Saturday, May 26, 2018

I never could stand the sight of blood



Most of us would look at that statement and say “Okay, big deal.” But it really is kind of ironic, I spent almost 30-years riding a rig as an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) and I saw blood more than a few times, LOL. I treated and transported trauma and acute illness, I even delivered babies! When I was busy with a patient the blood didn’t seem to bother me, but if I was just an onlooker for some reason — YIKES!

I stopped riding a few years ago, 911 response is much easier on a younger person, but I do miss it. Now I sit on the sidelines, my son and his wife are both EMTs, my daughter was a Paramedic for many years, my husband is also “retired” from EMS, and I write about it as both a journalist and as a romantic dreamer.


When I first wrote Final Sin it was a dual purpose. Years earlier there was a horrible murder (it was in all of the papers) and a major part of the crime scene was less than a mile where I live and it gave me the heebie-jeebies and I wanted to exorcise that feeling. The gruesome opening scene of the book was inspired by this true-crime, and then the similarity ends. Of course, knowing me, I wrote about a burgeoning romance between a paramedic who responds to the carnage and the Deputy Sherriff who is investigating the murder.

I had fun writing some of the unusual and sometimes humorous events in the book and YES, these things really have happened. There was the night my husband responded to a call for a heart attack victim and there was a lady who only wanted her car battery jumpstarted with the defibrillator! Of course that scene made it into the book.

Jake (sheriff) and Julie (paramedic) do get together, well no spoiler there, it DOES have an HEA ending. Along the path though there is a lot of tension and danger. I say this with all of the love I can muster on the keyboard, I hope it keeps you awake at night. (It did me while I was writing it because there were some “things” I needed to research in order to make it sound realistic.

Deputy Sheriff Commander Jake Carson has his hands full... investigation of a brutal multiple homicide, a troubled son and a vindictive ex-wife. He meets young, free-spirited paramedic Julie Jennings. When Julie becomes the subject of an obsession, it puts both of them in danger...

Final Sin evolved into Hyphema. Matt was Julie’s ambulance partner and we follow his after Final Sin life —he has a wife and son and they move to a small town in North Carolina. Oh by the way, you can find Hyphema as a stand alone book or with Final Sin as part of the EMS Novels Bundle Pack.

In Touch of Love’s short story “the Dead Guy in the Park” I was actually just being a bit whimsical. I wanted to fit some intrigue and romance into just a few pages. Oh, the apparent suicide was based on another real-life incident where, guess what, I responded. They do say that truth is stranger than fiction.

Today ends the official National EMS Week celebration but I still want to pay homage to all of the highly skilled men and women out there who answer the call for help 24X7!



To purchase Final Sin:

Thursday, May 24, 2018

About GDPR

Although there are a lot of people who are unclear about if they need to comply with this new General Data Protection Regulation due to go into effect on May 25, a few things are clear — even if you are not based in the UK, if there is any possibility that you are doing ANY marketing to the UK, you need to comply. Fortunately several of my books have sold in the UK (thank you all so much) and I know my blog and website have been accessed from there as well. Based on what I have heard I need to take the appropriate steps to ensure I am in compliance.


My blog and my website offers me "analytics", I know the regions where people have checked in, the dates and referring URLs... I do not receive individual usage information. I do not share any of the non-descript information that I receive (except for an occasional brag in general that my blog is being checked out around the world. I do not share any of your information with anyone and have NO intention of doing so.

People visit my pages on social media sites like FaceBook and Twitter. Aside from generic analytics I have no more information than what you have decided to make public. Anything I post or receive through these networks is being conducted under their own GDPR compliance.

For more professional info on GDPR, you can read this article GDPR Summary.

Thank you so much for stopping by and visiting me. Readers and friends are like manna to an author!





Monday, May 21, 2018

Writing Prompt - May 21, 2018


How was your weekend? Did you have a good time?

Here's a Monday Writing Prompt -

Pretend you were there, 
write a letter to a friend who couldn't make it and 
describe it for her/him.
(and if you WERE there, write a description 
as if you were reporting on it!)



Saturday, May 19, 2018

When the author creates that persistent character…



The author in “writing mode” creates characters, situations and sometimes even whole worlds — when those creations seem to become real, so real that they won’t fade away without a struggle, it is an accomplishment worth celebrating.

I’ve known that joy and in some cases the characters were so persistent that even though I had already typed “The End” there was so much more to say.

The first time this happened to me was after I finished the story His Lucky Charm (by the way the original title was “Forgotten”). The story centered around Caitlyn and Brandon, their love affair, a wee bit of espionage, and their battle to get back to each other despite the dangers. There were a few supporting characters, aunt-&-uncle/step-parents Sylvia and Walter. This whole cast of characters continued in a sequel, Within the Law.

Tom Hughes fulfilled the big brother role for Caitlyn’s angst about Brandon, he was wise and supportive. At one point Brandon voices his surprise to Caitlyn that despite Tom’s strong family values he was going through life alone. That was the moment Caitlyn let Brandon know about Tom’s tragic past when his high-school girlfriend and fiancĂ© was murdered and Tom had to say good-bye. I really liked Tom and I couldn’t help it, I actually worried about him. (Writers can be a strange breed, our imaginary friends become very real to us.) Tom deserved his own Happily-Ever-After.

And thus began Within the Law
Tom gave up on ever falling in love again the day that he buried his high school sweetheart and fiancé. He started a career in law enforcement just so that he could find her murderer and rapist.
Just when he is about to see justice done, he meets Alli Davis-the defense attorney for the murdering rapist who took his love from him.
Alli and Tom share a mutual and passionate attraction but Alli refuses to make any commitments. She is hiding a huge secret. Tom falls in love with her and pursues her despite a false arrest, kidnapping and attempt on his life.

A similar story of persistence occurred after I finished Final Sin. The heroine of the story, Julie, was a paramedic, her paramedic partner Matt had decided he needed to move on career wise by the end of the book, He also had gotten married by the end of the book although we never met his wife. My story Hyphema focuses on Matt and his wife Sudah as they settle in at their new home and Matt’s new Job.
Matt Garratti, a paramedic from New York, moves his wife and son to North Carolina to work at his dream job as a flight medic. Pakistani born Sudah, his wife, receives frosty stares and insensitive comments from their new neighbors.
Before long, Matt wonders if he is pursuing his dream or bringing his family into a nightmare from which they may never wake.

Things were slightly different when I wrote Karma Visited and its sequel Annie’s Karma, both books focused on the same couple, Annie and Dave, and was truly a continuation of their journey. This was an interesting experience for me because I really got to see my characters’ growth in their circumstances and in their relationship with each other.
Annie Furman moves on from her past and into her future with Undersheriff Dave Turner. Her gifts – or are they her curse? – grow stronger, and she finds out that she is not alone in the realm of astral travel. Dave saved her life, now she has to fight another ‘traveler’ to save Dave… if she survives.

How about you? Have you ever read a story and wondered what happened in the future with one of your favorite characters?


Saturday, May 12, 2018

What is a MOM?


In the literal sense a MOM (Mother) is a female parent, traditionally it is assumed she is the woman who gave birth to a child although she may also have adopted a child. A mother shows maternal tenderness or affection to her child, she nurtures and helps care for a young human being to bring him/her into adulthood.

I would say it’s much more than that. There are blended families and step-moms, there are godmothers, aunts, grandmothers, and even sometimes older sisters who helped to raise a child. All of these roles can also nurture, show affection and tenderness, and all can raise a child.

In today’s world there are also some men who can and do raise children nurturing them, holding them and showing them tenderness, Single Dads. Same-sex couples. Two Moms, two Dads, it could be only one… EITHER one.

As a matter of fact card-producer Hallmark has put out cards that say Happy Mother’s Day, Dad and Happy Father’s Day, Mom. Gender and roles are not nearly as specific anymore. Several years ago artist Marshall Davis Jones introduced an expressive poem called I Spell Father M-O-T-H-E-R.  

A few more observations about Moms, I object to the idea that they are only involved in raising their children into adulthood. Yes, Mothers have to learn that their children be on their own when they become adults, begin jobs, and married; if they did a good job guiding them through adolescent and teens, they are probably pretty capable of living productive lives on their own. Still a Mom’s love never ends no matter what age their child is.

Finally let’s not discount Moms who care for and LOVE cats, dogs and other companion animals. There may be a difference between human and animal children, no one pretends otherwise, but there is still true love, concern, and nurturing — and that spells MOM in my book.

Sending you Happy Mother’s Day wishes to all Nurturers from the Moms and others in my books. With love from Sudah (Hyphema), Deanna (Hostage Heart), Davie (Courage of the Heart), Alli (Within the Law), Sam (A Chaunce of Riches), Layne (Common Bond, Tangled Hearts), and, of course, ME.



Hyphema
KINDLE  ~  B&N  ~  SMASHWORDS  ~  APPLE
Hostage Heart
KINDLE  ~  B&N  ~  SMASHWORDS  ~  APPLE
Courage of the Heart
KINDLE  ~  B&N  ~  SMASHWORDS  ~  APPLE
Within the Law
KINDLE  ~  B&N  ~  SMASHWORDS  ~  APPLE
A Chaunce of Riches
KINDLE  ~  B&N  ~  SMASHWORDS  ~  APPLE
Common Bond, Tangled Hearts
KINDLE  ~  B&N  ~  SMASHWORDS  ~  APPLE


Saturday, May 5, 2018

Speaking in Tongues ~ Chelle Cordero novels in translations



I was raised in an English-speaking only home even though both of my parents were fluent in other languages. The only times I heard other languages were when my mom lit the holiday candles or when my dad lost his temper (and didn’t want my mom to understand the curse words) — while my dad understood and could speak Yiddish and some Hebrew, my mom had NO knowledge of Spanish (and probably felt it wouldn’t be wise to repeat things my dad said in anger). My dad also had a good knowledge, even if not totally fluent, of French, German and Italian thanks to his time served in the army during WW2.

I had heard my older relatives speak in Spanish and Yiddish (and I think some other languages) but since my sis and I weren’t encouraged we really didn’t pick it up. It wasn’t until Junior High and High School that I had any formal education in other languages (French and Spanish)… and I just never really seemed to retain any of the languages. Because of my Cordero surname many people I’ve encountered through the years have expected me to be bilingual with a fluency in Spanish and it’s almost always been a surprise to them how very lost I am.

Okay fast forward to the past few years, just in case you are not aware, I write. Obviously with my lack of communication skills in languages other than English everything I write is in English. My publisher and I were pleasantly surprised to find some of my books selling in faraway (other language) places like Germany, France, Argentina, Italy, Spain, India, and Portugal — my ENGLISH books. This helped inspired my wonderful publisher at Vanilla Heart Publishing to market foreign language translations. I was so excited the first time El Ăşltimo pecado (Spanish edition of Final Sin) was sold!

My terrific publisher has published eleven more translations of four different books (Kimberlee, you are wonderful!) She’s had my stories professionally translated by wonderful artists like Elisabetta Colona, Audrey Vennin, Mariana Sanchez Carranza, Selma Regina da Silva, and Katharina Klamt. Readers can find editions of Final Sin, Hyphema, Karma Visited and Annie’s Karma in Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese and French. You can check out these and all of my books on Amazon ,  Barnes & Noble  and other online retailers.

 Oh, by the way, things like Google Translate are great if you are “conversing” on social media one or two sentences at a time, but even then the app doesn’t pick up the local idioms and nuances that are specific to other languages. One of my cousins who speaks Spanish had a good laugh at my attempts at conversation, LOL.


       Amazon buy links