Rules for Ghosting: A Novel By Shelly Jay Shore

Rules for Ghosting is a heartfelt debut novel that blends romance, family drama, and the supernatural. Ezra Friedman has long ignored his ability to see ghosts, a talent that made growing up in his family's funeral home complex, especially under the judgmental gaze of his grandfather's ghost. Fleeing the family business, Ezra carves out a life of his own, only to have it fall apart when his dream job vanishes and his mother announces at Passover that she’s leaving his father for the rabbi’s wife.

Reluctantly, Ezra returns to help run the Friedman Family Memorial Chapel, now teetering on the brink of financial collapse. As he navigates the pressures of the funeral home and his family's unraveling, Ezra is also drawn into an unexpected queer love story with Jonathan, a charming volunteer at the funeral home who lives downstairs from Ezra’s new apartment. Complicating matters further is the ghost of Jonathan's late husband, Ben, who breaks all the spectral rules by speaking, moving objects, and inserting himself into the lives of the living.

As Ezra juggles the demands of the funeral home, his complicated feelings for Jonathan, and the unsettling presence of Ben's ghost, he begins to understand that being haunted isn’t just about ghosts—it’s about the past, the future, and the choices that shape who we become. With humor, tenderness, and a deep understanding of the complexities of family and identity, Rules for Ghosting is a poignant exploration of life, death, and the messy, beautiful in-between.