I was interviewed by Anne Patrick

Please check out the interview on Suspense by Anne today...

"Please join me in welcoming, multi-published author, Chelle Cordero. Thank you for joining me today, Chelle. Help yourself to a brownie, sit back and relax, and tell our visitors a little about yourself?

Hi Anne, thanks for the Brownie. I live in the lower Hudson Valley of New York. Boy am I ever married – 34 years today (Dec 28)! We have two grown kids who constantly continue to amaze and delight us. Our daughter is married to a terrific guy and our son’s significant other is a wonderful young lady. I also have three rather mischievous cats." (read more...)

& please, leave comments ;>

Season's Greetings & Merry Christmas to all!

Christmas Eve with the Prescott family

an excerpt from Courage of the Heart:

The Christmas Eve service was traditionally a candle-lit service. Members of the choir and vestry carried candles and other religious adornments to the front of the church in a processional. As a very young child she remembered sitting on her mother's lap in the Episcopal Church her family went to and pointing to all the lit candles and holiday ornaments. She was spellbound by the candles' twinkling and once or twice even disrupted the good Reverend's sermon with her commentary to her mom.

Davie had asked Adam, on the way into church, about his religious upbringing. It was something they had just never discussed before. He told her that he had been born Catholic but his first, and only, communion had been the last time he remembered being in church except for friends' weddings and funerals. His mother had made sure he attended religious classes until he was able to receive the holy sacraments. On the day of his communion, while all the other kids were having big family parties thrown in their honor, his mother took him out for an ice cream cone before depositing him back home and going off to her barmaid job. His father had gone on another drinking binge and had never even made the church service that day.

Adam had never had occasion to go to any church services after that, his mother was always working or sleeping with a new beau and his father was always drunk. It was just a few years later when his mother left town with a new lover. When his father heard from strangers that his wife had left town, he came home and beat Adam accusing him of keeping secrets. Adam hadn't known anything about his mother's desertion, he just knew that he was the only one left to suffer from his father's wrath. All the good church people of his town turned their backs on him when he needed them. Going to church would have reminded him of his mother’s abandonment so he never bothered.

Davie admitted ruefully that she didn't attend as often as her parents would have liked. Her family always included the church in every holiday. Davie could see that this was all new to Adam. She wondered how he was going to feel when she told him that not all her cousins had made it home yet and would be appearing tomorrow at her father's house. The holiday tables, definitely in the plural, would be stretched from room to room and would still be overcrowded.

She chanced a look at Elizabeth sitting beside Albert and marveled about how easily she had assimilated into the Prescott community. Her father had been one of nine children and except for an older brother who hadn’t come back from Korea, they all lived in the area. Many of her cousins had also settled nearby to raise their own families. A few, like her, lived several hours away. On major holidays almost everyone who had claim to Prescott blood descended on Cape May County. Everybody who ever lived in their small town was either related to or a good friend with somebody in the Prescott family.

Reverend Williams was ascending the pulpit to begin his sermon. The choir was singing from Handel's Messiah, she could hear her Aunt Rose's voice. She had always wondered why Aunt Rose with the beautiful voice hadn't become a professional singer. Davie noticed that Adam had been following along with all the prayers and hymns. She hoped that this Christmas was going to be memorable for both of them.

"Don't be afraid! I am here with good news for you, which will bring great joy to all the people." The reverend spoke of the greatest gift, the love and the child; he said the story of Christmas was about the poor and the outcast. He warned the congregation not to hide behind "gruff exteriors or a mask of self-sufficiency" for that would only multiply feelings of loneliness and of being outcasts.

Adam squeezed Davie's hand as the homily continued.

"Christmas is a story about all of us receiving that which we most want and need: love; deep, strong, unconditional love." Reverend William wished everyone a wonderful Christmas filled with family, love and faith.

After the service was over, Adam and Davie were separated in the throng of activity. She caught occasional glimpses of Adam as he was introduced to other members of her family by relatives that had just met him an hour earlier. Davie was captured in embrace after embrace of relatives who exclaimed how long she'd been gone even though she'd seen most of them at Thanksgiving. Her aunts and uncles pulled her to the side to ask questions about Adam. Her female cousins took turns swooning over his good looks. Davie heard her dad and Elizabeth asked if there was going to be a double wedding in February.

They finally managed to reach each other and Davie grabbed Adam's hand so they wouldn't be separated again.

"I am sorry about that." Davie apologized.

"Don't worry, they are all kind of nice. It's hard to imagine what it must have been like to grow up with so much family around." He leaned close to her ear and whispered. "How many of these people are actually related to you?"

Davie took her time looking around before she turned back to Adam with a grin. "The Reverend isn't."

For a moment Adam didn't know whether she was mocking him or not. Then she laughed.

"Alright, there are a lot of people here who are related to me." She shrugged. "It's a big family."

"Well, now I know where you got your people skills." He put his arm around her shoulder and noticed that one older woman, maybe one of Davie's aunts, gave a look of approval. "Uh, do they wear name-tags tomorrow by any chance?" He had no idea how he was going to keep who-was-who straight.

"The easiest way to sort it all out tomorrow is figure if they are in the house, they're family. The oldest folks are grandparents, doesn't matter who's, middle aged are aunts and uncles, you know my dad and Liz. The people our age and teens are cousins, except for Robbie and Allan of course. The little ones are children of the cousins." She laughed. "It's really very easy."

Courage of the Heart

ISBN-13: 978-1935407188
in e-book formats

Sometimes love is the only cure for the very deepest of emotional wounds. The story of the two lovers takes a series of unexpected and fast paced turns where lives, sanity and love are put in jeopardy. Their commitment to one another results in a spirit that binds them together and helps them to overcome physical and emotional dangers.
#####

(originally posted on Lindsay's Romantics)

page 69 theory - A Chaunce of Riches

There is a theory that if you pick up a book and turn to page 69, you will know if the book is interesting or not

so we are putting it to the test...

~~~~~~

p 69

“How was your marriage Mrs. Chaunce?”

“There was nothing wrong with my marriage.”

"Why did you visit the gym your husband frequented the day before he died?”

“I didn’t visit the gym. I went to his office to meet him for lunch.” Julian frequented the gym on the ground floor of the office building. He always said it was expedient not to have to spend the time traveling.

“But you didn’t have lunch with him that day.” They had obviously done their homework.

“Julian had to cancel on me. He had a meeting across town he had to go to.”

“Did that anger you? Maybe you thought his meeting was not quite business?”

“Look, I understand that it is normal to want to rule out the wife, but I wish you would get this over with and start looking for my husband’s killer.”

“Supposedly you didn’t even think your husband was murdered until a few days ago. Why are you in such a hurry now?”

“Someone tried to kill me the other night! It might be the same person. I don’t want my son to be an orphan... or worse, the next target.” She raised her voice in frustration and annoyance.

“Calm down Mrs. Chaunce. Now is certainly not the time to demonstrate that you have a temper.” The detective that had been looking the room over sat down in front of her. He had a cheeky smile on his face. “How far do you think Mr. Johnson would go to protect you and your son?”

“I think he would do whatever he had to.”

“Do you really believe that he had no idea you were back here?”

“He was just as surprised to see me as I was to see him.”

A Chaunce of Riches
from Amazon
or in e-book formats

Ben Johnson was hired as a bodyguard for a rich widow and her kid, but he never expected to be working for the woman who had abandoned him just when he had needed her the most. Damn it all, he still wanted her. Samantha Chaunce never thought she would have to explain why she married the rich man instead of Ben. Or that her husband had been murdered...and Ben was the prime suspect.

page 69 theory - Hostage Heart

(omigosh - we are overdue for this)

There is a theory that if you pick up a book and turn to page 69, you will know if the book is interesting or not

so we are putting it to the test...

~~~~~~

p 69

The room was dim. There was only a little light filtering in through the blinds.

It had been a while, but he recognized his surroundings. Ryan knew without question that he was in Connie’s bedroom. He realized he was in her bed. He also knew he felt like hell.

“At last, you’re awake.”

Ryan was glad as hell to see Connie walking into her room fully clothed.

“What am I doing here?” He started to sit up and realized he was naked under the sheets.

“You started to seize. Doc C gave you some valium to help you out and they brought you here to recuperate. He doesn’t think there is any permanent damage.” She sat on the side of the bed. “We thought it was safer to bring you here than a hospital. Obviously you were made. We didn’t want to chance any retaliation.”

It took too much energy to sit up so he put his head back down. “Where are my clothes?”

“I sent them to be cleaned.”

Ryan had a vague memory of getting sick in the back of the car. He almost chuckled. “Did I get the doc too?”

She shook her head. “How are you feeling?”

“Pretty crappy. What day is this?” He was astounded to learn he had lost a full day to the drugs. Even talking exhausted him. “I need to call Deanna.”

“You need to rest.”

“No. I’ve been out of touch with her too long. I need to let her know I’m still here.” He could see Connie’s reluctance. “Connie, come on. My cell phone is back at my apartment. I need to use your phone.”

She was unhappy. “Go ahead.” Connie leaned against the bed’s backboard and watched him.

“Thank you.” He wasn’t going to let Connie’s petty jealousy deter him. He picked up the phone and dialed the hotel number. A cheery young woman answered on the third ring. “I need to speak with Deanna...”

“Dianna who?”

“Deanna... Deanna Blair.” He sounded impatient.

“Is she a guest here?”

He mentally counted to three before he barked an answer. “She works there. She’s the night desk clerk. She lives in the hotel.” He tired himself even more with his anger.

“Oh! That girl. She’s not here...”

“Is she off tonight?”

“No, she left.”

“She left?” He struggled to listen. “Where did she go?”

“Beats me. Can someone else help you?”

Hostage Heart
from Amazon
or in e-book formats

Life was hard after the hurricanes swept through, destroying her parents' home and livelihood... An errand for her boss - a chance encounter with a crew of bank robbers - a kind man who tried to help her ... a man who isn't all he seems...no, he is so much more.
~~~~~

I explain some Chanukah traditions on Lindsay's Romantics...

Happy Holidays to all & to all a good night!

CHANUKAH: BEHIND THE TRADITIONS…

A pleasant children's song often sung at this time of year goes "Chanukah, Chanukah, come light the Menorah. Let's Have a Party, we'll all dance the Hora. Gather 'round the table, we'll give you a treat, Dreidel to play with and Latke to eat…" (for the rest of the article...)

Wow, it's December already!

Every time I look at my calendar I am amazed how quickly this year has gone. So much has happened this past year and it has all gone by in a blur.

I can't believe that next week is Chanukah! (Next Thursday, December 10, check out An explanation of Chanukah http://lindsaysromantics.blogspot.com/) Who has had the time (or the money nowadays) to do any holiday shopping?

My 2009 recap as a writer:

This year I have seen the publications of Courage of the Heart, Hostage Heart, Final Sin and A Chaunce of Riches all from Vanilla Heart Publishing.

VHP and I helped raise funds for the Stony Point Ambulance Corps Youth Squad with sales from Final Sin; and we also raised funds for the National Domestic Violence Hotline with sales from Bartlett's Rule. Along with 15 other Vanilla Heart Publishing Authors, I became a part of Operation E-Book Drop to help support coalition forces oversees who are protecting our world.

Some really big news for me -

Final Sin is a 2009 Pushcart Prize Nominee!

...and finally (wait, 2009 isn't over yet!), a little more than half a year ago I launched my Kindle blog workshop Living, Breathing, Writing where I offer weekly writing lessons and prompts all conveniently delivered to your Kindle or PC. So far LBW has been in the TOP 100 Kindle Blogs for 122 days!

Today please check out You’re not an author, you’re my mom « Malcolm's Round Table for a humorous look at my life as a writer;

and also visit today's blog stop tour for my book Virtual Book Tour de 'Net: A Chaunce of Riches by Chelle Cordero

and you still have a few days left to send a holiday greeting card to service members recovering at Walter Reed. Cards should be postmarked no later than Dec. 7.

Holiday Mail for Heroes
P.O. Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456

Have a wonderful holiday season!