From the dark catacombs of Paris, please welcome Alix from Janna Ruth’s urban fantasy, Ghosts of the Catacombs. The book releases in September, but pre-orders are available now.
The ceiling was getting lower and lower the further Alix got in the corridor. No ghosts swirled around her, which was a first in the catacombs. Usually, the dark, damp rooms were packed with them, but here, they seemed to have fled.
An earthy smell arose, somehow fresh and fragrant compared to the usually musty air. Though the walls seemed to close in on her, there was a draft ahead. Could it be an exit? She’d been lost here for so long.
Alix ducked, then bent, and at last, crawled on all fours to keep going. By now she knew that a tight space didn’t necessarily mean the end of her journey, but the feeling of the walls pressing against her body never got easier to endure. Still, the fresh air, now pungent with the smell of flowers kept her going.
There – a small square of dark sky. Alix checked her watch. Midnight. She could’ve sworn it was earlier in the day, but there was no mistaking the stars.
A hole to the outside! Alix had to lie down and pull herself forward by her fingertips to reach the square. Just as she thought, she was well and truly stuck, her fingers grabbed the cool end of the corridor, and she tumbled out of the hole and onto a soft meadow.
Stunned, Alix stared up at the most mesmerising starry sky. The scent of flowers enveloped her and there was food! She brushed off the dirt of the catacombs and took a look around. Wherever she was, it was not Paris. In fact, she wasn’t even sure, she was still on Earth…
Character Question
Do you have any special powers or abilities? How did you get them? I can see ghosts. They appear to me as real as a person in the flesh. I can talk to them, even touch them, which… has lead to some very awkward occurrences, because normal people can’t see ghosts. As to where I got them from. I don’t know. I just realised when I was seven that ghosts existed. And since then, I’ve met them everywhere. I’d even say, I’m friends with some of the more famous one, like Victor Hugo or Marie Curie.
Author Question
Is history a big part of your stories? In this series, it’s a very big part. The series is set in Paris and plays with the many famous people who are buried in the city, from the Great People of France at the Pantheon, kings and queens to celebrities like Jim Morrison on the famous Père Lachaise cemetery. Hence, real world history plays a huge role in who these people are and what they might want from Alix.
Ghosts of the Catacombs
I’m a ghost whisperer, not a catacomb crawler. But when you live in Paris, sometimes you end up being both.
Hi, I’m Alix. During the day, I’m a history student at the time-honoured Sorbonne University. After class, I hang out with the ghosts of the revolution, the many undead misunderstood Parisian artists, and adventurous scientists that glow in the dark. None of them are alive, but they come to me to solve their problems with the living.
When a recently deceased catacomb tour guide asks me to retrieve a mysterious personal item from the underground, things take a turn for the weird. Suddenly, I find myself in a city of ghosts, hunted by murderous cave crawlers, and stumbling across haunting secrets.
If I’m not careful now, I might end up a ghost myself.
Urban Fantasy with a French twist. If you like cave-crawling adventures, hopeless romantics, and ghosts, you’ll enjoy Ghosts of the Catacomb, the first instalment of the Parisian Ghosts series. Travel to Paris today to embark on your catacomb adventure.
Janna Ruth
Once upon a time, Janna Ruth studied the plate boundaries of this world. Now, she’s creating her own worlds. Her books take you across Europe in breath-taking adventures with enchanting characters.
Born in Berlin, Germany, Janna currently lives in Wellington, New Zealand where she writes and publishes predominantly fantasy novels in both English and German. She has been nominated for multiple awards and is the winner of the 2018 SERAPH Phantastikpreis and the 2022 Skoutz Award for Science Fiction.
When she’s not writing, Janna has a plethora of hobbies, such as aerial acrobatics, cake decorating, drawing, reading, and anything crafty you throw her way.
Learn more on her website or on Facebook.
Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my website, Bluesky, Facebook, Pinterest, or Instagram.
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