Giveaway & Guest post ‘Warning: This Book is Cursed!’ by Abigail Roux

We’re very pleased and honored to welcome back author Abigail Roux at Rarely Dusty Books. Last time she was here for a Ty & Zane interview that Sharon had with her, this time she’s here to talk about her newest book The Gravedigger’s Brawl, which releases today. Happy Release Day, Abi! The stage is yours. :)

Welcome to The Gravedigger’s Brawl virtual book tour! Thank you for helping me celebrate the release of the most haunted book I’ve ever worked on. Over the course of the next few days I’ll be giving away prizes to help you get through the reading experiences, namely bundles of sage to cleanse your electronics after you download a cursed book! In addition, every stop along this tour is a chance to win $10 in store credit to Riptide Publishing as part of their first anniversary celebration! To enter to win one of the prizes, just leave a comment here and make sure you include your e-mail address. The giveaway deadline is Sunday, Oct 21 at 11:59pm. Many thanks to Rarely Dusty Books for helping me get this spooky Riptide Publishing virtual book tour under way!

Warning: This Book is Cursed!

The Gravedigger’s Brawl has been unlike any other book I’ve ever written. And it’s not because of the plot or the characters or even the ghostly element. Call me crazy, call me an incredibly inventive PR person, or what have you, but I firmly believe this book is cursed. The manuscript itself, the words, the electronic waves that pass with it whenever I open it on my computer, I think it’s haunted. And I’m going to tell you why.

I started writing this story one October five years ago. October is a month that has always been particularly inspiring for me, and I love everything about it. The crisp fall air, the fun of Halloween, the hint of darkness that creeps into everything we do leading up to that final creepy celebration. I love it. And one year while living in Richmond, the spirit overcame and I decided to write a ghost story.

It took me about a month to finish the first draft, and the original ending to this book was quite different and much darker. A HEA it most certainly wasn’t but I was pleased with it and I left it as it was. Shortly after I finished and shared it with my usual betas and readers, strange things began to happen.

The temperature in my Richmond condo would drop drastically, something I attributed to the 100 year old building and my first winter there. Then my things began to move. Small things, like a ring or a keychain. I blamed my husband at the time and thought little of it.

Then one day I took my dog for a walk. We headed down the stairs and out the building and took a short jaunt across the street to the pond nearby. He frolicked, I complained about it getting colder, it was a typical outing for us. But on the return, I began digging for my keys. I kept them with me at all times, along with my ID, because the area wasn’t the greatest and sometimes a UC cop would drive by and make sure I wasn’t a drug dealer or prostitute by asking for my ID.

I couldn’t find either. I knew I had put them in my pocket, because I always did. I checked in the little bag I kept attached to the dog leash, and they weren’t there either. I began to panic, because I was looking at five hours or more before my husband came home, I had no phone to call for help, and even if I could get into the building, I would still be stuck in the lobby with my giant drooling dog.

When I reached the building, still searching for my keys, I found my keychain on the ground in front of the door. It was a tiny crystal fleur-de-lis, very heavy and very secure. I would have heard it clank when it hit the ground if it had fallen. It was also sitting on the doorstep, as if placed there to get my attention. As I stood looking at it in consternation, my giant stupid dog shied away from the door, began to whine like a huge wuss, and then broke away from me and ran. This is the animal I depended on to protect me in dangerous parts of the world, and at several occasions he had indeed done just that. He’s rarely spooked.

I spent the next thirty minutes chasing down 100-pounds of frightened dog, and when I returned to the building my husband was there in a panic. He said I had called his cell phone but hadn’t said a word, and he’d rushed home thinking I was in trouble. The cell phone, of course, was inside with my keys.

This wasn’t the first time I’d encountered something unexplainable. I firmly believe in ghosts and have all my life, and the area in which I grew up is steeped in stories that would make your skin crawl. But it’s not my intention to tell you about all the ghosts I’ve seen or the strange things I’ve heard of from family and friends. My intention is to tell you all the strange things this particular book has been responsible for, and over the next couple of days I’ll do just that.

You can haunt me at several places on the web, including Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, and my website. I hope to see you around.

The Gravedigger’s Brawl

Dr. Wyatt Case is never happier than when he’s walking the halls of his history museum. Playing wingman for his best friend at Gravedigger’s Tavern throws him way out of his comfort zone, but not as much as the eccentric man behind the bar, Ash Lucroix.
Ash is everything Wyatt doesn’t understand: exuberant, quirky, and elbow deep in a Gaslight lifestyle that weaves history into everyday life. He coordinates his suspenders with his tongue rings. Within hours, Wyatt and Ash are hooked.
But strange things are afoot at Gravedigger’s, and after a knock to the head, Ash starts seeing things that can’t be explained by old appliances or faulty wiring. Soon everyone at Gravedigger’s is wondering if they’re seeing ghosts, or just going crazy. The answer to that question could end more than just Wyatt and Ash’s fragile relationship—it might also end their lives.

You can read the first two chapters and order The Gravedigger’s Brawl HERE.