Emma Bloom | From the Heart

It’s safe to say that writers pour a little bit of themselves into everything they write. We laugh with our characters, curse with them, and even cry rivers with them. With HAUNTED ECHOES, book 1 in my new Spirited series, my journey started out much the same as any other book. I fleshed out Abby, hoping to create a character that others could relate to, and sketched out a ghostly driven plot. So much was riding on how I set her up from the very beginning. You see, my goal was paramount: create a character that had the potential to change how you saw her.

So how do we see Abby? In the beginning, she may come off as a little bit of a whiner, but I did that on purpose. Abby is dealing with something a lot of today’s youth are dealing with; no, I don’t mean the fact that she can hear spirits. Abby is being bullied, brutally so. She has lost the will to fight for herself altogether. I did my best to bring humanity into her situation and zoom in on the feelings of hopelessness she and other children feel in a world that is lacking in compassion. We tend to walk around with our heads in the cloud, assuming that it’s an easy thing to stick up for ourselves. I know I have, at one time or another, thought if someone was being bullied they should be the one to resolve it, but this thinking comes with the assumption that this person had any control in the situation whatsoever.

So Abby’s beginning is desperate, hopeless even. I had to take breaks in between chapters, because my heart was breaking for her, but I had to push through it. Why? Because Abby had a brighter future just ahead of her. I believed in her. That sounds weird, right? To believe in the strength of your character? But I did. I knew Abby was going to get through it and by doing so, she might help other kids know it does get better. Maybe not everyone will be surrounded by spirits, but life does get better if you choose to live through the bumps and bruises to bask in the light.

Why am I so adamant about this topic? Was I bullied? No, actually not at all. I was the child who spent her time fading into the background as I attempted to become invisible to everyone else. I was oblivious to what was happening around me. This is why HAUNTED ECHOES is so important to me. I missed that someone I loved very dearly was being bullied, so much so, they were lucky to get out of high school. To this day, I wish I had known. I would have walked closer to him, held his hand, and reassured him that he was loved. My best friend lived through a hostile world that was so much like Abby’s. He was the one with the target on his head. As we’ve grown up, he has shared his memories with me, and while I couldn’t erase time and have a do over with him, I knew I could honor his triumph of getting out with his sanity intact. How many teenagers are so fortunate?

It does get better. Keep breathing. Living. Laughing. Loving. Life will evolve. You will overcome. That is the heart of HAUNTED ECHOES and it has already touched many people. I am so happy to be able to spread the message.

About Emma Bloom

Author Emma Bloom, that’s me! I was born in southern Illinois and am the youngest in my family. From an early age I found a great love for reading and dreamed of one day creating books that would capture the minds of young readers. I am an avid lover of all things paranormal, even though I admit I’m the first to duck and cover in a haunted house.

These are a few of my favorite things:

I love going to get frozen yogurt with my girls. We take our time choosing different flavors and adding different toppings. Every visit is a new adventure when the flavors are constantly changing. I don’t mind living in Illinois, unlike some of my friends. Winter is cold, no doubt about that, but I wouldn’t appreciate Spring and Summer nearly as much if I only had one constant season surrounding me all year round. Besides, some of my favorite memories were building snow forts with my own Mom when I was kid.

My favorite young adult series is definitely Harry Potter. When I was student teaching one of my students introduced me to his favorite author, J.K. Rowling. At the time, I picked up the first book just to see what he thought was so great about it. In a matter of hours, not only did I understand, but I was hooked. When each book came out, friends would find me unreachable. I would hole myself up in my room and have a non-stop read-athon. Speed read, much? Yes, yes I do!

My favorite color is purple, although I find myself highly attracted to bright blues, I think it’s because my daughter loves that color the most. She inspires me in every aspect of my life, so I think I’m slowly growing to love everything she loves too.

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About HAUNTED ECHOES

Freak! Oddball! Crazy! Loser!

The world sees Abby as unsavory, making her feel isolated. But she most certainly isn’t alone. Everywhere she turns she hears disembodied voices, sees things move as if by unseen hands. Bullies constantly torment her, threatening what remains of her sanity. Her mother is too busy trying to fix her craziness to see what is truly happening. Abby is tired of the world around her, and wants nothing more than to escape.

When her life spirals out of control, she is invited to Hildebranch Academy, a school for spirited kids like her. Can Abby learn to live a normal life?

Read an Excerpt