Haunting Echoes

Some places are abandoned for a reason… Malia has spent years chasing history, uncovering the secrets of forgotten places for Wandering Echoes magazine. But when she is assigned to investigate the mysteriously abandoned mining town of Ashford, she quickly realises this is no ordinary story. For over fifty years, Ashford has stood frozen in time—left behind without explanation. As Malia digs deeper, she experiences chilling visions, ghostly whispers, and an unsettling sense that she has been here before. The nightmares that plagued her long before she arrived—a crumbling farmhouse, a spectral girl calling out to her—become disturbingly real. The deeper she ventures, the stronger the pull, the darker the presence lurking beneath Ashford's quiet ruins. Something is waiting for her. Watching her. And as the past unravels, Malia discovers she isn't just here to tell Ashford's story—she's a part of it. But uncovering the truth may come at a deadly cost. Some ghosts never rest. And some secrets refuse to stay buried. Author Bio: Bianca Thalwitzer has always been a book lover—so much so that she practically grew up in a library. Born in Aranos, Namibia, and raised in the mining town of Tsumeb, she spent her childhood lost in stories, captivated by the magic of books and their addictive scent. After finishing high school in 2006, she moved to Johannesburg, South Africa, where she did a bit of modelling, got married to her husband, Paul, and welcomed their two children, Megan and Dylan. In 2018, Bianca and her family returned to Namibia to start a new adventure—opening a business and embracing the next chapter of their lives. Though she always dreamed of writing, it wasn't until now that she finally put pen to paper. Her debut novel is a testament to her love for storytelling, mystery, and the thrill of uncovering the unknown. When she's not immersed in writing or reading (which is rare), Bianca is busy being a proud mum and wife, indulging in creative projects, or doting on her four cats—because, let's be honest, she's a little bit of a crazy cat lady. She hopes her book brings as much joy to readers as books have always brought to her.