Introduction

Since I'm listed on the masthead for this blog, I thought I should introduce myself. Can you tell I have a lot of experience with newspaper and magazine work? If you are a good detective you would note my use of a word not often used in the blogging world.

My writing career started when I wrote a humorous column for a suburban Dallas newspaper many moons ago. From there I went on to do a lot of journalism for regional and national publications - columns, feature stories, reviews, and news stories - but my heart was always in fiction. I've written short stories, novels, screenplays and stageplays - not all of them published or produced, but I keep on trying.

I love mysteries, especially police procedurals and some of my favorite books were the 87th Precinct series by Ed McBain - alter ego of the amazing Evan Hunter. Reading his work taught me a lot about how to handle an ensemble cast in a series, and I hope I have mastered even a smidgen of his ability in my series that will debut this December.

Open Season introduces two women homicide detectives in Dallas, one white and one black, who deal with racial issues that are impacting the department and the city. They both see the pairing as better PR than policy, but they can't let that hamper their efforts to find the killer who is murdering people at area shopping malls.

My earlier books are One Small Victory, a romantic suspense first out in hardback, and now an e-book through Smashwords. Play it Again, Sam, is a woman's novel in e-book format from Uncial Press. I have self-published a young adult novel, Friends Forever, for Kindle, and put a short story up there, too, The One O'clock Nap.

I am honored to be a part of this blogging group and hope that readers find my prattling worth the read.

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Maryann's Web site

Quote

"When I am dead, I hope it may be said: "His sins were scarlet, but his books were read." Hilaire Belloc

Copyright infringement

A recent discussion on copyright infringement in a writers' group really piqued my interest in exploring the boundaries that some people cross, sometimes unwittingly, sometimes regardless of consequences or right or wrong. This is found in abundance on the Internet.

Some believe that if you copy and post someone else's work, you're showing them a huge honor.

Some believe that by doing so, you're actually helping that writer by giving them more exposure and more sales.

Some believe that if they don't profit from it, it isn't infringement.

I believe that all of these are disrespectful, untrue and very dangerous--not just to the person committing the infringement, but also to writers and others who rely on copyright laws to protect their work. Work they've slaved over. Work they've sacrificed time and often money for.

Read more on this at:

Copyright infringement: an act of honoring or theft?

~Cheryl Kaye Tardif
bestselling author & book marketing coach
http://www.cherylktardif.com