Hope Mission's 80th Anniversary Banquet

Today, April 22, 2009, marks the 80th anniversary of Hope Mission in Edmonton, and tonight we celebrated this milestone with a banquet dinner that was put on by Hope Mission's food staff. In 1929, Hope Mission started as a soup kitchen by a Reverend and his wife. Now it has grown to 7 buildings, numerous life-changing programs, emergency services, summer camps, youth programs and so much more.

The Premiere of Alberta Ed Stelmach and his wife Marie attended this evening's event. The Premiere spoke passionately about his 10-year plan to end homelessness in Alberta. Combining a 10-year plan with the community services provided by nonprofit organizations like Hope Mission adds strength and hope for a solution, and currently this plan is the only 10-year plan Canada has in motion.

Although there have been some rumblings about Alberta's deficit and some uncertainty about the 10-year plan being initiated, the Premiere's passionate speech and that of the Minister of Housing & Urban Affairs Yvonne Fritz suggests that this plan is going through. There are plans for affordable housing for the homeless, plus programs to help them succeed in staying off the streets. The latter is a key element.

The stories shared by recovery graduates at the banquet were especially touching, reminding everyone of why Hope Mission exists. Tanya shared her story of abuse and addictions, and how the people at Hope Mission helped her turn her life around. We heard stories from some of the men who were being honored for hitting milestones in the recovery program. Every one of them shared how alone they felt, how lost they were--until they walked through Hope Mission's doors and into the welcoming atmosphere that is provided by everyone there.

My brother Jason was in my thoughts and heart tonight. He used some of Hope Mission's services, and after Jasons's murder in 2006 I felt drawn to become involved with the Mission. Tonight as I watched a group of 20+ men cross the stage to receive their recovery certificate, I wished that Jason had made it this far, but he was never given the chance. Someone took it from him. It's too late for Jason, but it's not too late for every homeless person living on our streets today.

About 800 people attended the banquet. 800 people from all walks of life. 800 people who were raised in very different families. 800 people who were educated in different cities and towns. 800 people who are connected to the Mission in many different ways. 800 people who came together to celebrate that Hope is alive in Edmonton and that we care.

Even though times are tough, even though jobs are unstable, there is Hope. I invite you to find a way to celebrate Earth Day by making it "Hope Month". Celebrate Hope in humanity by helping those in your communities who are less fortunate than you--because there is ALWAYS someone less fortunate. For the rest of April, please consider donating clothing, household items, personal care items, food, funds or your time as a volunteer to a mission like Hope Mission.

One final note: If you can find a copy of Whale Song in any bookstore or online (it's out of print, but some stores or online retailers may still have it), please know that when you buy this novel, a percentage of my royalties goes to Hope Mission. I will be doubling that amount for the remaining royalties from this edition. I will be pledging a new amount when I have secured the movie deal and 3rd print edition, which are in the works for Whale Song.

Check out Hope Mission's website and the Hope Mission blog.

To donate to Hope Mission, please go HERE.

~Cheryl Kaye Tardif, a proud Edmonton author

50 Ways to Kill Your Lover

Here's the set up:

You are the fictional protagonist. Your lover is having an affair with a co-worker. And you've had enough! You have taken those infidelities far too long and you have finally snapped. It is the night of your lover's big promotion and everyone is celebrating at a private hall. And of course, the "other" is there, right across the room, sipping champagne, looking innocent as hell...

To read more about this exercise and to leave your own comments and ideas, please visit Criminal Minds at Work.

Sunday Salon: Criminal Minds at Work

Step into the minds of this group of talented, twisted, slightly psychotic crime novelists with a penchant for mystery, mayhem and murder. They write crime fiction or true crime that gets the heart pumping and the blood boiling.

These criminally inspired authors include:

• Juanita Rose Violini
• Austin S. Camacho
• Linda Merlino
• Terry Carroll
• Karen Harrington
• Arnold Wolf
• Cheryl Kaye Tardif

And they don't just talk about their own books; they often interview or write about other crime authors.

If you ever wonder how authors come up with their crimes--or their criminals--check out the multi-author blog Criminal Minds at Work.

Save Wild Roses! Season 2 cancelled

If you are a fan of the hit CBC television show 'Wild Roses', I've got some bad news for you. CBC has decided not to run another season. Wow...I am soooo disappointed. And so are many others.

This was one of the best Canadian TV shows we've ever had. Not to mention that Wild Roses ended with a bang at the end of the first season. I need closure! I need to find out if anyone dies in the explosion. They can't just leave us hanging like this. It's not fair!

There are only 2 Canadian shows I've been watching regularly--Wild Roses and Being Erica. Everything else is American. Not that I don't love their shows, I do. But Wild Roses really captured the Alberta flavor. Many of my US friends and fans wanted to watch it.

This is a sad time in Canadian television history. Cutting great shows like this is like taking away a part of our heritage, the part that makes us Canadian and keeps us so. Well, I'm taking a stand. I've signed a petition to save Wild Roses. I hope you'll consider signing it too.

CBC, don't axe this show! Wild Roses deserves its spot. Last month I signed a petition to save the CBC. If you keep cutting awesome shows like Wild Roses, next time I won't bother.

To sign or view the Save Wild Roses petition, please visit:
http://www.petitiononline.com/cbcroses/petition.html

UPDATE May 1, 2010: Sadly, this awesome Canadian TV series is cancelled and there are no plans it seems to bring it back. If you have enjoyed this taste of Canadian drama and are looking for more, I invite you to check out my novels--all set in areas of Canada. I can promise you lots of drama, suspense and sometimes romance. Please drop by my website and check me out. http://www.cherylktardif.com

~Cheryl Kaye Tardif,
bestselling Canadian author

Preview an excerpt of Whale Song with fReado's widget

Check this out: you can read an excerpt of Whale Song and even turn the page (click on corner and drag or just click on corner of page), making your online reading experience more like the real thing. Enlarge the screen first. Enjoy Whale Song...



Feel free to share this. Click on the Share button and you can automatically add it to tons of social networks.

For my Amazon blog readers, please visit my official blog to read excerpt.
http://cherylktardif.blogspot.com/2009/04/preview-excerpt-of-whale-song-with.html

Whale Song "covers a myriad of serious topics in a loving and graceful way"

"I just finished reading "Whale Song" by Cheryl Kaye Tardif. The story covers a myriad of serious topics in a loving and graceful way. It is an amazing story of love. You will not want to put it down. It is a fast, easy read."

--Debi Longoria

Bet your bad day wasn't as bad as this Ikea guy's

Need something new? Well, we did this past Easter weekend when our refrigerator broke down one morning. We spent the entire day racing around the city, trying to find an appliance store that had them in stock so we wouldn't lose all the food. It wasn't easy--especially since every store was closing early for Easter.

We thought we were having a bad day. Well, not compared to this guy!



We did find a fridge--and a matching stove--and picked them up an hour before the store closed, so it turned out to be not so bad after all. Unlike the guy in this Ikea ad.

~Cheryl Kaye Tardif
http://www.cherylktardif.com

Twitter 101: How to send messages on Twitter

Have you signed up on Twitter but haven't got a clue what to do next? Are you unsure how to get your messages out? Well, here's a crash course in the very basics of Twitter--sending messages.

First, sign up for a free Twitter account at http://www.twitter.com/. When you have logged in, you'll be on the Home page of your account.

On the right side, above the search bar, you'll see the following links:
Home
@your username
Direct Messages
Favorites

Home is where you can send messages out to everyone in Twitterville (or the Twitterverse). You can also send a public message to a specific person by putting @their username anywhere in the message.

@your username shows you all replies to your own posts. You'll want to check every now and then and reply back. To reply, hover over person's message and you'll see a star (to make favorite) and an arrow (reply back).

Direct Messages shows you who you sent private messages to and who sent you private messages. To send DM, click on top drop-down arrow for list. Sometimes DMs don't work, and you have to be following that person and they have to be following you to send a DM.

Twitter is an awesome little social network, a tool that anyone can use...once they figure out how.

Follow Cheryl Kaye Tardif on Twitter. By following me, you'll automatically be entered in my Twitter Contest.

Subliminal Advertising: How far will fans go to help authors get noticed?

An old friend emailed me last night and told me the funniest story about how he helped promote me. Here's his email:

I was in Chapters with my wife and the kids on the weekend, and I went to look for CKT in the mystery section, and there was NOTHING! I went to one of the computers, and while you are listed, stock was ZERO.

I was waiting for my wife, so while I waited I went to ALL SIX of the computer terminals, searched for Cheryl Kaye Tardif, clicked and left up the page with YOUR name and YOUR titles before I left the store.

Heh, heh, heh, the book-reading public in Ottawa's west end doesn't know they were affected by subliminal advertising!

ALL SIX terminals!

My friend's story made me laugh, but it also made me really thankful to have friends and fans like him. It isn't easy trying to get noticed in an industry that now sees over 400,000 new books in the US alone, per year. Book marketing takes up a lot of my time. Word of mouth is always the best form of advertising, but just having my books visible is also important. I wonder if anyone in Ottawa saw those computer monitors and bought my books as a result. :-) Email me if you did!

Over the years I've had fans email publishers asking them to publish my books or make a large print version. Some fans have gone into their bookstores and turned my novels so that the covers faced out. Some fans have left my bookmarks in libraries. And of course I've had fans tell their friends and family about me and order my books for gifts.

Amazon reinstates author's reviews

Update on the Amazon reviews status:

For those of you who haven't heard, Amazon recently started deleting reviews by authors who included their own book title on the review, usually in the form of a signature line like...

Cheryl Kaye Tardif, author of Whale Song

I had 85 reviews deleted and went through a frustrating battle with reps at Amazon, who ended up putting my reviews back up, minus the author of...bit.

Read what happened next at Amazon reinstates author's reviews after deleting them - divine intervention?

Sunday Salon: If you're an author who writes reviews on Amazon, read this!

Important information for authors who write reviews on Amazon!!!

I'm an author who loves reading, and I enjoy writing reviews for books I really like. Sometimes I've been asked by authors to review their books; sometimes publishers have asked me to review their authors' books. I pride myself on always writing honest reviews regardless of who the author is, and I've been signing my reviews in the tradition that's been around forever, one that many use.

--Cheryl Kaye Tardif, author of Whale Song (or whichever of my books I decide to put)

Amazon is now reinforcing a policy that is cited on their Participation guidelines page--but NOT on the Review Guidelines page, where it really belongs:

Authors are not allowed to include their book title or a product link of their book title in their signature, or anywhere in the review, or in any review comment.
(This is my wording, not theirs.)

If reviews are found that include the author reviewer's book title, all reviews will be deleted and the author could face suspension of review submission.

Please read my original post:
Amazon deletes authors' reviews if book title is in signature

Then read my update, which includes some of my Amazon contact:
An update on my battle with Amazon over deleted reviews

~Cheryl Kaye Tardif
http://www.cherylktardif.com

Jeff Rivera from GalleyCat News shares his exclusive coverage of New York's 2nd annual Literati-A-Go-Go event

My good friend and fellow author Jeff Rivera is a man of many talents, including being a reporter for GalleyCat News. Jeff recently attended Literati-A-Go-Go, hosted at the Whiskey Town Bar in New York. This is the second year for this event and it has attracted many in the book industry plus booklovers themselves.

"GalleyCat was given an exclusive look inside of the 2nd Literati-A-Go-Go event of the year. Literary agent, Donna Bagdasarian, Former PW VP & Publisher, David Nudo, VP of Wikimedia New York City, Inc., David Shankbone and acclaimed author, John Reed hosted the packed mixed media and book publishing event." --Jeff Rivera

Take a look at Jeff's exclusive coverage in the video below.



For information about Jeff's books, please visit http://www.jeffrivera.com/.
Also check out: http://www.gumbowriters.com/ and http://www.galleycat.com/

~Cheryl Kaye Tardif

50+ prizes! Follow me on Twitter to enter contest!

My prize list for my first Twitter Contest is growing like hotcakes! I now have over 50 prizes to give away.

But I won't start awarding prizes until I have 750 followers, so it's important that you follow me, and ask all your friends and followers to follow me too.

All you have to do is click on the Follow button at http://www.twitter.com/cherylktardif

You'll need a Twitter account to do this!

Check out the growing list of awesome prizes--including dozens of FREE BOOKS I'll be giving away--at: http://www.cherylktardif.com/contests

Come on...be my Twitter stalker...my twalker. Follow me now! ;-)

~Cheryl Kaye Tardif