The Ghost’s Call, the first book in the Afterlife Calls series, is out on Tuesday! Eep!
To prepare you, I thought I’d create a handy reference guide about the world it’s set in.
Got a question this guide doesn’t answer? Ask it in the comments and I’ll add it to the guide 🙂
My aim is for this to be an evolving guide that updates as the series progresses.
What’s Afterlife Calls about?
The series focuses on a mother/daughter ghost hunting duo and their circle of quirky friends.
Who’s Afterlife Calls about?
It’s told from the points of view of 40-year-old Niamh Porter, and her 17-year-old daughter, Edie Hathaway Porter.
Rest of the cast
- Tilly the westie
- Josh Morgan, 17
- Maggie Morgan, 40
- Harry Morgan, 40
- Abigail Morgan, 5
- Ben Fortune, 35
- Javier ‘Javi’ Garcia Hathaway, deceased at 30 (Edie’s dad, Niamh’s husband)
- Jaya, 30s
- Tessa, 17
- Melanie, 17
- Laura, 17
What genre is it?
It’s paranormal women’s fiction.
Where’s it set?
It’s set in and around a suburb of Nottingham in the UK, called Hucknall. Parts of it are also set in Nottingham city centre.
I’d include some photos here of my hometown, but it’s occurred to me I don’t have any good ones. I’ll fix that and add them here when I do.
How do ghosts work?
Spirits can choose to cross over to The Other Side when their body dies, or they can stay and become a ghost. Those that choose to stay are usually tied to a person or place. The older a ghost is, the more likely they are to become angry and irritable and turn into a poltergeist, or forget who they were when they were human.
The stronger someone was when they were alive, the more vividly they appear as ghosts and the more things they can interact with.
The weaker the ghost, the fainter their figure. Some only appear as orbs because they’re so weak.
This strength applies to both their magical and mental strength.
Strong emotions like anger or love can also affect how a ghost appears. It’s possible for them to appear vividly one moment, then become more translucent because they’ve drained their energy interacting with objects, getting angry, or haunting someone. It takes a considerable amount of strength for most ghosts to interact with physical objects.
Ghosts also remain in the outfit they wore when they passed away.
Who can see ghosts?
It requires a special gene that’s passed on from at least one parent.
What are Niamh and Edie’s powers?
They can see ghosts and cast spells. Edie can also touch ghosts.
What happened to Niamh’s first husband—and Edie’s dad—Javi?
Javi was killed by a poltergeist haunting a house when Edie was seven. Ever since that day, Niamh has avoided almost everything to do with ghosts. Edie thinks he died in a car accident.
He wasn’t meant to have a big role in the series, but the cheeky chap has been weaselling his way into bigger and bigger roles. Stay tuned for more about him in future books.
Do ghosts have magical powers?
Only if they had them when they were alive. Magic is tied to their spirit, not their physical body.
What’s the reading order?
- The Ghost’s Call
- The Mummy’s Curse (preorder available now)
- The Necromancer’s Secret (coming soon)
- The Witch’s Sacrifice (coming soon)
More books will be added to this list as time goes on, but the first arc will last for four books.
Start the series today
The first book in the Afterlife Calls series, The Ghost’s Call, is available from 29 June 2021. You can get it from the following retailers:
