You know the feeling of finishing a good book? You loved it but end up depressed that it’s over, longing to spend more time with the characters.
If I did my job right, that’s the feeling you got at the end of The Ghost Machine. And do I have good news for you.
The Braden Banshee, a short story set after the end of The Ghost Machine, is available for free in the latest issues of Mirror Dance Fantasy Magazine. You can read the whole thing online here.
The basic premise is that Ella, working as a spirit medium after everything that happened in The Ghost Machine, is hired not to do a seance but to banish a banshee to prevent the death its wail foretells. There are plot twists, steampunk machinery, and ghosts, of course. I hope those of you who liked The Ghost Machine will enjoy another gothic adventure with Ella Rosenfeld.
If you read The Strange Stairs at the Aldebourne Estate, my short story in the Secret Stairs anthology that starred Ella, then be aware that The Braden Banshee comes before that one chronologically. So the order of Ella’s adventures is now:
- The Ghost Machine (novel)
- The Braden Banshee (short story)
- The Strange Stairs at the Aldebourne Estate (short story)
I’m thinking of writing a few more short stories about Ella’s cases as a spirit medium, so let me know if you’d be interested in reading them! And if you like The Braden Banshee, check out all the other awesome short stories in the Spring 2018 issue of Mirror Dance. Ella’s in very good company.
Kristen Brand 