As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
On The Table Read Magazine, “the best book magazine in the UK“, in Dangerous Lovers, J. M. Shorney shares her early adult life, going from a religious family to working as the only female butcher in an all-male environment, with tales of abuse and sexual harassment.
Dangerous Lovers
J. M. Shorney’s memoir, Dangerous Lovers recounts a life filled with harrowing events, many of which are beyond contemplation. Starting from the age of seventeen, J. M. Shorney was just like every other teenager, wanting to break free and embrace a life very different from her repressed home life. But as the pages turn, nothing can prepare readers for the scale of the endemic male-chauvinism to which she was subjected and the second-class citizen and sex object role that was commonplace for women at the time.
Growing up in the 1960s and 70s was tough at times, especially as a woman. Working as a female butcher in an all-male environment came with its own problems, but this didn’t stop J. M. Shorney from succeeding, and neither did the constant sexual abuse from her balding, sad, 50-something-year-old boss.
After becoming pregnant at 19, she was single, and although the baby’s father (and domineering grandfather) tried to pressure her into marrying, she declined. She had the loving support of her parents and knew she would work even harder to provide for her baby. Even when a local, childless, wealthy woman offered her £1,000 to hand over her baby, she refused. Sadly, the woman and J. M. Shorney’s boss, who believed that women with children should stay at home, made all kinds of threats when the baby’s birth drew close.
Good-looking men were drawn to J. M. Shorney like magnets, and one of them, a young Hungarian boy, left a huge mark on her life. Despite him being violent and jealous, spending time in Borstal and later becoming a hardened criminal, he was like a drug to her.
Dangerous Lovers shares many stories from her life, from almost running away with a young man the night before his wedding, to coming-of-age sexual adventures in Brighton at Devil’s Dyke, and, of course, the night she met her beloved Mike, whom she later married.
Dangerous Lovers is an entertaining and shocking autobiography that causes readers on more than one occasion to gasp out loud. Take a walk down memory lane, back to the Swinging Sixties and Seventies, a to a time when British life and culture were so much different, proving there’s no such thing as the ‘good old days’.
J. M. Shorney
I was a shy country girl struggling to make a living. Brought up by a religious mother, who quoted the Holy Bible, compelled me to say my prayers, and scarcely allowed posters, only the Holy pictures to grace my bedroom walls. The book is about youthful rebellion. The struggle to overcome repression, but sometimes finding only abuse, stalking, and a forbidden love with a man whom I had no idea was married …with children.
Previously published is ‘Country Hauntings.’ Ten years in the making, as I had to interview several witnesses to ghostly phenomena, the ‘Hauntings’ referred to were related to Chaddleworth and surrounding areas, including Newbury, which saw two Civil War battles.
I was then invited on Radio Berkshire to discuss the book. My second time on local radio and was given a spot of my own in which to talk about my growing up years in this picturesque village.
Which brings me to ‘Dangerous Lovers,’ where times remained unchanging, as did olde worlde values, in as much as a baby born out of wedlock in the Sixties and Seventies was considered a sacrilege in the villagers’ eyes. My other published books are Four ‘Aidan McRaney Crime novels,’ plus ‘All of them Vampires’ and ‘Staying Out.
-J. M. Shorney
Find more from J. M. Shorney now:
Apple Books: https://apple.co/3WuYVnC
Kindle: https://amzn.to/3Wvblw0
Paperback: https://amzn.to/3y9tc1m
Hardcover: https://amzn.to/3y5ziQq
We strive to keep The Table Read free for both our readers and our contributors. If you have enjoyed our work, please consider donating to help keep The Table Read going!
Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc, or its affiliates.
