Last day of Cheryl Kaye Tardif's virtual book tour: read chapter 2 of Children of the Fog

Today marks the end of my month long virtual book tour, and I will confess, I am exhausted! It's been a long time since I've written these many articles and answered these many interviews. :) But I had so much fun visiting all of my hosts' wonderful sites, getting to know them and answering questions from visitors via email or comments.

Thank you! You have all made my 'Touring the World' virtual book tour a success! And I look forward to doing it again.

For today's stop, and because I had so many email requests, I have given you chapter 2 of my new unpublished novel, Children of the Fog.

You will notice a "book cover". This is something I designed to inspire me and it is not intended to be the actual cover. In fact, I'm hoping my publisher will come up with something even more eerie and creepy and foggy. :) On the back of my mock up cover is the following text:

Would you let a monster take your child?

A mother's descent into alcoholism and madness leads to strange apparitions and a face-to-face encounter with the monster who abducted her son--a man known only as...

The Fog.

Sadie O'Connell is a bestselling author and a proud mother. But her life is about to spiral out of control.

After her six-year-old son Sam is kidnapped by a serial abductor known as The Fog, she nearly goes insane. But it isn't just the fear and grief that is ripping her apart. It's the guilt.

She is the only person who knows what The Fog looks like. And she can't tell a soul. For if she does, her son will be sent back to her in "little bloody pieces".

When her unfaithful husband stumbles across a drawing of The Fog, he sets into play a series of horrific events that sends Sadie hurtling over the edge. Unable to deal with her pain, she drowns her sorrow the only way she knows.

"Tardif specializes in mile-a-minute pot-boiler mysteries." --Edmonton Sun

Read chapter 2 of Children of the Fog by Cheryl Kaye Tardif

Read the prologue and chapter 1 first!

Day 30 of Cheryl's VBT: contest reminder and racial acceptance interview

Two days to go on my 'Touring the World' virtual book tour. Today, I have to remind those of you who ordered Whale Song on August 12th as part of my 44 Prizes contest to remember to email me with your Amazon shipping confirmation. The first 44 emails I receive will WIN FREE BOOKS! For more info, please check my contests page.

And now...for today's stop. Today I am visiting Newspaper Rock, an interesting blog that discusses native topics and pop culture. I have read many of Rob Schmidt's posts and find them very thought-provoking. Today he interviews me in a 2-part post.

Part 1 deals with the native element in my novel Whale Song.

Part 2 deals with the theme of bullying and racism, particularly among our children.

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 28 of virtual book tour: chapter 3 of Whale Song

For the first time, my publisher has allowed me to give you a sneak peek of chapter 3 of my bestselling novel Whale Song, a novel that author New York Times bestselling author Luanne Rice called "a compelling story of love and family and the mysteries of the human heart".

Chapter three

I WHIRLED AROUND and saw a girl about my age treading water near the raft. She had black hair braided into two long plaits and dark eyes that stared at me curiously.

“What do you mean ‘your brother’?” I asked when my voice had returned from the pit of my stomach.

The girl grinned. “He comes back once in a while. To visit.”

She swam toward the raft, climbed up and plopped down cross-legged in front of me.

“I’m Goldie,” she said. “Goldie Dixon. What’s your name?”

She was smaller than I was, and her skin was darker.

“Sarah Richardson,” I replied shyly.

I glanced beyond the edge of the raft, wondering if I’d catch a glimpse of her brother.

“Did you see his fluke?” Goldie asked, her face beaming.

Fluke? Of course…

I knew what the black thing was. It was a whale’s tail, its fluke. My father had shown me photos of whales from his marine biology class. Some pictures showed the whales’ flukes or tails, some showed whales spouting water and one even caught a whale as it breached and rose almost completely out of the ocean.

“So where’s your brother?” I asked, looking around the raft.

“He’s dead.”

Read the entire chapter.

Read chapters 1 and 2 first.

Day 27: Cheryl visits John Kremer's site with an article on book signings

On day 27 of my 'Touring the World' virtual book tour, I stop off at John Kremer's site. John is a respected book marketing expert and the author of numerous books including 1001 Ways to Market Your Books. At writers' conferences, he often presents on book marketing, publishing, writing, branding, and more. When John asked me if I could supply an article on marketing tips, I knew I had the perfect article, especially since we're heading into major promotion time--the pre-Christmas rush.

Book Signings Are Your Best Friends

So you’ve written a book, had it published and you are now facing the dreaded book signing or book launch. Your palms sweat at the thought of facing droves of people and actually having to talk to them. You are a writer, not a salesperson, right? Wrong! If you do not have the guts and determination to sell your own work, then why should anyone else do it for you?Book signings are your lifeline -- your best friends.

Before you step out into virgin territory and cross that boundary that is called a book signing, endless questions will bombard your brain. How many books should you expect to sell? What if you don’t sell any books? And what if someone should ask that one little question that makes you quiver and shake in your shoes: “What’s your book about?”

Read the entire article on John Kremer's site.

Day 26 of virtual book tour: author Cheryl Kaye Tardif is interviewed on Families.com

Want to know how I became an author, and how Whale Song evolved? Check out this interview on Families.com.

'Last night I reviewed "Whale Song" by author Cheryl Kaye Tardif. Today Cheryl is joining us for an interview.

Cheryl, thank you for stopping by on your virtual book tour. I have so many questions I'd like to ask. First off, how long have you been writing, and what are your previous books?

I have been writing for most of my life. I was a paid journalist at 14, writing a weekly column for a small BC newspaper. I really enjoyed it, but even then, my passion was writing fiction. I went on to publish articles and poetry in other newspapers, all the while trying to get a novel published...'

Read the entire interview.