Blackstone Towers Blog Tour – Day One

First, I’d like to thank Emma for allowing me to bring my blog tour here today. This is day one of the blog tour and I’m very excited because I’ve written a really fun horror novel and I want to tell you all about it.

By way of introduction, I should begin by saying my name is Ashley Lister; I write horror fiction and some of the crudest poetry known to mankind (Emma’s note: I can verify this on the poetry front!); and I’m here talking about a horror novel, Blackstone Towers, I’ve written which will be published on August 22nd:

The talismans of the magi control seven realms of the mortal world. One can grant the bearer immortality; another gives its owner unfathomable wealth; a third gives the holder unerring foresight. There is a talisman to control reality, success, the deliberate and the accidental, and a talisman that governs the balance between love and hate.

The planets are now aligning, and one worldly resident of Blackstone Towers knows the talismans urgently need collecting and destroying before they fall into the wrong hands.

The only problem is establishing whose hands are the wrong ones.

As it says in the blurb above, one of the main features in Blackstone Towers is the talismans of the magi, a collection of coins derived from the ancient wisdom of the occult sciences in Chaldea and Egypt. Each of these talismans is supposed to give the bearer control over a certain aspect of his or her life. I’ve taken the liberty of modifying their realm of influence a little, because I think it enhances the story. However, I’ve tried to remain true to the spirit of each talisman’s alleged powers. For example, the original talisman of Saturn is supposed to protect against a variety of ills, sicknesses and ailments. In my story this talisman grants the bearer immortality.

Whilst this might sound like a cool feature for a talisman, it’s worth remembering that each coin has two sides. So, whilst the obverse can give an individual constant life, or could even be used to bring the dead back from the grave, the reverse of this coin can grant instant death. I liked the idea of characters holding a coin in one hand, rubbing their thumb over one side, and either saving or slaying someone using nothing more than this deceptively simple magic.

Why do I mention this? Well, aside from attempting to intrigue you enough so that you felt compelled to buy a copy of my book, I wanted to pose a question: what would you do if you held a talisman that granted the power of life and death in this way?

I suspect a lot of us have loved ones that we’d like to see again. I suspect some of us would be tempted to get involved in politics and end so many of the world’s current problems by removing one of those irritating world leaders who’ve made poor hairstyle choices. But I suspect there could be some more inventive uses. Personally, I’d be tempted to use the talisman of Saturn to bring back a dozen people for that hypothetical dinner party that’s always being discussed, and then I’d get to sit down with Catherine the Great, William Shakespeare and Oscar Wilde and we could have an evening of the world’s most fascinating conversation.

Perhaps I could also bring Edgar Allan Poe and H P Lovecraft into the room so they could co-write a story? (Although, I suspect Poe would be drunk and talking about his 13 year old wife and Lovecraft would just be shy and racist).

But, returning to my question, if you had the opportunity to bring someone back from the grave, who would it be? And why?

Answer below, if that’s easiest for you. I’ll be checking back throughout the day. Answer on Twitter if you prefer, using the hashtag #BlackstoneTowers.

If you don’t use Twitter, and don’t like the comments box, please feel free to email me at [email protected] I’ll be collecting all the answers and, on the day of publication, I’ll chose my favourite response and send one lucky winner a free copy of one of my novels.

This is day 1 of a 9 day blog tour and, each day up to the launch, I’ll be on a different blog, as detailed below. Each day I’ll be asking a different question. Please feel free to follow me, answer as many questions as you like, and if you’ve got any questions about the book or anything else, I’ll be happy to answer.

Also, if you fancy coming to the online launch, where I’ll be reading from Blackstone Towers and sharing some of my ribald poetry, drop me an email and I’ll send you an invite.

Thank you again to Emma and to all you readers, I look forward to seeing how you would use the talisman of Saturn.