Discover the enigmatic secrets of Carter’s Grove, a seemingly ordinary logging town that harbors extraordinary mysteries.
Welcome to one of the February 5th stops on the blog tour for Malevolence by Robert Hazelton with Silver Dagger Book Tours (scheduled linked.) Be sure to follow the rest of the tour for spotlights, reviews, and a giveaway! More on that at the end of this post.
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About the Book
Malevolence
The Curse of Carter’s Grove Book One
by Robert Hazelton
Published 1 November 2023
Genre: Paranormal Horror
Page Count: 57
Add it to your Goodreads TBR!
Discover the enigmatic secrets of Carter’s Grove, a seemingly ordinary logging town that harbors extraordinary mysteries.
Gabriel Carter arrives to attend the funeral of his estranged father. He left as a child, though the call of home has always piqued his curiosity.
Special Agent Teagan Walsh arrives to assist the local police in unraveling a perplexing murder investigation that has left the town in turmoil. But Carter’s Grove has many dark secrets, and she’s only scratched the surface.
Meanwhile, Joe “Spontaneous” Santino seeks to uncover the truth behind the small town horrors. Armed with a successful ghost hunting YouTube channel, he fully intends to unearth mysteries better left alone.
As the Curse of Carter’s Grove takes hold, these visitors will find their lives changed forever.
Join us on this journey of suspense, intrigue, and revelation, where the boundaries between the ordinary and the extraordinary blur, and the destinies of these individuals intertwine in ways they could never have imagined.
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Excerpt
Cassivale took my breath away from afar. The splendor changed when we started up the drive, leading to a dilapidated fountain forming a roundabout. A statue of a cavalryman took up the center of the fixture, a heroic figure holding up a saber over his head with the steed rearing in a classical pose.
I assumed the water normally came from the beast’s mouth though it clearly hadn’t produced anything but mold and moss for several years. The murky water took on a green hue, the stonework cracked and brutalized by Pacific Northwest storms. Despite the fact it stood more than twenty feet tall, it seemed diminished. Diminutive even.
The fact I could not remember it at all bothered me. I wanted to have some vision of it in full glory. Sun beaming down from behind the head of the horseman, water cascading out into the crystal clear pool. As we drove around it, I doubted it had been cleaned since long before I was born.
Maybe my parents kept me away from the thing.
The front of the estate loomed over us nearly four stories. A flight of wide stairs led up to a porch stretching around the house with Greek style pillars holding it up. Those looked sturdy enough, though time definitely had a go at them. Cracks in the wood were apparent long before I got out of the car.
Rodney stopped directly beside the steps. I hopped out, taking the full brunt of a stiff breeze from the left. I drew my coat tight about me, taking a moment to look over the arched windows dotting the surface of Cassivale, some lit while others remained dark. Like the upper stories, none of them appeared to be broken, which surprised me.
Considering the state of the fountain at least.
The house boasted twenty-five bedrooms. It sprawled to the left and right, at least a block in each direction. How had I been allowed to roam freely through those halls as a child? Getting lost in the labyrinthine corridors, the secret passages and dusty spaces no longer occupied.
It seemed like a fantastic dream.
About the Author
Robert Hazelton has been writing short fiction, novels and music his entire life. As the founding member of Deadly Nightshade Botanical Society and a long time member of the band Abney Park, he has traveled extensively and performed countless shows in exotic locales.
Robert writes in a variety of genres but keeps drifting back to modern fantasy/horror. He considers Elizabeth Moon, Frank Herbert, and Steven Pressfield to be his biggest influences.
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Giveaway Alert!
$50 Amazon gift card
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What has been the most constructive piece of feedback you’ve received from a reader?
Greetings. Thanks for the question!
A very basic thing I consider extremely valuable came from someone who pointed out using the same word in a paragraph more than once. It disrupts the flow, and I completely agree with their assessment. I’ve taken it to heart and expanded my vocabulary considerably.
It also helped improve my descriptions and made them more dynamic.
Thanks again! I hope you try the book! 🙂
The excerpt sounds good. Thanks for sharing.