Short story: Sweet Dreams

©2005 Cheryl Kaye Tardif

I always hated camping—the strange lurking noises in the woods, the bloodsucking mosquitoes that voraciously drilled for blood…the thin canvas of a tent that could be so easily slashed by a bear. Then there were the shadows, pervasive and malignant, hovering in every corner. Of course, peeing in the woods wasn’t my idea of a good time either.

When Justin, my husband, decided we were going on a camping trip with three other couples, I groaned and whined like an errant child. But I knew that I couldn’t escape fate. So reluctantly I packed up our tents, sleeping bags and Coleman coolers stoked with more beer than food. Then we headed for the mountains and Lac de Rëverie.

Justin told me that meant Lake of Dreaming.

During the monotonous drive our newest friends, Margie and Burton, were ensnared in a deadly lip-lock. After ten minutes I avoided glancing over my shoulder and decided that they just weren’t interested in the antique store we passed. Or the three elk grazing in the ditch. And Margie and Burton certainly didn’t give a hoot about the dead skunk lying in the middle of the road.

For a fraction of a second I thought about interrupting their spit-swapping contest.

Instead, I slept.

It was pitch black when we arrived at Lac de Rëverie...

Read the rest of the story HERE.
_________________
Cheryl Kaye Tardif,
bestselling author of Whale Song, The River and Divine Intervention
http://www.cherylktardif.com

Day 29 of virtual book tour: a peek at Children of the Fog by Cheryl Kaye Tardif

Bestselling author Cheryl Kaye Tardif is nearing the end of her 'Touring the World' virtual book tour, so she decided to do something she doesn't usually do. She is giving you a sneak peek at an UNpublished novel, one that she is very excited about and one that Kunati Books is currently considering. If you enjoy it, please sign Cheryl's guestbook and tell her (and her publisher). Keep in mind this has not gone through final edits. You can read the prologue and chapter one at NamelessGrace.com.

Children of the Fog is a chilling story, one that is sure to make you get up and check your doors and windows.

CHILDREN of the FOG

©2007 Cheryl Kaye Tardif

prologue

May 14^th, 2006

She was ready to die.

She sat at the kitchen table―a nearly empty bottle of Philip’s precious red wine in one hand, a loaded gun in the other. Staring at the foreign chunk of metal, she willed it to vanish. But it didn’t.

Sadie checked the gun and noted the single bullet.

“One’s all you need.”

If she did it right.

She placed the gun on the table and glanced at a pewter-framed photograph that hung off-kilter above the mantle of the fireplace. It was illuminated by a vanilla scented candle, one of many that threw flickering shadows over the rough wood walls of the log cabin.

Sam’s sweet face stared back at her, smiling.

Alive.

From where she sat, she could see the small chip in his right front tooth, the result of an impatient father raising the training wheels too early. But there was no point in blaming Philip―not when they’d both lost so much.

Not when it’s all my fault.

Her gaze swept over the mantle. There were three objects on it besides the candle. Two envelopes, one addressed to Leah and one to Philip, and the portfolio case containing the illustrations and manuscript on disc for Sam’s book.

She had finished it, just like she had promised.

“And promises can’t be broken. Right, Sam?”

A single tear burned a path down her cheek.

Sam was gone.

What reason do I have for living now?

She gulped back the last pungent mouthful of Cabernet and dropped the empty bottle. It rolled under the chair, unbroken, rocking on the hardwood floor. Then all was silent, except the antique grandfather clock in the far corner. Its ticking reminded her of the clown’s shoe. The one with the tack in it.

Tick, tick, tick…

The clock belched out an ominous gong.

It was almost midnight.

Almost time...

Read the prologue and chapter 1 of Children of the Fog.

Please note: some spacing issues may occur as a result of copying and pasting from MS Word to blogs or sites. These will not appear in the final product.

"The sparks fly in this red hot paranormal thriller" -- Amanda Richards, Amazon Top 100 reviewer, says of Divine Intervention

Amazon Top 100 Reviewer has fast become a fan of my novels. She has reviewed 3/3 novels, giving them all high praise. This is what Amanda has to say about my psychic suspense thriller Divine Intervention...

"Things get really hot in this paranormal thriller when a serial arsonist murders three people, one of whom is the father of a politician on the rise. Set in British Columbia at a time in the near future, the case is assigned to a very special team of investigators with psychic abilities.

Leading the team is agent Jasmine McLellan, a Pyro-Psychic who can visit the remains of an arsonist's target and reconstruct the crime through the mind of the perpetrator. The other two members are Ben, a Psychometric Empath who can check you out by just touching your bare skin, and Natassia, a Victim Empath, who can reverse the saying that dead men tell no tales. The three form a very closely knit group, so that when they are ordered to temporarily expand the group by one, things get really tense, especially when the newest member is tall, rugged and handsome, but most of all, a skeptic.

The trail blows hot and cold as it leads them across British Columbia, as do the emotions, but the thing is, how many more people does the arsonist intend to kill, and how are the victims connected to each other?

The author combines murder, arson, adultery, blackmail, abuse and much more in this fast-paced book that you'll just have to read in one sitting. The only problem with it is that there is a book two mentioned, and I don't yet have a copy in my hands. "

In an email to Cheryl, she ends it with, "More, more".

Dear Amanda:

I am hoping that Kunati Books will add Divine Intervention to their UNA paperback imprint so that I will be free to finish the second book--Divine Justice. Please feel free to sign my guestbook (and anyone else) if you would like to see Divine Justice come out within the next 2 years. :) Cheryl

Day 20 of VBT: Short Story: Ouija by Cheryl Kaye Tardif

Here's a short story you'll want to read with the lights on. Inspired by true events, OUIJA is the story of a woman who opens a box that should never be opened.

You know what they say about curiousity...

OUIJA
by Cheryl Kaye Tardif

Last spring, while packing away my aunt's belongings at her lakeside cottage, I discovered this letter in a box of old party games…

February 13, 2004

To Whom It May Concern:

If you found this letter, it means I'm dead.

DEAD!

Plain and simple.

And if I'm dead it's not by natural causes, I can assure you. I'm writing in haste cause I know I don't got much time.

It’s after me!

What, you're asking. Well, I'll tell you.

It all started with that gawdforbidden Ouija board. The board that my best friend and I found in her attic.

Liza and I had been friends and neighbors for more than 45 years. We even buried our husbands within 2 years of each other. And no, we didn't bury them in the backyard.

Let me make somethin clear, first off. I'm not crazy. I'm of sound mind. Maybe not sound body though. I'm not crazy and neither was Liza. I'm as sane as you, whoever is reading this, and what I'm about to tell you is true. TRUE! Not one word is a lie.

My phone rang a few nights ago.

"Liza," I said. "It’s 3 o'clock in the gawddamn morning!"

"You gotta come over, Sharon. Quick!"

"Why do I have to come over now? Can't it wait until morning?"

There was silence.

I sat up in bed and turned on my lamp. " Liza, you there?"

"I hear voices, " she whispered. "There's someone in my attic."

She sounded scared, more scared than I ever heard her before, and her voice gave me a chill up my spine...

Read OUIJA, a short, terrifying suspense story that will make your blood curdle.

Day 9 of Cheryl's VBT gives you a glimpse of 'The Car'

As part of my 'Touring the World' virtual book tour I wanted to make sure that you had some fun along the way. I wanted to give you interesting articles and interviews, plus samples of my work, and today's sampling is a creepy short story (unpublished) that I hope you'll enjoy.

And for something a bit different, I decided to record this short story. So check it out, turn up your speakers and listen to...

THE CAR.