When We Were Ghosts by E.J. Phillips
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: October 20th, 2020
Subgenre: YA Urban Fantasy, Sapphic Romance
Synopsis for When We Were Ghosts:
Gemma’s a loner, but she’s got her twin brother Alex, so who really cares, right? When you’re a twin, you’re never alone.
Then, one day, she doesn’t have Alex anymore. Instead, she has a ghost named Eve and her brother’s dickhead friends for company—and one desperate plan.
They’re going to get Alex back.
It just means catching the Wild Hunt, convincing the fae to give them an Undying heart, and chasing down the elusive spirit of her dead brother first. Simple.
Falling in love with a ghost wasn’t in the plan. But sometimes you have to veer off track before you find what you’re searching for.
A haunting novel about grief, loss, and finding your way home.
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Eve reached out suddenly, her hand hovering beside Gemma’s shoulder, as though she wanted to lay it on Gemma’s skin but wasn’t sure if she’d be welcome. “What does it feel like? To not have a heart?”
Gemma startled at the question and shifted in her seat. “Well, you know, don’t you?”
Eve made an ambiguous gesture, like a shrug crossed with a shake of the head, and waited, her fingers still poised above Gemma’s arm. The air felt newly charged, reminiscent of the sea after a storm, and Gemma found herself nodding even though she wasn’t certain she understood the question.
Eve’s hand gently came to land on Gemma’s shoulder. Something sparked in Gemma’s chest, where her heart should be, but it was the spark of a bottomless pit instead of the familiar, informative beat of a heart. She held herself very still. The fingers trailed lower, across Gemma’s shoulder and down her side. She leant forward in the chair, drawing herself closer to the steering wheel to give Eve access to her shoulder blades, where Eve immediately rested her palm.
The gentle press of Eve’s hand grew warm as it lingered, seeping through Gemma’s yellow button-up to heat her back. The touch shifted lower, then over to her other shoulder blade. Then, it trailed around to sit below her left breast, Eve’s thumb tracing the line of black lace that sat above the barely buttoned shirt. Gemma had been clubbing the night Alex died. She remembered the pulse of music suffocating her when she read the message. Her skin recalled the touch of the stranger whose hand had followed this same path before Gemma pushed her away and ran.
Something should have been thudding within her chest, her heartbeat should have been clamouring against the cage of her ribs, but her body remained silent. Only her ragged breathing gave any hint to what she should have felt, and it was matched by the same erratic pattern in Eve’s unsteady breath.
Which should have been impossible, because Eve couldn’t breathe.
Eve withdrew her hand. “It feels weird,” she said, and the spell broke.
“You’re telling me.” Gemma laughed, shaky and unnerved. She shot Eve another glance, and without thinking promised, “We’ll figure out what’s happening to you, too.”
The look she gave Gemma was different to any Gemma had seen on her before. Dark and quiet—more like a ghost than the bored hitchhiker she had been until now. “One thing at a time, babe,” Eve said finally.
She was right.
Gemma pressed down on the accelerator and threw all thoughts from her mind but the one she had committed to: meet the others and bring Alex home.
E.J. Phillips (also known as Ellen Jane) is an Australian indie author of wlw romance. She loves writing about LGBTQ women who experience complex lives, emotions, needs, and desires. Her books are written for people who crave love stories where friendship is just as important as romance, and who want to experience cosy warmth with a hint of mystery, magic, and emotion.
You can find her writing under two pen names: Ellen Jane and E.J. Phillips. If you like light, cosy wlw romance suffused with magic and mystery, Ellen Jane is the pen name for you. If you prefer something a little heavier, and you like your wlw romance tinged with magic and tender angst, E.J. Phillips is the one you want.
Website: www.ellenjanephillips.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ellenjanewrites/
Tumblr: https://ellenjanewrites.tumblr.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ellenjanewrites
