M.B. Feeney's Blog, page 8

12 Days of Book Nerdiness – Day 4 – M. B. Feeney

Get your choice of stories from M.B. Feeney. Get a sneak peek here.




An anthology of short stories by M. B. Feeney
The world is filled with people destined to help and to serve. Doctors, nurses, police, and firefighters—each and every day, these special people work to help others in

times of need. Often, this means putting their own lives at risk in order to do their jobs. They give of themselves to benefit society, and they do it without any expectation of thanks.
And then there is the military…
These are the men and women who don’t head home to their families and safe homes to relax at the end of a shift. They are on the front lines, far from home and often fighting someone else’s battles because it is the right thing to do. Military families struggle to cope with the constant worry and the long periods of separation,

staying strong to support those who serve in everything they do, and often are left to pick up the pieces when the highest price is paid. 
Servicemen and women are heroes in the purest sense of the word. Even when the world’s gone mad and their hearts are breaking, one thing remains unchanged.
 

 

Excerpt:
Billy Skinner
19 August 2012
London
20123639

Pte Jonno Cooper

Operation HERRICK

BFPO 7721234567
Hey Shit Face,
Jonno, my man! Got a wicked tan yet? Or is it one of those ‘White Van Man’ tans: face and below the t-shirt sleeves

only? I’m not ashamed to brag; I am golden brown, and it’s driving the ladies wild! Wild, I tell you! I think I may be getting pretty lucky this summer. Don’t you just wish you were me? Well, more than usual.
In some ways, I wish we could switch places. Being a soldier was all I ever wanted to do, and my own body betrayed

me. We were supposed to do the Army thing together, but my bloody asthma soon put a stop to that. That doesn’t mean I’m not proud of you, ‘cause I am, more than I’ve ever been proud of anyone. Well, let’s face it; no-one’s ever given me reason to be. I guess that’s one of the reasons I wanted to sign up. I wanted people to be proud of me for once.
Crap! Hels warned me that writing this letter would be like going to see a shrink. She told me that now you aren’t

around to take the piss, it makes it easier to write the words. I swear, if you take the piss when you get back, I will rearrange your face for you. It’s not that I’m ashamed to be writing what I just did, I would just rather you didn’t use it as ammo against me when we’re out on the lash, mate.
Speaking of being out on the town, a bunch of us, including Stace, were in Leicester Square for Jim’s birthday. The

lads decided that he needed to go on a ‘pull a pig’ night to see how many mingers he could cop off with. He managed to pull some right howlers, but then he met Emily. He sat with her all night ignoring the rest of us. They’ve been

inseparable for the last three weeks. I must admit, I felt like an utter shit after joining in with the lads. I met her yesterday, and she’s alright. I don’t know how she puts up with him, but to each their own, I guess.
I assume Stacey told you about Suzi’s birthday being a total wash out. I felt sorry for her; she’d been planning it for ages. Why she wanted a garden party is beyond me, but it was her day, I guess. Shame the heavens opened the night before and carried on for three days straight. We ended up down the pub. I’ve never seen that girl so drunk in my

life. Stacey had to sit up with her all night in case she threw up in her sleep. She’s a good ‘un, your missus. I promise she’s doing okay, mate.
We were all worried about her at first but your letters are really helping her and she’s been spending a lot of time with Suzi, too. As much as the girl bugs me—no, not ‘cause we shagged that one time—she’s been a good friend for Stace.
It’s too quiet without you, you loudmouth toerag. I’m still struggling to get used to not calling you when I see something funny, or you not being with us on a night out. I’m so used to having you backing me and my mouth up, that I’m getting myself into a bit of trouble. You need get your arse home so you can start talking me out of shit again because I refuse to think before I speak. It’s just not my style.
Hurry back. We need to go drinking.

Love you, mate, Billy.


Links:
Amazon

UK: http://amzn.to/1OrSjdy

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1mDMJsQ
 
 


Disheartened about not being able to find “Mr. Right” on the London dating scene, best friends Jodie Lynch and Louise Hewson create a blog to not only document their disastrous dates with the numerous “Mr. Wrongs” and “Mr. Okay-for-nows” but also to help those going through the same experiences and to see where they’re going wrong.

How will they deal with everything the dating scene has to throw at them — planned or otherwise?



 
 



Excerpt:
 
Conversation Two:
Me: *looks at his sticker* “Hi, John.”
John: *mumbles* “Hi.”
M: “So, tell me about yourself . . .”
J: “Um . . . I’m thirty, I work in the city . . .” *takes nervous sip from his bottle of poncy beer*
M: “That’s . . . er . . . nice.” *gulp* “So, you live local?”
J: “Not too far. Me and mum co-own a house about ten minutes away.” *alarm bells*
M: “Oh . . . that’s great.”
J: “Er . . . so, what do you do for a living?”
M: “I’m a legal secretary.” *tumbleweeds*
At this point I’d given up the will to live and knocked back almost a whole large glass of wine. We sat in silence until the bell rang again.

Links:
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UK: http://amzn.to/1VJ3ymf

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1FttYig




There’s something about that one person we date in our teens but never become intimate with. Why does a sexless relationship render us unable to stop carrying that person, the what if, with us into our adult life?
For Heidi Johnson, Shane Hughes is her “one that got away.” Through the years, he has stayed in the back of her mind while she became an adult, a mother, and her own person.

Meanwhile, Shane has lived a life of regret that he let Heidi go for the wrong reasons: fear and a misguided sense of not wanting to hurt either of them. When they reconnect online, the memories they’ve tried to suppress over the years return, reigniting the feelings never explored ‘back in the day.’ Will a school reunion

in their home town of London, surrounded by old school friends, help the pair address the questions the years apart left unanswered? Or will they still be left with wanting more?
 

 

Excerpt:
 
I scrambled to get my thoughts straight, wishing I’d thought this meeting through better.
“Sorry.” I apologised again, bringing a small smile to her face. “I thought I had what I wanted to say clear in my mind, but the moment you walked in, it all went to shit.”
“Don’t worry about it. This is your rodeo, take your time.” I glanced at my phone. There was still a decent amount of time to catch my train.
“Thanks.” I took another deep breath to steady my nerves. “I know we spoke last night, after. . .” I trailed off, not sure how to phrase my words.
“We had a rampant fuck in a dark alley?” Heidi supplied, making me laugh.
“If you want to put it that way, fine by me.” My face began to ache from my grin, but I didn’t care. I was finally at ease and knew what I wanted to say and how to say it. “I wanted you to know that I didn’t turn up just looking to get in your knickers last night. I know I’ve flirted, some of it got pretty hardcore, but I never expected anything.”
“Look, Shane. Yeah, the flirting online got pretty intense, but if I hadn’t wanted it to continue, you know me well enough to know I’d have put a stop to it. I did go to the reunion with a purpose. I wanted to remind you exactly what you’d let go. It makes me sound big-headed and full of myself, but it made me feel good. Like you, I never even considered for one moment that we’d end up in that alley, but we did.” She paused to take a sip of her coffee.
I watched her intently, blown away by her frankness. This woman never ceased to amaze me, or make me regret my rash decision fifteen years prior.
“As I said last night, it shouldn’t have happened, but I won’t regret it. It made us both feel fantastic, and if need be, has given us some closure.” Did I want closure? I’d told her last night that I left wanted to know how it would feel to make love to her and I hadn’t lied. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I must have thought that us having sex would, as Heidi mentioned, give us a closure on our unresolved history, but it hadn’t.
“It hasn’t for me.” I had promised myself to be open and honest with her before we parted ways once again. She maintained eye contact even though her skin was flushed with a blush that spread from her throat to her cheeks.
“Me either.”

Links:
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UK: http://amzn.to/1CTSRWA

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1P4yE5b




Ava Jones has settled for a life that she’s not sure she wants anymore, but won’t admit it. Her best friend, Erica Davidson talks her into taking a break on the Isle of Wight. Her days on the island are spent thinking things through, and arguing with Morgan

whom she hates on principal.
Is it so wrong for her to want a life that follows the script of a honest to God romance film?


 





Excerpt:
 
We tried for a couple of years to have children, but it never happened. After many serious discussions, we decided to give up on the idea altogether. That was when we bought our first fur baby: a beautiful Collie cross called Rhea. She was our little girl, and we both doted on her. We assuaged our guilt over our mutual neglect by caring for Rhea, devoting our attention to another living being rather than to each other. The puppies, Remus and Romulus, soon joined her, and our “family” was complete.
For as long as I’d known him, Marcus had played Sunday League football, which was followed by an afternoon with his teammates at the very pub I was now approaching. Coupled with training one evening a week, his evenings out gave me more than enough time to spend with Erica or at home with the dogs.
“Have you thought any more about that holiday I mentioned?” Erica asked while we claimed our usual table. Our customary bottle of red wine was already ready and waiting for us.
“I have . . .” My words drifted away when I thought back to her idea of a girlie getaway on the Isle of Wight. Just as its name suggested, the top-class Lakeside Hotel with attached spa was located right next to a beautiful lake. Bliss.
“And? Why the hesitation?” Erica pushed like she always did, her blue eyes flashing once more as she looked into my brown ones.
The idea of a real getaway caused the blonde hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, but I tried to rein my excitement in. “I don’t know. It sounds amazing, and Lord knows I could do with some time away.”
“Do it, then.” I knew I had enough holiday time available at work. Screw it.
“Let’s do it.”

Links:
Amazon

UK: http://amzn.to/1M66c3O

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1LSnxMK


About M.B. Fenney
 

M. B. Feeney is an army brat who finally settled down in Birmingham, UK with her other half, two kids and a dog. Currently at university studying for her BA (Hons) in primary teaching, she procrastinates on her assignments by listening to music of all genres and trying to get ‘just one more paragraph’ written on whichever WIP is open. She is also a serious doodler and chocoholic. Writing has been her one true love ever since she could spell, and publishing is the final culmination of her hard work and ambition.

Her publishing career began with two novellas, and she currently has multiple projects under way whilst Honour, a compilation of her own military based shorts, was released in November 2013. Always having something on the go can often lead to block which eventually gets dissolved by good music and an even better book. 

Her main reason for writing is to not only give her readers enjoyment, but also to create a story and characters that stay with readers long after the book is finished, and possibly make someone stop and think “what if…”

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12 Days of Book Nerdiness – Day 3 – Brooke Williams

 

Brooke’s Christmas Memory

 

One year many years ago, my sister and I made handprint sweatshirts for our parents as a joke. The joke was on us because we got them in return from our parents the next year with THEIR giant hand prints on them.

I still have and cherish and wear that shirt!

 

 

Renee Lockhart has her eye on a lofty goal…to fill the open position of morning radio show host at the station where she works. When her co-workers sign her up for a local TV version of The Bachelor, Renee goes along with it in order to raise her profile. Upon seeing her bumbling audition, Ben McConnell, one of the most eligible bachelors in town, insists that Renee be placed on the show. But Ben gets much more than he expected in Renee… he gets a girl who can’t seem to do anything right…and a girl he can’t seem to resist.









About Brooke Williams

 

Brooke Williams is a sleep-deprived stay at home mom/freelance writer/author who has an unnatural interest in dandelions. She

attributes her humor to her two young girls for keeping her in the lack of

sleep state on a regular basis. She has been married to her husband Sean since 2002. Brooke has a background as a radio announcer and producer and also did a short stint as a TV traffic reporter. Brooke specializes as a freelance writer and creates blogs, articles, web content and more for clients all over the world. She has written a number of novels including: “Someone Always Loved You,” “Beyond the Bars,” “Wrong Place, Right Time,” “Accept this Dandelion,”  “Mamarazzi,” “Backwards Christmas” and

“Dandelions on the Road.”
 
 
 

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12 Days of Book Nerdiness – Day 2 – Diane Munier

Diane has plenty of tales to tell and you could win 6 of them!
 

 

All across the country, men are drifting home from the war. But when Tom Tanner musters out, he doesn’t plan to go home. After the horrible loss of his older brother, Tom doesn’t feel worthy of the family’s company. But his guilt won’t allow him to cause them more pain and so he goes home for one last visit. But his plans are challenged one day. What Tom finds at the neighbor’s home is a scene right out of the war. But it’s not just about killing. The Missus Addie Varn, is ready to birth. Tom wants to run, and he will come fall, but now he must roll up his sleeves and play midwife.

 

Tom Tanner has taken on a family. He lived through the war, but becoming a lover and pa to two small children may be the role that breaks him.

This is the story of a man’s slow rise from black sheep to patriarch. 1866 is a time of learning to carry on in the aftermath of civil war. Tom is ready to heal, ready to take over Addie’s farm and make it a grand place. He has money from reupping in the war and reward money for bringing a few notorious outlaws.

Can Addie’s love help him settle and become an outstanding man like his pa?

It’s the only fight worth making– a fight for love.

 

In the summer of 1963, sweet little ten-year-old Catholic school girl Georgia Christine meets eleven-year-old smoker with armpit hair who really does live on the wrong side of the tracks, Easy. Georgia and her best friend Abigail May are mystery solvers in their spare time, and Easy and his brother Cap will keep these two little ladies on their sleuthing toes. But as the years pass, can a friendship that begins in childish excitement survive the dark

twists and turns that brew under the surface of their lives?

 

Two lonely souls on the beach. A chance meeting or orchestrated? She invites him to leap to the end of what could be a great time. She has a cabin for three weeks. He has his grandfather’s Victorian house. He doesn’t take chances as a rule, but he’s been drifting for a long time. Does he have the guts to take her up on the offer? It’s reckless. But his moral compass got reset after the incident. So maybe he’ll leap and see where he lands.

 

Hilly Grunier has been in love with Danny Boyd since she was a kid telling scary stories on summer nights at the fire hydrant while Danny pulled close on his bike. But when Danny is thirteen, their friendship ends when he and his brother Sukey have a vicious fight over Hilly. Years pass, and Hilly carries a secret and growing love as she watches Danny rise athletically to the top of their school’s food chain. He even dates the prom queen and rumor says they are engaged. Now Danny has graduated and shows up in her dad’s shop

looking for some temporary employment until the army picks him off for Vietnam.

He’s thrown aside his college scholarship and the golden girl. He seems to be searching for something new before he leaves town. He seems to be searching for her. Hilly can’t let him go overseas without showing him how she feels. But once he’s gone, her own battle intensifies. It’s a long road to finding her thunder.

 

The house next door to Sarah and her mother Marie has been vacant since the murder that happened there when Sarah was ten. Their neighbor, Frieda, was like a second mother to Sarah and she died brutally and that event sends a paralysis over this sleepy neighborhood that hasn’t lifted for seventeen years. Imagine Sarah’s surprise when the old place finally sells to an on-line buyer. She looks through the thick growth separating her house from the other and a wild man looks back. He’s thirty-seven year old Spencer Gundry. Once he shaves the

beard and gets a haircut, he’s not hard to look at. Well Sarah’s mom doesn’t think so. And maybe she doesn’t either. Problem is, Sarah has evolved into the neighborhood watchdog and she knows this tumbleweed Gundry has as many secrets as the house he owns.




 

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Black Ice by M.B Feeney #CinnamonTreats

I wrote a short story for SJ Warner’s Cinnamon Treats Advent!

12 Days of Book Nerdiness – Day 1 – Mary Elizabeth

Get Low with Mary Elizabeth’s upcoming release!

 

It’s hard living on the wrong side of the tracks.

Lowen Seely has a criminal record to prove it. Determined not to follow in his father’s footsteps, he fights instinct and tries honesty. But hunger becomes painful, and bills are due. Forced to choose between what is

right and wrong, the boy from the hood learns abiding by the rules is nearly impossible when corruption is in your blood. 

Falling for an outlaw has changed everything.

Poesy Ashby is the definition of ride or die, even when it means turning her back on freedom. The girl from the suburbs gives conformity the middle finger. Bonnie and Clyde have nothing on her love story. 

On the run with consequences in the rearview mirror, Lowen and Poesy accept the truth: they are the bad guys. 

 

But can they get away with their crimes?
 



Mary Elizabeth is an up and coming author who finds words in chaos, writing stories about the skeletons hanging in your closets. 
 
Known as The Realist, Mary was born and raised in Southern California. She is a wife, mother of four beautiful children, and dog tamer to one enthusiastic Pit Bull and a prissy Chihuahua. She’s a hairstylist by day but contemporary fiction, new adult author by night. Mary can often be found finger twirling her hair and chewing on a stick of licorice while writing and rewriting a sentence over and over until it’s perfect. She discovered her talent for tale-telling accidentally, but literature is in her chokehold. And she’s not letting go until every story is told. 
 
 

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12 Days of Book Nerdiness

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You are all invited to the promotion of the year, 12

Days of Book Nerdiness! A different author and giveaway every day December

7th-18th. Grand Prize giveaway of a Star Wars gift pack. Hope you all can join

us!
 
Prizes from
Mary Elizabeth
 


 









reader’s choice of






Lisa Bilbery



T.M. Franklin


Jeanne McDonald



 
 
reader’s choice
 
 

Flash Fiction Part 4

So, I’ve decided to optimise my account over on Wattpad by posting a collection of my flash fiction pieces. Whenever I post a new part, I’ll share it here alongside the picture that inspired the piece.

So… part 4.

Check it out over on Wattpad. This is the image that inspired the piece.

 

Cover Reveal – It Started in Texas

 Well, it’s finally here. The cover of It Started in Texas. I absolutely ADORE this cover, and I hope you do too. Also, the pre order is now live.


All the info is below, along with some teasers:



IT STARTED IN TEXAS

Name of cover designer – The Graphics Shed

Official genre of book – Contemporary Romance

















Leaving the familiar comfort of her UK home for a weekend in Texas is one of the craziest things Charlotte Evans has ever done. Celebrating her birthday with friends is the highlight of her year until she bumps into her favourite rock star, literally.

Gage Weston is used to having women fall over themselves at his feet … A rock star, an actor, he’s got his fair share of female attention, but what is it about the Brit that grabs his attention from the moment they meet?

Communication issues and crossed wires plague them as they try to work out what is going on with them across thousands of miles. Crazy friends and distance issues aside; can a relationship work, or is it a simple case of ‘a girl in every town’?









“Sounds awesome. I better let you get back to your friends. Mine will come hunting soon if I don’t hurry back; it’s my turn to buy the drinks.” He held out his hand again. “I’m Gage.” I almost burst out laughing as I shook his hand, trying to ignore the warm feeling spreading up my arm.

“Charlotte, it’s nice to meet you.”

“You too. Sorry I knocked you on your ass, I hope it doesn’t bruise.” Oh my God, he actually fucking winked at me. Dare I?

“Maybe I’ll get you to check it later.” Over his shoulder, I could see some of the girls goggling at me trying to listen to what was being said. “The troops have come to rescue me. I gotta go.” With more than a hint of regret, I withdrew my hand from his once again.

“Yeah, see ya.” He looked over his shoulder at everyone watching us before disappearing into the gents. I took a deep breath and prepared myself for the Spanish Inquisition. Walking towards the girls, a huge grin on my face. As soon as I was within grabbing distance, they did just that and frogmarched me back to our table.

I was in the middle of my non-story when I felt a tap on my shoulder. Turning around, I was assaulted by those eyes once more as they looked directly into my own.

“You dropped your cell phone.” Sure enough, in his hand was my mobile. I internally groaned as I remembered the wallpaper was a picture of him from a recent magazine interview that had been posted online.

“Thanks. I didn’t even miss it.” Our fingers touched with a sizzle, or so I thought. It could have been the booze.

“No worries Darlin’. How’s the ass?” I saw mouths drop open around me at the blunt and flirtatious question.

“Its fine thanks. I’ll keep my eye on it.” My words made him grin again. I could get used to seeing that smile up close some more.

“Nice job if you can get it.” He flashed us all another wide smile and then sauntered back to his band mates.































Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Goodreads

M. B. Feeney is an army brat who finally settled down in Birmingham, UK with her other half, two kids and a dog. Currently at university studying for her BA (Hons) in primary teaching, she procrastinates on her assignments by listening to music of all genres and trying to get ‘just one more paragraph’ written on whichever WIP is open. She is also a serious doodler and chocoholic. Writing has been her one true love ever since she could spell, and publishing is the final culmination of her hard work and ambition.

Her publishing career began with two novellas, and she currently has multiple projects under way whilst Honour, a compilation of her own military based shorts, was released in November 2013 and her short novel, The One That Got Away was released February 2015. Always having something on the go can often lead to block which eventually gets dissolved by good music and an even better book.

 Her main reason for writing is to not only give her readers enjoyment, but also to create a story and characters that stay with readers long after the book is finished, and possibly make someone stop and think “what if…”

        



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Surprise…

SURPRISE !!

The Exchange Series, book 2 is now avalaible for only 0.99

Summary:

Aiden King’s heart has been broken, and he’s taking his anger out on his brother, Tyler.

Can he, with the help of his High School Guidance Counsellor, work through his problems.

Buy Links:

Amazon UK

Amazon US

Kobo, Nook, and iTunes links to follow

Flash Fiction Part 3

So, I’ve decided to optimise my account over on Wattpad by posting a collection of my flash fiction pieces. Whenever I post a new part, I’ll share it here alongside the picture that inspired the piece.

So… part 3.

Check it out over on Wattpad. This is the image that inspired the piece.