Mystery/Suspense Author of the Month, Cheryl Tardif

I’m pleased to have author, Cheryl Tardif, as my guest today.

Patricia: Cheryl, where did you grow up? Did your childhood contribute to your desire to be a writer?

Cheryl: I grew up all over; my father was in the military. We lived in various places in BC, Canada, such as Vancouver, Nanaimo and Masset, plus Edmonton (where I now reside). And I spent three glorious years in Bermuda. That was pure bliss. Being uprooted and forced to leave friends behind and make new ones made me a shy kid, and I turned to reading as my escape. I read novels far ahead of my grade, with adult subject matter and content, mainly because that's what was around my house. It was through reading that my love for writing began to grow. I was in awe of writers who could create worlds and characters that were so achingly real, especially my idols, Stephen King and Dean Koontz. Back then, I was Cheryl Kaye, and I wanted nothing more than to write a book that would sit on the same alphabetized shelf.

Patricia: Where do you live now? Do you use that locale for settings in your novels?

Cheryl: I now live in Edmonton, Alberta, a city of over one million. But I live on the edge of town; I'm not a city girl. Edmonton is a setting in my most recent psychological suspense, SUBMERGED, and it also makes an appearance in CHILDREN OF THE FOG, a supernatural suspense. All of my novels to date have been set in areas of Canada.

Patricia: What inspired you to write your most recent novel?

Cheryl: My fear of drowning—or to be more precise, my fear of being trapped in a submerged vehicle—was the inspiration for SUBMERGED. In fact, most of my novels explore basic fears and/or societal issues. I've learned that fears are very common worldwide, and I'm not the only one who has imagined what it must be like to be in a car that is slowly sinking underwater. I was also inspired by a high school friend who overcame drug addiction after becoming hooked while on the job as a paramedic. Not everyone survives addiction—I know that deeply, personally. So SUBMERGED is my way of honoring those who have fought their demons and won.

Patricia: When did you “know” that you wanted to be a writer?

Cheryl: My mother would probably tell you it was when she found me scribbling in a Dr. Seuss book when I was a toddler. She was horrified, and when she asked me what on earth I was doing, I told her I was writing the story. Apparently, I thought The Cat in the Hat needed a rewrite. I don't ever recall not wanting to write.

Patricia: Name three of your favorite authors in the mystery/suspense genre. What makes them your favorites?

Cheryl: Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and J.D. Robb/aka Nora Roberts. King is the "king" of suspense so it's probably obvious why he's my favorite. He can take the simplest things and make them creepy. He can give me nightmares like no other. Koontz gives memorable characters, suspense with a softer edge, more emotional, perhaps. And J.D. Robb's In Death series is my all-time favorite mystery series because Eve Dallas is such a deep character, with a mysterious back story, and the other secondary characters add such humor, all the while a mystery unweaves before you.

Bio:

Cheryl Kaye Tardif is an award-winning, international bestselling Canadian suspense author. Her novels include Submerged, Divine Justice, Children of the Fog, The River, Divine Intervention, and Whale Song, which New York Times bestselling author Luanne Rice calls "a compelling story of love and family and the mysteries of the human heart...a beautiful, haunting novel." Cheryl also enjoys writing short stories inspired mainly by her author idol Stephen King, and this has resulted in Skeletons in the Closet & Other Creepy Stories and Remote Control (novelette eBook), and she's written a non-fiction marketing book, How I Made Over $42,000 in 1 Month Selling My Kindle eBooks. Under the pseudonym of Cherish D'Angelo, Cheryl also penned Lancelot's Lady, a contemporary romantic suspense.

Cheryl's website: http://www.cherylktardif.com

Official blog: http://www.cherylktardif.blogspot.com

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/cherylktardif

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cheryl-Kaye-Tardif-novels/29769736630

Links to mystery/suspense titles (eBooks):

http://www.amazon.com/Submerged-ebook/dp/B00BJ64OHY

http://www.amazon.com/Children-of-the-Fog-ebook/dp/B004PVSTLW

http://www.amazon.com/Divine-Intervention-series-ebook/dp/B003AYEJSC

http://www.amazon.com/Divine-Justice-book-ebook/dp/B004Z1UX70

http://www.amazon.com/The-River-ebook/dp/B003BLPH6C

http://www.amazon.com/Lancelots-Lady-ebook/dp/B0043GX8C4

http://www.amazon.com/Skeletons-Closet-Creepy-Stories-ebook/dp/B003XKNG3W

Book Bashers

I am appalled at the number of people in this world who seem to derive pleasure from messing with other people's lives. Rather than using their time and energy to face up to their own problems (obviously, they have "issues") and deciding to do something positive to change their lives, they take out their anger and frustration on everyone else – online and offline. There are those who hack into computers, Facebook accounts, etc., instead of putting their computer skills to good use. There are scammers who make their living by taking advantage of unsuspecting victims, especially the elderly. And, there are book bashers. As my grandmother would say, “Shame on all of them!”

Book bashers can’t be pleased and I firmly believe they don’t want to be. I’m sure if they had reviewed “Gone with the Wind,” when it was first published, they’d have rated it a “1” and had horrible things to say about it. Book bashers go to sites like Amazon and write scathing reviews (usually with numerous spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors) for perfectly good books. I don’t think any intelligent reader would take them seriously. At least, I hope not. But you never know. Obviously, book bashers are miserable people who are determined to spread their misery in any way they can. As long as I live, I will never understand people like that.

Another thing I will never understand is why a person would bother to finish reading a book (assuming they do), much less review it, if they really thought it was that bad. Why waste your time reading and reviewing a book you don’t even like unless you get some kind of sick thrill from denigrating someone else’s hard work? 
“One man’s garbage is another man’s gold” and there’s a world of difference between constructive criticism and book bashing. But book bashers don't care about any of that.

Just my thoughts and opinions. What are yours?
Lesley Diehl suggested that everyone read this article. I did and it's great! Here's the link:
 http://www.forbes.com/sites/suwcharmananderson/2012/06/14/how-to-read-a-bad-review-advice-for-authors-and-buyers/

Mystery of the Month: A Nose for Hanky Panky

It's midnight in Granite Cove and only the sea clams are open. Murder strikes this sleepy fishing village and Rose McNichols, reporter for the Granite Cove Gazette, is drawn into the case. Who killed Vivian Klinger, Ph.D., a woman too perfect for mere mortals, a woman who had everything but a sense of humor?

"A great blend of mystery, murder and ghostliness with picturesque landscape of New England coast"  John R. Pleasant, Ph.D, Professor of Literature, LSU, Shreveport

Gary Larrabee, North Shore author and historian, said in his review: "An entertaining novel about a murder in a quaint coastal community on Boston's North Shore; a story punctuated by a witty undertone that will have you chuckling all the way to the climactic final chapter. Sharon Cook captures the charm of an insulated New England village jolted by an unthinkable crime."

The book's setting, Granite Cove, was inspired by Cape Ann, Mass. where Cook grew up and now has a studio at  Gloucester's historic Blackburn Building. 

Sharon Love Cook had her first newspaper column at seventeen when she wrote about the local doings for the Cape Ann Summer Sun, ie: swimming class schedules and jelly fish warnings. She is the author of A Nose for Hanky Panky, by Mainly Murder Press and The Legend of Judgment Rock and other Mystery Stories by Neptune Rising Press.

She has an MFA in Writing and is an art school grad who illustrated both book covers. She and her husband, their two children grown, live north of Boston with a collection of  rescued cats. Five days a week Cook visits her writing/cartooning studio in  Gloucester, Mass., where the seagulls are fierce and the cod is scarce. Visit her website and see the soaring seagulls and Cook's cartoons: www.sharonlovecook.com                                                                                                                                     

The Legend of Judgment Rock and other Mystery Stories, by Sharon Love Cook; Neptune Rising Press. Several stories in the collection have been published before, including "Bluefish Weather" (Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine), "A Marriage Made in Heaven" (Over My Dead Body), "The Ghost of Winthrop Hall" (Atriad Press), and others. 

Some contain the origins for Cook's mystery, A Nose for Hanky Panky. The seaside fishing village of Granite Cove first appears in the title story. 

Available in soft cover and e-book from Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and bookstores. Cover illustration by the author; 150 pages. 

Addicted to Reading

Hi! My name is Patricia and I’m addicted to reading. My drug of choice is mystery/suspense novels. I confess; it’s true. I can’t stop! (Not that I want to.) If I don’t get my daily “fix” of at least an hour or two, you don’t even want to be around me. Fortunately, that seldom happens because reading is a priority for me; it’s a very important part of my life. Give me a good mystery/suspense novel and I’m content. Try to take that book from me and, well, I don't recommend doing that.

The books I own are among my most treasured possessions. Fiction is magic; it opens up new worlds and gives us the opportunity to escape the realities of our everyday lives and immerse ourselves in someone else’s story. While I enjoy watching TV and movies, there’s nothing like reading a good book. Reading allows me to use my own imagination. I can visualize the characters and the settings instead of having someone else do it for me. It’s a much more personal, fulfilling experience.

When someone tells me they don’t like to read, my mouth falls open. I’m shocked! I envision all kinds of scenarios. Maybe no one read to them when they were a child. Maybe no one encouraged them to read. Or maybe, someone made fun of them for having their nose stuck in a book. My heart goes out to them. How sad is that? I can’t imagine going through life without reading. Non-readers have no idea what they’re missing and how much books could enrich their lives.

My mother was one of those people; she's never been much of a reader but, when my first novel was published, of course, she read it. (After all, I am her daughter.) Then she read my second book. Since then, she’s read two novels by Mary Higgins Clark and she’s currently reading a third – and waiting for my third novel too, she says. Now, she loves to read. 

Is there someone you know who hasn’t discovered the joy of reading? Do they have a birthday coming up? Why not buy them a book in whatever genre you think they might like? There’s something for everyone: Sci-fi, Romance, and, of course, Mystery. You could be giving them the gift that lasts a lifetime.