Welcome to the Empath Blog Tour, featuring Becca J. Campbell! During the tour, Empath (The Flawed Series Book One) is on sale for a discounted price of $0.99. Read on to find out more about why being an empath isn’t as great as it sounds.
A Different Breed of Empath
When you hear the term Empath in science fiction, what comes to mind? Supernatural powers, or maybe the ability to control minds? The term has many variations, and when I set out to write my own book about an Empath, I wanted to step outside of the mold, to take the unexpected route.
In creating characters with cool, super-human flaws, the first glint of inspiration came from Stephenie Meyer’s stories. Her character Jasper Hale had an intriguing power: the ability to control all the emotions in the room simultaneously. I latched onto that idea, but morphed it for my own purpose.
Taking the opposite route of Meyer, I used supernatural empathy as a character flaw instead of a superpower. That led to the creation of Jade Edwards, a young woman who is inhabited and controlled by the emotions of the people around her. Not only is she powerless to influence them, she can’t even experience her own feelings when around others.
With Jade formed in my mind, I explored the idea of what she might encounter upon entering the “real world” for the first time. There were so many varieties of bad that could happen to someone with such a flaw. What if she was around someone who was suicidal? What would happen in crowds of people where the emotions were conflicting? What if someone fell in love with her—would she be forced to reciprocate those emotions, even if they weren’t her own? What if a psychopathic killer captured her and she had to internalize his feelings? Those questions led as I plunged into the life of an empath and wrote Jade’s story.
Jade was sheltered from stray emotions by her parents since she was a young child. Here’s a little peek inside Jade’s head as, now entering society, she wrestles with her first day of college.
Excerpt
“When she heard the teacher enter and begin talking, Jade’s eyes flicked back open. She sat up and gripped her pen with a shaking hand.
A wave of irritation hit her like a slap in the face, jerking her away from the professor’s words. Her shoulders hunched and she dug her toes into the floor as she fought the compulsion to kick someone. The pen in her tightly clenched fist gouged into the table’s surface. She dropped it and clamped her hands together in her lap, scanning the classroom. Where was the source of this anger pounding through her skull and flooding her veins? There—a guy on the end of the third row scowled, shaking his head at the professor.
Without warning, excitement replaced the agitation. Jade straightened in her chair and fought the urge to bounce in her seat, though she couldn’t keep the dumb smile off her face. Farther down her row, one girl whispered something about a vacation to the Bahamas and another girl nodded enthusiastically.
She was gulping quick and irregular breaths, telling herself to regain control, when a surge of intense attraction hit her, knocking the wind from her lungs. Her heart beat faster and a hot blush crept over her face. She was acutely aware of every male in the room. Forcing herself to stop ogling the guy in front of her with the armpit stains, she distracted herself by searching for the culprit. Her gaze froze on a girl who was gazing at a guy two rows up. Oblivious, he seemed to be one of the few faithfully taking notes on the current topic: modern rationalism and the theories of Descartes.
Jade dropped her head into her hands and pressed on her temples, wishing for the hundredth time that she could turn off her empathic sense. She squeezed her eyes shut again and tried to focus on only her breathing. She had to escape.
Grab Empath at a Discounted Price
Empath is on sale during the blog tour for a bargain price of $0.99 (normally $2.99)! Grab your copy today:
Amazon US | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Kobo
Or purchase it on paperback.
About Empath
Supernatural empathy isn’t a gift, it’s a curse. Anywhere she goes, Jade’s emotions are replaced by those of the people around her.
Jade grew up in a suburb of Colorado Springs, protected from other people by her parents. Now she faces college—and the world—with nothing to shield her from unwanted feelings.
Caught in a deadly trap, Jade must untangle the emotions and find a way to use her empathic curse to overcome this killer or be overcome by him.When Cam, a classmate with a major crush on her, unintentionally hijacks her emotions, Jade struggles to keep from being carried away in feelings of attraction. When Ethan, a psychopath with a thirst for fear, fixates on her, the emotional impact could be lethal.
More About Becca J. Campbell
Becca J. Campbell is the author of the New Adult Romantic Science Fiction novels Foreign Identity and Gateway to Reality, New Adult Romantic Paranormal Thriller Empath (The Flawed Series #1), and Sub-Normal, a series of Science Fiction short stories.
An avid lover of stories that tiptoe the line between fantasy and reality (even when they plunge off one side or the other), Becca looks for new angles on bridging the gap between the two. She holds a special place in her heart for any story that involves superpowers or time travel. Her passion is defying the limits of her own creativity. You can find her on her Author Blog, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Pinterest, and Amazon.