Author Nedyne Shorts Nettles & Poison Reality

I’d like to welcome my fifth Virtual Book Tour guest today: Nedyne Shorts Nettles, who’ll be sharing the hows and whys of her first novel Poison Reality with us.


Nedyne grew up in Los Angeles, California, in a family of three children. She attended Cal State Northridge for three years right out of high school. She is currently attending Argosy University where she will finish her bachelor’s in psychology. Nedyne and her husband Kevin reside in San Bernardino, California, where they have lived for ten years. She is a nurse at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center. She is very proud to be able to present her novel Poison Reality to the world.

Let's look at Poison Reality.

Vierna Bates, a woman scorned, finds herself staying in a hotel the local newspaper labels “a rape den.” She decides to stop bemoaning her pending divorce and venture downstairs to the hotel's club. As fate would have it, something jams the elevator doors open. As she gets closer, she sees the limbs of a person. Still closer she finds a woman, beaten, bloodied, and barely breathing. Unbeknownst to Vierna, the woman in the elevator is an old classmate named Terry Trainer, who happened to be attending a travel and tourism convention in the same hotel that day. Because of Vierna's discovery, Terry survives her attack but vows to not rest until she finds her attacker. Captain Bill Meays, a handsome investigator, finds himself embroiled in a serial rape case involving several women acquaintances. One woman in particular holds the key to solving the puzzle but time is not on his side. This is a spellbinding, heart-stopping saga with the intertwining lives of many echoing the poison reality of life. Life isn’t always harmonious but it is a symphony of bittersweet.

Nedyne took a few minutes out her busy Virtual Book Tour to share some thoughts with us.

Your book Poison Reality is your first foray into publishing and it's quite a contentious topic (abuse/thriller/detective etc). What inspired you a) to write and b) to write this particular story - where did the idea come from?
I love movies that are suspenseful and real. Lately I have seen remakes of everything and I thought that my novel is different. It places my characters in situations that cannot be figured out. It challenges the reader to continue to read.

Your career as a nurse means you get to deal with many people and experience their hurts and their hopes. Has this influenced or increased your ability to tap into people's emotions better?
At the time this novel was written I wasn’t a nurse, I was a home maker. Nursing has definitely giving me a new perspective and also I majored in psychology which will be seen in novels to come.

How do you manage a career and writing? When do you write? How does your family life fit in with your fiction life?
I write part time. It is pleasant escape. My children are grown and my husband is my biggest supporter. He loves to hear about my characters and give input into what should happen to them.

What inspires you—is it music? Places? Other people's writing? Where do you draw your inspiration from?
I draw my inspiration from life. You never know what you will see or hear about that will give you that creative edge. I am a people watcher and places like the beach, the mall, work, and past relationships all culminate to help me write my stories.

What other writers do you see as role models, or maybe there’s a person in your life who kicked your butt when you thought you couldn't do it—a mentor and guide?
My mom was my kick in the butt. I had learning disabilities growing up that caused me not to be the brightest bulb in the chandelier but my mom always said it took all the bulbs to make the light glow brightly. She made me believe in myself. It wasn’t about winning the race so to speak, but how well I ran in it. I like ‘for real’ books like books written by Tom Wolfe. One in particular, is The Bonfire of the Vanities. Another great book is Waiting to Exhale by Terry McMIllan and Tara Road by Maeve Binchy. Each of these authors paid attention to realism and wrote a very action oriented book that took the imagination to the same heights as an epic movie. My favorite is by Maeve because she writes her books soap opera style as well.

What was your journey from wanna-be writer to published author?
When I was younger I read a lot of books and I wrote a lot of short stories. I never dreamed that I would be called author because it seemed so unattainable, but here I am. So I want to say to others, tell your story someone will listen.

Is there anything you'd like readers and fans to know about you?
My final thought is that we only have one life to live and we should use it to leave an indelible print on the world. Poison Reality: A Symphony of Bittersweet is my mark. By writing I hope I have inspired others to write. When I was little I said my name should be in lights. And having my name on books just goes to show you nothing is impossible. There is a song that said “If you believe it you can achieve it.”

What's next on your writing agenda?
I have begun to write Poison Reality 2 because I feel the world is ready to read about real life situations.

Thank you for stopping by, Nedyne. I am sure your story is inspiring to others who are just thinking about writing or who perhaps don't feel enough confidence in their abilities to begin.
Thanks for having me.

You can find Nedyne's novel Poison Reality: A Smphony of Bittersweet at PublishAmerica. You can also visit Nedyne's website.

Reader Bonus from Virtual Book Tours: For everyone that leaves a comment with each author, they will be entered into a drawing to win a $25 Visa Gift Card, book light, a free of charge virtual book tour, and one writing package which includes a journal, pen, book light, and book marker.