Without a Voice

After catching a bad upper respiratory infection (aka the common cold) I developed a severe case of laryngitis. This is not the scratchy throat and sound like a frog kind of affliction, this is total loss of voice – I cannot even grunt! I’ve been like this since last Sunday and while my husband is pretty much overjoyed, my doctor says I need to rest my larynx. Believe it or not even whispering puts a strain on the voicebox I have been unable to speak for the better part of a week and it’s been very frustrating.


An almost full week of silence got me thinking of women who are denied the opportunity to voice themselves. Some of the female characters I’ve included in my books have been denied the right to speak for themselves for one reason or another. In Bartlett’s Rule Paige was denied the right to say “No” when an ex-boyfriend viciously attacked her; In A Chaunce of Riches Samantha was blackmailed into silence about who she really loved; and in Hyphema Seudah was raised a Muslim Pakistani woman in a place where some women are still forced to hide behind veils and are not allowed to talk for fear of offending the men.


Although the things I’ve been able to do have been seriously curtailed without having a voice, I’ve been lucky to have friends and family who have been patient and willing to interpret hand signals, read hastily scribbled notes and crane to listen to a few whispered words. My silence has lasted a week and I have reasonable expectation of once again being able to talk for myself, hopefully soon. But what of those women who live lifetimes without the ability to say what is on their minds, to voice their feelings, to be heard and be allowed to matter.


This past week has given me a mere glimpse into their frustration. It is difficult to tell folks your needs when you can’t speak. In the United States the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution was signed, recognizing women's right to vote on August 26, 1920. There has been progress worldwide over the right of women to have voices about family, religion, politics and health. But there are still lands and social situations where women are not afforded the right to have a say. This is a subject that should concerns us all; when human rights are denied to any person(s) it is an affront to us all.


Read up on women’s issues at these sites:

http://www.now.org/ National Organization for Women (NOW)

http://www.un.org/womenwatch/ Womenwatch: A United Nations project

http://www.wedo.org/ Women's Environment and Development Organization

http://www.hrw.org/home Human Rights Watch

Uh, what year is this?

Perhaps reading recent posts from fellow Vanilla Heart Authors Malcolm Campbell  and Joice Overton  about the research they put into their stories for authenticity influenced my subconscious... boy did I ever wake from a confusing dream this morning!

Basically the dream involved two brothers and their dad. There was mention of mom but she never appeared in the dream. The setting, clothing wise and scenery seemed to be in the middle ages (like the "Robin Hood" era), but here comes the confusion.

The younger boy was headed off to some fair or such, he was rolling a zippered suitcase. The boys wanted their dad to come with them, but dad was having trouble getting a message to his wife because she apparently “never got off of her cell phone”. At the fair the boys ordered lunch and sat in a booth in a 50’s style diner complete with car hops on skates. Confused? Definitely.

Please don’t analyze my dream, lol – I swear, it was just because I was thinking about research and period authenticity.

How many times have you succumbed to a movie or book plot just to be jolted awake by a glaring addition of something so very out of place like a wrong year car driving over a bridge that collapsed years before the manufactured year? Or maybe it’s a pineapple tree growing (naturally) on the streets of New York City? The last time I was bumped out of the fantasy, it had to do with a police uniform and the color of a shirt. Not everyone will realize or catch mistakes, but why ruin it for anyone? Just because it’s fiction doesn’t mean it shouldn’t seem real.

I write mostly contemporary fiction so, hopefully, I don’t have too much of a problem with the proper accessories of the time. But research is still crucial. Take the weather for instance, in Hostage Heart I used actual hurricane devastation to build my character’s story. Sometimes the tourist industry is important, in His Lucky Charm and Within the Law  I used well known landmarks to paint the picture. And in Hyphema  I used ethnicity and cultural insensitivity to build my plot.

Some research may come along easily especially if we write about areas, customs and time periods we are most familiar with. If I wrote about my community, my experiences, my lifestyle and my life in every book, I doubt readers would be fascinated (at least not beyond one story). I have to learn as much as possible about other occupations, religions, areas, cultures and more in order to make my stories real and believable.

How do writers do their research? Most of us delve deeply into the learning process using encyclopedias, the internet (and we know that EVERYTHING we find there is true, lol), read books, and even find tour guides for foreign locations.

When I am researching culture, religion or occupations, I stop random people in my daily activities and ask questions – I’m sure one of these days I’ll probably be arrested for harassment or such. I sometimes even go to experts for answers although I guess I wasn’t thinking too clearly the time I asked a real medical examiner if a particular poison could be detected in an autopsy…

We have muses, we have voices in our heads, and we live in fantasy worlds - but we do try to stay grounded in reality.

Please visit my website for more info about my books http://ChelleCordero.com/

And click here for more terrific VHP authors

167 posts

I just entered my 167th post on my Amazon Kindle blog Living, Breathing, Writing; that represents 3.21 years of weekly writing lessons - nearly 39 months - 167 weeks

Wow!

When I first started this Kindle blog, I wondered, could I actually "teach" folks how to write and make it in the writing world? I had after all been conducting in-person writing workshops for a while.

What I found I've done is share the lessons I've learned through the years (journalist since 1981, novelist since 2001) - my blog touches on topics like How to hook your reader, Getting press coverage for you and your book, Fitting writing into your life, Writing about heroes and villains, Getting emotional in your writing, Setting the scene, and more.

 This blog is available for Kindle users by subscription through Amazon at   http://bit.ly/Wmg8W

...and if you don't own a Kindle, well my fantastic publisher had the foresight to make Living, Breathing, Writing: A Lesson A Day Volume 1  and Living, Breathing, Writing: A Lesson A Day, Volume 2 available for download in multiple e-book formats from Smashwords - each book contains a month's worth of writing lessons based on my Amazon Kindle blog complete with writing exercises and prompts for practice.

When I started out in the writing world, I appreciated the words
of wisdom shared by my fellow writers who had more
experience and I hope to be helpful to other writers

Have you had your Expresso today?

Such exciting news!

Folks can walk into any location with the fun to watch EBM, call up a favorite title, and walk out five minutes later with their very own copy - it's instant gratification!

What's an EBM?   Expresso Book Machine

"The patented Espresso Book Machine® (EBM) makes a paperback book in minutes, at point of need. Through its EspressNet® digital catalog of content, books can be ordered online or onsite at bookstores, libraries, and non-bookstore retailers. Over seven million in-copyright and public-domain titles are available on the network. The technology is also ideal for self and custom publishing."

Now what this means for you, dear readers, is that you can walk into a location and walk out that same day with a fully printed book in hand!   Not ordered and wait - but you can start reading immediately.  Formerly this instant gratification was only available at a very few select mortar and brick stores - or for ebook purchasers... and there are still some purests out there who enjoy the feeling of a book in their hands.


And there are NO shipping charges - how much better can this get?   Even overseas readers can enjoy print copies of books WITHOUT those exorbitant shipping charges.


There are dozens of these machines already out there ALL OVER THE WORLD - and they are expecting that amount to more than double by the end of 2012.

Right now you can find EBMs in the following countries:

United States of America

Santo Domingo

Canada

England

Netherlands

Egypt

United Arab Emirates

China

Japan

Philippines

Australia

... and there are MORE coming!  For a complete listing of locations AND books available go here  http://bit.ly/JtiIpm 

http://ChelleCordero.com

Read the brochure here   http://bit.ly/NQOikO

From 6 to 51...

As an author I’ve often used sudden life changes as plot thickeners, playing with people’s lives by throwing in tragic and unexpected twists. These calamities make my characters seem more real, more vulnerable, and they help to keep my readers turning pages.


But Friday morning’s deaths in Aurora, Colorado didn’t need an author’s imagination to make the victims any more human or any more vulnerable. Twelve innocent people died – real people as young as six years old, not characters a writer can play with. Fifty-nine more people were vulnerable and now have to recover from the injuries received during this horrible act of violence. Hundreds more in the Aurora community and friends and families of the victims will forever be traumatized… for real, And their nightmare will not end because some author types the words “The End”.


It’s the real life horror story that make an author question the glee she normally feels as she manipulates her pretend people. Life imitates art, then why can’t everyone have a Happy Ever After?


My heart and prayers go out to the survivors, my tears are spent for the victims. And even this author’s fertile imagination can’t answer the question “Why?”, nor can I say how to prevent such carnage from ever happening again.


Proponents of stricter gun laws will point to the fact that the killer used rifles and handguns purchased within the state – opponents will argue that someone who plans such an attack for so long would have found a way around gun laws. We’ve already had an out-of-state politico blaming the moral fiber of our nation. And proponents for tougher penalties have been countered by those who say mental illness usually doesn’t allow for concern over potential punishment. Finally, we’ve heard how the violence of the movie confused the victims into thinking the initial outburst was simply part of the show – so much for hyper- vigilance.


It would be so nice to be able to re-write the scenario, it is so frustrating not to have control over these lives…


Take the time to let your loved ones know how you feel every day, dance like no one is watching, and live each day as if it’s your last...


Tomorrow is an unknown.

An interview Of Chelle by Morgan Bailey

This interview previously appeared on 

Morgen Bailey's Writing Blog

Author Spotlight no.53 – Chelle Cordero 28 Jan 2012

Chelle has come a long way since first joining the Vanilla Heart Publishing queue of authors nearly two years ago with her first novel, Bartlett’s Rule. Now with nine novels on the market, she has solidified her standing as a Romantic Suspense author (7 romantic suspense & 2 mysteries). She also has short stories in the VHP anthology With Arms Wide Open, Mandimam’s Press anthology Forever Friends, the VHP anthology Nature’s Gifts, VHP anthology Passionate Hearts and Mandimam Press anthology Forever Travels.

Bartlett’s Rule was named one of Carolyn Howard-Johnson’s Top Ten Reads for 2009; Final Sin was a 2009 Pushcart Nominee; and Hostage Heart, Final Sin and A Chaunce of Riches were nominated in the 2009 Preditors’ and Readers’ poll and had top-ten finishes. Chelle Cordero was recently featured as one of the authors in “50 Great Writers You Should Be Reading” published by The Author’s Show in 2010.

And now from the author herself:
As a child I kept notebook after notebook of writing attempts. In one case I created an entire TV series written specifically for my then-favourite actor; the series he was in was cancelled and after all, wouldn’t his agent be thrilled that someone cared enough to come up with a new script for him? The agent was unimpressed.

I did a favour for a community organizer when I was 18 and wrote a brief article for the local weekly paper. It was published and while I didn’t receive any monetary payment, seeing my name in the by-line was a “pure adrenaline” rush. For years I went back to writing my TV series, (hey even though the agent didn’t like it, I did) and short pieces of prose.

Finally, pregnant with our daughter, I decided to work from home and write full-time. I lucked into an underpaid, monthly column in the cable guide pretty much right away. Other non-fiction spots followed, luckily most had better pay rates. I felt like literally stumbled into writing as a profession.

That was the first time I announced (sort of proudly) that I was a writer. I had gotten paid for my writing and except for that one ungrateful actor’s agent, I had never known rejection. My ego was definitely inflated.

However most of the people who took my pronouncement seriously asked if I had written any books. I had to be honest, while I enjoyed writing ANYthing, I really wanted to create stories, fiction, romantic stories of suspense, mysteries…
So while working freelance as a journalist, raising two precocious kids, keeping a home and volunteering in my community, I found the time to start writing stories. Despite the long list of published credits I had, agents told me I was too new to take a chance on and I finally knew what it felt like to receive a rejection.

My ego was still so super-inflated that each time I received a rejection, I became more determined to get a novel published – I used to tell everyone that I wanted to grow up to be a novelist. I kept writing and finally in late 2007 I submitted a manuscript called Bartlett’s Rule to Vanilla Heart Publishing; it was accepted (there went that ego again!). I finally felt grown up.

I am still a freelance journalist and I enjoy my work. But I LOVE letting my imagination run away and create characters and stories. I still get that pure adrenaline rush each time I see my name on the spine of a book. I enjoy taking different experiences of my life and fashioning it into a novel. It’s amazing to see how something as simple as a grocery store encounter can turn into the beginnings of a mystery.

Nine novels later, short stories in five anthologies, two writing guides and scores more newspaper articles, I absolutely love my life.
I will send anyone who sends an email to ChelleCordero@gmail.com with “Sampler” in the subject a FREE .pdf sampler of all my novels and writing guides.


For more information about Chelle, visit her website at http://ChelleCordero.com or her blog at http://ChelleCordero.blogspot.com. All of Chelle’s novels are available in print or e-book through online retailers like Amazon and Barnes and Noble and various e-book formats like Smashwords.

Happy Mother's Day

Reva      &      Paula

What is a Mom? The title means much more than simply giving birth to a child, it's the love and support and nurturing given to that child. A Mom can give something up without sacrificing because that child is her priority. A Mom's love is never-ending and always a constant filling her child(ren) with confidence and security. Being a Mom means leaving your child(ren) with memories and a warm hug even long after she is gone.

My Mommy (Reva) and my Mom (Paula) [mother-in-law] earned their monikers and they left behind offspring who remember the lessons, the love, the warmth and the sometimes "crazy" ways they acted for their kids. I miss them both.

I had a lot of fun when I developed one of my characters, Sylvia Hughes, "aunt" and adopted-mother to Caitlyn in His Lucky Charm and mother to Tom in Within the Law. Sylvia was a doting mom who always wanted only the best for her kids, sometimes even resorting to well-meaning nagging and craziness...

(an excerpt from His Lucky Charm)

Dinner was chaotic. Sylvia cooked up a hearty beef stew because it was one of Tom’s favorites. Everyone sat at the round kitchen table for dinner, there was no order to their arrangement. Brandon was seated between Sylvia and Walter. Tom sat next to Walter and Caitlyn sat on Sylvia’s other side. Brandon was amazed that no matter how many different conversations were going on at the table, Sylvia managed to hear each one. And she made sure she added her opinions to each one, no matter what the topic was.

When Caitlyn asked Tom, again, if he was going to bring a date to the wedding, Sylvia added her comments. “Joyce would not have wanted you to live like this. You really should find yourself a wife.”

That was the first time that Tom hadn’t smiled for his mother’s benefit. “Ma, this subject is off limits.”

“Tommy, you are a young man.” Sylvia continued. “You should not live alone.”

“Ma... please.” Tom laid his fork down next to his plate.

“You’re a good looking man.” She turned to Caitlyn. “Isn’t he good looking?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“Brandon, you’re getting married. Isn’t it a nice feeling to be settling down?”

“Ma! Stop it.” Tom stood up from the table. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He left in a hurry. The back door slammed shut behind him.

Sylvia looked at the rest of the family at the table. “What did I say?” She looked at each of their faces. Caitlyn was studying her plate. “What did I say?”

Walter shook his head and kept eating. “Sylvie, you never learn. Leave the boy alone.”

“What? I’m not allowed to care about my kids?”

Caitlyn put her fork down on the table and leaned over to hug Sylvia. “Aunt Syl, we love you. Tommy just needs to set his own pace. It will happen. Don’t worry.”

Sylvia took Caitlyn’s face in her hands and looked at her eyes. “I just want you two to be happy. That’s all I want.”

Caitlyn smiled. “I know.”

“You hear that Brandon?” Sylvia’s voice cracked. “You better keep my baby happy.”

“Yes ma’am.” Brandon looked at Caitlyn and saw her smile at him. “I plan to work at that for the rest of my life.”

“Good. Very good.” Sylvia nodded and went back to eating.

The back door opened and Tom came back in. “Sorry everyone. I just needed some air.” He went to Sylvia and kissed her on the cheek. “I love you ma.” Before he walked around the table, Brandon saw Tom squeeze Caitlyn’s shoulder.

Walter stopped eating long enough to ask Tom how he was feeling.

“Good dad, good.” Tom sat back down in his chair and went back to eating.

And just like that, the conversations started again. And everyone ate. And Brandon learned just what family was all about.