Guest Post: The Beckoning

Title: The Beckoning
Author: Christoper Savio
ISBN: 9781478301936

Teenage girls don’t fall in love with ghosts, discover their magical powers or save their families from demons, or they?

Forced to leave the few friends she’s ever had and the only life she’s ever known, snarky fifteen-year-old Marissa arrives at Briar Creek, a remote Virginia plantation house, lonely and unhappy. Immediately upon arrival, she learns that her parents have come under the power of the demon that has dwelled there for over a century and that her very life hangs by a thread. With her life in peril, Marissa makes several discoveries that would turn any teenager’s life upside down.

Finding out that the nearby town of Mills Run is inhabited by the souls of her dead relatives who continually try to communicate with her is terrifying. Knowing her parents are under full control of the demon, who unbeknownst to her wants to father a child and rule the world, is even worse. Realizing that she only has Max, her faithful dog for support, Marissa begins to give up all hope.

That’s until she finds the journal of the long dead boy who used to occupy her room. Reading about his life, Marissa begins to fall in love and fantasizes about the seemingly impossible, meeting him. Her impossible dream miraculously comes true when Zachary materializes to save her life and teach her of the powers she never knew she possessed. Allied with her first love, and more powerful than any teenage girl ever dreamed, Marissa gains confidence and believes she can do anything. Together, can this improbable duo save Marissa’s family and the world from the demon before it’s too late?

  Christopher Savio, who is the author of The Beckoning.  This information was obtained from his bio on his webpage.

Many authors will tell you how well read they are and try to impress you with how long they’ve been writing.  “It’s always been a dream of theirs and they’ve always won the 3^rd grade writing contest in Mrs. So and So’s class.” Just who are they trying to impress anyway?  I know for me when I hear them pontificating about it, it’s enough to make me ill and want vomit on their shoes. With that in mind, I’ll leave the self fulfilling sagas to the windbags and just tell you a little bit about the real me.

Spending my life bouncing back and forth between Southern California and New Jersey, I discovered a couple of things.  In Jersey, I discovered I’m dyslexic and in California I discovered that the school system wasn’t equipped to handle a special education student. (At least in the 70’s, but who wants to date themselves.) Therefore, I learned to read with a lot of help from my parents and eventually got good enough to read novels.  With the influence of my father’s interest in horror movies and history, I read two things, Stephen King and history books.  It’s no surprise that many of my stories or the ones I have in my head, but have not put down on word yet, have a  touch of both in them.

Working with the public, including the rental car business, my father’s diner, and later evolving into a teacher of Native American history, criminology, and special education, has allowed me to draw upon experiences that reveal much about human behavior.  My writing reflects many of the different personalities and settings have I’ve come to know first hand. Of course I’ve never come across a demon, witch, the devil himself or a serial killer, but the personalities and people I’ve met are represented within each one of my characters.

On a personal note, I have a family, a house and the white PVC picket fence. I graduated from college and have a dog my kids call Roscoe. (Max from The Beckoning) What’s of more interest to you is that my favorite hobby is writing, the scarier the better. If you love stories that will scare the pants off you that are priced for the 99 per centers like myself, then you have come to the right website.

Please peruse the books that are coming out the summer of 2012, subscribe to my site so you know when these and the ones yet to be born will hit your Kindle. Until then make sure you don’t ignore what you see out of the corner of your eye, it was really there.  LOL

Savio tells YABR where he gets his ideas from. 

               Being a teacher puts me in a unique position as a YA writer.  Teaching allows me, as a writer, to get into the minds of the American teenager.  Because of this, I know how they think and I know their fears.  I am also able to keep a finger on the pulse of what makes them happy.  I know their dreams and I feel that I know what most teenagers really want.  Because of my profession, when my students ask me, “Mr. Savio, where do you get your ideas?” I can safely say  “I get them from you.”  The stories that I tell are not simply the stories of vampires or demons or ghosts.  Those characters are simply vehicles to tell stories of young people growing strong.  My characters find out who they are and experience the sometimes scary path of first loves, insecurity, and acceptance. My stories show young people that although the path of life can be scary at times and that no matter how hard growing up can be, it can be done and it is possible to overcome anything.  That is exactly what The Beckoning is all about.

               When my main character, Marissa, in The Beckoning is forced to move from her friends and home in New Jersey and go to an isolated old antebellum mansion in Virginia, she finds that she is not alone.  At the depths of her sorrow, she finds hope and discovers that she can overcome anything an evil demon can throw her way.  When she is challenged by more evil than anyone should ever have to overcome, she stands tall, grows strong and rises above it.  When Marissa faces her own shyness and falls in love with the ghost who comes back to help, she not only overcomes her own fears, conquers her own shyness, but she also proves that she can withstand anything without the help of anyone or anything.  These are the true themes with in The Beckoning, despite its paranormal nature.  If you give the book a try, I know that you will not be disappointed.

Christopher Savio

This book is one that I am excited to review.  Just from reading the synopsis, it sounds like this book will be a refreshing one that is not mainstream.  I like those kinds of books.