Date Published: January 4, 2013
Publisher: Visionary Press Cooperative
The Blurb:
“The ends justify the means”...For vampire Miranda Dandridge, using her supernatural abilities to rescue children from impossible circumstances is her means to be a part of the human world that she loves so much, despite the atrocities of WWII.
For doctor Ben Gongliewski, saving his fellow Jews from the horrific death camps is an end for which he risks his own life every day, hiding his Jewish heritage while feigning loyalty the SS.
Neither Miranda nor Ben expects to find love in World War II Europe, but that is exactly what happens as they work for the Resistance. When the war draws to a close, it seems like the vampire and the doctor are free to start a future together. But just how far the Nazis will go to further their own evil ends?
Desperate times make for ruthless men as loves and lives are threatened, but, Miranda and Ben know that their world cannot go to hell, not by any means…
Meet Nicole Hadaway!
How long have you been writing?
I wrote a bit when I was a teenager, but I really and truly started writing with the goal of a novel in mind in the Fall of 2008.
What inspired you to write Release?
Fright Night, The Lost Boys, Dracula (1979 movie), Blood Ties, Twin Peaks and Twilight. How did they all end up in a novel about WWII?
Miranda started off as a female vampire character in my head I’d invented after seeing Fright Night and Dracula; she really came into being in 1987, as a way for me to ride on the back of David’s motorcycle in The Lost Boys. Her friend, Vanessa, showed up after Twin Peaks and I saw the relationship between Laura Palmer and her best friend, Donna. Cray, Mirrie’s brother, was inspired by Cry Little Sister.
Throughout the years, I’d struggled to come up with an original storyline, then after reading how Henry Fitzroy ran guns during WWI in one of the Blood Ties books, I started thinking about where Mirrie was during WWII. Of course, she’d be battling the evil Nazis. After reading Twilight, something inside me clicked, and I realized how I could write the story down, how I could lay out each scene, which voice to use, and it all just flowed after that.
Which of your characters do you relate to most and why?
Hmmm, I suppose Miranda, since she was my alter ego at one point in time. Since her inception (when I was an insecure teenager), I’ve grown to like myself, so I don’t necessarily need someone else living my life for me. She does share my moral code – if I were a vampire during WWII, I’d certainly join up with the Resistance to rescue children from concentration camps.
What is a secret about you that nobody else knows?
Well, if I told, then it wouldn’t be a secret now, would it? ;-)
If your real life was a fictional book, what would you, the main character, be like?
Bridget Jones (actually, my real life has been like hers, and I’m not sure that’s always a good thing!), with a bit of Miranda and Charlotte from Sex and the City thrown in there to keep it real.
What book have you read too many times to count?
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I just love the Marauder’s Map, the nicknames, the Patronuses (or Patroni?) and how little details in books 1 and 2 turned into big deals (Scabbers!).
What is the best piece of writing advice you ever received?
This is horrible to say, but there’s really no one piece of advice that I’ve clung to over the years. I’m a bit of a rule-breaker, and I believe what works for one author may not work for another, depending upon the genre, etc. That being said, I will say that Rhiannon Frater is my sensei. What she recommends, I do, no questions asked.
If you could hop into the life of any fictional character, who would it be and why?
Nancy Drew, because I love figuring out mysteries, she had two BFFs who were always there for her, a supportive boyfriend, and she was smart!
What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?
Characters do the darndest things. People are like, “Why did you kill that character?” or “How could you have her do that?!”, and it’s like, “I didn’t – it just happened.” It’s like I’m watching their actions and writing it down, with no real control over what they say or do. Which is odd to say, since they are products of my imagination. It’s just amazing where the writing process takes me when I start it.
What do you like to do when you're not writing?
I love to ride my horse, Joey. I get to the barn, and it’s like a vacation every time. When I’m on him, I can pretend to be a princess, riding through valleys to rescue the prince!
Are any of the things in your books based on real life experiences or purely all imagination?
There are character interactions that are based on my own personal experiences, but it’s mostly as far away from my life as you can get.
What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why?
The scenes that take place in Wewelsburg castle, because there’s so much action and mythology and research in it. It was so much fun J
As a lawyer, Nicole Hadaway knows all about bloodsuckers and deals with the devil. She currently lives in Texas where she pens such tales involving the supernatural, featuring her heroine, the vampire Miranda Dandridge.
To learn more about Nicole Hadaway and her books, visit her website.You can also find her on Facebook and Goodreads.
The Book Trailer:
The Excerpt:
Gordon and Jurgen remained silent, knowing that ‘the twelfth’ was something very important, so important that no one had ever really explained its significance to them. Apparently, foot soldiers such as they were not privy to such lofty plans. But nonetheless, it had become their bit of comfort as the Russians and the Western Allies advanced on German-held territories.
Gordon turned up the volume on the radio and Jurgen started dealing the cards. The men then sat there, each looking at their hands, wondering what cards to keep and which to discard, when a shadow fell over the table, as if the light from the hallway had gone out. All three men looked at the doorway to find the reason.
Cards dropped to the table as they stared, mouths agape, at what was now standing in their doorframe.
A naked woman, who had materialized out of nowhere. A blonde, definitely Aryan – her hair was so light – whose body exhibited the perfect female form. She moved to the side and held out her arm, gesturing down the hallway.
The main entrance door opened, and standing just outside the door was another naked female, a brunette this time, with wild curly hair.
The brunette spoke, and even though she was a good twenty feet away, her voice wasn’t loud, nor did it echo throughout the building, as others voices usually did when they called down the hallway. “May I come in,” she asked simply, placing one hand on her hip.
Jurgen, who was entranced even though he wasn’t exactly attracted to the women, nodded. The others were incapable of any movement.
Then the blonde and brunette were standing in the same room as the men – Jurgen didn’t even remember seeing the brunette walk down the hallway. But he could tell his thinking was muddled, it was as if he kept blanking out at each step the women took towards them, the sway of their hips acting like the taste of vodka on his lips.
The blonde reached Richard first, wrapping her arms around his neck. She didn’t waste but a minute before she kissed him fiercely, so much that Richard took a step or two backward from the force. He quickly regained his balance, however, and he returned her embrace, his hands moving up and down her naked form with movements that grew quicker and quicker with each pass.
The brunette approached Jurgen slowly, running her hands through her thick, wild-looking hair. She bent down to meet his face, looked deep into his eyes, and said “Why don’t you go outside, and be lookout for us? We’ll call you when it’s your turn, I promise.” She smiled, stroking his cheek.
The next thing Jurgen remembered was standing outside in the damp evening. He couldn’t remember having walked down the hallway to get here. He looked around, down the sidewalk, back to the door of the barracks, wondering if he had really been inside with Richard and Gordon, or if he’d fallen asleep outside, drunk from vodka, and dreamed the whole thing.
Yes, a dream, that was it. Jurgen thought as he stood, breathing in the night air, his mind clearing. Then he grew worried again. Hallucinations last night, vivid dreams today. No more spirits, he vowed to himself. Wouldn’t do for him to go crazy and be dishonorably discharged.
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