First, I’d like to thank Simon @sywipe for allowing me to bring my blog tour here today. This is day three 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 talked about the talisman of Saturn on day one of the blog. That’s the talisman that can grant the bearer immortality. Today I want to mention the talisman of Mercury. This is the talisman that grants the gift of foresight.
Which brings me to my question for today: what would you do if you owned a talisman that granted you the gift of foresight?
In the novel the owner of the talisman of Mercury makes effective use of her talisman. I won’t tell you how for fear of spoiling the surprise if anyone is thinking of pre-ordering a copy of the novel today. But I will say it was hard writing the story with this device given all the things that have happened this year. Personally, if I owned a talisman five years ago and it told me Trump would soon be president; Boris Johnson would one day be Prime Minister; and the UK would be embracing the economic suicide of Brexit, I would have dropped my talisman into a charity box figuring it was broken and no longer giving reliable predictions.
All of which is my way of building up to a question. If I did own the talisman of Mercury, I would be the bane of the National Lottery. My working week would consist of my going to the corner shop
every Friday, putting £2.00 on the lottery, and then cashing my cheque the following week. Would I use my money to help others? Probably not. Would I use my gift of foresight to help avert terrible tragedies? That’s unlikely – I have to focus on getting to the corner shop every Friday.
Which all clearly suggests I’m the last person who should ever be trusted with such a marvellous gift.
And it serves as a reminder of my original question: what would you do if you owned a talisman that granted you the gift of foresight?
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 3 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 Simon @sywipe 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
