Today is the day when Cursed is available. I’d like to thank my friends and fellow writers who hosted the blog tour and, if you missed any of those, the links are at the bottom of this page. Cursed is the third book in my series of dark tales from Innsmouth. This is the cover blurb:
Innsmouth University’s Explorers Club meet once a month to share stories of the supernatural. They meet in empty houses, abandoned buildings and derelict churches. They meet in the dead of night. They tell stories of the impossible, the unbelievable and the most terrible. And now, it appears, their meetings have been cursed.
This is my favourite of the Innsmouth series so far and I hope you enjoy it as much as I’ve done. You’re going to meet some great characters, such as Sophia and Abigail, and I hope you like the quirky events that make up the narrative.
Because Cursed is a novella I don’t want to give too much away about the story’s content but I will say, in the first book (Fearless) we were introduced to Innsmouth University. In the second book (Unearthed) we saw what the university staff do when they’re involved in research. In this third book we get to see how some of the students behave in their social groups such as the urbex group ‘The Explorers Club’.
The purpose of the Explorers Club is to meet in abandoned buildings and share stories of the supernatural. This idea was borne from my own passion for true ghost stories and I know there are few thrills more exciting than hearing a ghost story in a forbidden location. This is how it’s pitched in the book:
“First,” Ben began. “The Explorers Club meet once a week. As you’ve all realised now, we meet in abandoned buildings, a different one each time, and we always have a guest speaker. The guest speaker will usually tell us about some supernatural experience they’ve had. And the one condition I always stipulate is that it has to be a true story.” He glared at the pews, as though silently challenging anyone to dispute this claim. No one said a word and Abigail could feel tension thickening the chilly air in the church. “This is extreme entertainment like nothing you’ve previously experienced,” Ben declared. “We’re in an abandoned building. We’re breaking the law by being on the premises. And we’re listening to a real-life ghost story from a genuine witness to the paranormal.” His gaze shifted around the room, starting on Sophia and then circling back to her after passing a cursory glance over each of the other attendees. “I’m sure you’ll all agree, there are few scarier ways to experience a ghost story than whilst you’re sitting, illegally, in the dark of an abandoned building, hearing a first-hand account of something that should not have happened.”
To celebrate the launch of Cursed, a novella about storytellers telling stories, I’m having an unusual launch event this evening. I’ll be online with friends sharing true ghost stories and, because it’s online, the event is open to anyone who fancies attending. If you’re interested, drop me an email at me@ashleylister.co.uk and I’ll send you an invite.
And, finally, if you’re new to this series of stories, and wondering if it’s worth the investment, this is what reviewers have said about the previous titles:
Fearless: ‘This book is easily one of the best ghost stories I’ve read lately. Ashley’s character work is wonderful, he doesn’t go for the cheap scare, he builds the world and the people in it to the point where you can’t help but feel fear for them and the horrible situations they find themselves in. I’d recommend this to any supernatural horror fan, and I’m looking forward to whatever Ashley puts out next.’
Unearthed: ‘another quality short story from the master tale teller.’
Unearthed: ‘I’m not the biggest zombie fan, but for reanimated beings, this was a blast. Lister had some fantastic gore and I loved some of the banter that developed between the characters.’
| Monday 22nd Feb. Colin Davies https://www.theworldofcolin.com | Friday 26th Feb. Blackpool Horror Society http://blackpoolhorrorsociety.co.uk/ |
| Tuesday 23rd Feb. Samantha Dawson https://www.sjdawsonauthor.co.uk | Saturday 27th Feb. @autoerraticism https://www.autoerraticism.com/ |
| Wednesday 24th Feb. Simon Bestwick http://simon-bestwick.blogspot.com/ | Sunday 28th Feb. Simon Jay https://sywipe.co.uk |
| Thursday 25th Feb. Jenny Kane https://jennykane.co.uk | Monday 1st March Ashley Lister https://ashleylister.com |
ashleylister.com 