8th Annual Express Yourself...Authors' Conference

Tonight I am 'penning a Pennsylvania post' from the Sheraton Park Ridge Hotel in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. And yes, two days ago I was in Edmonton, Alberta. So how did I get here? Well, by plane, of course. :)

I am attending the 8th Annual Express Yourself...Authors' Conference, sponsored by Infinity Publishing. I was very honored when the Special Projects Director John Harnish asked me if I would take part on a panel, and since one of my goals is to give back to writers--particularly to new authors--I was thrilled. Plus, I've never been to PA before.

I left Edmonton yesterday morning very early. The flight was uneventful, with a stop in Minneapolis. Haven't been there either, although I didn't see much from the airport windows. :) When I arrived in Philly, I couldn't get over the heat. 90 degrees F. It was about 40 in Edmonton when I left.

Today's conference event was a writing workshop that covered self-editing, overcoming writer's block and much more. The day ended with a terrific buffet and our guest speaker Dave Lieber, an author and award-winning columnist for the Fort Worth Star Telegram. Dave encouraged us to "break the rules", something which I seem to not have a problem doing. :)

Tomorrow will be a full day and I'm looking forward to it. Conferences always give me ideas for writing and marketing, and anyone who knows me knows that I am always looking for creative and fun ways to market my books.

On Saturday I will be presenting at the conference--on 2 different panels. The funny thing is that I knew about one of them but had no idea about the other. I found out today that when I told Infinity Publishing that they could "use" me in any way that would benefit them and the attendees that they did just that. :) Good thing I love to talk about writing and marketing. I am really looking forward to being able to share some of the things that I have learned along my journey. So for any of you who are writers, I will put together some of my notes next week and post them on my site.

Also, as the Canadian Author Liaison for Infinity Publishing, my goal is to connect writers (especially Canadian writers) with one option for getting published--self-publishing. This has become a viable and acceptable method of publishing, especially since most traditional publishers accept less than 2% of manuscripts. Although my personal goal is to have all of my novels traditionally published (and I would be quite happy with one or more of the big New York houses), I recognize that there are different goals for every author. So if you're a writer looking to get published and you want to consider self-publishing, I invite you to check out Infinity Publishing, a company that really does have its authors' interests at heart. http://www.infinitypublishing.com/

For my dear readers, please know that I am always striving to learn more about my craft. There are always new things to learn. I write for 'me' in the beginning, because I have a story that needs to be told. But then I write for you--for every fan who has supported my work in the past and for every new one who discovers me. My goal as a suspense author is to challenge myself with writing a story that is sophisticated yet entertaining, suspenseful yet emotional, and always my best work with enough twists and turns to keep you on your toes. I hope you'll let me know when I succeed.

By the way, if you are in the Valley Forge area tomorrow and Saturday, please stop by the Sheraton Park Ridge Hotel and have the hotel come find me at Infinity's conference. Providing I am not in the middle of my panel, I would be happy to autograph a copy of Whale Song, The River or Divine Intervention. I have limited copies available.

http://www.cherylktardif.com/

A visit to Red Deer Chapters

Yesterday, I visited the Red Deer Chapters and held a book signing during the afternoon. The staff was awesome and very helpful, and the customers were great.

I'm quite happy to say we sold out of Whale Song, and I sold some copies of The River and Divine Intervention as well. But as always, it is the customers who truly make my day. They are my reminder of one of the main reasons why I write. A couple of customers in particular stood out, mainly because they took extra time to visit with me and genuinely seemed pleased to pick up a copy of one or all of my books. Some had already read some of my novels.

I have to say a special thank you to Guy who dropped by with his wife and two daughters and ended up with the "Cheryl Kaye Tardif collection". :) Guy picked up a copy of The River, his wife Lesley is reading Divine Intervention, and their daughters Kelsey and Danielle are reading Whale Song. It is so nice to see a family who enjoys reading. Reminds me of how my parents, brothers and I all had different books dog-eared or lying face down on a coffee table when I was a teen.

A special thanks also to Lorrie and Jodi who bought a copy of Whale Song...I think it was Whale Song. lol We got talking about motorcycles so I was a bit distracted. Lorrie and her husband Miles build motorcycles. E'Ville Twin Motorcycles. What a cool name! Their daughter sells motorcycle clothing and apparel. E'Ville Teez. I can just picture them now...riding on a handcrafted custom Chopper, all decked out in cross and skull bandanas, cruising down the highway under a sunset sky...with a copy of Whale Song propped up against metal. lol "Born to be wiiiiild."

Many authors look at book signings and calculate success based on how many books they sold vs. the cost to get to the signing. I view a successful signing as any time I connect with a potential fan and any time I meet existing ones. At Red Deer Chapters I met both, so it was a complete success.

Read an excerpt from Whale Song, The River and Divine Intervention.

Cheryl has lunch with Canadian Idol Eva Avila

The lovely and talented Eva Avila, last season's Canadian Idol winner, is in Edmonton to kick off the Oil Kings hockey game. She will be singing the national anthem and some of her hit songs at tonight's game (Kootenay Ice vs. Edmonton Oil Kings), which starts at 7:30 pm.

Today I had the distinct pleasure of having lunch with Eva. We left her hotel (sorry, I'm NOT telling) and headed down Jasper Ave., battling a chilly wind, in search of sushi. Now there's something Eva has in common with my daughter Jessica. They are both sushi addicts. :) Well, we didn't find a sushi place and ended up instead at WOK BOX, where the food has a definite asian/indian flavour. YUM!

You're probably wondering what the heck I did to deserve an hour of this busy young woman's time. I think I'm wondering too...lol. Eva and I have been corresponding via email after I contacted her through her MySpace page. But this was the first time we've met. And what a sweet girl!

We spent an hour chatting about the similarities between writing novels and writing songs, the challenges of promoting and marketing, and the advantages of online marketing. Then I gave her a limited edition Whale Song mug to thank her, and asked a customer to take a pic. Hey, I needed evidence to show Jessica. Apparently, my "cool-scale" went up a few notches, she told me. And any mom knows how important that is when you have a teen daughter.

Eva and I talked about Whale Song, my bestselling novel and a novel that has captured a lot of movie interest. Currently, numerous film companies, including many from Hollywood, are reading it. We've have been talking about the possibility of Eva playing the lead role. I would be thrilled if a film company asked her to audition. The more I spoke with Eva, the more of "Sarah Richardson" I saw in her. Not just her dark coloring, but her spark and spirit. She brought Whale Song with her on the trip to Edmonton, and I was thrilled to hear that.

There are two women I can see playing the lead role of 'Sarah Richardson'. Kristen Kreuk and Eva Avila. And isn't it wonderful that they're both Canadian?

Visit Eva Avila's site.

Order Eva's CD Somewhere Else.

Order Whale Song.