Book info:
Title: A Study In Shifters
Author: Majanka Verstraete
Series: The Adventures of Marisol Holmes #1
Publication date: June 26th, 2018
Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult
Synopsis:
Seventeen-year-old Marisol Holmes may be the great-great-great granddaughter of Sherlock Holmes, but it’s hard to live up to the family name when only one mistake can spell your downfall. After trusting the wrong guy in a case gone totally wrong, Marisol convinces the Conclave, an underground organization of detectives solving supernatural cases, to give her a last chance to prove her worth, and maybe even heal her broken heart.
After all, as a half-blood jaguar shifter, Marisol is uniquely qualified to solve this murder—and every scrap of evidence points toward the culprit being a fellow jaguar shifter. But is one of her own people involved, or is this all a ploy to kick Marisol’s mother off the shifter throne?
Then Marisol discovers her best friend, Roan, is missing, and maybe the killer’s next target. The stakes just got higher than political intrigue. Just when things couldn’t get worse, Marisol’s ex-boyfriend-turned-nemesis, Mannix, starts leaving sinister clues for her. Marisol fears this case might be far more personal than she could’ve imagined.
It’s time for Marisol to prove her worth, or her people could fall into chaos while her best friend loses his life.
Author Interview:
1. What does your writing process look like? Do you know
the whole story when you start? Or do you just start writing and go with
it (seat of the pants writing)? If you plan it out, how do you do
that? Outline, notecards, post-it-notes, etc.? Are you part of a
writers group that gets together and helps each other with their writing?
For “A Study in Shifters”, I planned most of the story before I began
writing it, using the Save the Cat technique. Sometimes I write a
chapter-by-chapter outline, but I didn’t do that for “A Study in Shifters”. For
the sequel, “The Sign of The Serpent”, I’m working on a chapter-by-chapter
outline, though.
2. How do you come up with your ideas for your stories?
For “A Study in Shfiters”, Christina and I were brainstorming ideas when
we came up with the idea of matching Sherlcok Holmes with shifters… And that’s
how the idea for Marisol Holmes was born.
3. How long have you been writing?
I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember – ever since I
learned to read, I’ve started writing stories as well. My first story I wrote
when I was about seven years old. It wasn’t very great, but it had a cute
storyline featuring witches. I got serious about writing when I was about
eighteen and decided to write my first book in English (my previous manuscripts
were in Dutch, my native language).
4. What tips do you have for aspiring writers?
Never give up, no matter what. Even if your manuscript gets
rejected by publishers or agents, don’t give up. Rewrite, edit, rewrite again,
write another manuscript, but don’t ever give up on your dream of getting
published.
5. What are your favorite:
Books/authors/genres
In The Forests of The Night by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes is my favorite book
ever. I first read it as a child, and I’ve read it about fifty times since
then.
For authors, I have so many authors that I love. Sarah J. Maas is one of
my favorite YA authors, but for adult books, George R.R. Martin is one of my
favorite authors.
For genres, I love fantasy and paranormal, and ghost stories.
Movies/TV Shows
My favorite TV show of all time is Buffy, The Vampire Slayer. I
absolutely love that show, and I have all episodes on DVD and occasionally
re-watch them. Other favorites are Game of Thrones, The Vampire Diaries, The
100, and Lucifer.
For movies, it’s nearly impossible to pick a favorite, but I’m a huge
fan of the Pirates of the Caribbean series, especially the first three movies.
Music
Tough question! I love all types of music, but when writing I usually
listen to classical music.
Food/Writing snack
Chocolate. I absolutely adore chocolate.
Thanks for having me here!
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Author Bio:
Author Majanka Verstraete has written more than twenty unique works of fiction. A native of Belgium, Majanka’s novels explore the true nature of monsters: the good, the bad, and just about every species in between. Her young adult books include the acclaimed Mirrorland (YA Dark Fantasy) and Angel of Death (YA Paranormal) series of novels. At MHB, Majanka is currently developing a new YA shifter series with a fresh take on fierce female detectives called THE ADVENTURES OF MARISOL HOLMES.
When she’s not writing, Majanka is probably playing World of Warcraft or catching up with the dozens of TV series she’s addicted to.
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