelayo: The Research Continually Surprised Me
In this interview, author Cynthia Pelayo discusses the full-manuscript rewrite she did for hew new literary horror novel, It Came From Neverland.
Cynthia Pelayo is the Bram Stoker Award–winning author of Forgotten Sisters, Children of Chicago, and The Shoemaker’s Magician. In addition to writing genre-blending novels that incorporate fairy tale, mystery, detective, crime, and horror elements, Pelayo has written numerous short stories, including the collection Lotería, and the poetry collection Crime Scene. The recipient of the 2021 International Latino Book Award, she holds a master of fine arts in writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She lives in Chicago with her family. For more information, visit CinaPelayo.com, and follow her on TikTok, Instagram, and Bluesky.
In this interview, Cynthia discusses the full-manuscript rewrite she did for hew new literary horror novel, It Came From Neverland, her advice for other writers, and more.
Name: Cynthia Pelayo
Literary agent: Lane Heymont, The Tobias Literary Agency
Book title: It Came From Neverland
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Expected release date: June 9, 2026
Genre/category: Gothic Horror / Literary Horror
Previous titles: Children of Chicago, The Shoemaker’s Magician, Lotería, Forgotten Sisters, Vanishing Daughters, Crime Scene, Into the Forest and All the Way Through, Poems of My Night
Elevator pitch: It is 1914 London, and Wendy Darling is working as a teacher in an orphanage at the start of WWI. When one of her students goes missing, she believes that the monster who took her and her brothers from their home when she was a child, Peter Pan, has returned and so she must reunite with her siblings in order to stop him.
What prompted you to write this book?
I love fairy tales, children’s stories, lullabies. I love magic and wonder, hero stories, adventure stories, and I want my main character to slay the dragon and win.
The original Peter Pan story is, at its core, about a non-human entity (because Peter Pan is forever) who lures children away from their homes with the promise of eternal youth.
Everyone is fascinated with Peter, but I have always been curious about Wendy. She was promised magic and wonder, but when she arrives in Neverland it’s not quite what she was promised. And so, I wanted to write her story.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
The seed of this book lived in my mind for several years before I sat down to write it. I then had a year to write the novel, and during that time I reread J.M. Barrie’s original texts, the play The Little White Bird, Peter and Wendy, watched and read many adaptations, as well as researched the historical context of Edwardian London, World War I, the social norms of the time period, and so on.
During this time, I had also begun the Odyssey Writing Workshop, which is an intensive speculative writing workshop. I essentially had a draft of the novel, submitted it, and then I immediately began Odyssey. Within days of being in the program I knew my novel needed a massive rewrite. And yes, I did completely rewrite the novel while I was in Odyssey, applying as much as I learned as possible.
What deepened during the process was the psychological horror, the dread on every page, and the relationship between Wendy, her brothers, and the people she tries to protect.
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
Receiving two starred reviews, from Booklist and Library Journal, before the book was even on shelves was a moment that confirmed the work was being received the way I intended. I’ve been somewhat quiet about the themes I tackled because I wanted to see how early readers and reviewers interpreted the story, and I’ve been delighted to see I achieved my goal.
Finally, while it is categorized as a horror novel, it’s been a delight to see the novel reaching readers well beyond the horror community.
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
The research continually surprised me. I learned that Peter Pan first appeared not in a children’s book but in an adult novel, J.M. Barries The Little White Bird published in1902.
That the play preceded the novel by seven years. I also learned that Peter Pan was traditionally played by a woman on stage because English law prohibited children from performing after 9 p.m.
Another interesting surprise was learning that the bronze statue Barrie had installed of Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens was done so in secret. It’s still there today.
Every layer of research revealed that the story we think we know is far stranger than most people realize.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
I hope readers can experience that fairy tales, and even many children stories, have always offered us monsters, and that unfortunately, monsters are real.
Even more unfortunate is that no one is coming to save you. You have to learn how to save yourself, in whatever sense that feels accurate to you.
I also hope readers see Wendy Darling clearly, perhaps for the first time, as the hero she always was.
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
You may have heard to read more than you write and to read widely, but I would also suggest get a dictionary and get a thesaurus. Put them on your desk. Pick a word each day. Write it down. What is the definition? What words are similar? Opposites?
We are living in a moment in time in which language is becoming flattened.
Learn etymology, the meaning of words. For example, the word “disaster” literally means “ill-starred.” So, when you use the word “disaster” in a text you’re saying this event that occurred, which is a calamity, was destined by the stars.
