M.B. Feeney's Blog, page 22

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I just posted this to Facebook and Twitter, but I felt it deserved to be posted here too...

Freedom to Fly

I'm really struggling getting into the right mindset to write lately. So, to whet your (and mine) whistle, I thought I'd post the new (unedited) prologue for my failed NaNo piece "Freedom to Fly" (I'm still unsure about the title). I'd love to know what you think:



Despite the heat of the summer air being blown in through the open window, I couldn’t help but shiver as I removed my top and bra before the familiar process began once more. I winced as the machine squeezed and squashed my boobs painfully causing me to grit my teeth and attempt to breathe my way through it.
The nurse I knew smiled her apology as she released me, indicating it was over, until the next time. As she wrote her notes in my file, I pulled my clothes back on and rubbed the goosebumps from my bare arms. I smiled at the fresh ink on the inside of my left arm as I pulled my bag over my head. The floating dandelion seeds floating upwards towards my wrist had healed nicely. I made a mental note to rub some cream into the rest when I got home as I sat down.
After the usual discussion about having to wait for the results and how I was feeling in myself day to day, I was able to walk outside into the blinding sunshine. Pulling on my oversized sunglasses that made me look like a fly, I shoved my headphones in and began to walk.
Onwards and upwards.

To Serve is Divine Cover reveal

Summary:Catherine O’Chancey is a reserved, demure, and graceful submissive. All traits she trained hard to enhance when she discovered the world of Dominance and submission in college. In an attempt to start fresh after the unexpected death of her last Dom, Catherine moves to Dallas, TX to escape the shroud of darkness he left behind in her life. She has tried to fight the need that resides deep within
her to submit, but finally has to admit she can’t for it is not a choice, but part of who she truly is. After months of mental preparation, she ventures back into the lifestyle by attending a coveted open-night event at Dungeons and Dreams, an exclusive BDSM club.
Is it fate or coincidence that Catherine garners the attention of one of the club’s board members who happens to be on the hunt for the perfect sub – a partner who enjoys receiving pain and pleasure as much as he enjoys doling it out?
Jayden Masterson is many things: a firm Dom, a shrewd businessman, and a gentleman. What he isn’t, is someone who partakes in relationships outside of contractual ones with his multiple, uncollared, regular submissives. While he likes rough sex, he is not an animal, and can find pleasure only if it is consensual. What his harem is missing is a pain slut, could there be one in his future?
Upon meeting Catherine, Jayden feels an instantaneous spark inside him that has him wanting to know not just her body, but her mind. He wants to unravel her mysteries and discover her secrets. Through pain can they find the pleasure they seek? Can part-time pain lovers find full-time fulfilment
when it’s not in their contract? 
The Cover:
Author Information: R.E. Hargrave is a fledgling author who has always been a lover of books and now looks forward to the chance to give something back to the literary community. She lives on the outskirts of Dallas, TX with her husband and three children.





Author LinksFacebook * Author Website * Twitter * Goodreads * Amazon * Barnes & Noble

New Year; New Me

Last year, I wrote sporadically with no plan or focus (apart from the 2 weeks it took me to write Right Click, Love) and suffered from writer's block quite a lot. This year, I plan to write a minimum of 750 words a day.

Unlike NaNo, I won't make myself stick to one piece, instead, I'll go with the flow and will work on whichever piece inspires me that day. I'm hoping that by not pinning myself down and stressing myself out, I'll get everything I have started, finished.

As wonderful as it has been having Right Click, Love published as part of Sugarplum Dreams, I'm hoping to work towards having a solo novel out at some point this year (as well as more novellas). I would hate to think of myself as a one hit wonder. (the ladies are going to kill me for that comment, I just know it!)

The next couple of months are going to be a little thin on the writing side of things as I will have to put on my "teacher" hat instead of my "author" one and concentrate on uni stuff otherwise, I'll crash and burn. So, this week (and possibly next week) I will be writing as much as I can to get a huge chunk out of the way.

I have decided today that I am going to rip apart my failed NaNo piece and rework it. I've actually just written the prologue I'd always felt was missing.

So, into the fray...

Also,

Post Christmas Sale

I've posted about this over on Facebook and Twitter, but completely forgot about the blog (I'm a fail, I know).

The sale on Smashwords ends on 31 December, so make sure you get the books you want ASAP! They are available in all ebook formats and in PDF versions viewable on your computer.

So, for all the promotional codes and links, head over to the Ren Rom blog for all the details.

Enjoy!

Have a Merry Christmas

First of all, I want to wish everyone a wonderfully merry Christmas filled with plenty of food, alcohol, family, friends and laughter. I will be spending two days with my parents, my other half, my kids and the dog, so I'll have the above in plenty.

Once the celebrations are out of the way, I am hoping to get back into writing as I haven't done any for over a week which I hate. I have a novella to finish to submit to the ladies at RenRom for their Beach reads Open Call as well as pulling my NaNo attempt from this year apart and building it up into something halfway decent.

February and March will be a bit thin on the ground with writing as I will be on Teaching Practice as part of my uni course and every spare minute will be spent planning and evaluating lessons as well as being in a school full time. I'm nervous, but looking forward to it. (I just hope I get a good school). It's what I'm planning to do with the rest of my life, so I may as well get the practice in.

I have lived out one of my ultimate dreams this year... far sooner than I had ever planned, hoped, or even imagined. I couldn't have done it without the support of my friends who knew I was possibly planning to submit, the WONDERFUL ladies over at RenRom and once I finally announced I had signed that contract, my family. I would never have coped with the process and made it through in one piece (even if I don't have any nails left - and a few more grey hairs). They have become my extended family and I love them ALL to bits.

Finally, I want to thank everyone who has bought either Right Click, Love or Sugarplum Dreams. Your support has been amazing, even if you don't plan on reading it as it's not your genre, the fact that you have stood behind me (and the others involved) means the world to me.

I just hope my 'career' as an author spans more than one novella. I need to pull my finger out and stop being so easily distrac- ooh, shiny.

Fandom for Heroes

Last year, myself and a couple of friends decided to set up a charity compilation to help raise money for The Poppy Appeal and Help for Heroes. With the help of some amazing people, we managed to raise £450. A collection of fantastic stories was the result.

We decided to run it again this year, but this time, all stories submitted are to be Original Fiction. We have also changed the charities slightly, replacing The Poppy Appeal with The Soldier's Charity. This does not mean we don't want you NOT to help The Poppy Appeal, the link to their website is still up on the blog and we all still feel that this charity does amazing things, we just wanted to highlight a fairly unknown charity this year as well as one that is known nationally (if not internationally).

There is no theme, pretty much anything goes, but please check out the guidelines listed on the blog.

So far, we only have 4 authors (myself included) signed up to submit a piece. We need more. If you feel you are unable to donate a story, please consider donating a minimum of £5 to receive the collection. When you do sign up, please share the link to both the blog and the Facebook Page to help raise awareness.

PLEASE help. These men and women fight for our (and other) country and us as a nation. While both of these charities are UK based, we hope to highlight the amazing things servicemen and women around the world do.

Sign up here

Right Click, Love and Sugarplum Dreams are HERE!

I sat up last night until well past midnight so that I could see the books go live on Amazon. I was blown away by the response I got, not that I should have been surprised, I have some of the best and most supportive friends out there!

Sugarplum Dreams is, at the moment, available in ebook format only. The paperback will be available soon. As soon as it is, links will go up on Facebook and Twitter (and pretty much everywhere else I can think of). UK readers, order here and those of you in the US, click here.



Right Click, Love is available in ebook only. If you don't have an ereader, you can download one for the computer or for most smartphones (I use the kindle app on my iPhone). UK readers, click here, those of you in the US, click here.



I, and I'm sure I can speak for the other ladies, hope you enjoy all of the stories. They were a labour of love for us all.

If you want to win a SIGNED copy of Sugarplum Dreams (paperback), signed by the amazing Lisa Bilbrey, check out the giveaway over on Goodreads.com. (I will be hosting my own soon - details to follow)

Also, there is Twitter party tonight to celebrate the release. If you want to win some great prizes, head over to Twitter at 6pm (EST) - that's 11pm UK time if you're not US based. Use hashtag #SugarplumDreamsParty to join in.

I Think I'm Going to Struggle

It's suddenly hit me, I am RUBBISH at self promotion. I know,  know. It's not THAT much of a shock really, not to those who know me.

I fully admit to being one of those people who was very naive about the whole publishing process. I knew to expect the editing side of things (STILL not my favourite part - Sorry Mav) and re-edits etc... BUT I never knew to expect the amount of self promotion there is to do.

Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, there are so many places to "pimp" out your upcoming book, short story, or article, but I've found, unless you are completely devoted and diligent about keeping all of these up to date,
it's quite hard to build up the fanbase.

I'm lucky, I have some very supportive friends and my family are brilliant too, but finding completely new readers is hard. Yes, people may 'like' your page or follow you on Twitter, but this is no guarantee they will actually buy and read what you release. THIS is where I am getting nervous, and think I will struggle.

My family and friends have said they will buy Right Click, Love or Sugarplum Dreams which makes me smile, but will people who have never heard of me buy it? I'm hoping that fans of the other ladies who buy it for their stories read mine and enjoy it too.  Maybe I'll gain "fans" through them.

Right, who wants to give me a piggyback?

Post NaNo Blues

Well... I didn't "win" again this year... I failed with a measly 14,285 words. I have no one to blame but myself. I'm just not disciplined enough to keep to the daily word count. On the plus side, I have 14k+ words I didn't have at the end of October. In the new year, after the hysteria of Sugarplum Dreams being released has died down, I'm going to work through Freedom to Fly and see if I can salvage it somehow.

Feb & March are going to be writing free as I will be on my teaching practice for uni, so I have to be academic for 6 weeks (sucks, I know), but as it's an essential part of me qualifying, I kinda need to buckle down. So, during the next few weeks, I want to try and finish my beach reads novella and promo Sugarplum Dreams. I have some other uni stuff to do after Christmas, but as I don't have any classes in January, I will have the time to head into uni at least one day a week to get that done (and to catch up with people I have missed).

I only have a short teaser this post as I am lacking in words, but I hope you enjoy it:


His retort was swallowed by the arrival of a porter brandishing a crappy hospital wheelchair that was only capable of going backwards. What fun. Luke helped me get in and walked alongside me as the porter took us down to the x ray department. I was just starting to feel a little travel sick when he announced we arrived, parked me up in a corridor, and left us to it.“Chatty.” Luke commented as we watched the tall figure walk away and around a corner.“Not everyone can be as verbose as you.”“It’s one of my many talents my mouth possesses.” I didn’t even bother giving him the satisfaction of a response.“You must be Miss Martin.” I looked up find yet another nurse, this one male smiling at me.“I’m getting famous round here.” I was bored and wanted to go home. One thing I wasn’t was patient. I hated nothing more than waiting around.“Let’s get that ankle photographed then I’ll take you back up to wait for a doctor.” Rather than just grab the chair, he actually helped me to my one good foot and supported me as I hobbled into the room. “Right, I need you to remove any jewellery you might be wearing and to ask if you’re pregnant.” I paused in the removal of my jewellery to look at him. He shifted his weight on his feet slightly.“Nope, not pregnant.” “Okay good, I mean... the x ray ... not good...” I heard Luke snigger from the hallway, making it clear he was listening.