Connecting at Christmas

Some connections may seem tenuous at best. But others appear from nowhere, like the fellow who emailed me out of the blue to ask if we were related. I believe we are all connected. We're connected by past, present and future, by nature, spirit and energy, by hopes and dreams, by fate and faith, by love and light...and caring.

And yesterday, I was reminded again that this world we live in may seem unbelievably large--infinite even--and yet, the smallest of actions can set into motion something that spreads across land and sea, from one country to another, from one heart to another.

It all started with a wish list I saw online. No, wait! Let's go back further.

It started with an organization in Newnan, Georgia. The Alliance for Children's Enrichment (ACE) is responsible for helping the less fortunate families and children of the Newnan-Coweta area. Every year, ACE makes a wish list, with names, ages and gift wishes of children who live at poverty level. The hardest category to fill is the teens. Their needs are sometimes more expensive and they are often overlooked as many people want to help the younger children first.

This saddens me. I have a 17 year old daughter. Christmas is just as important to her now as it was when she was a child. And every child deserves to have something beautiful and colorful to unwrap on Christmas morning. That is the excitement, the thrill of Christmas.

So how did I find out about this organization and their kids?

Read the entire story here.

Cheryl Kaye Tardif, bestselling author of Whale Song (Kunati Books)

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

Author K.S.R. Kingworth says Whale Song is "a wonderful, wonderful story"

K.S.R. Kingworth, author of The Mysteriel, has this to say about Whale Song:

"I just finished Cheryl Kaye Tardif's book, Whale Song. What a wonderful, wonderful story. It read smoothly and the progression of events was well done. As in much of literature, a good book takes you to a place you know nothing about with characters that you come to know as friends, and by the time you're finished you feel as though you have moved in. That's how Whale Song is. It's a book that makes it possible for you to move in and set down roots."

She recommends Whale Song to: "Young adult to adult readers. In particular, those who may have lost a loved one."

Order Whale Song today!

'Create a Corpse' contest is still on!

Ever want to 'strangle' your husband, or 'clobber' your high school bully?

Well, now you can! Here is a surefire way to get away with murder!

Enter my "Create a Corpse" contest and submit the name of someone you want me to 'kill off', and I'll gladly oblige the winner--no questions asked and no payment necessary.

More information and contest rules!

_________________

Cheryl Kaye Tardif,

bestselling author of Whale Song, The River and Divine Intervention http://www.cherylktardif.com/

Whale Song "keeps you interested and turning pages"

Whale Song was reviewed at But You Don't Look Sick? magazine.

Reviewer Christine Miserandino says, "I love books that are a quick read, but don't feel "short"...The story keeps you interested and turning pages."

Read the entire review at ButYouDontLookSick.com.

TODAY ONLY! Win Whale Song, The River and Divine Intervention

November 15th only, enter to win a Cheryl Kaye Tardif triple pack, with copies of Whale Song, The River and Divine Intervention, plus signed bookplates and bookmarks.

Prize package valued at approx. $70.00 CDN.

For contest rules, go to the Love of Reading.com Online Book Fair.

Win a copy of Whale Song! CLOSED!

For contest rules, please go to the

Love of Reading.com Online Book Fair.



Winner announced!

~Cheryl Kaye Tardif, bestselling author


http://www.cherylktardif.com/

Two of the World's Oldest Bloggers - the Blogging Grannies

If you're like me, you may find it difficult to convince your mom of 65 years old that blogging is something she'd enjoy. Too many moms that age still don't know how to turn on a computer, much less understand the benefits of the internet. And some moms (and dads) who are 60+ don't even know what a blog is.

But there are 2 lovely ladies who love to blog and have a lot to say and share. I stumbled across Maria Amelia Lopez, who is 95, and Olive Riley, who just turned 108. These 2 gals put the rest of us to shame! :)

Maria's grandson set up her blog as a birthday present, and no one knew it would take off the way it did. In her first blog entry, she posted "Today it's my birthday and my grandson, who is very stingy, gave me a blog." Maria is billed as one of the world's oldest bloggers, with Olive Riley in the lead by 13 years. Maria's blog has seen over 340,00 hits since December 2006. Spain's "little grannie" has become a hit world-wide, although most of her blog is in Spanish. She talks about everything--life, children, war--and she does it with wisdom and often humor. She talks of the past and her youth, and of current affairs, and she does so bluntly. I wish I could read Spanish!

Olive Riley, fondly referred to as Ollie, at 108 is blogging with the assistance of Mike Rubbo. I'm not sure if he's family or a friend, but regardless, he has a great heart and is the film industry. In fact, he has put up some never before audition footage from his Canadian film Tommy Tricker and the Stamp Traveler. Mike is trying to track down some of these 'kids' who auditioned for the Tommy Tricker movie. Olive is from Australia, a great, great grandmother, and she also talks about a wide variety of topics, although for the most part, Mike does most of the talking. I have to laugh at some of Ollie's comments. She prefers to call her blog "my blob". This gal has got spunk!

This just goes to show that our senior seniors still have something to say. And they're gonna say it, by golly! And all the power to them. Gotta love 'em! :)

And for my not so seniorly friends and writer pals who haven't gotten up the nerve to start a blog, what the heck are you waiting for?

Visit Maria Amelia Lopez's blog.
Visit Olive (Ollie) Riley's blog.

~Cheryl Kaye Tardif,
bestselling author of Whale Song, The River and Divine Intervention
http://www.cherylktardif.com/

Canadian Book Prices Cause Book Rage

In the book world, Canadian prices have always been absurdly high, compared with US prices. It's always been a common complaint, and believe me, as an author who puts herself out into the frontlines by doing book signings in bookstores, it isn't always easy to listen to customers complain, berate staff or even me, or walk out angry.

With the strong Canadian dollar comes some huge savings for Canadians buying American goods or traveling to the States, but it also comes with a frightening down-side. And with the Canadian dollar reaching $1.10 last week, some bookstores have seen enraged customers go above a few nasty words. As James Adams reported in the Globe and Mail last Saturday, "the Canadian bookshop has become a charged environment, perhaps even a dangerous one." There have been two reported incidents of customers throwing books.

As a Canadian author in the middle of a 3 month book tour, I have to sadly agree with much of this article. I have witnessed angry customers taking their frustrations out on innocent bookstore staff--many of them teenagers who make $8.00/hour, if they're lucky. I've overheard loud conversations by disgruntled customers and have born the brunt of their anger as well.

Ironically, my publisher Kunati Books was the first publisher in Canada to lower prices to be closer to par. And they did this about 2 months ago.

What people don't seem to realize is that it isn't up to the bookstore, and it certainly isn't up to the author to lower prices. This is something the publisher must do, and the bigger the publisher, the bigger the financial loss. But I've heard rumors that some are coming onboard with Kunati. Since my publisher is smaller (and maybe a bit bolder), they won't have such a drastic loss. And don't forget, the author would make less as well.

People seem to forget that for every book, thousands of copies have already been printed, taking into consideration the original retail price. Many smaller publishers cannot take the hit. We have already lost too many Canadian publishers as it is.

So my advice to book lovers is: keep your cool and remember that these things take time. No one likes the high prices, not even me. But I certainly don't like customers yelling at me or my bookstore staff friends for something that is out of our hands.

Instead, I invite you to support those publishers or bookstores who have already lowered book prices. Kunati Books will be happy to sell Canadians their books (including my novel Whale Song) for near to par. Whale Song went from $16.95 to $13.95 for a trade paperback. By supporting the publishers who have already done this, you are then sending a strong message to other publishers.

http://www.whalesongbook.com

Buy Whale Song from Chapters.ca or if you're in Edmonton, buy from Audreys Books. Anywhere else, just ask for it in your local bookstore. The new price is in effect everywhere.

http://www.kunati.com/

~Cheryl Kaye Tardif,
bestselling author of Whale Song, The River and Divine Intervention

Cheryl proudly sponsors the Love of Reading.com Book Fair

The second annual fair celebrates and connects online book community with three days of non-stop events.

The second annual Love of Reading Online Book Fair will be held November 14-16 at:

www.loveofreading.com from the hours of 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST.

Drop by and check it out!

Are reviews important to the author?

Today I came home from a book signing at Chapters in Sherwood Park Mall and found a very interesting email from an author friend of mine. She wanted to know about Amazon reviews and whether I read mine and how I perceived them.

"Do you take them as advice, guidance? If they aren't glowing, what are your thoughts? Does it make you not want to read more reviews?"

My answer:

I always read my Amazon reviews. Sometimes it takes me a few days to notice I have a new one, like the time I got a glowing review (I think for Whale Song) on my birthday...and I missed it. I've been lucky in that most reviewers have been very nice to me, giving me 5 star reviews and a few 4s. I don't mind the 4s at all. I have received one 3 star review and she had lots of positive things to say but didn't like how I passed the time. One reader in thousands who have mentioned that to me. So I made sure I really read her review and thought about it. If I had a bunch of people saying the same thing I would hope that I would listen and learn from it.

Reviews are gold. They tell you what readers like. You have to look at them all as a whole though and not worry about the one or two negative or lower star reviews. I've had a few 3 star reviews I think on Goodreads. But no actual reviews so I don't know why. Usually people compare it to another book that they loved.

Reader reviews seem to be better received than author reviews, unless you get a big name. My review from Luanne Rice for Whale Song gets a lot of positive attention.

My friend also went on to say that she had just finished a novel by a New York Times bestselling author whose Amazon reviews were less than complimentary, and she felt she agreed, that the book didn't live up to a 5 star rating. She wondered how it became a bestseller.

My response:

I think with this bestselling novel, the readers compared it to one of her really good ones. That's the problem with having more than one book out. Every book will be compared to your first, which might be good if your first book sucks! lol I had a Top 100 Amazon reviewer give me 5 stars for Whale Song, then 4 on the other 2 novels. I knew exactly why. She liked Whale Song better. Many people do. In fact she said this in the comments section.

What I've learned and try to remind myself is that everyone has their own preference. Some don't like sex in a novel, some don't like violence, some don't like coming of age...etc. They are comparing your one book to whatever ones they've read that they loved. With this bestselling author, people know her name more and they will buy, hoping that it is as good as the last one they read that they loved. Some will be happy, some will be disappointed. It's the nature of the beast of writing. We can't possibly satisfy everyone.

So grab onto those 4 and 5 star reviews and rejoice in them. It means your work has made an impact in some way--made them laugh, cry, think...or lock their doors. :)

Since I write mystery suspense, I am usually hoping for the last, except with Whale Song which has made even grown men cry. ;-)

• Read Amazon reviews on Whale Song.
• Read Amazon reviews on Divine Intervention.
• Read Amazon reviews on The River.

Movie Review: Partition, starring Canadian actress Kristin Kreuk

5/5 stars – MUST SEE

Release date: February 2007

A Romeo and Juliet plot set in India and Pakistan, with incredible visual effects and a love story that will move you to tears, Partition is a tapestry of music, imagery, emotion and conflict. In the 1940’s, the partition of India and Pakistan (pitting Muslims against Sikhs) cause a rift that leads to war and brutal massacres. Both sides are fueled by rage and hatred, yet amidst them, an innocent and sweet love blossoms, as do the nearby mustard fields. Director Vic Sarin has a flawless eye for detail and realism.

Partition is made even that much more spectacular by the stunning portrayal of Naseem, a young Muslim girl played by Canadian actress Kristin Kreuk (Smallville). Naseem is separated from her family during one of the massacres and is discovered in the woods by an older Sikh man. Terrified and fearing for her life, she must trust an enemy of her people.

Gian, the disillusioned Sikh who wants nothing more than to forget the war and its atrocities and live a simple life of peace, is played by Jimi Mistry (East is East). When he finds Naseem, his whole life changes. Torn by nightmares and the death of an army friend, he brings Naseem home and hides her. When she is discovered, Gian fights for her, pitting him against his family and friends. Gian and Naseem sacrifice everything for a forbidden love that slowly blooms, healing their pasts and their losses.

Their life together is perfect, yet Naseem still yearns to find her family. However, when she does, it brings the story together in a tragic conflict that leaves the viewer praying that good will conquer all, that love will prevail. Together, Kreuk and Mistry’s performances are amazing, their chemistry mesmerizing. They have truly become their characters, immersed themselves in their lives.

The addition of another Canadian actress, Neve Campbell in the role of Margaret, a British “Memsahib”, adds an element of sophistication to the film. Campbell is enchanting in her role as crusader and friend, her emotions tamped down one moment, then brimming to the surface in another.

Partition is a Leo award-winning movie of racial tension, tragedy and survival. It is also a beautifully rendered story that crosses boundaries and brings together two unlikely characters, proving that love knows no bounds, no race, no religion. This is a fascinating movie, a definite must-see! And it will stay with you long after the credits have rolled.

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Note from Cheryl:

The inspiring film Partition is a movie that will wrench at your emotions from beginning to end, and leave you thinking about it for days later. Here is another example of how racism causes huge rifts and tragedy, yet can be overcome by love. Love knows no boundaries. CKT

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Cheryl Kaye Tardif is an Amazon bestselling author. Her recent release, Whale Song, has received rave reviews from Booklist, Midwest Book Reviews, Fresh Fiction and more, along with reviews from authors like New York Times bestselling author Luanne Rice. All of Cheryl’s novels have captured the interest of major film companies, and Whale Song is now in the hands of Hollywood producers and directors, as well as some highly acclaimed actors and singer-songwriters, including Kristin Kreuk.

http://www.cherylktardif.com/