How would you introduce this series, and how did the collaboration come about? You’re also working on a steampunk series with Tee Morris, the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences (Voyager). In the world of Geist however, the Order has turned away from religion. I modelled them after a religious order because in medieval times the church was the place civilization and learning was preserved. I started thinking “what would it be like if instead of conjecture about the supernatural, it was just an accepted fact?” From there it was a natural progression to imagine the Deacons dedicated to stopping them. I also have an unhealthy obsession with ‘reality’ ghost shows. I’ve always loved ghost stories, and been interested in the mythology that different cultures have about it.

Where did the inspiration for the series come from? And where do you draw your inspiration from in general? Geist follows Deacon Sorcha Faris and her partner Merrick as they are thrown together and must work to not only hold back a geist incursion, but also protect the Empire from a conspiracy that threatens to tear it apart.

These Deacons of the Order use rune magic, and work in pairs to fight back the unliving. In such a place, a group of people are dedicated to protecting humanity. It’s a supernatural fantasy series, set in a world where ghosts (or geists) in this case are an established fact. How would you introduce the series to a new reader, and where do you see it going in the future? First up, your Books of the Order series, which thus far includes Geist and Spectyr (published by Ace). You’ve got a couple of series in publication, so I’ll deal with them each in turn. In the meantime, after some digging on the interwebs, and finding out a little bit more about Ballantine’s series, I thought an interview would be a great way to introduce her and her work to the readers of this blog.

I first heard of her through A Fantastical Librarian Mieneke's review of Geist, which I’ve recently picked up for my Kindle and intend to read as soon as I have a spare moment. Philippa Ballantine is a very busy author: she has three series in or near publication, Books of the Order, Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, and The Shifted World.

Geist by philippa ballantine