Moon Cake's Chronicles

First, I’d like to thank @YuzuuKawaiiNeko for allowing me to bring my blog tour here today. This is day six 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.

(I’ll be honest and admit I’m introducing myself in the same way each day, in case these words encounter someone who doesn’t know me or who hasn’t been following the blog tour. If you’ve already read my introduction on one of the other blogs, or if you simply don’t care who I am or what I’ve got to say, skip to the bit under the picture of the book cover).

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; and I’m here talking about a horror novel I’ve written which will be published on August 22nd. It’s called Blackstone Towers and this is what the story is about: 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.

Within the novel some of these talismans play a greater role than others. I mentioned the talisman of Saturn on day one of the blog. That’s the talisman that can grant the bearer immortality. I mentioned the talisman of Mercury yesterday; the talisman that grants the gift of foresight. Today I want to chat about the most important talisman: the talisman of the Sun.

If I was going to own any of these talismans, this is the one I would want. Not only is it made from gold, which might be a little garish, but I could live with garish, but its most important feature is that it can grant the bearer unimaginable wealth. Excuse me. I almost started drooling then. Unimaginable wealth is a dizzying concept. I have quite a fertile imagination and the imaginable wealth I can picture is quite substantial. Unimaginable wealth must be way more than that. If I had access to unimaginable wealth I’d be living a Scrooge McDuck lifestyle, swimming in money and driving a solid gold Rolls Royce. Which brings me to my question for today: what would you do if you owned a talisman that granted you unimaginable wealth? In the novel, Blackstone Towers, the owner of the talisman of the Sun uses the talisman to build power. We live in a society where money and power are virtually inseparable so this is not an enormous stretch of credibility.
But this is not how I would use excessive wealth. Chances are I might end poverty, or invest enough money in research to end pain and suffering. But first I need a mansion large enough for me and 500 rescue puppies. I want part of my mansion to include a restaurant, so I can eat gourmet food 24/7, and I want part of my mansion to include a hospital area, so I can have liposuction on weekends, to keep the weight down to a minimum. I think I’d also like to be rich enough to have magic powers.
Which brings me around to today’s question: what would you do if you owned a talisman that granted you unimaginable wealth? 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 me@ashleylister.co.uk. 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 6 of a 9 day blog tour and, each day up to the launch, I’ll be on a different blog, as detailed below. And, 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 @YuzuuKawaiiNeko and, to all you readers. I look forward to hearing what you’d do with the gift of foresight. And, if you want to pre-order a copy of Blackstone Towers, this link should take you through to the Amazon page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08F2T2K5M/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&qid=1596278235&refinements=p_27%3AAshley+Lister&s=digital-text&sr=1-1&text=Ashley+Lister
Ash