R.L. Merrill makes a triumphant return with Connection, the second book in her Gifted series. Following the events of Healer, which told the story of school counselor Delaney Frost, readers once again find themselves at Havenheart Academy, a boarding school in rural Arkansas whose “gifted” students actually possess supernatural abilities.

This time the character of Jackson Howe, a retired Army Ranger now working as Havenheart Academy’s art teacher and boys’ dormitory leader, gets his moment in the limelight as he copes with his especially intense telepathic and empathic “connection” with Delaney’s best friend, a take-charge pilot named Cassidy Mackenzie. When members of an extremist religious cult headed by a man known only as His Right Hand kidnap Cassidy, Jackson uses his ability to sense what Cassidy thinks and feels in order to locate her deep in the Florida Everglades.

Alternating chapters tell the story from both Jackson’s and Cassidy’s viewpoints, a decision that Merrill says she will stick with through the rest of the series—including Book 3, which is due out in the fall of 2023. Changing narrators was an easy choice for the author, one that was rooted both in her love for the character of Jackson and in the ability to tell a richer, more resonant story since Jackson and Cassidy spend so much of the book physically apart from each other.

Merrill’s inspiration for the Gifted universe, in which people’s psychic and emotional gifts cross over into supernatural territory, came from her experience with people whom readers themselves will likely recognize. “Have you ever known someone who was so good at their job you feel they were born to do that work? Or have a friend who knows your needs so well they’re often two steps ahead of you asking for help? Or maybe you’ve been around a person who instantly makes you feel better when you’re in a lousy mood, just by their presence?” Merrill asks. “I wondered, what if that wasn’t merely a part of their personality but written into their DNA, an inextricably vital part of their humanity?” She then took that idea and ran with it. 

While action certainly abounds in what Kirkus Reviews describes as a “fast-paced and fun fusion of supernatural romance and mainstream thriller,”Connection’s heart really lies in the characters’ abilities to survive when all hope seems lost. Whether it’s the students at Havenheart Academy, all of whom are there to heal from various forms of trauma, or Jackson himself, whose violent past still haunts him, the resiliency of the human spirit shines through whatever current hell the characters may be experiencing at the moment.

This theme of recovery stems from Merrill’s own experiences over 27 years spent as a teacher and counselor in the alternative education sector. “I met so many kids who were victims of trauma, and there was something special about each and every one of them,” she explains. “Sometimes they had a highly developed sense of intuition; sometimes they were incredibly empathetic to others in similar circumstances. The resiliency these kids had to possess in order to get up each day and tackle their situations head-on was inspiring. It gave me hope, so when I started writing fiction, hope became the thread that tied all of my stories together.” 

But Merrill’s impact hasn’t only been in the classroom. In addition to counseling and teaching middle and high school social studies, as well as independent study in an alternative education setting, she has also taught parenting classes and dance, coached cheerleading, choreographed for award-winning show choir and theater programs, and currently writes “horror-inspired” music reviews for HorrorAddicts.net. The mother of two boys, she currently lives in San Lorenzo, California, while attempting to write full time. Known for her inclusive contemporary romances that often feature paranormal and supernatural characters, Merrill won the Kathryn Hayes “When Sparks Fly” Best Contemporary Romance award for her novel Hurricane Reese as well as being a Foreword INDIES finalist for her novel Summer of Hush.

Empathy is ultimately front and center in Connection as Jackson struggles with his complicated feelings toward Cassidy, even in the midst of an adrenaline-pumping rescue mission:

I could have been lost to the emotional pull if Cassidy wasn’t sitting in my line of sight. One glance at her was a reminder of the malevolence here at this camp. That she’d been hijacked, forced to crash her plane, and kidnapped, which meant denying her proper medical care. I opened our Connection enough to feel the physical pain she was experiencing from her injuries as well as the underlying anger and frustration she felt at being trapped. She was afraid, but those other emotions were stronger. Good. Keep fighting, Cassidy.

This empathy extends even to those indoctrinated into the religious “camp” responsible for Cassidy’s kidnapping. Spurred by her in-depth research into extreme religious groups while working for a college professor who penned a book about cult murders, Merrill wants to give hope to those survivors as well. And the insight she provides into the hive mind required for charismatic religious leaders like His Right Hand to succeed is both horrifying and enlightening. As the cult leader describes “turning” his first congregation and the subsequent rush of power he experienced, it’s hard not to see some modern-day parallels to religious and political leaders currently in power all over the world. 

Merrill’s message, in this novel and beyond, is ultimately one of optimism and perseverance. When questioned why she would put her characters—some of whom are based on real-life people she knows—through such horrible situations, Merrill jokes that it’s because she “knows they can make it.” Despite Jackson’s string of losses in the past, for example, he still gives everything he has to help the kids at Havenheart Academy and rescue Cassidy. “I believe,” Merrill explains, “that everyone has some special talent. What would happen if we eventually learn how to tap further into our human capacity and become better versions of ourselves?”

Andrea Moran lives outside of Nashville with her husband and two kids. She’s a professional copywriter and editor who loves all things books.