Short Summary
Urban fantasy series usually take place in the US or in the UK. As an author born in continental Europe & living in New Zealand, with a love for travelling, I want to showcase the many wonderful locations outside of the usual suspects. With the Spirit Seeker series, I took people to Berlin, Budapest, Rome, Dublin & Brussels. This time, I want to explore Paris with you, and more specifically, the mysterious city underneath Paris.
You've probably heard of the catacombs, which you can visit for a short walk, but there is so much MORE.
Parisian Ghosts is a series about Alix, a young history student who can talk to ghosts. She works at the pantheon with the likes of Victor Hugo, Voltaire and Marie Curie. Her life gets upset when a ghost favour brings her to the invisible city below. Entering this place is highly illegal and dangerous to boot, so you know we're in for an epic adventure.
As for me, I'm Janna Ruth, a multi-award-winning author of more than thirty books. I've published with small and big publishers and have also been self-published since 2017. Most of my books are urban fantasy or related to it. Thus, I have all the experience to write and finish this series in a reasonable time frame. I expect to have the first three books ready for you to devour by the end of the year.
If you want to find out more about me, go to www.janna-ruth.com
What Parisian Ghosts is about
Parisian Ghost is an ghost-packed urban fantasy series with a slow-burn romance side plot. Here's the blurb of book 1: 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.
What I Need & What You Get
I'm excited to bring Alix's story to life and to deep-dive into the Parisian underbelly, but I can't do it without your help.
Self-publishing means investing a lot of money before the books even hit the market. The proceeds from this campaign go to the production of the first three novels: Ghosts of the Catacombs, Ghosts of the Crusade & Ghosts of the Resistance. That means 3x covers ($1500), 3x editing ($2000+), and 3x proofreading ($1500).
The campaign goal of $5000 is set to meet this minimum cost of production, but I've got stretch goals to add illustrations, hardcovers and audiobooks.
I'm not just asking for money. I want you to be part of the experience. On April 1, when this campaign goes live, I will start writing a Parisian Ghosts prequel, which details one of Alix's first ghost adventures, where she's helping the amazing Josephine Baker recover her war medals. All backers will receive this story as soon as it's finished, whether you're donating $15 dollars or $500.
In addition, you get to have your say about the covers, what historical figures should make appearance and where Alix's adventure will ultimately lead you. You will see first drafts of the merch and get live-updates with frequent chapters. And of course, these books will be dedicated to my backers. So, come and join me in Paris. We've got some ghosts to raise.
Meet the Characters
Alix:
Alix Dubois is a 22-year-old history student at Sorbonne who works part-time as the Pantheon. She's been talking to ghosts since she was about eight years-old, which has led her to be rather awkward around the living. There is only so many times you can be caught talking to yourself until people decide you're weird.
Alix still lives with her parents (Paris is expensive!), two sisters, and her pet hedgehog Malou. She loves fashion, old French movies, and can get extremely nerdy about historical figures.
Gaspar:
Gaspar du Charbonneau is a 21-year-old humanities student at Sorbonne. He works part-time in a coffee shop and has an outgoing, sunny personality with an easy charm. He describes himself as a cataphilic, someone who loves the catacombs, and has attended several underground parties. He and Alix meet at the site of an accident and strike up an easy friendship. Or perhaps more?
Gaby:
Gabrielle "Gaby" is Alix's best friend and fellow history student. She has a quirky fashion sense and constantly falls in love with girls. Gaby knows about the ghosts, though she can't see them herself. However, she does think Alix spends too much time with the dead and not enough with the living.
Sébastien:
The 25-year-old works for GoPol (the ghost section of InterPol) and is an avid cataflic, someone who wants to keep people out of the catacombs. He's too serious for his own good, follows rules without question and prides himself in his diligence. As the son of a senior GoPol agent, he's never considered choosing any other life than the one in pursuit of rogue ghosts, even if it requires personal sacrifices.
Malou:
Malou is Alix's hedgehog. She's a cutie who has her own Instagram account, run by Alix's younger sister Odile, where she gets dressed up in cute costumes. Alix often takes her with her when meeting ghosts at night to pretend she's talking to her hedgehog instead.
The ghosts:
Paris has a slew of ghosts, both famous and non-famous. There are five necropolises (aka cemeteries) around the city in addition to the great people of France interred at the Pantheon and the nameless souls of those stacked in the catacombs. We've got Jim Morrison, Victor Hugo, Voltaire, the Curies, Oscar Wilde, Chopin, Louis Braille, Debussy, Manet, Alexandre Dumas, Jean-Jacques Rosseau, La Fayette and of course, the emperor himself: Napoleon Bonaparte. All of them will cross Alix's path at some point, some of them being close friends, while others will make her life much harder than it has to be.
Swag & Stretch goals
By backing you'll receive these books (digital or print) before I sell them on any other platform. Plus, you get to be part of the creative process. Brag to your friends about you helped create a book series and how you get to read them long before anybody else.
Swag:
In addition to ebooks and print books, I'm also putting together two swag packages. You can choose between two options to add to your book order:
Small: bookmarks, magnetic character bookmarks, Paris & Malou stickers, Paris magnets, character cards
Big: bookmarks, magnetic character bookmarks, Paris & Malou stickers, Paris magnets, character cards, urban fantasy travel booklet "Paris", guide to the catacombs, Malou cup
Stretch goals:
NZ$7500 – will add an artist-drawn map of the catacombs to both swag packs
NZ$10000 – will add hand-drawn ghost profiles to both swag packs
NZ$15000 – I will release hardcover versions with illustrated artwork and special chapter headings, which can be added to your order
NZ$25000 – I will release audiobook versions, which can be added to your order
Shipping: I will be shipping from New Zealand. Depending on weight and size, shipping outside of New Zealand will be NZ$40-$150. Thus, to make things more affordable, I have added special Paperback editions (watch out for the PB tag). These will be printed with a signature at a local printer in your part of the world, bringing the shipping down to NZ$20.
Other Ways You Can Help
I understand that not everybody has the means to take part in this campaign. It's a big investment and despite all the excitement around it, it's not in everybody's budget. If that's you, don't worry. The books will come out on other platforms after the pledges have been fulfilled.
Here's a couple of ways you can still help my vision come true.
- Get the word out and make some noise about Parisian Ghosts.
- Use the Indiegogo's share tools to share to your favourite social media.
- If you have a book blog, get in touch for some content around the campaign (podcasts, interviews, games).
- Tell your friends or share in reader groups.
Whether you plan to back the project or spread the word, thank you so much for your support. It takes a village to publish a book. Or sometimes a whole underground city ?