Virtual Book Tour - The Life & Dysfunction of Nadine Daniels

Welcome to my stop on Hadena James Virtual Book Tour for The Life & Dysfunction of Nadine Daniels.  Please make sure to leave a comment or question for Hadena to let her know you stopped by.

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Guest Post -Writing Quirks and Must-Haves by Hadena James

First, I must have background noise - If I’m locked inside my studio, I tend to load up my laptop with either old British Sitcoms (Waiting for God, Monty Python’s Flying Circus, and/or Fawlty Towers) or German rock music (Rammstein, Oomph!, and Eisbrecher). The side effect of this is that occasionally I find myself inserting words and phrases that are very British or I start typing in German. Luckily, my editor is good at catching these changes… If I’m at home, I hand the remote to my SO and tell him to turn it on whatever he wants to watch. If he ends up turning on a documentary regarding something historical, writing usually has to wait until it ends. The saving point is that he isn’t as interested in history as me or at least, not the same areas.

Second, I must have soda – I drink twice as much soda when I’m writing. If my brain isn’t wired on caffeine, it seems to block the creativity.

Third, I must be using my own laptop – For some reason, I can’t seem to get inspired when I am sitting at another computer… Even my home computer. At one point, my laptop bit the dust and I used a replacement for a month while I picked out a new one. I wrote absolutely nothing during that time, not even on my home computer. The moment I had my new laptop (and it had been officially made mine by loading it up with British TV and German rock music), the writing flowed again.

As for quirks, there are many. I can only write around certain people and their moods can influence my writing. My SO is very serious and when I write around him, my writing is more serious. My best friend however brings out my sense of humor and I use her to “beta-read/content edit” my stuff because she can suggest things that I can turn into hilarious situations. However, I’ve never been able to write with a group of people around nor in a public place such as a coffee shop. Setting seems to have a huge impact on my creativity and people as well as places can alter my writing significantly.

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The Life & Dysfunction of Nadine Daniels
by Hadena James

Publisher: Hadena James
Release Date: January 12, 2013

Buy Links

Amazon Kindle         B&N Nook  


Book Description: 

Nadine Daniels’ life is a disaster. The security company that she owns is being sued, her mother is coming to visit for a week, and some unpleasant realities about her “charity” work are about to surface. She thought this was as bad as it could get, but she was wrong—dead wrong.

Someone believes she knows a secret – a secret worth killing for. With assassins tracking her every move, Nadine wishes the only thing she had to worry about was her mother pestering her to settle down with her suspected live-in boyfriend, Zeke, but she can’t think about the future when the present might end with her death.

Excerpt: 



His frustration was evident. While my situation still sucked, at least it was looking better. If I could just stay alive long enough, I would be saved.

“That would probably be the most interesting thing you’ve said all day.” He sat back down, facing me. I would have preferred him up, pacing the room, clawing at the walls, but I’d take what I could get.

“Actually, it’s not that interesting. I was attacked by a tiger. He got a good chunk of meat from my leg, I had physical therapy for two years and a couple of really nasty scars, but otherwise, it was just like any other day.” Even the attack hadn’t been that extraordinary. He was hungry, I looked like lunch. No harm, no foul. I never hold anything against large predators, they’re just doing what instinct tells them.

“Fine, what would make you loosen your tongue?”

“I don’t know, maybe if you knew one of my phobias and used that against me. Unfortunately, I’m not afraid of pain or death, so those are not effective. If you had asked me this earlier, we wouldn’t have had to ruin my favorite shirt.”

“And I guess you’re just going to tell me what you’re afraid of?” He rubbed a hand down his face. It was a gesture I was used to, people did it all the time to me.

“No, but if you had done a little research before you kidnapped me, it would have helped. For example, my fears are pretty easy to discover. Just ask someone. Hell, even the press knows what I’m afraid of, I’m sure it’s been printed someplace. And you would have known that I hire mercs, S.E.A.L.S and Rangers.”

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My Review 

The first books I remember borrowing from the library as a child were mystery books, Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys were long time favorites before I moved on to books by Mary Stewart and others.  I especially love mystery books that include romance and comedic subplots.  Hadena James The Life & Dysfunction of Nadine Daniels is one such book.  With a likable heroine, fun secondary characters, a mystery, a good touch of humor and a subtle romance, Ms. James' book has everything I need.

Suffering from post- vacation blues, Nadine Daniels, the owner of a private security company, has a lot on her plate.  Her business is thriving, they've recently relocated some mob family members and they've received a lot of publicity - unfortunately not all of it is good.  As if life isn't busy enough, Nadine finds herself with a new roommate, an employee who becomes more than she bargained for, and an unexpected visit from her mother.  When threats are made against her life, Nadine begins to wonder if she'll make it to the end of the week.

Ms. James did a good job developing Nadine's character and introducing us to all of the people in her life.  With just the right amount of witty and occasionally snarky dialogue, Nadine is just like any modern woman who's got a little too much on her plate.  With a large cast of supporting characters, who all make significant contributions to the story's plot, you could get a little overwhelmed but I enjoyed the challenge.  

Will Nadine discover who's trying to cut her life short before it's too late?  And will her new romance be all she's been hoping for?  You'll have to read The Life & Dysfunction of Nadine Daniels to find out.  I enjoyed it and have already purchased  The Dysfunctional Valentine: A Nadine Daniels’ Novella. I can't wait to see what happens next in Nadine's life.


My Rating:  4 out of 5 Crowns

FTC Disclosure:  I received a complimentary copy of this book as a part of a book tour in exchange for a fair and honest review.  

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Author Bio:


Hadena James began writing at the age of eight. As a teenager, she had several short stories published in literary magazines. She completed writing her first novel at the age of 17.Hadena graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in European History with minors in German and Russian studies. She has always wanted to be a writer so she also took several classes in creative writing.

Hadena’s primary literary genre is action/thriller. She currently writes two series, both use action/thriller. “The Brenna Strachan Series” uses fantasy and the “Dreams & Reality Series” uses murder mystery as its secondary genre. She continues to explore and expand her writing and hopes to soon produce a comedic action/thriller.

When she isn’t busy writing or running her business, Hadena enjoys playing in a steel-tip dart league. She also loves to travel throughout North America and Europe. Her favorite cities are Chicago, Illinois and Berlin, Germany. She is an avid reader, reading everything from the classics like Jane Austen to modern writers like Terry Pratchett. One of her all-time favorite books is “Good Omens” by Neil Gaimen and Terry Pratchett. She writes all of her books while listening to music
and the bands tend to get “honorable mentions” within the pages.

Connect with Hadena

hadenajames.wordpress.com

Twitter: @hadenajames

Facebook: www.facebook.com/hadenajames

Tour Stops

February 25 - - Reading Addiction Blog Tours - Meet and Greet
February 26 - Waiting on Sunday to Drown - Review/Guest Post
February 28 - Book Reviews and More - Guest Post/PROMO
March 1 - Andi's Book Reviews - Interview/PROMO
March 2 - My Reading Addiction - PROMO
March 3 - Must Read Faster - Review/Guest Post
March 5 - Bless Their Hearts Mom - Review/GuestPost
March 6 - Queen of All She Reads - Review/Guest Post
March 7 - Laurie's Thoughts and Reviews - Interview/PROMO
March 8 - Gimme the Scoop - Guest Post/PROMO
March 8 - Uttley's Take - Guest Post/PROMO
March 9 -Cozie Corner - Review
March 10 - The Self Taught Cook - Review
Books and Needlepoint - Review