The Twenty-Fourth Delusion

Creepy used books store, cover reveal, book giveaway!

I ventured into North Carolina a couple of times over the past two weeks. First was to go to Cherokee and stay at the Harrah’s casino for a quick trip. It was fun spending time with my family, but I’d rather stay in an air B&B in a cabin in the woods or near a stream or river. On the way back we dropped into a little used bookstore I found in the middle of nowhere. The place is situated on the owner’s property. It’s not hard to find with GPS, but would have been back in the days of Thomas Brothers maps.

This place is filled with books from floor to ceiling. No joke. hundreds of thousands of books, mostly paperbacks (which is my kryptonite). We spent at least an hour, maybe two the first visit. The owner is in her eighties. She’s grouchy and senile. There are signs all over about putting books back where you got them and not stealing. Half the store’s lights don’t work, so it’s very dark in the back. I feel like there’s a light switch somewhere that never gets turned on. Anyway, it’s creepy, claustrophobic, and kind of damp smelling, but this old lady has a shit-load of books, and a lot of really good ones. I found some gems, such as two copies of Karl Edward Wagner’s Why Not You and I?

That day she told me the books were four dollars apiece, but charged me three. When we went back yesterday, she charged me five apiece! I told her she’d charged three last time and she argued with me. Reviews for this place show that this woman is not above flipping off or yelling at people when they argue or don’t buy something. She must have liked me, because I argued and though I didn’t get her to honor her previous pricing, she never once flipped me off or yelled and we ended the transaction with a smile.

Thing about a place like that one is when the lady dies or gets to where she cannot run it anymore, it will probably sit there and rot. All those books. So many of them are not worth what she’s asking. $5 apiece is steep for a battered old musty paperback that should be in a dollar bin. But plenty of them are well worth that cost, you just have to look. And hope the books don’t fall on you while you’re doing so. But I’m saddened that the future of such a wealth of books is likely to be lost to the elements. She has a son who lives on the property. Perhaps he’ll take over, but who knows?

My name is Robert Essig and I’m a paperback book whore. Welcome to Confusions, Delusions, and Formidable Impressions.

News

Baby Fights is now on Godless for just .99 cents. That’s half off the Amazon price. So far reviews have been great. I’m kind of shocked people are liking this weird little tale so much. Pleasantly shocked. It’s such a ridiculous idea that I figured it would completely flop or find an audience. There really isn’t much of a middle ground on this one.

Would you pay to watch babies fight to the death?

Also on Godless is the next edition of my Infected Voices series. “Atypical Man” is a story about a dude who has a stubborn hair growing from his back that he can’t seem to rid himself of no matter what he does. It comes back thicker and stronger every time he cuts it. It seems to have a mind of its own…

And finally, the cover for my next novel Secret Basements has been revealed by D & T Publishing.

Jennifer, in recovery after her latest stint in rehab, is called out to care for Uncle Charlie, a man she has never met. It's a good opportunity to get away from the bad influences in Chicago, and even better it's a chance to prove to her family she's not the thieving addict they despise. Problem is, Uncle Charlie lives in Tennessee, and he's an odd duck. Caring after him is a chore, and the podunk town he lives in has many secrets in the many basements of too many abandoned houses.

The creepy church up the road, the woman in tatters who sneaks around dark basement enclosures, the toothless grins of deviant men who crave more than mere friendship. A family with secrets deeper than a hollow pit and bonded by blood. Can Jennifer manage her way through this test of her life?

The cane raps on the porch handrail. Charlie sneers as he makes his demands. Is this life better than what Jennifer left behind?

Available on Godless 3/31 and Amazon 4/14

Scare That Care AuthorCon 2

This Thursday my family and I will be traveling to Williamsburg, Virginia for Scares That Care AuthorCon 2. I have a table there and will have many of my titles available, including Baby Fights. A lot of people have been asking about that one and Broth House. I will have both as well as Death Obsessed, Follow the Maggot Wagon, Tweaker Creatures, Mojave Mud Caves, The Circus Oasis, and more!

I will be there all weekend. Stop by my table and say hi! I have a reading on Saturday at 6:15 PM with RJ Benetti. I will be reading my story “Inflatable War”.

Giveaway

I have two proof copies of Baby Fights left. If you read this far through the newsletter and you’d like one, please leave a comment letting me know. I’ll choose two commenters to get copies. US only, but if you’re reading this from elsewhere in the world, let me know and I’ll hook you up with an ebook of Baby Fights.

In Closing

So, the morale of the story is, be wary of creepy used bookstores in the mountains of North Carolina. Be wary, but go in and mine those gems. Also, please buy my books. And go to Scares That Care AuthorCon 2. I hope to see you next weekend!

Cheers!