Blood Feud: a Debut Novel From a Reimagined Past

Swampscott resident Kelly Cunningham's idea for his debut novel Blood Feud arose at a real-life wedding attended by family.

He was thinking: his 10 siblings have done well for themselves, carving out successful careers from humble beginnings in the Old Colony project in South Boston. They moved on, as adults, from their peripatetic family life fueled by the substance abuse that plagued their parents.

The Cunningham family members went on to careers in finance, nursing, marketing and business.

Kelly, 57, went on to a career in software engineering, and is the married father of three children.

But what if things had been different for his brothers and sisters when they were growing up — if they had been secure and fortuitous.

That what if born of Cunningham's reimagined past grew into a thriller about the Gamble family, as chronicled by family archivist Twain Gamble.

The Gambles are a famously rich altruistic family thrust into seminal events of the  age including the attacks of September 11, 2001 and the fight against terrorism.

The drama unfolds when three siblings travel to see a fourth sibling and an assassination attempt is made on them. At the same time another family member is kidnapped.

Cunningham, a Swampscott resident for 20 years, said his self-published novel gave him an outlet to write, which he loves.

He has published a book of poetry and also has broad interests ranging from technology to art to politics.

Ultimately the novel echoes things that are important to him in his real life — family and friends. And imagination — creating a destiny.

Find out more about the book at www.gamblearchives.com.  

The book is available as a paperback from CreateSpace.  It is also available on the following eReaders: kindle, nook, kobo.  It will also soon be available on Android eReaders through Google.  The easiest way to find the links is to go to the Gamble Family website at www.gamblearchives.com.