Pages

Monday, October 24, 2016

The Moonlight Market by Aidee Ladnier - Book Tour - Guest Post - Giveaway - Enter Daily!


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! 

Thanks for stopping by!  Wishing you lots of luck in this exciting giveaway!


The Moonlight Market
by Aidee Ladnier

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GENRE:  LGBTTQ, Fantasy & Paranormal, New Adult

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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.

Sanderson Beets had escaped the Moonlight Market to attend college, hoping to settle into a normal life, maybe meet someone and fall in love. To obtain that new life he made a dangerous bargain. And when the sinister woman known as the Weaver of Dreams is involved, second chances always come with strings attached…and sacrifices. Sanderson’s debt has come due, and the only payment he has to offer is Cory, and their chance at a relationship.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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.

22 comments:

  1. Congrats on the tour, the book looks great, and thanks for the chance to win :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Lisa! I really enjoyed writing this book and I'm excited to send it out into the world.

      Delete
  2. I really loved reading the guest post, thank you! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank 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.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I 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...

    --Trix

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope you'll give this one a chance, Trix. Sanderson really does need that second chance. :)

      Delete
  5. Replies
    1. I'm so glad, Rita. I have been to so many Meet and Greets with terrible coffee that I had to write about it. LOL!

      Delete
  6. I 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!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I totally agree, Rose-Marie. Second chances are only wasted on those who refuse to change. I'm so glad you got your second chance!

      Delete
  7. I seriously love this cover.. and I enjoyed reading the excerpt lol.. thanks for sharing :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love the cover, too. Natasha Snow's dreamy yet sinister style was perfect for the book!

      Delete
  8. I enjoyed the excerpt and the guest post, sounds like a great read!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So 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.

      Delete
  9. Thank you for sharing this interesting excerpt!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're welcome, Dario! You never know who you'll meet when you go to college mixers. ;)

      Delete
  10. Shared on G+ to help spread the word, have a great day!

    ReplyDelete