Featured Friday: Weirdville Series by Majanka Verstraete
Looking for a horror book for kids? If the answer is yes, you might like this week's featured book.
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Series: Weirdville
Author: Majanka Verstraete
Genre: Chapter Books, Kids Books, Horror
Derek’s little sister wants one of those
creepy-looking dolls, staring at him from the strange new doll shop in town,
and what his sister wants, she gets. Now they’re stuck with a doll that looks
so human, it gives Derek the creeps.
When Derek tells his friends, Martin and Jamie, about the new shop with creepy
human-like dolls, they want to see for themselves. That has “bad idea” written
all over it, but he takes his friends there anyway.
They meet the mysterious doll maker, who reminds Derek of Dr. Frankenstein, and
who brainwashes Martin into buying one of those scary dolls. Derek and Jamie
push and pull Martin out of the shop, but something isn’t right with their
friend. He’s shivering all over, and he has no memory of what happened in the
shop.
Martin’s condition worsens every day, and Derek’s sister grows more and more
obsessed with her new doll. Derek and Jamie have to find out what’s going on,
and fast, because...
...the doll maker seems linked to a bunch of mysterious disappearances, and the
last thing Derek wants is his sister, or his friend, being next on the doll
maker’s list.
This book is only $0.99 (eBook) and serves
as a great introduction to the series!
When
her parents allow her to go to the fair, Jacky is over the moon. The fair is
most famous for its haunted mansion, the House of Horrors, and her friend Ben
can’t wait to try it out. Her best friend, Cass, is a little more reluctant,
but then again, Cass has always been a chicken when it comes to getting scared.
Jacky and Cass are determined to act tough, so when Ben suggests they try out
the House of Horrors, the girls tag along, even though the place gives them the
chills.
As soon as the three of them enter the spooky monstrosity, the ride comes to a
screeching halt, and the horror begins.
The lights fade, and a hooded figure appears and tells them they’re stuck in a
twisted game of cat and mouse. He will show them their worst fears, and if the
kids manage to face down those fears, they’ll have a chance of getting out of
the House of Horrors alive. If they don’t, well....
Thirty minutes to go. Thirty minutes to face their nightmares... and the clock
is ticking.
Charlie’s
parents drop him off at the train station so he can visit his grandma in
Weirdville. It’s a cold winter evening, so when his usual train is cancelled at
the last second, Charlie wishes he’d stayed home.
An hour later, shivering from the cold, he climbs onboard the next train to
Weirdville, even though he’d rather not. It looks like something straight out
of the nineteenth century, as if it used a time machine to arrive at the
station.
His shivering doesn’t stop, for soon after Charlie boards, he realizes just how
right he was to be wary of this strange train. Something is seriously wrong
with all the people onboard. If only he could figure out what was going on. If
only he could get off the train
Majanka Verstraete begged her
Mom to teach her how to read while she was still in kindergarten. By the time
she finished fifth grade, she had read through the entire children’s section of
her hometown library.
She wrote her first story when she
was seven years old, and hasn’t stopped writing since. With an imagination that
never sleeps, and hundreds of possible book characters screaming for her
attention, writing is more than a passion for her.
She writes about all things
supernatural for children of all ages. She’s tried to write contemporary novels
before, but something paranormal always manages to crawl in.
Majanka is currently studying for her
Master of Laws degree, and hopes one day to be able to combine her passions for
law and writing. When she’s not writing, reading or studying, she likes
watching “The Vampire Diaries” and “Game of Thrones,” spending time with her
friends, or playing “World of Warcraft.”
“The Doll Maker will keep you on the edge
of your seat while wanting more and more. You'll quickly turn each page to
learn more while curled up in your bed. Just be sure to leave the lights on!”
“Welcome to Weirdville with The Doll Maker,
another excellent masterpiece from Verstraete. Venturing into the genre of
chapter books, geared for the early reader from age 6-10, Majanka has swung a
home run.”
“House of Horrors is my favorite Weirdville
book to date. There is always the perfect amount of age appropriate scary going
on, but this one i found myself holding my breath a couple times or taking a
big sigh.”
“One could try to compare these to the R.L.
Stine series, but they would be wrong to narrowly define them in such a way,
Verstraete has a very unique storytelling style that touches the child within,
but also reaches the adult reader.”
-
Penelope Anne Bartotto,
There’s a tour-wide giveaway for a $50
Amazon gift card. The giveaway is international, and the winner will be
contacted through email.
Why did you write these books?
When
I was younger, I loved the Goosebumps and Fear Street series by R.L. Stine.
Both series were horror aimed at kids. For the Fear Street series, all books
took place in Fear Street. Each book could be read as a stand-alone, and apart
from the location and genre, the books had nothing in common, each had their
own story to tell.
I’ve
always wanted to create something similar, yet different. So I came up with the
idea for Weirdville. All books in this series are scary chapter books aimed at
a slightly younger audience than R.L. Stine’s books. The stories take place in
Weirdville, a fictional town where creepy things happen on a daily basis. Each
book can be read as a stand-alone.
However,
the more books in the series you’ll read, the more you’ll discover about
Weirdville and the secrets it’s been harboring for centuries. Each book gives
away several clues about the founders of Weirdville, the Weird family, and
their descendants.
Anything in particular you'd
like to share about these books or their creation?
For
“The Doll Maker”, I took inspiration from one of my oldest fears: dolls. I’m
not scared of all dolls – I even have some in my room, staring at me while I
sleep – but one doll in particular gave me the chills. This doll had eyes that
seemed to follow you everywhere. Nowadays, it’s hidden in my attic, but it
still gives me the chills every time I go up to the attic to find something.
After
writing “The Doll Maker”, I got writer’s block. I knew what I wanted the third
book, “Fright Train” to be about, but for “House of Horrors”, I had trouble
getting inspired. Then a fair came to my university’s town, and they had a
haunted mansion. I’d never seen one of those travelling haunted mansions
before, and it inspired me right away. I knew I had to write a story about it.
“Fright
Train” is based on a story idea that’s plagued me for years. I take the train
two times a week, for a two-hour ride each time, and during one of the first
times I was travelling to university by train, I came up with the idea of
writing a scary novel taking place on a train. It took several years, but I
managed to write it after all.
What can we expect to see from
you in the future?
The next three Weirdville books will be
released later this year. The fourth Weirdville book is called “Drowning in
Fear”, and it’s the scariest Weirdville book to date. The majority of the book
takes place at summer camp. Because honestly, what is scarier than going on
summer camp? In Weirdville, none the less.
Weirdville five and six, “The Clumsy
Magician” and “Grave Error” will be published later this year as well. “The
Clumsy Magician” is one of the less scary Weirdville books, but it talks about
choices, and the consequences of our choices. I’ve yet to start writing “Grave
Error”, although I have the plot planned out. I can’t wait to get started, but
finding time in between the dozens of other things I’ve got going on, is always
a hassle.
Have you read any of the books in the Weirdville Series by Majanka Verstraete? What did you think of them?
in both kindle and print formats.
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