Reflections on the past 5 months in the Dorchester - Textnovel Next Best Celler contest

Tomorrow, the top 20 semi-finalists will be selected from all the entrants in the Dorchester/Textnovel Next Best Celler contest, and I'll admit I'm a bit nervous. My entry, my debut romantic suspense Lancelot's Lady, is currently in #3 Most Popular place, but I've seen people whiz by the forerunners in a day. Like they say, it ain't over til the fat lady sings!

So today will be spent hoping for more votes to secure my place and most of all thanking everyone who has supported me in this 5 month "marathon". :-) THANK YOU! I couldn't have come this far without your support.

I've been getting emails and DMs asking what this contest has been like. First of all, I have to tell you, I've entered some contests, but not many during my career as a novelist. I'm just not big on them. It's not that I'm afraid of competition; I'm not. In fact, I seem to do some of my best work when I'm forced to compete in some way, whether it's versus someone else or the ticking of a clock. I thrive on the latter kind of competition, the one where I'm really competing with myself.

This has been the longest contest I've participated in. Or at least it's felt that way. Kind of like a writing triathlon--write, edit and get votes. The first two I revel in. Writing fulfills me in a way that no other career ever has. And I've had a few. The getting votes part has been the most difficult part. Not because I can't promote my novels. I CAN. In fact, I'm known as "Shameless Promoter" and I speak at writers conferences on book marketing. However, in this contest, I found 5 months a bit long to be begging for votes. 3 months isn't so bad. And this contest isn't over yet. I really need to keep my votes going until the winner is chosen--which will be in early February.

With my background in sales, advertising, promotion and motivational speaking, I find my skills learned years ago really complement my life as a writer and a promoter of my work. I love that I'm not only creative in constructing my characters and stories, I'm also creative in the ways that I market my work.

I was one of the first contest entrants on Textnovel to offer a contest to reward my fans for their loyalty. From August to November, I've offered Giveaways, with prizes of signed novels and $75 Starbucks cards. While some may think this is a bribe of sorts, I look at it as a fun way to engage my fans and thank them. I also held an interactive contest, one I've done in the past. For my "Create a Corpse" contest, I asked fans to supply me with a name of a character that would be killed off in Lancelot's Lady. The winner, Waheed Rabanni, gave me the perfect name--Winston Chambers. Winston has proven to be one of my most interesting and well-hated characters ever, and I love that!

I've talked about the Next Best Celler contest and Lancelot's Lady on a radio station and I've been a guest at various blogs where I've talked about how Lancelot's Lady was "born", and how I chose my new romance pen name Cherish D'Angelo.

Someone asked me "why" I chose to enter this contest. My answer is simple. One writer is going to win a publishing contract with Dorchester Publishing, a publisher that I've been very interested in. In fact, I believe they are still considering my suspense thriller Children of the Fog. Something I've heard about Dorchester from a few of their authors is that being one of their authors is like being with family. That really appeals to me. I view every publisher who takes on my work as a partner in my success and I want to share that success with them.

Links about my debut romantic suspense Lancelot's Lady and Cherish D'Angelo:

• Lancelot's Lady gets official sponsor--24-7PressRelease.com
• The Business Side of Being a Writer
• Cheryl Kaye Tardif talks about her new pen name Cherish D'Angelo and her debut romance Lancelot's Lady at the Author Island Tiki Hut
• The birth of Cherish D'Angelo, pseudonym of author Cheryl Kaye Tardif
• Lancelot's Lady Giveaways (August, September, October & November)
• Cheryl's Deadly "Create a Corpse Contest"
• The Top Ten Bad Events in Rhianna's Life in Lancelot's Lady
• CHIP 101.7 FM interviews Cheryl about Textnovel, Dorchester, the "Next Best Celler" contest, Lancelot's Lady and the creation of her new romance pen name Cherish D'Angelo
• Press release: Cheryl Kaye Tardif's debut romance Lancelot's Lady is #1 Most Popular (so far) in the Dorchester/Textnovel "Next Best Celler" Contest

Please check out LANCELOT'S LADY. If you enjoy my new novel, please consider clicking on the blue thumb circle and blue phone circle beside the title. This gives me 2 points in the contest. Thank you so much.

Lancelot's Lady gets official sponsor--24-7PressRelease.com

I was elated today when I got the word from Senior Business Development Advisor Michael Iwasaki, that my debut romantic suspense Lancelot's Lady now has an official corporate sponsor -- 24-7PressRelease.com, a major press release distribution service.

Over the years, 24-7PressRelease.com has come to be my favorite onlne newswire service and the one I recommend to my coaching clients and to other writers. They have worked with me in the past on other projects, including Project Drumheller, a special project that granted the wish of a young BC boy to visit Drumheller, Alberta, and see the dinosaur bones.

I have had great success at obtaining interviews because of my press releases, and I find 24-7 offers competitive pricing, quick service, and I love that I can attach a video (or book video trailers) to my releases, where appropriate.

I've used "the other guys" but none of the other press release services have given me the personal attention and huge support that I've found with Michael, Philip and their company, and none of the others have sponsored me as 24-7PressRelease is now doing.

For those of you who are unaware, my debut romantic suspense novel is in the Dorchester Next Best Celler contest held at www.textnovel.com. As of right now, it's #3 Most Popular. I've been begging for votes since June 3rd. For the first 3 months of this competition, Lancelot's Lady was in #1 Most Popular place. Please drop on by and read it. It's free, and you can even let me know what you think about my new novel.

You can expect to see press releases regarding Lancelot's Lady, complete with a stunning book video trailer, to hit news editors' desks very shortly.

THANK YOU, Michael and Philip. I can't tell you how grateful I am for your support.

To learn more about 24-7PressRelease.com, please visit their website:
http://www.24-7pressrelease.com/

The business side of being a writer

Some people might not view an author as a business person, but I have to tell you, there's far more to being a writer than cloistering oneself in a small room for months and typing out 80,000 words. In today's world, a successful writer must also take on the hats of publicist, marketer, event planner, advertising rep, accountant, stocker (not stalker) and more.

As a successful Edmonton author, I am right at home with the writing and marketing part. I even make a decent publicist and have done this for other writers. It's the accounting part I suck at. And the stocking of shelves.

I'd love to discuss this here with other writers. How do you manage the number side of writing? Do you hire someone else or just suck it up and do it? Are there other options you've discovered (other than having books published by a traditional publisher, which I've also had)?

For me writing is both an immense pleasure and a business. I can't really have one without the other--unless I want to be my only reader. With the economy being as it is and so many changes in the book industry, authors must take on more of the marketing role, no matter who publishes you.

Finally, a small bit of promo from the marketing side: I am one of only a handful of Canadians who are competing in a writing competition sponsored by Dorchester Publishing, a very respectable US publisher. I think I'm the only Edmonton contestant as well. I'd sincerely appreciate your support.

Please check out my debut romantic suspense Lancelot's Lady on Textnovel.com and click on the blue thumb and blue phone circles. This gives me 2 points in the contest. There are 3 days to go until the semi-finalists are selected. I really want to win this! The prize is a publishing contract with Dorchester.

http://textnovel.com/stories_list_detail.php?story_id=928

Sign up is fast and free and you'll have access to many novels and short stories you can read for free. Thank you, in advance, for your support of an Edmonton author.

Now I must go and procrastinate about doing my accounting. :-)

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

Romantic suspense: a scintillating combination of titillation and trepidation

When I first decided to write a romance novel, I polished off the first half of a contemporary romance, then got bored with it and filed it away in the bowels of my computer. You know, stuffed so far into a file that I easily forgot about it. The problem was that I had already established myself as an author of mystery and suspense. Sure there was some romance in my novels, but it didn’t “drive” the story, and there often wasn’t a “happily ever after”, which is the unshakable law of romance novels.

What bored me about my original romance novel—beside the title (Reflections)—was the journey of my characters (I forget the main character’s name). They met, there was chemistry, she had a disturbing past that stood in her way, they explored each other timidly, she fell in love, he didn’t at first, they eventually hooked up…blah, blah, blah…and they all lived happily ever after. Boring!

Read my full post about romantic suspense over at Magic of the Muses, where I talk about what it was like to write my first romance novel and my entry in the Dorchester "Next Best Celler" contest.

http://eileenschuh.blogspot.com/2009/10/guest-blog-by-author-cheryl-kaye-tardif.html

~Cherish D'Angelo, aka Cheryl Kaye Tardif

My thriller THE RIVER shows up with Richard Castle's HEAT WAVE on home page of Shortcovers.com

I received an email today from my friends at Shortcovers.com, a branch off of Canadian bookseller Chapters.Indigo.ca. They let me know that my thriller THE RIVER is now featured on the home page. What an honour!

Of course, I had to go look, and there it was, tucked in between PURSUIT OF HONOR by Vince Flynn and HEAT WAVE by Richard Castle.

If you recognize the latter book title and author, you'll know that Richard Castle is the name of the character starring in the hit TV series "Castle", a cop show about a female cop who is paired with a famous author who helps her solve crimes. I'm a huge fan of the show! And now there's a book out--brilliant idea!

And Nathan Fillion is perfect in the role of Castle. He never fails to make me laugh, and his portrayal of a writer, with all the quirks, is dead on. You can follow Nathan on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/nathan fillion.

Now, if you'd like to read an exciting thriller for free, please check out THE RIVER.

STEM CELL RESEARCH, CLONING, AND WORLD DOMINATION--WITH A TWIST...

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

Del thought her father was long dead. But someone from her past says otherwise. Now she and a group of near strangers embark on a perilous mission...

Download a free copy of THE RIVER at http://www.shortcovers.com. This offer is good until the end of November only. So get it now while you can.

You can read these ebooks on select cell phones and on your PC or Mac. If you have an iPhone, Blackberry, Palm Pre or Google Android, download the Shortcovers app so you can read ebooks on your phone.

The birth of my pseudonym Cherish D'Angelo and Lancelot's Lady

The Birth of Cherish D’Angelo, aka Cheryl Kaye Tardif

Call me Cheryl; I prefer first names. You could also call me Cherish, since that’s the name I’ve adopted as my pseudonym so that I can detour from writing mainly suspense and venture into the romance genre. Cherish D’Angelo is my flowery, romantic pen name. I selected it a few years ago when I started writing my first romance novel. Since my real first name is Cheryl, which means “dear one” or “beloved”, I wanted something similar, and “Cherish” came to mind. Finding a last name to go with it proved to be trickier. After all, when I make it big in romance, I’ll have to sign that name on thousands of books. Hundreds of thousands, hopefully.

I started an angel collection years ago as a memorial for my son, who died at birth. Prior to his birth and death, I’d ordered two angels from a friend who made ceramics. She wasn’t sure if I’d want them after he died, but I did, and this started a collection that grew every year around his birthday and at Christmas. Angels…hmmm…Cherish Angel? No. Cherish D’Angelo. YES! I’d found my new name. It means: “Beloved angel.” Yeah, that’s me.

After Cherish D’Angelo was “born”, she went to work on her first contemporary romance―Reflections. It was a story of a woman stranded on a tropical island with a reclusive rich guy, who had a deaf daughter. Cherish wrote about half of it, then hid it away on my computer. I’d realized that I had other stories that were demanding my attention―darker, more suspenseful stories. It wasn’t the right time for Cherish. So she slipped into a kind of coma, though every now and then she opened her eyes and said, “What about me?” before slipping back to sleep.

In June, I heard about a contest over at Textnovel.com. Now I’m really not much of a contest person. I love giving them and awarding prizes, but I don’t usually like entering them. I’d been a member on Textnovel ever since the CEO Stan Soper emailed me and invited me to check out the relatively new website.

What drew me to Textnovel’s newest contest was the fact that Dorchester Publishing, the oldest independent mass-market publisher in the US, had paired with Textnovel and was offering a small advance and a book contract. I’m very familiar with Dorchester. I’ve been hooked on their books since I was a teen, and my agent recently submitted my new thriller Children of the Fog to Dorchester. Plus, one of my author friends, thriller author Jeff Buick, is published with them, and I recently connected with one of their romance authors, Colleen Thompson, who is absolutely wonderful and writes awesome romantic suspense. Both told me that being at Dorchester was like being a part of a family. I want that! I want a publishing partner.

The Dorchester/Textnovel “Next Best Celler” contest is looking for the “New Voice in Romance”, and I want to be that voice. Cherish D’Angelo wants to be that voice. She’s ready now! She woke up from that virtual coma and dug out the file for Reflections. The old chapters were used as guidelines, but to date, about 80% of it is new material. Cherish has been on a roll with this novel and it’ll be finished by the end of October.

The Birth of Lancelot’s Lady

Reflections has grown into something far bigger and better than the original. A few days in, I changed the name to Lancelot’s Lady. It’s still the story of Rhianna, a young woman stranded on a tropical island with a rich recluse, but she has far more back story and Jonathan is far angrier, making for a complicated relationship and some humorous scenes. Then there’s Misty, Jonathan’s young, deaf daughter who can’t seem to keep a tutor; not to mention the development of JT Lance, Rhianna’s dying patient, and his butler Higginson, plus the inclusion of the Atkinsons, Jonathan’s caretakers.

As with my other novels, I have come to love these characters. I can picture them, right down to their flaws. And believe, me, they’re all flawed. Rhianna has survived a terrible past filled with horror and death, and Jonathan has cut himself off from family, friends and the world.

Since Lancelot’s Lady is a romantic suspense, both Cherish and Cheryl get to work on this story. I know that sounds weird, and truly, I haven’t lost it. Well, not completely. I think Lancelot’s Lady is a potpourri of sexual chemistry, sizzling tension, spicy passion, illusive danger and triumphant love. But in the end, it doesn’t matter so much what I think. I want to know what YOU think.

This leads me back to the “Next Best Celler” contest and how YOU can be involved. I really need your help to have a chance at winning this contest and to win that publishing contract. Even more, I want to know what YOU think about my newest venture and I’m willing to reward you for your time. For the months of October and November, I’ll be holding Giveaways. Right now you can visit my contest page to see how to enter this month’s Giveaway contest. You’ll have a chance to win signed novels and a $75 Starbucks gift card.

To have a chance at winning Dorchester’s contest, I really need votes and subscribers. I can’t do this without your support. Lancelot’s Lady must stay in the top 10 Most Popular, preferably the top 3. It’ll take about 5 minutes of your time to vote, but I truly hope you’ll check out Lancelot’s Lady and read it for free. And please leave me a comment there. Judges are also reading them. I truly hope you enjoy the debut of Cherish D’Angelo and Lancelot’s Lady.

~Cheryl Kaye Tardif, aka Cherish D’Angelo

Read & vote for Lancelot’s Lady, a Dorchester “Next Best Celler” entry, at Textnovel.com

Enter my October & November Giveaways

Visit my website at http://www.cherylktardif.com and follow me on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/cherylktardif

Goal Setting Tips for Writers

I know hundreds of writers who fall victim to the deadly P-syndrome. If you’re unfamiliar with it, you’re one of the lucky ones. This syndrome is not only a killer of words and inspiration, but it can also be contagious, claiming other areas of the victim’s life or spreading to others. Washing your hands won’t keep P-syndrome away―unless washing your hands is part of a new mindset, one where you set daily goals.

If you haven’t guessed by now, I’m talking about PROCRASTINATION. It can be extremely debilitating to an author.

Read more about setting goals and check out the easy tips at Market My Novel

~Cheryl Kaye Tardif