Hysterical amnesia--or is that "historical"

I have to tell you this story...

A young girl read Whale Song a couple of years ago and decided to use it for her school book report. She made the most beautiful collage, with pictures and layers. There were blocks of text describing parts of the story.

In Whale Song, the main character experiences a traumatic event that left her with hysterical amnesia. Hysterical amnesia occurs after traumatic events and is short term memory loss related to that event.

Throughout the collage, this young fan called it "historical" amnesia.

I thought this was hysterical. LOL

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?

Life's for sharing...and here's how T-Mobile does it

T-Mobile's latest ad, filmed at Liverpool Street Station in London, tells us "Life's for sharing". I believe that. Sharing joy, sharing love, sharing peace, sharing hope, sharing stories, sharing dreams, and sharing life. Only when we are truly sharing are we truly experiencing life.

After watching this video, I dare you to tell me you weren't affected by it. How many of you smiled while watching? How many of you danced in your chair or wanted to get up and dance? How many of you had tears in your eyes? And how many of you wished you could have been there to experience this live? I sure do.



Only the professional dancers knew what was going to happen.

How does this video make you feel? Remember, "Life's for sharing", so please share this video.

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

Citytv honors author Cheryl Kaye Tardif in "Outstanding Edmontonians" series

This past Tuesday, Associate Producer Reid Wilkins from Citytv (Edmonton) interviewed me for the Breakfast Television series "Outstanding Edmontonians". I am so honored to be chosen!

So Tuesday, after a flurry of what to wear other than my plush pink slippers (which you might see in the interview) and fighting with my hair, I prepared to be interviewed.

Also included was my wonderful publicist Rachel Sentes from OutRight Communications. Thank you, Rachel!! You are fab!

We talked about my novels, especially Whale Song. I even talk a bit about the movie deal that's in negotiations and progressing smoothly. Reid was also interested in the novel I'm writing on my iPhone--Finding Bliss.

Check out Breakfast Television on Wednesday, March 11th, at 8:10 AM for the series on "Outstanding Edmontonians".

You can also see this interview Wednesday evening on Citytv's 'Your City' between 6:00 and 6:30 PM. You might see me online at http://site.btedmonton.ca/video/.

Thank you, Reid and Citytv!!

Whale Song is "a magical journey"

Another 5-star review for Whale Song on Amazon:

"A powerful and mystical journey...From the talented author Cheryl Kaye Tardif we are given a poignant and haunting tale - a coming-of-age story of a young girl transplanted to an island culture that combined Native mysticism with the beautiful animal world of the whales...A powerful tale of mystery, drama, coming-of-age, and Native mysticism, Whale Song: A Novel was like a magical journey...I couldn't put it down!

--Laurel-Rain Snow, author of Web of Tyranny

Canadian stem-cell breakthrough meets The River

In a news story that sounds like it should have been included in a chapter of my thriller The River, it appears that a huge breakthrough in stem-cell research has been made between Dr. Andras Nagy of Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital and Keisuke Kaji of the Medical Research Council Centre for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Edinburgh, and their teams.

Anne McIlroy from the Globe and Mail reports, "Canadian researchers have discovered a new way to turn skin cells into stem cells with fewer potential risks to patients...Dr. Nagy and his colleagues are the first to reprogram human skin cells to an embryonic state without using a virus..."

So does this mean that scientists are well on their way to finding something to slow the process of aging? I mean, if they can revert a cell to an embryonic state, what does that mean for those who are obsessed with staying young?

For now, they're looking at ways to use this technology to eliminate diseases like diabetes or Parkinson's. One day, this research might be responsible for curing cancer. Or this technology may end up repairing damaged hearts, kidneys, livers or even growing new organs. The possibilities are endless. That is exciting!

How interesting that something I wrote about is actually more of a possibility. Fiction becomes fact. Let's hope that the horrible atrocities that occur in The River as a result of such technology doesn't happen in real life.

You can read the Globe and Mail story HERE.

MSNBC also carries a story on this breakthrough. Read it HERE.

Want more info on my thriller The River? Here's a brief description:

Stem cell research, cloning, and world domination--with a twist...

The South Nahanni River has a history of mysterious deaths, disappearances and headless corpses, but it may also hold the key to humanity’s survival--or its destruction.

Seven years ago, Del Hawthorne’s father and three of his friends disappeared near the Nahanni River and were presumed dead. When one of the missing men stumbles onto the University grounds, alive but barely recognizable and aging before her eyes, Del is shocked. Especially when the man tells her something inconceivable. Her father is still alive!

Gathering a group of volunteers, Del travels to the Nahanni River to rescue her father. There, she finds a secret river that plunges her into a technologically advanced world of nanobots and painful serums. Del uncovers a conspiracy of unimaginable horror, a plot that threatens to destroy us all. Will humanity be sacrificed for the taste of eternal life?

You can buy The River online at Amazon or Chapters, or ask your bookstore to order it for you.

Read an excerpt of Finding Bliss on Textnovel.com

You can now read the prologue and first chapter (unedited) of Finding Bliss, the novel that I am writing on my iPhone 3G with the Notes application.

Finding Bliss has been in the media over the past few months. Check out my website for more information: http://www.findingblissbook.com/.

Now sit back and enjoy reading a sample of Finding Bliss on Textnovel.com.

Don't forget to vote by clicking on the circular "thumbs up" button.

Cheryl Kaye Tardif

http://www.cherylktardif.com/