What inspired The Echo Room?
I’ve always loved stories about people waking up in strange situations and trying to figure out what’s going on, and I knew I wanted to write one myself. Then I found out about “castaway depots,” which are small buildings that the government of New Zealand built on subantarctic islands to aid shipwrecked mariners. What a strange place to shelter! I wondered what it would be like to wake up in a building like that, and then I got an idea for a story about similar place, with a science fiction twist.
How did you keep track of what should happen in each time loop?
This was tricky! I used physical cues, like the aurora, the sunrise, the rain shower, and the arrival of the creature to keep track of the timeline of each loop. As I wrote each section of the book, I would record Rett and Bryn’s actions on a timeline sectioned off by aurora, sunrise, rain, and creature. That helped me keep track of how Rett and Bryn interacted with the setting so that those happenings would be roughly the same each loop. But sometimes these cues would change, as when Rett wakes the stranger too early, and as a result, the noise draws the creature to the depot early as well.
How did you come up with the title?
Originally, I called the story Scatterling, a word which means “a person with no fixed home.” I thought it was fitting for Rett and Bryn, who grew up in a facility and who also find themselves dislodged in time. My publisher worried that readers would be reluctant to pick up a book whose title was a word they didn’t recognize, so we brainstormed probably a hundred different titles! We finally hit on the word “echo” because it hints at both a metal room, where sounds would literally echo, and time loops, which are kind of like echoes in time. I actually love the new title even more than I loved my working title!
Do you think Rett and Bryn’s health will be permanently affected after the events of the book?
The events of the book take place over the course of a single day, so I remain optimistic about Rett and Bryn’s long-term health.
Will there be a sequel?
Probably not. My favorite aspect of The Echo Room is the puzzle of trying to escape the room, and it would be hard to replicate that situation. But maybe one day I’ll think of a great idea for another escape scenario!
Do you like escape rooms?
Yes, I love them! I’ve done quite a few in several different states (and one in London!). Once I even got trapped in an escape room! The door handle came off in my hand and the employees didn’t notice. They thought my friends and I were just really stumped. Finally, they came and let us out. I’m pretty committed to checking fire escape routes now any time I do an escape room. I do think they’re a really fun challenge when they work right! In fact, I made my own print-and-play escape room themed around The Echo Room that you can play at home; you can find it on the book club page.