Thursday, November 28, 2019

A Forgiven Friend Extract

A Forgiven Friend

by Sue Featherstone and Susan Pape


Friendship will always come first.

There’s only one way out from rock bottom and that’s up, and Teri Meyer is finally crawling out from the worst time of her life – no thanks to her best friend Lee. But no matter, she’s finally found love – real love with a real man, a successful man, a man who accepts all her flaws. Teri’s never felt like this before, and yet it’s changing her in ways she doesn’t understand.

And there’s only one person who can help, one person who truly understands Teri.

It seems that no matter how hard Lee Harper tries, there’s a battle awaiting her at every turn these days, and she’s tired. And as if she needs the extra stress, Teri continues to create constant and unnecessary drama. But Lee’s the only one who really knows what’s going on under Teri’s hard, convoluted exterior, and that’s why she’s always been there for her.

But the question is: will Teri be there when Lee needs her most?

The brilliant and entertaining final book in the unique FRIENDS trilogy dishes out another dose of rib-tickling mayhem for our favourite thirty-something professional women.

Extract:

Intro:
After being told to keep best friend, Lee Harper’s possible pregnancy a secret, Teri Meyer – not known for tact and diplomacy – spills the beans not only to Lee’s fiancé, Dan Caine, but to make matters worse, Lee’s mother. Lee, of course, is furious and Teri must find a way of apologising – again.

Extract:

How was I to know that Lee hadn’t told her mother about the impending Caine-Harper grandchild? Wouldn’t her mother be the first person to be informed after plucking up the courage to tell Dan? Apparently not.

Lee had finally rung and released the full force of hell’s bells and damnations before I even had chance to give my side of the story.

I was never to open my big mouth again, she said. I was never to discuss her life – private or professional – with anyone, ever again. I was never to speak to Lee or any member of her family, ever again. She did not want to hear my pathetic excuses and she certainly was never going to forgive me.

Then she slammed the phone down.

Lee and I have had our fallings out before, but I’ve always managed to win her round. I would have to give her time to calm down – and then find a way of apologising. Although, really, she should have told her mother herself – and a lot sooner.

#

After Lee’s call, I couldn’t settle so went to Portly & Groops for coffee. I rifled through the pile of free Evening Leaders on the coffee shop’s wide window ledge. Beside the stack was a small pile of brightly-coloured postcards advertising a new spa and sanctuary on the outskirts of town. They were offering discounts on facials, massages and an overnight stay.

A spa retreat! Just the thing to win Lee over. Without stopping to think, I booked us in for Friday night.

Lee wasn’t best pleased to see me when I turned up on her doorstep. ‘I think I told you to get lost,’ she said, starting to close the door in my face.

You’re not doing that to me I thought, thrusting a foot forward. Momentarily I worried for my second best pair of shoes, but Lee saw what I’d done and, fearing injury for which she’d be to blame, relented and pulled the door back again.

Lee sighed one of her big sighs and stood back to let me into the house.

She grudgingly accepted the (second) bouquet of flowers I’d bought – the local florist was doing well out of my apologies. But Lee hadn’t seemed too thrilled when I told her about our little pamper night.

‘I haven’t got time to go away,’ she protested.

‘Why?’ I demanded. ‘You’re on compassionate leave from work. You’ve suffered a terrible bereavement. You’re stressed out. You’re knackered. You and Dan are not exactly life’s most loved-up lovers. You might as well have a night away with your favourite friend.’ She frowned at that last bit, and I playfully slapped her arm. ‘Me!’ I reminded her. ‘I’m your favourite friend.

‘And besides which, I’ve had to pay upfront, and there’s no chance of a refund. So you’ll have to come.’

But I’d muddled the dates. 


Purchase Links:

Biographies:

Sue Featherstone and Susan Pape

Sue Featherstone and Susan Pape are both former newspaper journalists with extensive experience of working for national and regional papers and magazines, and in public relations.
More recently they have worked in higher education, teaching journalism – Sue at Sheffield Hallam and Susan at Leeds Trinity University.

The pair, who have been friends for almost 30 years, wrote two successful journalism text books together – Newspaper Journalism: A Practical Introduction and Feature Writing: A Practical Introduction (both published by Sage), before deciding to turn their hands to fiction.

The first novel in their Friends series, A Falling Friend, was released in 2016. A Forsaken Friend followed two years later, and the final book in the trilogy, A Forgiven Friend, published on November 19.

Sue, who is married with two grown-up daughters, and the most ‘gorgeous granddaughter in the whole world’, loves reading, writing and Nordic walking in the beautiful countryside near her Yorkshire home.

Susan is married and lives in a village near Leeds, and, when not writing, loves walking and cycling in the Yorkshire Dales. She is also a member of a local ukulele orchestra.

They blog about books at https://bookloversbooklist.com/
Follow them on Twitter: @SueF_Writer and @wordfocus

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