What's in a name?

Okay, I'll answer this question: lots of letters. Check it out: Cheryl Kaye Tardif. Lots of letters. Looks simple enough though, doesn't it? But, boy, it's caused me some grief over the years.

First, I always have to spell my name for sound checks for radio and television interviews. My name is grueling to spell, especially my last name. When I say "f", people think I'm saying 's', so I always say: "'f' like Frank". They still put 's' (like Srank?)

I started off signing my books Cheryl Kaye Tardif, until my hand started to ache. No one seemed to notice when I started leaving off the Kaye.

Sometimes I get people who call me "Cheryl Kaye", like my name is similar to "Billie-Jo" or "Mary-Anne". Is the "Kaye" part of my first name or an invisible middle name?

Neither.

Here's the story: Kaye is my maiden name. No, I didn't hypenate my two last names. I've used it only for writing--because I always said that it was the original Cheryl Kaye who is the writer, as opposed to the wife and mother Cheryl Tardif. Well, it made sense to me back then.

So now I'm considering pulling a Koontz. You know, a Dean Koontz. He's one of my favorite suspense authors, but when I first started reading him decades ago, his author name was "Dean R. Koontz". I guess he got tired of that "R" in the middle.

Out of curiosity, I'd like to take a poll. I'll post it next. Then you can answer my poll and tell me what my author name should be.

~Cheryl...or maybe CT Rowling...or Stephanie King?

Cheryl visits Books on the Brain and talks about book clubs

Canadian Author Cheryl Kaye Tardif wants to know--What’s Your Book Club Looking For?

As a suspense author, I’m often asked whether any of my books are suitable for book clubs, and I usually answer with: “Definitely! But which one depends on what your book club is looking for.”

So what can I offer to a book club?

Check out my guest post at Books on the Brain for the answer.

~Cheryl

Take The Canadian Book Challenge!

I came across a blog today that invites readers to read Canadian books and participate in a challenge of reading 13 book before Canada Day--July 1st, 2008.

The Book Mine Set blog, operated by John Mutford from Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada, which for those who don't know if far north, is where you can find information on this contest. There are even prizes. Very interesting ones, I can assure you.

So check out The Canadian Book Challenge, post a comment to let John know you're participating, and start reading!

Also, I found the above site and event by accident when I discovered that someone was writing about me here:

http://farmschool.wordpress.com/2008/03/07/saluting-canadian-authors/

~Cheryl Kaye Tardif,
bestselling Canadian suspense author