Hi lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host Aidee Ladnier and her new book, “The Moonlight Market”! For other stops on her Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above.
Be sure to
make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $50 Amazon or Barnes &
Noble Gift Card. Also, come back daily
to interact with Aidee and to increase your chances of winning!
The
Moonlight Market
by Aidee Ladnier
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: LGBTTQ, Fantasy
& Paranormal, New Adult
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BLURB:
College
senior Cory Long tracked his missing sister to the magical Moonlight Market to
bring her home. Instead, he found a disorienting world of performers and
hawkers, bizarre sights and sounds, and one very familiar showman, Sanderson
Beets. Like a drowning man, he latched onto Sanderson, trusting him to navigate
the twists and turns of the Market as unerringly as he had steered Cory to
passion in their furtive trysts on campus.
But
Sanderson was tired of being the quickie in the alley.
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EXCERPT ONE:
Cory
dropped into one of the orange plastic chairs lined up to face the scratched
podium and its gooseneck mic. He cradled the lukewarm cup of coffee, hunching
out of the way as another attendee climbed over the row in front of him to sit
beside him. The guy’s lips curved up in an easy smile that sparkled in his
eyes. Tiny silver earrings dangled from his lobes, catching the light.
Cory
took a swallow of his bitter drink.
“The
coffee never gets any better. You’d think we’d have at least one barista in the
group.” The guy’s soft comment and raised eyebrow felt like a caress.
Cory
almost snorted his sip of burned coffee through his nose. His seatmate was one
of the new campus admin volunteers, or so his cheap clip-on button proclaimed.
Earlier, the director had rattled off a list of a half-dozen unfamiliar names
in a staccato monotone, but Cory’d been pouring his crappy coffee when each
volunteer had raised an identifying hand.
The
guy frowned at his paper cup and took a cautious sip. Cory assumed he was gay.
Or bi. Or a straight ally. With his blond god looks, Mr. Volunteer Admin
probably had all the girls and guys panting after him.
The
guy set his cup down with a thunk that sloshed a splatter of coffee between
their feet. It melted into the dingy faux granite of the linoleum.
“Where
I grew up, there’s this woman who makes the world’s best coffee. I don’t know
what she does, but I swear it’s made from orange blossoms.”
Cory
resettled against the hard plastic seat, moving his leg where the edge of the
chair dug into the muscle. “Sounds different.”
“It
is. But I like it.” The blond guy gave Cory the once-over and smiled again.
Definitely gay or bi.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GUEST POST:
Second Chances
So if you read the blurb to THE
MOONLIGHT MARKET, it’s pretty apparent that a lot of the novel revolves around
second chances. Cory wants to earn his parents’ respect again as well as repair
his relationship with his sister.
Sanderson, Cory’s lover, wants to make
a change in his life by furthering his education. And both Cory and Sanderson
end the story hoping for more than the transient relationship they’ve been
indulging in at college.
I wrote this book because I believe in
second chances. I even gave the novel a villain that can provide those second
chances in return for…well, I’ll let you read that for yourself.
Second chances are tied up in something
that everyone does but no one wants to admit to—judging other people. The
minute you meet someone for the first time, you judge them, assess them, look
at their clothes, their features, for clues about them, because you don’t know
them. If you’re feeling insecure that day, you might even look for ways that
you’re better than them. Often those first judgements will color the future of
your relationship with them. And more and more, scientists are discovering that
those first impressions are wrong. A study even found that a first impression
could be influenced by whether the other person’s hand was warm or cold. So
this is my first reason why second chances should always be on the table.
Because humans are judgmental and your impression could be wrong. Cory
certainly found that out when Sanderson, the cute guy he thought he knew from
campus, turned out to be a seasoned acrobatic performer at the Moonlight
Market.
Second chances mean giving someone an
opportunity to learn from their mistakes. We’re not experts on the first try at
everything we want to do. Everyone makes mistakes. If someone errs and they are
regretful, there’s a good chance they’ll work harder to correct the problem the
next time. Take Sanderson for example. He makes a perilous bargain in order to
pay for his college education. After the events that occur in THE MOONLIGHT
MARKET, there is little chance he will ever try such a dangerous endeavor
again. In essence, he gets a second chance after the book, to learn to pay for
college the hard way, the honest way. And as his initial bargain endangered
Cory and their relationship, as well as Sanderson’s family, Sanderson would be
a fool to gamble away everything he’s already achieved. And you can see that
he’s not willing to, that he has changed, by the sacrifice he tries to make at
the end of the book.
And that leads to my last, best reason
to offer a second chance—the adventure that lies ahead. Second chances don’t
mean do-overs. Second chances mean start again with all your knowledge of the
past, with all your failings and successes behind you, with all your experience
and a renewed sense of the possible. Would you live a boring life, get
near-terminal cancer, be cured, and then go back to a boring life? I wouldn’t.
A second chance means a new attempt to be your best self and live your best
life. It’s a chance to do all the things right that you got wrong before. A
chance to turn left, when before your family, your obligations, your
expectations, made you turn right. A second chance is a chance to grow. It’s a
chance to find that things can be better now that you know how they work and
you’re free of judgement.
So what about you? Have you ever
received a second chance? Did you become a better person because of it?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR BIO:
Aidee
Ladnier, an award-winning author of speculative fiction, began writing at
twelve years old but took a hiatus to be a magician’s assistant, ride in hot
air balloons, produce independent movies, collect interesting shoes, and amass
a secret file with the CIA. A lover of genre fiction, it has been a lifelong
dream of Aidee's to write both romance and erotica with a little
science-fiction, fantasy, mystery, or the paranormal thrown in to add a zing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CONNECT WITH AIDEE:
Website:
Tumblr:
Facebook:
Twitter:
Goodreads:
Goodreads Book Page:
Pinterest:
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BOOK BUY LINKS:
Amazon:
Barnes
and Noble:
Kobo:
Google
Play:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY INFO:
Aidee Ladnier will be
awarding $50 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter
during the tour.
**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a
purchase made I may receive a small commission to help support this blog. This does not cost you anything, it just
helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**
This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and
Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions. Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not
Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are
solely responsible for the giveaway prize.
Congrats on the tour, the book looks great, and thanks for the chance to win :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Lisa! I really enjoyed writing this book and I'm excited to send it out into the world.
DeleteThanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteI really loved reading the guest post, thank you! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Nikolina! I think the world needs more second chances, don't you?
DeleteAbsolutely! Oh, wouldn't that be nice??!
DeleteIt would!
DeleteThank you so much for hosting me today! I was so excited to write this guest post. It is the cornerstone of the book and I loved getting a chance to explain why I found this theme so important.
ReplyDeleteI admit I tend to want to wash my hands of people who hurt me, which is probably why I tend to find second-chance stories so touching...
ReplyDelete--Trix
I hope you'll give this one a chance, Trix. Sanderson really does need that second chance. :)
DeleteI liked the excerpt, thank you.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad, Rita. I have been to so many Meet and Greets with terrible coffee that I had to write about it. LOL!
DeleteI think second chances are good. You need to be serious if it is you getting another chance, and also don't set yourself up by giving someone another chance that isn't showing the right attitude. I've been given a second chance, and when I look back I'm glad it was given me, as I realized how lucky I was for the chance. This sounds so good, an interesting plot to weave in the opportunity for second chance!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree, Rose-Marie. Second chances are only wasted on those who refuse to change. I'm so glad you got your second chance!
DeleteI seriously love this cover.. and I enjoyed reading the excerpt lol.. thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteI love the cover, too. Natasha Snow's dreamy yet sinister style was perfect for the book!
DeleteI enjoyed the excerpt and the guest post, sounds like a great read!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you liked it, Eva! This was an especially nice post for me to write. I feel like the theme of second chances is integral to the book.
DeleteThank you for sharing this interesting excerpt!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Dario! You never know who you'll meet when you go to college mixers. ;)
DeleteShared on G+ to help spread the word, have a great day!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Nikolina!!! You are awesome!
Delete