Co-creator of the Ivy & Bean and Stella & Marigold series of early chapter books, Annie Barrows launches her new series, Ghost Guild, with the speculative middle grade novel The Lost Three (Little, Brown, Sept. 29), which features illustrations by Chloe Bristol. Following a car accident in 1919, siblings Genevieve, Fenella, and Tillotson Maconochie realize that they are now ghosts whose parents have moved on to the afterlife. The trio soon encounters telepathic grifter Serena Astor, who tricks them into haunting her Philadelphia home to facilitate her role as a medium. There, they meet and quickly befriend orphaned 10-year-old Aggie, and together, the quartet embark on an earnest quest toward finding a home they can all share in peace. Barrows spoke with PW about writing her first ghost story and catering to her inner child.

It’s been a few years since you’ve written a speculative novel. What inspired The Lost Three?

I had no expectation of writing this book. I was supposed to be doing some darn thing that I was not looking forward to, so I started writing something new, which ended up being the first chapter of this book. I laughed and laughed. The idea of my main characters dying at the end of the first chapter and becoming ghosts was so hilarious to me. I am a responsible grown-up, so I stopped, and I did what I was supposed to do. But I couldn’t resist going back to it. I just kept writing it, chapter by chapter, in between all the other important, serious things I was supposed to be doing, and I found myself really enjoying it. I’ve always been quite interested in ghosts, but it never even occurred to me that I would write a ghost story.

The narrator of The Lost Three has a bit of a tongue-in-cheek vibe. Why did you go in that direction?

I have evolved a lot over the course of my career in terms of how I use the narrator. I’ve very much moved away from first person. For this book, I wanted a narrator who was calm about the fact that they were telling a ghost story. Ultimately, I made that narrative voice part of the overarching world of the Ghost Guild. It helped make it fun.

I believe in ghosts, so I know that ghosts are trying to tell a story. They’re trying to communicate. They need to have a purpose. I didn’t want this to be a sad story about children missing their mortal life. I wanted it to be an interesting story about what it’s like to be a ghost. I needed a funky narrator to help the reader get the facts about ghosts and learn about the world they inhabit.

Did you always envision The Lost Three with illustrations?

I got spoiled with my first book, Ivy and Bean, which also had illustrations [by Sophie Blackall]. Suddenly, my whole concept of a book was centered around illustrations and how they enrich a story. Increasingly, as I grow older, I think about visuals as part of storytelling. Now I look at the couple of books I’ve written that are not illustrated and they seem a little bare.

Over the last few years, you’ve worked on a handful of series. What draws you to working on multibook projects?

It all has to do with my eight-year-old self. I would read a book that I loved with all my heart, and when there wasn’t anything else after, I remember so vividly the rage I felt, rushing about the house and storming up and down the halls. It was so infuriating. I wanted more, more, more all the time. Even now, as a reader, I don’t like short stories. I don’t want a little dainty bite. I want an enormous gulp. So that’s really what I’m thinking about all the time—the satisfaction of a kid like me. How can I give my readers what I would have wanted?