Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Become a Character in SUBMERGED, a heart-stopping thriller by Cheryl Kaye Tardif
Well, here's your chance!
In conjunction with Family Productions Inc. the show producers for the Edmonton Woman's Show, mystery author Cheryl Kaye Tardif is participating in a...
Become a Character in a Novel Contest.
Cheryl is about to start her new thriller...SUBMERGED. It is the story of a man submerged in his past--a past of weakness and drug addiction. It is the tale of a man haunted by his own failings and SUBMERGED in guilt after the death of his wife and child. SUBMERGED explores our human failings and the possibility that our 'sins' can be forgiven. Maybe there is redemption after all.
Enter the contest here.
Contest rules.
NOTE: When you enter this contest, you have the chance to have your name selected as a winner for either Cheryl's novel or for one of the other authors participating. You cannot specify authors. But regardless, you will be able to see your name in print! Good luck! :)
~Cheryl Kaye Tardif, author of Whale Song, Divine Intervention and The River
http://www.whalesongbook.com
http://www.cherylktardif.com
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
riddle
Q: How many mystery writers does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A: Two. One to screw it in almost all the way and the other to give it a surprising twist at the end.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Assisted Suicide: The Topic of Films and Books
The literary world has also addressed the topic of assisted suicide. Unplugged: Reclaiming Our Right to Die in America and Final Exit: The Practicalities of Self-Deliverance and Assisted Suicide for the Dying, are non-fiction books that explore the topic in great detail. And April 2007 (just two months before the release of the infamous ‘Dr. Death’ a.k.a. Jack Kevorkian) sees the release of the highly anticipated ‘assisted suicide novel’ Whale Song, a work of fiction by me--Canadian author Cheryl Kaye Tardif.
Whale Song is published by Kunati Books and explores a young woman’s search for answers years after the mysterious and tragic assisted suicide of her mother who was suffering from Primary Pulmonary Hypertension. As a child, the main protagonist is haunted by strange visions and lost memories. She is faced with every emotion―heartbreak, sorrow, fear, guilt, and finally forgiveness and hope. Whale Song is a novel for almost any age, since I believe I tackle this controversial subject with delicate compassion. Whale Song neither endorses nor condemns assisted suicide or the right to die, but it does leave the reader thinking about their own mortality.
In a recent interview, I stated, “Assisted suicide is one of the most horrifying scenarios a person could imagine…it is an issue that has fascinated and saddened me.” Questioned further about my own personal feelings regarding this issue, I went on to say, “Given the right circumstances and knowing the suffering that a loved one is enduring, I might consider it, if there was no other alternative and no hope. I am not saying I agree or disagree, but I can understand how someone may feel it is the only option. If it was your mother and she was begging you to end her misery and pain, would you do it?”
Euthanasia, assisted suicide, the right to die or dying with dignity has and always will be a topic of controversy. And with the expected release of the infamous ‘Dr. Death’, a.k.a. Jack Kevorkian, in June 2007, assisted suicide is making headlines once again. Kevorkian has claimed responsibility for at least 130 assisted deaths, and he claims he will live out his life writing and speaking. Upon his release, he will be 79, and he suffers from numerous ailments and may have less than a year to live.
While some may think Kevorkian is Satan’s spawn, others believe he is a merciful angel. Certainly, his actions have made the world question both medical practices and legal systems. Right to die organizations have sprung up all over the world in the past two or more decades, including Compassion and Choices in the US and Dying with Dignity in Canada. Most of these organizations believe in educating the public in their right to choose how they want to end their life when faced with a debilitating disease.
Books like Whale Song and films like Million Dollar Baby will always provoke the controversy of assisted suicide, as they are meant to. Perhaps as we become more educated on the chronic pain and suffering that many endure, we will find a more acceptable solution.
~ Cheryl Kaye Tardif is a freelance journalist, book reviewer and editor. She is also the author of three mystery novels set in Canada, including the highly anticipated ‘assisted suicide novel’ Whale Song, which will release in April 2007 by provocative publisher Kunati Books.
http://www.kunati.com/catalog_whale_song
Please visit Cheryl Kaye Tardif’s official website: http://www.cherylktardif.com
And don't forget to check out my fellow Kunati author Ric Wasley's fast paced new novel, Shadow of Innocence.
The Newport Folk Festival provides a groovy backdrop for this fun and exciting mystery set in the music and drug soaked sixties. The Baby Boomers and everyone else are sure to enjoy this appealing mystery featuring a pair of musician partners in love and danger.
Don't miss Shadow of Innocence from Kunati Publishing.
Available now for pre-order at Amazon.com.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Dare I mention the Da Vinci code?
What makes a mystery popular? Suspense? Puzzle-type clues? Relatibility? Puzzle-type clues? Good writing? Puzzles? Character development? Clues?
I know what I like - I like clues; the old Agatha Christie razzle dazzle of information that makes no sense at all until - AH HA - suddenly it all makes perfect sense!
And, of course, I like any evidence that suggests that what I like is best! That would be cxlxuxexs!
Now we come to the much over discussed Da Vinci code. What single factor, if there is such a thing, contributed to its overwhelming success? I bet it was the 'just clever enough, hard enough, easy enough,' clues that supported the plot - such as it was. Live mystery entertainment has shown me how much people of all ages enjoy the challenge and satisfaction of 'figuring something out'. Look at the enduring popularity of the great Dame Agatha. Both her books, and the Da Vinci Code are free of the burden of character development, suspense. Christie does maintain her share of good writing and relatibility though.
The DVC book's shadowy, mythical, mystical backdrop was the second thing that made it so popular. We are all looking for magic and possibility, even if we don't know it by those words.
Of course, some people think that the book is anti-christian and that is the reason for it's success but I think that is reading way too deeply between some very shallow lines. Dan Brown is to be admired, though, for his excellant use of clues ... which, no doubt took him over and over again to the bank.
Well, that's my blogger opinion. What's yours?
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Cheryl Kaye Tardif - Interviewed on Novel Journey Blog
Here's a sneak peek:
Tell us about your journey to publication. How long had you been writing before you got the call you had a contract, how you heard and what went through your head.
People ask me all the time, “When did you start writing?” I honestly don’t remember NOT writing. As a teen, I wrote for a weekly BC newspaper. I made $5.00/week for my small column on the happenings of my town. When I was 16, I wrote my first...
Read the entire interview.
Also, be sure to check out my fellow Kunati author TK Kenyon and her "impressive", "genre bending" thriller RABID.
Monday, January 15, 2007
What would you do? Part I – “Don’t walk down that dark hallway!”
As promised last week, I'm back with a 'crime in the making' for all of you fans of sleuthing and heart stopping encounters with fiendish murderers.
Your job is to put yourself in the place of the hero, or in this case, heroine, a pretty young college girl who has thought to surprise her boyfriend with an unexpected visit.
The only problem is that he lives in a run down old building in a pretty bad part of town.
She has also decided to try to use this occasion to try to conquer what she considers to be her irrational fears of the dark and dimly lit places.
So take a walk down the hallway with the increasingly apprehensive girl and then post your idea of what should she do in this terrifying situation.
Then come back next week to see what happens.
Have fun!
Ric
Ric Wasley
Author
Shadow of Innocence
Kunati - April 2007
What would you do? Part I – “Don’t walk down that dark hallway!”
Dozens of layers of peeling paint scraped the girl’s knuckles and gave the old muddy-brown door a muted, hollow sound when she pounded on it for the third time in half as many minutes.
“Damn,” she muttered to herself, “where is he?”
After she’d spooked her new boyfriend at the lab and he’d almost freaked out, he’d called her the next morning and profusely apologized, citing stress, overwork, and just the sheer surprise at “looking up from 10,000 power microscope and into the eyes of someone so lovely.”
“Yeah right,” the pretty 19-year-old thought cynically. “He wasn’t even from this country but it sure hadn’t taken him long to learn how to B.S. with the best of them.”
“On the other hand,” she thought to herself, “it was certainly nice to know that he thought enough of me to care to feed me a flattering line…even if it was nine tenths B.S.”
She stepped back from the still silent doorway to apartment 4C and looked around the dingy fourth floor landing of the rundown five story walkup located in an equally rundown section, of almost always run down…Central Square, Cambridge.
She felt a momentary small chill shiver down the middle of her back as she realized how quiet and dark it really was in the silent, musty hallway.
“Wow,” she half whispered to herself, “this is just the kind of place you’d expect to find the Boston Strangler lurking in the shadows. Just standing there. All dressed in black, with that creepy black knit cap he always wore. Standing there with that nylon stocking that he always used to strangle those poor girls, and…stop it! Get a grip, girl, or next you’ll be seeing…”
Something moved at the other end of the hallway.
Her intake of breath caught in her throat and she froze, stark still. She didn’t know how long she stood there, petrified in that same position. Straining her eyes to pierce the gloom on the other side of the fly and dust darkened forty-watt bulb.
After what seemed like hours, but could have only really been twenty or thirty seconds, she realized that there was nothing there and was actually glad that no one else had been around to see how stupid she was acting. She let her pent up breath out with a whoosh, raised her hand to knock on the door again and…
The shadow darkness at the end of the hall moved again.
This time there could be no question, because the movement was accompanied by a soft but unmistakable shuffling sound and she could see rising dust motes floating in the forty-watt gloom.
She stood paralyzed. Rooted to the spot with terror. Frozen. Hypnotized like a bird in front of a snake. She tried to scream and was actually surprised when the only sound that came out was a little mewing sound, like a kitten about to be drowned.
The slowly approaching shadow was now starting to coalesce into man form and her wildly darting eyes moved back and forth, looking for the nylon stocking she was sure he held in his hand. And as the form stepped into the periphery of the dim hallway light, her most horrible nightmare…came true.
The form was dressed in black, right down to the black ski hat and ski mask and…the nylon stocking looped around one hand. The other black-gloved hand slowly reached out for her as the black clad form moved to the center of the hallway – blocking the only way out.
Ric Wasley
Author
Shadow of Innocence
Kunati - April 2007
You can pre-order a copy of Shadow of Innocence from Amazon.com.
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ric_Wasley
http://www.kunati.com/shadow-of-innocence-hip-myster/
Ric Wasley has spent almost forty years wandering through corporate board rooms and honky-tonk bars. He now divides his time between writing mystery novels – Shadow or Innocence – A McCarthy Family Mystery – Published by Kunati, http://www.kunati.com , and observing the really ‘juicy parts’ of the human condition
***************
New from Kunati Publishing: SHADOW OF INNOCENCE - The Newport Folk Festival provides a groovy backdrop for this fun and exciting mystery set in the music and drug soaked sixties. The Baby Boomers and everyone else are sure to enjoy this appealing mystery featuring a pair of musician partners in love and danger. Don't miss Shadow of Innocence! From Kunati Publishing. Available now for pre-order at;
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Can ‘Dr. Death’, a.k.a. Jack Kevorkian, Keep His Resolution Not to Assist in Deaths?
For eight years, the 78-year-old retired pathologist has been imprisoned for his crimes in the Lakeland Correctional Facility in Coldwater, Michigan. According to prison authorities, his defiance and flagrantly vocal disregard for the law have changed and he no longer spouts contempt for society and the legal system. Kevorkian now says that he should have worked to change the system legally.
In April 1999, just prior to being convicted, Kevorkian told Jack Lessenberry, ombudsman for The Blade, “Now I’ve got them where I want them.” His revolutionary statements to the public and media, and his obvious disdain for the laws have made his name synonymous with assisted suicide. At one time, he was one of the most famous US personalities.
Dr. Death’s reign began in June 1990 with the assisted suicide of Janet Adkins, 54, who was suffering from Alzheimer’s. She died after using an intravenous drug machine. Kevorkian was charged in December with first-degree murder, but the charges were later dismissed since there were no assisted suicide laws in Michigan.
In October 1991, Marjorie Wantz, 58, who suffered from chronic pelvic pain, died of lethal injection. Her death was followed by Sherry Miller, 44, a multiple sclerosis patient who died from carbon monoxide poisoning. The following month, Kevorkian’s medical license was suspended. In February 1992, he was charged with the murders of Wantz and Miller. In 1996, he was acquitted of these murders.
Over a nine-year span, Kevorkian assisted in the deaths of people suffering from various diseases and painful conditions, including terminal cancer, Lou Gehrig’s disease, heart disease, breast cancer, multiple sclerosis, emphysema, intestinal disease, arthritis and other forms of cancer. Two of the youngest people recorded were Nicholas Loving, 27, who suffered from ALS and died from carbon monoxide poisoning, and Roosevelt Dawson, 21, who was paralyzed from the neck down and died from lethal injection. Kevorkian’s suicide methods included intravenous drugs, lethal injections and most commonly, the inhalation of carbon monoxide.
Perhaps the most prominent case is that of Thomas Youk, a 52-year-old man with advanced Lou Gehrig’s disease, who sought out Kevorkian in 1998 and agreed to have his death videotaped. Kevorkian then gave the tape to Mike Wallace from 60 Minutes and it aired on November 22, 1998. Days later, Kevorkian was charged with first-degree murder and the delivery of a controlled substance. During the trial in 1999, ‘Dr. Death’ committed legal suicide by firing his attorney and representing himself. He was convicted of second-degree murder and sent to prison [People v. Kevorkian, 248 Mich. App. 373, 639 N.W. 2d 291 (2001).
Kevorkian’s attorney, Mayer Morganroth, claims that his client suffers from numerous health issues, including hepatitis C, high blood pressure and diabetes, and he recently fell and cracked two ribs. Morganroth also insists that his client probably has less than a year to live. He says that Kevorkian plans to live with friends in Detroit, Michigan, while living off a small pension and Social Security.
Kevorkian has stated that, after his parole, he intends to write and do some public speaking. We can only guess what the topic will be. But the question on everyone’s mind―will ‘Dr. Death’ strike again? Only time will tell.
Kevorkian is expected to be released on June 1st, 2007.
(Original article went out as a press release on January 2, 2007)
~ Cheryl Kaye Tardif is a freelance journalist, book reviewer and editor. She is also the author of three mystery novels set in Canada, including the highly anticipated ‘assisted suicide novel’ Whale Song, which will release in April 2007 by provocative publisher Kunati Books.
http://www.kunati.com/catalog_whale_song
Please visit Cheryl Kaye Tardif’s official website: http://www.cherylktardif.com
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
West Edmonton Mall Sponsors Whale Song Book Launch
The Whale Song Book Launch ~ A KILLER Whale of a Launch Party
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Hi ! ... and all that ...
Hi,
I'm Ric Wasley, one of Cheryl's fellow authors at Kunati, and finally after battling the fiendish villains who run quirky cyberspace, I made it in to Criminal Minds. And damn glad to be here! (finally). I've got a new mystery coming out in April; http://www.kunati.com/shadow-of-innocence-hip-myster/ , so when Cheryl told me about this site, I couldn't wait to jump in and have some good fiendish fun.
Unfortunately for me, I've spent the past three hours also battling with numerous edits of an article that's due tomorrow AM ... oops it's that now. So all of the clever things I was going to say have run out of my ears along with my brain which has now turned to 4AM oatmeal mush.
But once I'm in full or at least partial command of may faculties again, I intend to post a series of creepy/spooky scenes tentatively subtitled, "Hey - don't open that door!" or "Look out - behind you!"
Well you get the picture. And I hope to make it as much fun as any good criminal mind can have in plotting the just or unjust deserts for their next victim and I really want to get all of you lovers of devious thinking involved too.
So until then, keep thinking devious thoughts and watch out for what may be lurking around that next corner...
Ric
Ric Wasley
Author
Shadow of Innocence
Kunati - April 2007
You can pre-order a copy of Shadow of Innocence.
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ric_Wasley
http://www.kunati.com/shadow-of-innocence-hip-myster/
Ric Wasley has spent almost forty years wandering through corporate board rooms and honky-tonk bars. He now divides his time between writing mystery novels – Shadow or Innocence – A McCarthy Family Mystery – Published by Kunati, http://www.kunati.com , and observing the really ‘juicy parts’ of the human condition
***************
New from Kunati Publishing: SHADOW OF INNOCENCE - The Newport Folk Festival provides a groovy backdrop for this fun and exciting mystery set in the music and drug soaked sixties. The Baby Boomers and everyone else are sure to enjoy this appealing mystery featuring a pair of musician partners in love and danger. Don't miss Shadow of Innocence! From Kunati Publishing.
Monday, January 08, 2007
Memorial for Cheryl Kaye Tardif's brother, Jason Kaye, and for others who died in Edmonton
And Jason Kaye was one of them.
Below is the eulogy and announcement made by Jason's sister and Edmonton author, Cheryl Kaye Tardif.
It was difficult for the police to track us down, since my last name is not the same and we’re the only family Jason had in Edmonton. But Jason had told his friends that his sister was an author who had written a book about whales. That’s how the police found me. Whale Song, a novel, was the only book of mine that my brother had ever read, and this April it will be re-released, bigger and better, with a special dedication to my brother. Whale Song is Jason’s book now...
See also this press release: Edmonton Author Cheryl Kaye Tardif Announces Donations to Hope Mission, the Bissell Centre and the Mustard Seed Church
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Stop or I'll shoot!
Really, what other title can go with a photo like this? Is it edgy?
I've been trying to define what 'edgy' means, as that seems to be a desired quality in writing these days. Where does edgy stop and bad taste begin?
Enough philosophy, let's talk about me (edgy or just egoic?).
The twisted path to mystery writing began, for me, in the late 1980s, deep in the hollows of the Banff Springs Hotel - a section tourists never saw and where managers huddled in the windowless labrinth of back passages. The marketing manager of the time surrepticiously (does this blog have a spell check?) slid me a piece of paper with a penciled phone number. "Call this guy. He might be able to use you." 'This guy, we'll call him Bob, (everybody is called Bob except for 'Mike from Canmore') had a fledging business providing corporate entertainment at the CPR hotels back then - including 'murder mystery dinners'.
It was February. Bob wanted me to find a stage crew that would work, for free, carrying two hundred trees up a two story fire escape, into the hotel, at midnight. When I looked askence (probably no spell check here), he showed me how it was done. Emerging from his office, a back booth at a restaurant that looked like a railcar from the outside, Bob stopped two young men wearing mukluks, who spoke no English except for 'Oui' - wait! that's not English. Bob put the proposal to them and they agreed - 'Oui'. It's a long story and ended in court a week later as our free stage crew left the Springs with a silver cake platter, complete with cake, and a very expensive carpet from the hotel to keep them warm in the back of the old 'fish & chip' truck they were living in.
The most adventurous evenings Bob provided were Murder Mysteries, though he hated doing them. A fan of the genre from very young, I got excited at the prospect of producing them myself and did so for the next sixteen years.
For me, above all, in mysteries, the clue trail is the thing! I love the puzzle. Agatha Christie is the master as far as I am concerned and I would love to fill her boots. My writings all take place before the computer and high tech forensics came on the scene. Not exactly 'edgy' but I'm working on it.
Friday, January 05, 2007
"Become a Character in a Novel Contest"
This is how it will work:
The Edmonton Woman's Show website at www.woman.edmontonshows.com will be hosting the contest. There will be more than one author involved, so your name may get picked for another genre/another author's book. You submit your name when the contest opens and if your name is selected for my use, then I will use your name in the next novel I write.
Bookmark this blog!
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Booklist Reviews WHALE SONG, a Novel that Explores Assisted Suicide
Well, here we are. It's 2007, January 2nd to be precise, and already my year is looking stunning and exciting. Everything started with an email from my publisher announcing that Whale Song had been reviewed by the esteemed Booklist.
And here are just a few things they said:
"Moving..."
"Sweet and sad..."
This has made my year already! :)
To Mary Frances Wilkens, Booklist's gracious reviewer...I wish you the very best year and I hope you can feel how happy you have made one humble author...and the year has just begun.
To read the full review, please go HERE!
These are the details that interest me--how about you?
Saddam reminisced about spending time with his three daughters and two sons when they were young, telling them bedtime stories and giving a daughter medicine for stomach ache.
Mr Ellis said Saddam was held in a 6ft by 8ft cell in solitary confinement at Camp Cropper. He had a cot and a small table where he kept some books and a Koran, two plastic chairs, a prayer rug and two wash basins.
An adjoining cell contained basic medical supplies, a defibrillator, intravenous solutions and oxygen.
Saddam told Mr Ellis that cigars and coffee kept his blood pressure down and it seemed to work. He would insist that Mr Ellis smoke with him.
At one point, he went on a hunger strike, refusing to eat when the guards slid food through the slot under his door. When they resumed serving meals by opening the door, he began eating again. "He refused to be fed like a lion," Mr Ellis said.
Am I the only one who finds that interesting?
When I read true crime, it's the mundane details of how a serial killer deals with his girlfriend (how can she not know?) or his landlord that fascinate me far more than the blood and guts. I guess it's because it is not always easy to tell who is the psychopath or predator in our midst. Often they have tremendous charm. I'm always looking for the little things that might give them away. And as an author, I'm looking for those details that can humanize an otherwise villanous character.
It's not always easy to tell who is good and who is evil. Predators are expert observers of human nature and fool their prey into thinking they have an almost godlike capacity to satisfy their needs.
That's one of the subjects I explore in my novel The Defilers. It's also a about the main character's journey back to religious faith after a priest seduces her and gets her pregnant. When we meet her years later, she is a Mountie with no belief in anything supernatural. Then she meets a strange pastor who becomes her chief suspect in a murder investigation. Is he good or is he evil?
I'm going talk about the novel and my own personal journey to religious faith on 100 Huntley Street on 9:00 a.m. Thursday Dec. 4. The program airs on Global and on the Crossroads Television System on cable. You can find out more about the novel at www.thedefilers.ca.
What are you looking for in a true crime story or crime fiction?
As I writer, I'm not only looking for a captivating read, I'm searching for insight. When I write, I'm trying to understand what I see but have not yet been able to put into words. Some of these things I need to wrestle with using "flesh and blood" characters.
Gotta run for now.
Monday, January 01, 2007
Enter...the Criminal Mastermind...Cheryl Kaye Tardif
Ok, ok, so I admit it. I'm a bloggin' addict! I need another blog like I need a hole in the head. Wait! I guess I needed the hole in the head then too. Anyone have a drill?? :)
Welcome to Criminal Minds at Work.
Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Hannibal Lector and I'll be making dinner tonight. You bring the wine...
Actually, my name is Cheryl Kaye Tardif, and I write novels with various elements of mystery, suspense and crime, ranging from my haunting coming-of-age, assisted suicide mystery Whale Song--to my psychic sleuths, serial arsonist suspense Divine Intervention--to my stem cell research, baby farm, eternal youth conspiracy The River.
I hope that more criminal--I mean, CRIME--authors will join me here in the near future. As we walk the grid here at Criminal Minds at Work, you will learn more about us. For now, there's just me and I hope you will check out my websites and blogs below.
http://www.cherylktardif.com
http://www.whalesongbook.com
http://www.divinenovels.com
http://cherylktardif.blogspot.com
http://writetype.blogspot.com
http://www.kunati.com/catalog_whale_song
http://www.kunati.com/meet-cheryl-kaye-tardif