CKUA's "Bookmark" radio show may get the axe

CKUA's "Bookmark" radio show, a very important literary radio program in Edmonton, AB, is in jeopardy of being cancelled. Like many radio and television shows in Canada, funding has become increasingly difficult, and my friend Ken Davis, the host of "Bookmark", needs your support. Check out what they're willing to offer in return.

A letter from Ken Davis, host of "Bookmark":

Dear Friends, Colleagues and Supporters of the “Bookmark” program on the CKUA Radio Network.

“Bookmark,” the half-hour weekly program dedicated to Alberta’s literary community and book trade, finished its second season on Sunday, June 28th. Whether the program returns for a third season in September depends on the financial support the program receives between now and the end of July. This e-mail is to inform you about the opportunity which currently exists to keep this program on the air.

In these challenging economic times, CKUA Radio management faces some tough decisions in order to ensure the continued health and viability of this listener-supported public broadcaster. Spoken word programs are more time-consuming and therefore more expensive to produce than music programs. The station has decided to cancel the “Bookmark” program unless the community elects to support this show financially. A final decision on this matter is to be made at the end of July, 2009.

CKUA Radio is funded largely through listener donations along with some corporate underwriting of programs. Station management would like to continue to broadcast “Bookmark” and has come up with a plan to possibly save the show. It’s an idea called Co-Operative Program Sponsorship (CPS), something of a hybrid of corporate underwriting and a listener donation.

Under the CPS model, supporters of Bookmark are asked to donate $500.00 to support one broadcast of the program. Two programs could be underwritten at a cost of $900.00. Three programs at a cost of $1300.00. And six programs at a cost of $2500.00.

In return for supporting a specific program, the donor will receive acknowledgement in that broadcast. The donor will in fact receive 3 mentions during the show. While there will be no commercial content within these mentions, a reference to a company’s work can be made; for example, “Bookmark thanks donor sponsor Lotusland Books for supporting this edition of the program. Lotusland Books has been retailing books in Calgary for 40 years. We thank them for their support.”

The 2009-2010 Bookmark season would have 35 new shows and would begin September 13th, 2009. CKUA management has agreed that as long as we have donors for 20 of the 35 shows by the end of July, they will consider funding to be reasonably in place and will allow production of the program to proceed for a third season.

I am asking you to either make a pledge of support to “Bookmark” yourself or pass this request along to others of your acquaintance who may have an interest in this initiative. We have four weeks to raise the necessary money to keep “Bookmark” on the air. Please send your preliminary commitment to pledge for the program to myself as I am tracking the numbers on this campaign. I will be forwarding your contact information to CKUA’s Fund Development Office for follow-up. Therefore I would ask that you provide your preferred e-mail address and telephone number, as well as mailing address, when you make your preliminary pledge.

In addition to the CPS campaign, an alternate form of supporting “Bookmark” is a full corporate underwriting position. Such underwriting results in the sponsoring corporation being acknowledged in every Bookmark program as a major sponsor of the program. I believe there are a number of other acknowledgements, on the CKUA website, on-air mentions throughout the broadcast schedule, etc., that are built into corporate underwriting arrangements. My understanding is that a corporate underwriting contract starts at $5,000.00. More information on this sort of sponsorship can be obtained from CKUA’s sales manager Don Barnes by telephone at 780 428 7595 or by email at don.barnes@ckua.com.

I thank you all sincerely for your time and consideration and for your past support of the “Bookmark” program.

Ken Davis
Host, “Bookmark,” CKUA Radio Network
Director of Marketing, Lone Pine Publishing

Email (work): ktdavis@lonepinepublishing.com
Email (Bookmark): bookdude@live.com

Please consider supporting "Bookmark" and do whatever you can to keep Edmonton's arts community alive and thriving. ~ Cheryl

Please vote for Lancelot's Lady in the Textnovel/Dorchester "Next Best Celler" contest

As some of you may know, I've entered a contest on Textnovel.com and I really need your votes. The grand prize is a publishing contract with Dorchester. I'm submitting a novel I started years ago that I've always wanted to finish. The genre for the contest is ROMANCE. You'll be able to read as I write.

I can't do this without you. To become a top 20 finalist I NEED YOUR VOTES.

First, please sign up at www.Textnovel.com. That way you can read all the stories there--for free. You'll get 1 confirmation email from Textnovel. After that you won't get inundated with junk mail. I've had maybe 3 emails in a year.

After confirming account, go to my novel Lancelot's Lady and click on the blue circle with "thumbs up" at top of story. It'll turn gray when you've voted.

If you'd like to get an email notice when I add a new chapter, click on the blue circle with the cell phone. You'll only be notified when I add a new chapter, not when I edit an existing one. Judges are looking at subscribers too, but it's your thumbs up vote I need most at this time.

If you'd like to leave a short review comment too, that's great. You can read all the comments readers have left.

Thank you so much for helping me with this. I sincerely appreciate it. Your votes could make the difference between a major publishing contract or being in limbo. :-)

Please vote now. Lancelot's Lady

P.S. The cover above is a mock book cover I created for inspiration only.
     
Cheryl Kaye Tardif
author of Whale Song
http://www.cherylktardif.com/

I dedicate the Battle Hymn of the Baby Boomers to all my writer friends

Sunday Salon: Review of The Reincarnationist by M.J. Rose

What can I say about The Reincarnationist besides FABULOUS?

After an accident in Rome, photojournalist Josh Ryder begins experiencing flashes of past memories―from another life, another era. As these flashes intensify, he’s drawn back to the time of ancient Rome, Vestal Virgins and the mysterious Memory Stones. Through the eyes of Julius, he is reunited with a powerful love for Sabina, the Vestal Virgin he has sworn to protect and would willingly die for, a woman whom would be buried alive if their secret love were ever discovered.

In present day Rome, Josh assists at the Phoenix Foundation, an organization that explores and researches claims of reincarnation or incidences of memory flashes, especially in children. Led by impulse, he finds himself at the edge of a freshly unearthed tomb and witnesses a murder.

His search for answers, for the Memory Stones stolen from the tomb of the Vestal Virgin Sabina, for the truth about what happened in ancient Rome, leads him to two women―Professor Gabriella Chase and Rachel Palmer, a young woman who is haunted by her own past life memories.

Is either of these women the Sabina he once knew? And will Josh ever reconcile his past with his present? These are just some of the questions I found myself asking along the way. I found the premise of this novel intriguing. I couldn’t put the book down once I started it.

Author M.J. Rose tells a compelling story that weaves history and religion into a fateful adventure filled with intrigue, romance, murder and deception. Her writing is detailed but not overloaded, just the right mix of fact and fiction to make me a believer and her characters are ones I’ll remember for a long time. The flashes of past and present are so seamlessly woven yet clearly defined, that I was never jolted from the story, but swept along and taken on a ride that left me breathless by the end.

I highly recommend this novel to anyone interested in the theory of reincarnation or anyone who enjoys a suspenseful, thrilling journey to the past. It would also make an exceptional read for a book club.

The Reincarnationist is the inspiration for a new television series that will be airing soon. I can’t wait to watch Past Life. If it is anything like M.J. Rose’s novel, it is going to be an adventure of a lifetime.

You can buy The Reincarnationist from your favorite bookstore or order it online at Amazon, Chapters and more.

~Cheryl Kaye Tardif,
author of The River
http://www.cherylktardif.com/

Creating mock book covers

Book covers can make or break a book, and I've been lucky to have 4 published novels with 4 covers that were well received by readers. Often when I'm working on a novel, I'll design a "mock book cover". It helps to inspire me to really visualize the finished product, even if it isn't the most professional cover. Of course, the published cover isn't even close to the mock one I design.

For the "Next Best Celler" novel contest, sponsored by Textnovel and Dorchester Publishing, I'm working on a romance novel. Lancelot's Lady is the name of the romantic suspnese I've entered, and it very quickly took off, making the #1 spot out of all contest entries for the month of June 2009. Last time I checked, Lancelot's Lady was also #5 in Most Popular Stories.

To keep me motivated, I designed a mock book cover early on (cover #1), using a few elements from the story. This early design was simple enough to add some color and excitement to my entry, while also respecting that Dorchester Publishing will have the final say in a book cover.

Weeks later, I designed a new, more romantic cover (cover #2), yet hopefully the darkness still lends to some suspense. I'd be interested in hearing what you think, but of course please keep in mind that these aren't real covers. They're really just for fun. I have no doubt that Dorchester Publishing (should I win the contest) would do a far better job at designing a suitable cover.














...........(cover #1)...........................(cover #2)...........

So readers, now you have some extra insight into the mind of a reader--at least this one. And authors, you now have a great idea for keeping yourself inspired--create a mock book cover. :-)

~Cheryl Kaye Tardif
Please vote thumbs up for Lancelot's Lady (you must sign up at Textnovel.com first, then go to and click on thumbs up icon at top of page.)

Check out the new teaser video for my thriller THE RIVER

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

Video created by Kelly Komm.

*Purchase The River from Amazon (paperback & Kindle), Chapters, Barnes and Noble and many more online retailers. In Edmonton, please check your favorite bookstore.

ESC Trillium student says: "I really enjoyed The River"

Nathan, from ESC Trillium has this to say about The River, the novel he studied in school:

"The River is a very interesting novel right from the start it catches your attention and keeps you hooked. It accomplishes this by being very suspenseful throughout the book even more so by the end of it...the characters are well developed creating a emotional attachment towards the characters, allowing for an even deeper emersion. It’s not only the characters that are detailed since the whole novel is very detailed and descriptive. In my opinion the ending of a novel is often where a great novel can seem to fall apart, this is not the case with The River since it has, in my opinion, a great ending that delivers...I really enjoyed The River and found it so hard to put down...I would recommend it to any of my friends, and to anyone who thinks they would like a great thriller that has a story targeted towards a more adult audience."

Thank you for your comments, Nathan. It's great to see you really 'got' my novel. :-) CKT

*Purchase The River from Amazon (paperback & Kindle), Chapters, Barnes and Noble and many more online retailers. In Edmonton, please check your favorite bookstore.