Guest Blog by author Cheryl Kaye Tardif

Thank you to Cheryl for not only offering us the following glimpse of her flirty, romantic, magical side, but also for sharing some of the darker moments in her life--tragedies that have made her the angel that she is. 
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The birth of Cherish D'Angelo, pseudonym of author Cheryl Kaye Tardif

Throughout literary history, pseudonyms or pen names have been used by authors for various reasons. For authors like Nora Roberts, having a pseudonym allows them to explore new territory, maybe a new genre or a series. My idol Stephen King wrote books under the pen name of Richard Bachman because he didn’t want the market saturated with “Stephen King” books. It was also part experiment; he wanted to test whether luck or talent played a part in publishing.

For me, the choice of writing as “Cherish D’Angelo” made sense since one novel I’m writing doesn’t fall into my usual suspense genre. Lancelot’s Lady is a romantic suspense, heavy on the romance. “Cherish D'Angelo” is the pen name I’ve planned on using should I ever branch out into romance. This is a genre I've been drawn to since I was a teen and it was only inevitable that’s I’d write a romance novel.

As “Cheryl Kaye Tardif”, I write suspense set in various locations of Canada, something my fans love. As “Cherish D’Angelo”, I’m free to set my steamy romance novels anywhere and I can boldly go where I haven’t gone before—into my characters’ bedrooms, with the lights on. There’s something titillating about having a “secret identity”, even if it’s not so secret. But I don’t take naming myself lightly.

Most people assume that “Cheryl Kaye Tardif” is my legal name, with Kaye being my middle name. It isn’t. Kaye is my maiden name and the name that I saw first published in print when I was a teenage journalist with a paid reporting job. After I married, I struggled with my writing identity. Cheryl Kaye had always been the writer. I didn’t want to lose her. In a glimpse of absolute brilliance (lol), I combined my last names. My husband’s family always tells me I’m the famous “Tardif” now, and that I made their name famous. I don’t quite think I’m there…yet!

The name "Cherish D'Angelo" comes from two sources. "Cherish", the meaning of which is the same as my own first name "Cheryl", meaning 'beloved' or 'dear one', and "D'Angelo", meaning 'of the angel'. After the death of my first baby, I started collecting angels. In 2006, my baby brother Jason (28) was murdered in Edmonton and sent to the angels. Thus, "D'Angelo" seems to be a perfect choice for a surname that honors them both.

Combined, my pseudonym means: "Cherished one of the angel" but I like to say it means: "Cherish the angels". There is something flirty, romantic, magical―and so 'me'―about this name.

©2009 Cheryl Kaye Tardif

~Cheryl Kaye Tardif,
aka Cherish D’Angelo
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Eileen Schuh, Author
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THE TRAZ

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Eileen Schuh,
Canadian writer
http://www.eileenschuh.com/

Read a Preview of my novel

Check out the wonderful press release that went out last Friday on my adult crime novel, "Noraebang".

"New York, NY, July 21, 2009 / 24-7PressRelease.com / - Canadian writer Eileen Schuh had no idea that a vacation to Korea in 2006 would lead to the creation of Noraebang, a novel that explores Canadian biker gangs, Stockholm Syndrome and illicit drug smuggling to Korea. And now she’s on the hunt for a literary agent and a publisher. . ."

Visit my website for the full story. Press Release: "Noraebang"

Eileen Schuh,
Canadian writer
http://www.eileenschuh.com/

I'll give you a giggle

A mad scientist made a clone of himself, but something went terribly wrong in the process. All the clone would do is stand in the upstairs window and shout vulgarities at people passing by. Nothing the scientist did had any effect on the clone’s persistent rude behaviour.

It caused the scientist great embarrassment because the clone looked just like him, and people mistakenly thought it was the scientist giving them the rude gestures. One day, frustrated beyond measure, the scientist pushed the clone out the window.

Seconds later the police arrived and arrested the scientist.

Charged him with making an obscene clone fall. . . .

(Is that a collective groan I hear resonating through cyberspace?)

Eileen Schuh,
Canadian writer
www.eileenschuh.com

Criminal Minds

I'm very flattered that Cheryl Tardif has chosen to feature my article, 'I met a man with empty eyes..." on her blog spot.

Check out my guest blog at: Criminal Minds at Work blog

Eileen Schuh,
Canadian writer
http://www.eileenschuh.com/

Weak heroines--an endangered species

Little Red Riding Hood was seduced by a wolf and saved by a burly woodcutter. She wouldn't make it into print these days. I'm not sure why. Is it because we think weak females don't really exist? Is it because we believe nothing of importance ever happens to them? Is it because we don't want to hear their stories? Do we think we're canonizing them by giving them words for their pain?

Perhaps we are afraid that if we give them ink, an entire generation of females will be seduced into becoming like them.

Our impatience with weak fictional females is undoubtedly a reflection of our view of the real-life kind. It's too bad. We oughtn't trod on the down-trodden.

Women trapped in abusive relationships can attest to the stigma they bear. They aren't eager to share their stories. We're not eager to hear them. So, the story remains untold.

In my adult crime novel, 'Noraebang', I explore a strong woman's descent into subservience. It sometimes takes a lot more strength and courage than we realize for a woman to put her soul on hold in order to survive. And, perhaps even more courage, to gain it back. "Noraebang"--the story of a weak heroine's courage. A story that ought to be heard.

Eileen Schuh,
Canadian writer
www.eileenschuh.com

I met a man with empty eyes. . .

It wasn’t that his eyes were dull. Oh, no! They sparkled. That shine, however, was not emanating from his soul, but was merely reflecting the world he was seeing.

I was a young girl, eighteen, straight off the farm. He was tall. Good looking with his dark wavy hair and tanned smooth face. Broad shoulders strained at his T-shirt. His IQ was slightly above 140. He was a genius. He was a psychopath. A sociopath.

He was a dangerous man.

I knew all this because I’d read his case file. I was meeting with him so I could get the little box beside “forensic patient” on “First Year Psychiatric Nursing Required Learning Experiences” record checked off. It was only my second month of hands-on training, so there were pages of little boxes left to go. Other than the ones beside ‘attending an autopsy’ and ‘making a bed’, ‘forensic patient’ is the only one I remember.

The ‘forensic patient’ was obviously enthralled by my presence. Life on the locked ward of a Psychiatric Hospital offers few thrills to those incarcerated there. I could tell by the way his empty eyes rested on the space between my white nyloned knees and the hem of my uniform, that I’d made his day. He didn’t rest his eyes there long, however. Just a quick glance, and then he was cocking his head, raising an eyebrow, and staring deeply into my eyes. A gentle smile lifted his lips and a dimple appeared on his chin.

I knew instantly, that like Dr. Hannibal Lecter when he met Jodi Foster in the movie “Silence of the Lambs”, this man was reading my soul. . . .

To read the rest of this article, go to:
I met a man with empty eyes at EileenSchuh.com

Eileen Schuh,
Canadian writer
http://www.eileenschuh.com/

On Magic and Muses. . .

Muses are spirits or goddesses worshipped by the ancient Greeks as the source of creative inspiration. From the muses comes 'mus-ic', 'a-muse-ment', 'mus-ing', 'be-mused', etc.

As cultures through the ages learned to identify the muses' presence, their names, powers, personalities, and numbers evolved. I thus feel entitled to ascribe my own characteristics to the muses which haunt me.

My main muse sits on my shoulder, just under my right ear, and whispers. If I ignore its whispering for too long, it gets agitated and begins to shout. My muse sometimes bears the wings of an angel but more often, it sports the forked tail of a demon.

My main muse has been known to dictate entire novels, and to stubbornly argue with me about characters and plots (and inevitably prevail). My muse often awakens me at odd hours of the night and never apologizes for keeping me up until dawn brightens the horizon. My muse hates my husband, despises my children, and is generally outright antagonistic toward anything or anybody that keeps me from my keyboard.

My muse is totally uninterested in the mundane matters of love, money, and publishing contracts. It abruptly vacates my shoulder the moment I peck my husband's cheek, ponder cents-paid-per-word. . .or begin a query letter.

I believe muses are a wonderful personification of the mysterious nature of creativity. Although my belief in their actual existence waivers, my belief in the reality of magic is much firmer. But that's an entirely new blog....

Eileen Schuh,
Canadian writer
http://www.eileenschuh.com/
(I invite you to visit again to read my future posting on the mysteries of magic.)

Welcome to my world

My new webpage is in the final stages of creation. It took about six days. Historically, that seems to be a standard in the 'creation' industry. Perhaps on the seventh day I, too, can rest!

I intend to use this blog to create smiles with my humour, brilliance with my insights, warm hearts with my philosophies, and friendships with my words.

I intend to share with you not only my soul, but the spirit, wisdom, and words of others whose lives have enriched mine.

A novelist's career is not a process distinctly separate from her life, her characters are never strangers to her heart, and her stories always rise from the depth of her experiences.

Therefore, above all else, these posting will be the story of a writer's obsessive pursuit of her life-long dream of becoming a published novelist.

Welcome

Welcome to my brand new blog. Please be patient while I learn my way around.

I'm also setting up my new website at: www.eileenschuh.com

It'll take a few days for everything to be up and running. I appreciate your patience.