Manor of Buried Secrets Q&A____________

Manor of Buried Secrets delivers a thrilling tale of family, mystery, and hidden treasures set in the shadow of South Africa’s majestic Drakensberg Mountains. Set in a grand South African estate, it follows sixteen-year-old Peter Brewer as he uncovers love letters, mysteries, and unexpected dangers, while navigating friendship, first love, and the twists that come with unearthing the past. Full of suspense, curiosity, and the messy thrills of first love, this is a story about uncovering the secrets that shape a family…and discovering just how dangerous the truth can be.

Book Description:Nestled in the shadow of the majestic Drakensberg Mountains lies Woodwright Manor, a magnificent family estate. Yet beneath Woodwright’s faded grandeur, mystery—and danger—lurks.

When sixteen-year-old Peter Brewer’s unconventional great-aunt Patricia—one of the last heirs to the once-wealthy Woodwright family—passes away at the age of 105, Peter’s family travels to Patricia’s mansion for her funeral. Thrown into the hothouse of old feuds and eccentric characters, Peter finds himself drawn into the web of family secrets surrounding Patricia’s inheritance. Rumors swirl of a hidden fortune, and Peter’s curiosity grows with each obscure conversation he overhears. When Peter and his new friend Larissa find Patricia’s cryptic love letters to a young man, written decades before, they set out to uncover the hidden truths about Patricia's legacy—and how her secrets may still haunt the Woodwright family.

Falling for Larissa, Peter can't help wondering if he is doomed to torpedo this relationship because of his own foibles.  As Peter is pulled deeper into Patricia’s long-buried past, he starts to realize that others at the funeral might have their own hidden agendas ... and seeking to uncover the truth may put him and Larissa in danger of getting in their way.

Mason O’Connor’s suspenseful Manor of Buried Secrets is a gripping journey of mystery, friendship, passion, and the search for buried treasure.

Author Bio:Mason O’Connor grew up in Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa. He studied Mathematics at Stellenbosch University, and works as a data analyst in Cape Town. He has a passion for storytelling, music, games and puzzles, and the outdoors.Questions:

• What inspired you to write a mystery centred on a South African family estate?

It’s one of the oldest tropes in the playbook – country house whodunnit. It’s centred on a South African estate (Underberg, KZN) because that’s where I’m from. To be honest I didn’t put much thought into it.

• The prologue and opening chapters have a fast, gripping pace. How did you approach setting that momentum right from the start?

That’s funny – the comment I got the most from editors and beta readers was that the beginning was too slow, and it’s what I spent the most time editing to try get right. I’m glad that it seems to have paid off to some degree.

• Patricia Woodwright’s story is fascinating. What inspired her character, and what role did you want her to play in shaping the story?

Patricia is named after my grandmother, Patricia O’Connor, who was murdered in 2018 at the age of 93. The character is nothing like my grandmother, who was quite a cranky old bat; but, after viewing her definitively as nothing other than my grandmother whilst growing up, when I finally reached a semi-relatable age and visited her on my own, she would tell me eye-widening stories about her life; about romance, heartache and tragedy. It was that sense of knowing someone from only one point of view and then realising that they had lived an entire life of their own that I was attempting to capture in this story.

• The book includes interactive elements like QR codes. What sparked that idea, and how do you see them enhancing the story and the reader’s experience?

The interactive elements were actually Fourie’s idea (my editor). I mentioned I had written some music for the book (the way people make playlists for books), in particular the music that they find in the story, and he suggested we add QR codes for readers to actually see it and listen to it. I think it does a great job of fleshing out the world and creating the sense that the story exists beyond the pages of the book.

• Pete’s cousins, Jesse and Daniel, feel like playful, exaggerated South African stereotypes – humorous and yet familiar. How did you decide to contrast them with Pete’s more thoughtful, quiet personality?

Jesse and Daniel are named after two of my cousins who, once again, are basically the polar opposites of the characters in the book. In fact most of the characters are named after family members who bear little to no resemblance.  Jesse and Daniel were two of my favourite to write—just two of the most stereotypical South African boytjies; everything they say is practically verbatim from mates at school. I wouldn’t say I decided to contrast them with Peter’s personality; more that they exist for that purpose.

• Did writing from Peter’s teenage perspective present any unique challenges?

Not at all. It was like writing from my own teenage perspective. ‘Write what you know.’

• Your descriptive passages on the estate, the Drakensberg, and architecture are described in such vivid detail. Why was it important to you to include this attention to place?

When Fourie edited my manuscript, there were loads of corrections, questions, and sections he had flagged to be checked. There was just one paragraph – a descriptive paragraph about the Drakensberg mountains catching the sun – he had highlighted and commented ‘Lovely.’ Out of the entire book, this happened to be the one paragraph I had asked my girlfriend to write for me because I’m not too good at descriptive writing.

I’m extremely fond of the area (hence why the book is set there). I guess the goal was for anybody who knows the area to think “yup, checks out,” and for anybody who doesn’t to think “I wouldn’t mind visiting that place.”