Cheryl Kaye Tardif's Blog, page 25

Read an excerpt from DIVINE JUSTICE, a paranormal suspense by Cheryl Kaye Tardif

Prologue
Jasi McLellan drifted in and out of consciousness, her thoughts like waves lapping restlessly against the shore. When she opened her eyes, distorted faces flashed past her and indistinct words assaulted her ears. She reached for the names that belonged to those faces, but they eluded her. She tried to swallow, but her mouth and tongue were sandpaper-dry. She inhaled slowly, trying to place the smell, a mix of antiseptic and sweat.Where the hell am I? And why is it so dark, so cold?She blinked once and everything changed.Before her lay a long, murky corridor. At her feet, the bare hardwood floor was polished to a reflective shine. Her sandals clicked as she headed toward the door at the end of the hall. A crack of backlighting outlined the door's shape. As she moved toward it, the door appeared to drift further away. She paused and leaned down to look at her reflection in the gleaming floor. A face she didn't recognize stared back at her. Amidst charred skin, blue eyes blinked at her.I have green eyes.She cried out in terror when the face became two. The dead girl from her closet was coming for her. Jasi faced the girl. "Why can't you leave me alone?" "I can't leave. You need me, and I need you." The girl's accent was soft―from South Carolina maybe―and the pink skipping rope noose cut deeply into her lolling neck with every word she spoke. "He keeps callin' me," the dead girl whispered."Who?"The girl began to sob and Jasi reached out to touch the child's blistered shoulder. She snatched her hand back when it encountered skin that was morgue cold."Who are you?" "Emily," came the soft reply. "What do you want, Emily?" The girl's next words turned Jasi's blood to ice. "I want you to find me."Confused, Jasi shook her head and took a few steps backward. "What do you mean? You're right here."The girl said nothing. "I've seen you ever since I was a child," Jasi said. "You've never spoken to me before. Why now?" Emily lowered her head. "You jes never heard me before. Now you're open-minded. Now you're hearin' me fine."A light flickered at the end of the hall and Jasi glanced over her shoulder. "It's okay, Jasmine." Emily smiled weakly. "Go." The girl drifted backward toward the shadows."Emily, wait!" Jasi cried. "How do I find you?""When you're ready, I'll find you."As Jasi drifted off into a peaceful, healing sleep, she made a solemn vow to the dead girl in her closet.I'll find you, Emily. I promise.The dead girl finally had a name―Emily.


1
Tuesday, July 3, 2012 ~ Vancouver General Hospital, Vancouver, BC
Natassia Prushenko was scared―really scared. She looked down at the woman lying motionless in the bed. She's so pale, so still. Like death.The door opened behind her. Someone stepped into the room. "Is Jasi awake yet?" Natassia glanced over her shoulder. "No, she hasn't moved an inch. I'm worried about her, Ben." Benjamin Roberts crossed the room, bringing with him an air of calm authority. When he reached Natassia, they stood side-by-side, keeping vigil over the woman in the hospital bed. It had been nearly two weeks since their partner and team leader Jasmine McLellan had taken a bullet high on her left arm. She'd been doing well, was even out of Vancouver General Hospital for nearly a week, but then she'd taken an unexpected turn for the worse. Her arm had swelled painfully, the bullet wound festering. Without warning, a blood infection invaded Jasi's body, causing serious complications and a sudden trip back to the hospital. That's where they discovered she had a concussion and mild swelling of the brain, probably from when she hit the ground after an explosion during the last case.Natassia stared down at Jasi. "I don't think she's getting any better, Ben. She looks like she's barely breathing." She reached out to touch Jasi's arm, but snatched back her hand as if she'd touched a hot flame.Ben raised a brow. "Natassia…""You know what can happen if I touch her. After all she's been through, the last thing she needs is me poking around in her mind. Anyway, we already know what happened during the Gemini Murders. It's not as if we need to know any more."She studied the woman in the bed, taking in the tangled mane of shoulder-length auburn hair and the sprinkle of cinnamon freckles that appeared much darker against the creamy whiteness of her face."It's up to Jasi now," Ben said quietly. "We both know how stubborn she is." He turned away, but not before Natassia saw tears in his eyes. "Where are you going?" she asked."I want to check on her status. I'll get her doctor." Natassia felt a void in the room as soon as he was gone. She couldn't help but feel a little better when he was around. If there was one thing she'd learned, Ben knew how to take care of things―especially the people he cared for.She watched Jasi. "And he sure cares a lot for you, my new friend."Although she'd only known Jasi for about three months, she'd grown fond of her. The slender redhead had a lot of spunk. That was something she could appreciate. Natassia had spent a few years consulting with a Russian agency similar to the Canadian Federal Bureau of Investigation, which had been formed in 2003. As a Victim Empath capable of receiving cryptic flashes from the minds of victims, she was responsible for bringing down some notorious criminals. After a brief scandalous affair with a married field agent, Natassia was 'traded' to Canada's CFBI. Recently, she'd been assigned to the PSI Division and relocated to Vancouver, B.C. "Remember when we first met, Jasi? You thought I was an escort hitting on Ben." She laughed. "The poor guy practically fell over in his chair when I sat down with you two."It had been an awkward first meeting.Natassia let out a sigh. She still felt like the new kid on the block, having only been a Psychic Skills Investigator with the CFBI for the past three months. As a PSI, her gift of reading victims, live or dead ones, had helped crack the last case. But not before Jasi had been shot. Natassia hadn't been able to prevent that. Or Jasi's subsequent heartbreak.She pulled the chair up to the side of the bed. "Get well, my friend. We've got cases to solve, murderers to catch and good-looking men to tease."There was no answer.She leaned closer. "Jasi? Can you hear me?"No reply."Jasmine McLellan, it's time to wake up now."The woman in the bed remained still.Out in the hall, footsteps approached. Ben entered the room, followed by Jasi's father and Brady, her brother. Dr. Mohinder Habib entered the room after them and immediately picked up the chart at the end of Jasi's bed. "So?" Natassia said impatiently.When the doctor looked up from the file, his expression was guarded. That made her nervous."When is she going to wake up?" she blurted."We've been monitoring her stats closely," Dr. Habib said, his black eyes drifting to the bed. "Ms. McLellan has been only slightly responsive to antibiotics."Natassia frowned. "But she's getting better, right?" "Your friend is too exhausted to fight off the infection, and the swelling in her brain is impeding her recovery." Dr. Habib tried to smile. "She's in a very deep sleep." "You mean she's in a coma," Ben stated.The doctor nodded. "Yes, but she's still breathing on her own."Jasi's father looked stunned. "When will she wake up?""I'm afraid we don't know when," Dr. Habib said gently. "The body often reacts this way when it's under attack. Some people wake up within days, once an infection is under control. Some remain in a coma for longer periods of time." He made a note on Jasi's chart and adjusted the IV drip. "What's the worst case scenario?" Ben asked.Natassia knew it was the one question everyone had on their minds."Well, worst case―and I mean very worst―would be that we can't control the swelling in her brain or the infection in her arm." He turned away from his patient. "And if the infection travels up her arm toward her heart, we might have to take more aggressive action.""What kind of action?" Jasi's brother demanded."Brady," his father warned. "Let him finish."Dr. Habib's expression darkened. "If the infection spreads upward, it could reach her heart or brain and that would complicate matters. There is a slim possibility that we might have to amputate her arm."Natassia let out a soft cry. "No!""We might not have a choice," the doctor said quietly.Natassia moved closer to the bed. As she gazed at Jasi, her mouth tightened. I won't let them take your arm."For now, her vitals are good," Dr. Habib said, moving toward the door. "We have every reason to believe she'll fight the infection and regain consciousness. When she's ready. I'll check in on her in a couple of hours, but I can assure you we're doing everything we can for her."Brady and his father followed the doctor out into the hall, while Natassia sank into the chair by Jasi's bed. "They might take her arm, Ben. Oh, God…"Ben placed a gloved hand on her shoulder. "Hey, you heard the doctor. She's stable and she's a fighter. She'll wake up soon enough, and when she does, she'll be bossier than hell."Natassia studied the woman in the bed, yearning for Jasi to open her green eyes. "Come on, Jasi. You've gotta fight this thing." Behind her, Ben said, "She's probably dreaming about lying on a tropical beach somewhere, sipping mojitos and getting that tan she always wanted."
While her partners discussed tropical beaches and tanning, Jasi drifted on a turbulent river of unconsciousness, reliving flashes of conversations and glimpses of past murder scenes that all led her back to the one case that had hit close to home. Too close. She'd let her guard down, opened herself to a personal connection instead of her ordinary measure of distance, something she always strived for. In her drug-induced world, faces flashed before her. Brandon…Ben…Natassia. A burnt corpse floated past her on a cresting wave.Monty Winkler.The dream took her closer to the water. She saw her reflection. And something else just below the surface.She scrunched her eyes. What is that?Suddenly, a hand broke the surface. Fingers clawed at empty air, yet as quickly as it had appeared, the hand sank below, returning to its watery grave.No!A rush of emotions assaulted her. Death…loss…pain.Jasi was suddenly transported to the day she had returned to Divine Operations, the covert location of the PSI Division. Divine Ops was cloaked within an isolated, heavily guarded complex in the Rocky Mountains. Not even the one hundred or so residents of Divine, BC, knew what went on inside the complex―or underground. They believed the signage that stated it was a company called Enviro-Safe Research Facility.In her dream world, Jasi found herself standing in front of Matthew Divine, the mysterious creator of the PSI Division. With shoulder-length gray hair tied in a ponytail and old-fashioned tortoise-shell glasses, the man could be easily mistaken for an aging hippie or a computer geek. The latter was true."Hi, Matthew," Jasi said.She knew he wasn't pleased. Why should he be? She had another dead body on her hands, someone who could've been saved if she'd bothered to call for back up. Plus, she had a wounded friend who wouldn't have been shot if it wasn't for her stubborn refusal to follow protocol."I-I'm sorry," she told him.A bright flash sent her muddled mind back to the case that still haunted her. The Parliament Murders. Memories flooded her mind. She couldn't fight them, or stop them. All she could do was remember.As usual, everything had started with a dead body...
DIVINE JUSTICE is now available at Amazon and Smashwords.

Over the next week or so, it will become available at Barnes & Noble, Kobo Books, iBooks, Sony eReader Store, Diesel and more.Cheryl Kaye Tardif is a Canadian suspense author.
http://www.cherylktardif.com

DIVINE JUSTICE now available in ebook edition

NEW RELEASE: Check out DIVINE JUSTICE, book 2 in the Divine paranormal suspense series starring CFBI agent and Pyro-Psychic Jasi McLellan, a woman who enters killers' minds at the scent of smoke.

CFBI agent and Pyro-Psychic Jasi McLellan battles a serious infection that threatens to claim her life. Slipping in and out of consciousness, she remembers the Parliament Murders...
One by one, members of Ontario's Parliament are disappearing, only to be found days later, disoriented and drugged. Or worse―dead. Police are stumped and the CFBI brings in a covert PSI team, agents with special psychic abilities.
Accompanied by Psychometric Empath Ben Roberts and new team member Victim Empath Natassia Prushenko, Jasi heads for Ottawa and uncovers a plot so devious that Canada's national security is at risk. If that isn't enough to deal with, Jasi bumps into old flame, Zane Underhill, who wants to rekindle their relationship that ended three years earlier.
But the investigation takes precedent and Jasi is forced to place her feelings for Zane on hold in order to find a killer who has more than justice in mind for his victims, and in the end she makes a gut-wrenching decision―one that will cost the life of someone close to her.
DIVINE JUSTICE is now available at Amazon and Smashwords.

Over the next week or so, it will become available at Barnes & Noble, Kobo Books, iBooks, Sony eReader Store, Diesel and more.
Cheryl Kaye Tardif is a Canadian suspense author.
http://www.cherylktardif.com

Young fan promotes my books at Chapters & inspires a new contest

Want to win an entire collection of Cheryl Kaye Tardif paperbacks? Keep reading.

A friend of mine from high school has been a huge supporter and fan of my work. He told me on numerous occasions how he and his wife would go into their local Chapters/Indigo bookstores and pull up my books on the kiosk computers--then leave them there for other customers to see. I thought this was so kind, and a bit funny.

Well, I guess this has now become a family affair.

Check out one of my youngest fans, Duncan, at a Chapters store in Ontario.


THANK YOU, DUNCAN!!


Duncan's pic has inspired me, so here's a fun contest:

Go to any bookstore that has a computer for customers and pull up my books by searching for 'Cheryl Kaye Tardif'. Take a picture of you pointing to the screen. Then leave the screen up for the next customer. :-)

Send me your pics and I'll post them here during the month of May.

In June, I'll draw a name and one lucky winner will win an entire collection of my paperbacks.

Rules:
Open to Canadian and US residents only, 18 years and older or a child with parent's permission. By entering the contest, you're giving me permission to post your pics on my blog and mention your first name.

Email photos with your name, where the photo was taken (bookstore and city) and your email address.

Only the winner will be notified when the contest is over. Good luck all!

Prize consists of 8 trade paperbacks.Cheryl Kaye Tardif is a Canadian suspense author.
http://www.cherylktardif.com

Recipe for a Bestselling Novel

Wouldn't it be great if there was a recipe for making a bestselling novel and if all a writer had to do was gather the ingredients and mix them in, and voila!―a bestselling novel is created? The reality is there are combinations of ingredients that can either get your name on a bestseller's list or fall flatter than an airless cheese soufflé. However, there are some common ingredients that have helped authors achieve bestseller status.
Common Ingredients for a Bestseller:
·       1 cup of well written novel·       1 cup of professional editing·       1 cup of professional layout and interior design·       2 cups of professional book cover, including gripping back cover text·       1 cup of decent distribution via major online retailers·       2 cups of book launch, tours and other events, plus advertising·       3 cups of contests and giveaways by author, publisher or both·       Countless hours of organization and time·       Dash of excitement
Method:
Take the well written novel and beat in professional editing until light and readable. Add professional layout and interior design, then stir in professional cover art and back cover text until well combined. Sprinkle in decent distribution until coated and roll mixture out with book launch, tours and events. Top with contests and giveaways, and fold in countless hours of organization and time before adding the finishing touch―a huge dash of excitement. Share with everyone and enjoy!
Reality Check:
While the recipe above may seem kind of silly, these ingredients can lead to a bestselling novel. I know because I've used them all successfully. My novels have made bestsellers lists multiple times on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca. Some made multiple lists on each in a single day. 
I've also sold over 5000 copies of Whale Song, which in Canada makes it a national bestseller.
So how did I do it? I created an exciting day-long event―a "Bestseller Day"―that had enough goodies to draw people in. It was held on my 44th birthday and I gave away 44 prizes.
There are three main ways to get prizes to offer:1.) Pay for them (I don't recommend this.) 2.) Get others to donate them. 3.) Find someone to sponsor the event or the prizes. They pay for something you want to give away and get something in return, whether it's free advertising, a mention in your next book, or some other benefit.
The Benefits:
The first benefit of reaching this "status" is obvious. You can use "bestselling author" when describing yourself. 
The next obvious benefit is that you're selling more books, which means you're earning more. 
Another benefit you may not have thought about is exposure. When people look for a book on Amazon, they'll often search using keywords. If your thriller is in the top 10-20 of books listed under "techno-thriller", for instance, you have a much better chance of being noticed. While on those bestsellers lists, more people will come across your name and your book. The more times people see you and your book online, the better the chance is that they'll buy your book.
Becoming a bestselling author takes persistence, creativity and good organization. Follow this recipe for success and you'll rise like a soufflé. Just don't forget that last ingredient―excitement!
Cheryl Kaye Tardif is a bestselling Canadian author whose critically acclaimed, award-winning novels have inspired much film interest. She's appeared on television and radio, and in newspapers and magazines. Cheryl has also presented at writers' conferences in Canada and the US, mainly on topics of marketing and promotion. She's helped many authors achieve success and does so as a book marketing coach, with Bestseller Days, Virtual Book/Blog Tours and Sponsorships her top 3 most requested topics.
http://www.shamelessbookpromoter.com  http://www.cherylktardif.com  

Cheryl Kaye Tardif is a Canadian suspense author.
http://www.cherylktardif.com

Kindle versus Kobo - From a Reader and Writer's Perspective

I have a Kindle and a Kobo ereader. I bought them because I love to read but also because I'm an author and I think it's important that I know how my readers are experiencing my works. So I decided to test both the Kobo and the Kindle.
I bought the Kobo ereader first. Since I'm Canadian, I really wanted to be loyal to Canada's #1 ereader. I've also been selling my works via Kobo since they first began as an offshoot of Chapters/Indigo, called Shortcovers. And I liked Kobo's simpler, more friendly design.
My first experience with a Kindle ereader seemed fine. My ebooks loaded and I had minor issues. I tested it for a few weeks, then gave it to my mother when Kobo announced they had a new ereader with wi-fi. So I bought that one.
It pains me to say that my experience with the second Kobo was not a good one. I had numerous problems with loading my ebooks. I ended up having to delete one just so the others would load properly. Kobo was good about giving me a refund. I read everything I could find to help with other glitches I was experiencing, like bookmarks not holding and synching not working between devices (I have a Kobo app on my iPhone too.)
I had to do a factory reset on my new Kobo 3 times, and it still did not fix the problems. Though tech support was great and they did try to help, I ended up having to send the Kobo back and get it replaced. This third Kobo loaded all my books correctly, but the bookmarks still don't hold.
Other than the technical issues I've had, I love the experience of reading on an ereader. It's small, lightweight, easy to hold (especially if you have arthritis in your hands), easy to turn pages (though Kobo isn't as fast as Kindle at this) and very easy on the eyes. Since there are less buttons on a Kobo, you don't have to worry about accidentally hitting one and ending up somewhere else. My Kobo also has an esthetically pleasing appearance; mine has the lilac colored back and white front.
The Kindle ereader I bought next. I bought it hoping that it wouldn't be quote as good as the Kobo. Darn...it's better. Basically a similar size and weight, I find pages load much faster and the battery lasts far longer than its Canadian counterpart. My Kindle doesn't look as "pretty" as my Kobo, but overall its performance is superior. It loads books faster. I haven't had one glitch yet since buying it. My bookmarks are exactly where I left off, and there are added features I can use, like Search, which came in handy when I was sprucing up my grammar skills. The only real downside is that there are perhaps too many buttons on the front and sides, which makes it a bit tricky for holding. I'm thinking a slide-out would maybe work.
And then there's the issue of PDFs. I'm a writer. I sometimes get PDF ARCs to read. I want to be able to do so on my ereader. First you have to transfer your PDF to Adobe Digital Edition. Then you have to synch this to your Kobo, which can be a hassle. Then there's the appearance. I transferred some of my PDFs to my Kobo and was horrified to see how it was formatted. Readers have to read one line at a time, scrolling left and right as the sentences won't fit on a single page. If you diminish the size of the text so it fits on one page, it's unreadable. Can we say AWKWARD? I'll never read a PDF like that. Unfortunately, that means neither will most readers.
Reading PDFs on a Kindle is a breeze. First, I just send an attached PDF to my Kindle address. Within 10 minutes or so, Amazon converts it and once I turn on wi-fi and synch, the PDF is loaded onto my Kindle. Upon opening, the PDF looks just like any other well-formatted ebook.
In a nutshell, I prefer my Kindle. But I'm kind of sad that I couldn't say this about my Kobo. I think if you're looking for a basic ereader, the Kobo is fine, as long as it works properly. I'm hoping Kobo will get all these issues--especially PDFs--ironed out soon. Now that Amazon has lowered the price of the Kobo with wi-fi, I would recommend you buy it over the Kobo. You'll get more bang for your buck.
Now which should I try next, a Nook or a Sony ereader?Cheryl Kaye Tardif is a Canadian suspense author.
http://www.cherylktardif.com

Children of the Fog review: "Intense...Creepy...Suspenseful...And great!"

"Intense...Creepy...Suspenseful...And great! It's a fast paced story, a mystery with paranormal elements. The characters are interesting and so well described that you can actually picture them. The entire book is full of eerie twists and turns that makes the inner sleuth in you want to keep the pages turning. The way the sub-plots intertwine keeps you guessing and makes you anxious to see what happens next... just when you think you have it figured out Tardif takes you in another direction."

--Heather ShockleyCheryl Kaye Tardif is a Canadian suspense author.
http://www.cherylktardif.com

Children of the Fog review

"Cheryl Kaye Tardif knows the mind of a parent and makes us all want to believe the impossible..."

--Eileen Schuh, author of The Traz and Schrodinger's CatCheryl Kaye Tardif is a Canadian suspense author.
http://www.cherylktardif.com

Coming this May: Divine Justice

This May, watch for DIVINE JUSTICE, book 2 in the Divine paranormal suspense series starring CFBI agent and Pyro-Psychic Jasi McLellan, a woman who enters killers' minds at the scent of smoke.

CFBI agent and Pyro-Psychic Jasi McLellan battles a serious infection that threatens to claim her life. Slipping in and out of consciousness, she remembers the Parliament Murders...
One by one, members of Ontario's Parliament are disappearing, only to be found days later, disoriented and drugged. Or worse―dead. Police are stumped and the CFBI brings in a covert PSI team, agents with special psychic abilities.
Accompanied by Psychometric Empath Ben Roberts and new team member Victim Empath Natassia Prushenko, Jasi heads for Ottawa and uncovers a plot so devious that Canada's national security is at risk. If that isn't enough to deal with, Jasi bumps into old flame, Zane Underhill, who wants to rekindle their relationship that ended three years earlier.
But the investigation takes precedent and Jasi is forced to place her feelings for Zane on hold in order to find a killer who has more than justice in mind for his victims, and in the end she makes a gut-wrenching decision―one that will cost the life of someone close to her.
Ebook edition available May 2011; trade paperback TBA
DIVINE JUSTICE will be available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo Books, Smashwords, iBooks, Sony eReader Store, Diesel and more.
If you haven't read book 1, DIVINE INTERVENTION, you can pick up a copy (ebook or trade paperback) from your favorite online retailer and select bookstores. The ebook edition is currently ON SALE.
Please note: you do not have to read book 1 to enjoy book 2. DIVINE JUSTICE does well as a stand-alone thriller.Cheryl Kaye Tardif is a Canadian suspense author.
http://www.cherylktardif.com

Law & Order: SVU mentions one of my ebooks

Law & Order: SVU mentioned 1 of my ebook titles on this week's episode ("Rescue"). Name the ebook & you'll win a free copy.

Either tweet me your answer at http://www.twitter.com/cherylktardif or leave a comment below.

All correct answers will receive a special coupon code they can use to receive a free ebook edition of the novel mentioned on Law & O)rder: SVU from Smashwords.com. This ebook can be uploaded to many ereaders or read on a smartphone, PC or laptop.

Make sure you also leave your email address so I can contact you if you're a winner.

One answer per person.

This mini-contest ends: 15 April, 2011.Cheryl Kaye Tardif is a Canadian suspense author.
http://www.cherylktardif.com

30 Days of Kay(e)s Blogfest and Children of the Fog

Today I'm over at author Laura Kaye's blog, celebrating her 30 Days of Kay(e)s Blogfest.

You'll find out where "Kaye" came from in my name, what writing Children of the Fog was like, and you'll be able to read an excerpt from my latest supernatural suspense thriller.

Laura, thank you so much for inviting me to participate in the fun.

Everyone else, stop on by the 30 Days of Kay(e)s Blogfest.Cheryl Kaye Tardif is a Canadian suspense author.
http://www.cherylktardif.com