iPhone novelist in Las Vegas in hopes of 'Finding Bliss'

This is Cheryl Kaye Tardif, now known as North America's first iPhone novelist, reporting live from Las Vegas. :-)

After a great flight here yesterday morning, we arrived at the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino and were able to check in early. My first idea was to scope out the lay of the land, so to speak, and of course in Las Vagas this means checking out the casino. Our travel agent suggested we get a Player's Card, which is a points card that'll give you rewards later on--things like free buffets and more. We played some slots and roulette, then decided to check out the entertainment.

We've met some very nice people along the way--like the guy who sat next to me on the plane and told me about his fishing expeditions aound Vancouver Island (brought back lots of BC memories for me); and the very nice cab driver originally from Guam who drove my husband and I from the airport to the hotel; and the super nice woman originally from Wisconsin whom we talked to who was very honest about approaching us about time shares (talked to her a lot about Edmonton, Canada and I gave her a bookmark when I found out she enjoys reading); and the bartender at iBar in the Rio Hotel who's originally from California...hmmm...wonder if we'll actually meet anyone here who's originally from Las Vegas. :-)

Last night we saw Penn and Teller. We've watched their BULL show and some of their other shows on TV. At the end of a very entertaining show, they needed two volunteers who were familiar with guns. I expected a lot of hands to go up, including my husband's since he's ex-military. One guy at the far end put up his hand. He was in the army. I prodded Marc and said, "You should do it."

Much to my surprise, he did. He went up on stage, inspected a bullet, wrote his initials on the tip, drew a chubby heart on the shell casing and inspected a glass plate. He stood with Teller and inspected the gun. Everything appeared to be real for both volunteers so Penn and Teller proceeded to aim at each other's faces and shoot the guns. Throughout this I never saw them touch or make contact. The bullets ended up between their teeth. Penn spit the bullet into Marc's hand. Teller showed Marc the gun, which had the casing. Hmmm...how'd they do that?

One thing I always do when watching any kind of magic or illusion show is try to figure out how it's done. I've figured out quite a few, and some are obvious when you think about it. I enjoyed that Penn and Teller actually show you HOW some are done. But the gun thing? I don't have a clue.

Being here in the middle of such a vibrant, busy and exciting city really sparks the ideas for how I can incorporate Las Vegas into my iPhone novel Finding Bliss. The Mandalay Hotel may find its way into my novel too.

Well, we're starting our day and I'll try to blog tomorrow morning and fill you in on all the details. For now, I wish you the very best. That's all, folks!

Cheryl Kaye Tardif,
bestselling author of Whale Song