Who did you write this book for?
I write all my teen paranormal stories with two audiences in mind:
One is the young paranormal community. There are gifted girls out there who have strong intuitive, psychic or medium abilities, but our society hasn’t readily accepted these gifts. Often times, kids hide these odd experiences in an effort to fit in.
In the Echo Saga readers see Echo evolve from a girl whose telekinesis makes her a neurotic mess, to a young woman who is a leader and positive example of personal power. She goes through some hard internal and external battles to get there, but those are the things that ultimately define her.
I also wrote Echo Across Time for girls and women who love a good paranormal story woven with romance. The teenage years are full of firsts—first loves, first big public failures, first great accomplishments. I like the backdrop that this kind of environment offers. Just being a teenager, trying to hold your own in the world, takes a lot of heart and courage. Many of my adult readers remember and relate to this time in their lives.
Is there a central theme to your series?
There is. The overall theme of the Echo Saga is personal power—how we repress it, learning to recognize it, embrace it and choosing how to use it.
When I set out to write the series I thought it would be fun to take a look at the dynamics of personal power, but through a supernatural lens. I chose to use teen characters because those years are so important in defining our individuality and identity.
Often times, I think one of two things happens when you repress and hold back who you really are. You either get sucked into someone else’s identity, like pop culture icons, or a clique, and then you sacrifice your individuality. Or the real “you” comes screaming out in unacceptable ways, such as rebellion or passive aggressive behavior. These are some of the ideas I explore in the series.
If you could compare this book with any book or movie out there that we might already be familiar with, which book would it be and why?
I’d say Echo Across Time is best described as a cross between the book Evermore and the movie Chronicle.
Evermore is the first book in the Immortal Series (Alysson Noel). Like Echo, the main character in Evermore deals with a paranormal gift that she does not want yet must learn to live with. And at the same time, she has to sort out the intent of a mysterious boy in her life. Is he there to help or hurt her?
Chronicle is one of my favorite movies about everyday people who suddenly are “gifted” with paranormal powers.
BLURB
Fall in love with the achingly beautiful story of Echo and Connor, supernaturally gifted teens, as they fight to live out their destiny together.
Echo Across Time, Book 1 in The Echo Saga
By Skye Genaro
Free December 3-12!
Echo had it all—she lived in a mansion in the wealthiest neighborhood and was a member of the Partychicks, the elite high school clique. But her enviable life was ripped apart when a bullying incident put her in a coma. When Echo wakes up, she’s gained paranormal powers that she can’t control.
Telekinesis. Aura sensing. These abilities wreak havoc on Echo’s life, and she will do just about anything to get rid of them. Even if it means sharing her secret with Connor, the gorgeous, frightening stranger who appears out of thin air and possesses shocking supernatural abilities. He promises to teach her things beyond her wildest imagination—if Echo has the courage to trust him.
Soon, she is pulled into a world of mystical possibility and starts falling hard for the enigmatic Connor. As Echo uncovers the truth about him, she discovers a dark secret brewing within her city: people with paranormal gifts are being kidnapped and murdered. Escaping with Connor would keep Echo alive, but at a high cost to Connor and to the future they both believe in. Echo must choose between her love for Connor and her own safety, but she can’t have both.
Free December 3-12
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Echo Into Darkness, Book 2 in The Echo Saga is available December 4.
EXCERPT
Chapter 1
Mr. King slapped my physics test face down on my desk. I didn’t need to flip it over to know that studying had been a waste of time. I sensed, from the surge of disappointment coming off my teacher’s aura, that my grade was awful.
I kept my head down, letting my long chestnut hair fall around my face, and debated whether it was safe to look at the test result.
All around me, my classmates were having normal reactions to their grades. They winced and slumped or smiled and fist pumped. Others sat quiet and smug. I knew all of this without looking because I felt each of their emotions just as surely as if they’d blasted me with a fire hose.
“What’d you get?” Becca nudged my elbow and stuffed her test into her backpack. She’d done well, I could tell.
“I’m afraid to look.” My forehead just above my eyebrows started to tingle, and the tips of my fingers prickled. Not a good sign.
“Come on, Echo, don’t be shy,” a voice taunted me from behind. A smooth hand adorned with a diamond ring reached over my shoulder and grabbed my test.
“Back off, Raquelle,” I hissed. I tried to swat her away, but I was too slow.
Raquelle flipped the pages over. My test had so much red on it, it looked like a victim of a violent crime.
“Oooo, you got a C minus. Aren’t you a smarty,” Raquelle mocked. Her snotty laughter rippled through my aura and landed hot and sticky, on my skin.
I wanted to make a snappy comeback, but Mr. King started talking. Instead, I lashed my arms across my chest, crossed my legs, and wished that my ability to feel other people’s auras was the worst of my problems. As my irritation rose, the air in the room grew dense.
Mr. King pulled down the projector screen and turned off the lights. Raquelle unwrapped a piece of gum and threw the crumpled wrapper at the back of my head.
I clenched my fists, and the tingling on my forehead intensified. If I squeezed my eyes closed and stayed calm, maybe I could hold this in until the end of class. Maybe if I just—
The screen at the front of the room rolled up with a loud snap. The fluorescent lights flickered, and the projector light bulb broke.
“The ghost returns!” some kid yelled.
Another kid hummed a creepy tune.
This wasn’t the first time this had happened, and more than one person had suggested that the room was haunted. It’s not, though. It’s me. Not only do I feel others’ emotions, mine cause objects to move.
I took a few deep breaths, and the room returned to normal.
“Everybody calm down,” said Mr. King.
He turned on the lights and right away, the kids around me giggled. The contents of my book bag were strewn across the floor. Notebooks, pencils, and some personal items I’d just as soon not mention, had all gotten caught in my energetic outburst.
The bell rang, and Becca helped me clean up the mess. Side by side, we don’t look much alike except we’re both small and lacking in curves. We used to raid each other’s closets before she took to wearing all black. Becca kept her fawn-colored hair short and spikey. My chestnut hair grew well past my shoulders. Her natural, year-round tan made my fair skin appear washed out.
“This room is seriously possessed,” she said.
“Right? It’s like the second time this week.” A third eruption was boiling up. I had to get out of there, soon.
“And the weird thing is this stuff always happens when you and I are in the same room,” she said.
“I accidentally kicked my bag over,” I lied as I zipped it closed. “I’ve got to pee. I’ll meet you in the lunchroom, ‘kay?”
I raced past the bathroom and out the nearest exit. I skirted around the corner and pressed my back against the brick building. Out here, under Oregon’s stormy October sky, I could relax. Wind whipped through the courtyard. Gray clouds billowed over Portland’s skyline. This was the perfect cover for what I was about to do.
The insistent buzzing that I loathed pulsed in the center of my forehead. A prickly sensation ran up the backs of my legs and spine.
“Just breathe through it,” I coached myself.
I inhaled, and let the air out slowly. Energy exploded from my aura and into the courtyard. It scattered garbage and leaves and ricocheted off the building. It upended one of the wooden benches and sent it tumbling toward the parking lot. A loud snap punctuated the air. Above me, a fresh crack cut through a window on the second floor.
My buildup had been worse than I thought. Now, though, the tension left my body and my near-constant headache was gone. The next few minutes were precious ones, when I felt like my normal self again.
BIO
Skye Genaro’s fascination with psychics and other gifted individuals sparked when her own clairvoyant and clairaudient abilities began to grow. As a young girl, she experienced flashes of “knowing”, but she didn’t recognize her intuitive insight until many years into adulthood.
Skye writes short stories and novels featuring characters with paranormal gifts.
Echo Across Time is currently being considered for film adaptation by three production companies.
Connect with Skye:
Website: http://skyegenaro.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/skyegenaroauthor
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6879975.Skye_Genaro