Fully Awake: The Beginning

Book 1 of The Empath Files

A YA Paranormal Psychological Thriller

The island was supposed to save her. Instead, it became everything she feared. 

When their cruise ship sinks, seventeen-year-old Blakely fights to survive. She escapes the wreck, clings to a life raft, and washes up on a remote island with six other survivors. For days, they build shelter, ration food, and hope for rescue.

But something is wrong with the island. 

Whispers drift from the darkness, shadows move on their own, and one by one, people begin to die, as if the island itself wants them gone. As fear and grief set in, the island grows more unpredictable. The rules of reality begin to bend, and Blakely starts sensing and seeing things she can’t explain.

Something unexpected is happening on the island, awakening a part of Blakely she’s spent her whole life pushing away. The more she resists it, the darker her world becomes.

Before long, resistance proves more dangerous than giving in, and everything she’s clinging to begins to fracture.

Fully Awake is a mind-bending YA paranormal thriller about buried emotions, fractured perception, and the danger of denying who you really are.

How this Series was Born

After writing most of this book, already having a completed cover, I was nearing the end and felt like something was missing. I kept forcing storylines, only to erase them and start the chapter over the next day. Aside from that frustration, I'd had another story that kept popping into my head, which happens all the time. Most of the time, I make the next story wait its turn, but this time... it felt different.

Then one day, it all just fell into place, and I knew this book was just the beginning. There was a reason why the next story kept trying to hijack this one... because it's part of it! 

By the end of that day, I had all the titles and covers finished and laid out ~ all 9! I never planned on writing a 9-book series, yet here I am, doing just that. (That's the plan, anyway.)

Interesting Sidenote

I started this book over a year ago and had never discussed any character names with anyone. Fast forward to this year, and my daughter is pregnant. When she told me what she'd decided to name her baby girl, my mouth fell open. She's naming her Blakely Rayne.

I immediately sent her a photo of this book's main character's name, which is Blakely. Then I searched for her best friend's name, who is another main character in this series. Her name is... Rayne!

The fact that this was never discussed... interesting sidenote, indeed!