These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter: and these she bore to Jacob, even sixteen souls.

These sixteen are the descendants of Jacob by Zilpah, the slave woman whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah. Sixteen Souls transported me so entirely, I feel as if I have walked the streets of York and seen the ghosts myself. An outstanding debut, this thrilling adventure perfectly mixes spookiness with mystery, sadness with love, and is filled with gorgeous characters you won't want to say goodbye to!'What advice do you have for writers looking to incorporate supernatural and fantasy elements in their work?

I am so glad that I did. Because it left nothing for me to be disappointed in. I greatly appreciate all of the representation that is whiting this book. There is LGBTQ+, disability rep for a double amputee, trans representation. With all of this rep I feel like it only deepened the connection with the characters. And you were able to get to know their true authentic selves. I'm so so happy Chris introduced me to Rosie and to her marvellous book! I absolutely can't wait to read the sequel and return to these wonderful characters I love so much. Hurry up, Rosie, hurry up!

These were the sons of Zilpah—whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah—that she bore to Jacob: 16 persons. Sam never got his own POV, but he was as much a main character as Charlie, right from Chapter 1, and that remained all throughout the novel. I never felt like he was forgotten, left behind, or that I couldn't connect to him because we never got to see his POV. I never have a problem screaming about books I genuinely love, and I love this book. The author’s ability to evoke entire settings with minimal details is just amazing. The writing is rich; the characters are sharply drawn. This really is a stellar, supernatural YA -- with vibes of RIVERS OF LONDON mixed with V. E. Schwab's world-building. These were the descendants of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah. She gave birth to these children for Jacob. The total was 16.

The plot was generally good. Charlie, however, is a blinking idiot, who keeps leaping to conclusions that he is absolutely certain are correct, only to be proven wrong. Everyone treating his assumptions as facts had me close to yelling at the characters to stop being so stupid! Then he suddenly realises towards the end of the book that he's actually had the answers within his head the whole time and is able to lay out large sections of exposition. A couple of the major revelations felt a bit obvious from about halfway through, but there were still plenty of surprises and revelations to keep me entertained. Some of the revelations did feel like they came out of nowhere right at the end though, with characters and organisations dropped in to the text at the eleventh hour in a slightly jarring way. Your debut novel Sixteen Souls was spotted by publisher Yasmin Morrissey at Scholastic after generating more than 250,000 TikTok views. Do you have any tips for writers who want to delve into the world of Bookstagram and BookTok but don’t know where to start? Don’t over think your content. It’s often the videos that take you minutes to film that do the best, so just have fun. The key to growth is to post in a niche (books!) and to post consistently (at least once a day) It sounds daunting, but it can become part of your routine. Comment and engage with others and you will meet amazing, like minded readers and authors and will form long-lasting friendships and connections that could lead to amazing things – like a publishing deal with Scholastic in my case! He teams up with Sam Harrow - the new seer in town - and a rag tag group of spirits to unearth the chilling purpose behind the disappearances.These are the children of Zilpah, whom Laban had given to his daughter Leah; these she bore to Jacob—sixteen persons in all. The plot is consistently engaging, unique, and engaging, with a steady flow that allows for plenty of twists and turns without feeling clogged by too many ideas. By combining a newbie Seer with an old pro, we get to see the gift through new eyes, with the benefit of experience to clarify the dangers and reality of such a gift. Incredibly emotive and visceral characters help pave the way for a story that grips you from the start and doesn't let go. I also loved the dialogue, and the use of British colloquialisms, which made all of the characters’ interactions feel waay more realistic —it was almost as if Talbot had eavesdropped on actual ghostly conversations, making for an incredibly immersive and entertaining reading experience. I hate to say it, but based on the exciting premise I was hoping for and expecting much more. There's entire scenes in the book that are either glossed over or missing entirely, bits that would have really added to the high-stakes drama of the book. (Like Captain Michelle's testimony, anyone?)

This book is about Charlie who, unlike anyone else, can see ghosts – and touch ghosts, respectively can also be touched by ghosts. Which is kind of a problem because not all ghosts are nice persons. So Charlie keeps his head low and relies only on his few ghost friends. This changes when suddenly ghosts are missing, among them one of his closest friends, and he has to team up with Sam, another boy who can see ghosts.The writing is rich; the characters sharply drawn.” - K.D Edwards, author of The Tarot Sequence Series A delightfully spooky, humorous and marvellously plot twisty romp that hooked with the promise of ghost-filled antics, that I’m happy to report did NOT disappoint! You studied on our six-month Writing Your Novel course in 2019. How did your time studying with us impact your approach to writing? It was fundamental to the novel’s conception. The world is a diverse place and I’ve always wanted my storytelling to reflect that, but it was very important for me to include representation in a way that doesn’t take up space that isn’t mine to occupy. As well as being gay, my protagonist Charlie is an amputee. Disabled rep is something I would love to see more of in fiction, so it just seemed natural to include it in mine. But Sixteen Souls isn’t a story about being an amputee, in the same way it’s not a book about what it’s like to be a gay teenager. Those are just aspects of Charlie’s bodymind and personal circumstances that affect his day to day life. Their chemistry together is a cute, and again realistic, slow burn. From worrying they're enemies, to a grudging partnership, to a friendship and into romance. They had some cute moments together, that brought them closer, while never forgetting their purpose or responsibilities.