Today I’m shining the Author Spotlight on Shaila Patel and her latest novel Fighting Fate.
Title: FIGHTING FATE (Book 2 in the Joining of Souls series)
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance
Age Range: 14+
Launch Date: April 5, 2018
FIGHTING FATE, Book 2 in the Joining of Souls series is a YA paranormal romance novel. How did you capture the feeling and mood of falling in love?
Mostly by pulling from my own teenage memories and those of my friends—both good and bad—and dramatizing them to capture the crux of all those “feels.” Who doesn’t remember the awkwardness, the insecurities, and the highs of first love? My teenage years certainly weren’t as melodramatic as scenes in my novel, but it’s not hard to remember how, as teenagers, we’d always felt like it was us against the world. Placing the story in a paranormal setting allowed me to add a bit more tension to the typical teenage angst of ‘first love,’ and I hope I struck the right balance between expressing the authentic teen experience and adding the spice of drama.
What kind of research went into crafting the world for the Joining of Souls series?
The largest bulk of the research went into learning Irish-English—its syntax, grammar, and slang. I went to Ireland twice for background and location-scouting (for Book 3), and I hope to go again someday soon! I tried to make Liam’s voice as authentic as possible, and even with the help of an Irish editor, I suspect it might not be enough for some readers and too much for others. It was a risk I had to take to be true to the story, though.
When creating a character’s personality do you use your friends/family/people around you as a base, or do you go in blind and develop it as you go?
Unlike some authors who develop a deep character profile from the start, I usually begin with a few basics and a general idea about where and how the character arc will go—starting with some emotional wound and determining how that’s affected the protagonist over the years. As for where I get my inspiration, there’s always that little something I take from the real people in my life. It could be a quirk that stands out to me, like how they smile, their speech patterns, or even a nervous habit. It might even be their personality and how it affects me. Does that person being talkative make me uncomfortable or does it put me at ease? Does my friend who over-analyzes everything become the voice in my head or does it irritate me—or both? As the characters develop, they dictate how they’ll react to different scenes, and I trust them enough to follow their lead. In the end, the resemblance to the real person who may have given me the inspiration is nowhere to be found. (Whew!)
As an unabashed lover of all things happily-ever-after, Shaila Patel’s younger self would finish reading her copy of Cinderella and chuck it across the room because it didn’t mention what happened next. Now she writes from her home in the Carolinas and dreams up all sorts of stories with epilogues. A member of the Romance Writers of America and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, she’s a pharmacist by training, a medical office manager by day, and a writer by night. SOULMATED, her debut novel and the first book in the Joining of Souls Series, was the winner of the 2015 Chanticleer Book Reviews Paranormal Awards for Young Adult. Book 2, FIGHTING FATE releases April 5th, 2018. She loves craft beer, tea, and reading in cozy window seats—but she’ll read anywhere. You might find her sneaking in a few paragraphs at a red light or gushing about her favorite books online.
You can find Shaila on her website or on social media at these sites:
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Goodreads | BookBub
You can pick up a copy of FIGHTING FATE online at:
And you can learn more about SOULMATED (Book 1 in the in the Joining of Souls series) right here.
Thanks, Shaila!
