47 YEARS AGO, THIS WEEK…

 

At this point, 47 years ago, Mark and I were totally immersed in wedding plans… and trying hard to ignore “certain people” who thought they (even though they were NOT our parents or siblings) had the right to command the way we did things; so much so, that a few nights before our wedding was to happen, my Dad offered to give us money to elope and promised that he would manage to get himself and my Mom and Mark’s parents to whatever chapel we wanted to be married in! It was so tempting (yes, some people were really causing grief), but we decided to stick with our plans and the location we chose.

We spent the balance of the week tracking down RSVPs, adding a few last-minute invites, and making a list of wedding presents so we could send thank-you cards. Our apartment, although we were not yet living together, provided both a place to escape and a place to store some of those previously mentioned wedding gifts. And we had the final fittings for my wedding gown, WHICH MY MOM DESIGNED AND SEWED.

By midweek I had discussed the plans to “kidnap” Mark (masterminds were his brother, brother-in-law, and my brother-in-law. The plan was to kidnap him, put him in handcuffs and take him out for a “adult-only” kind of evening. And that Friday night, dressed in my jeans and a Mickey Mouse T-Shirt (with each Mouse ear conveniently covering each boob, lol), I tricked Mark into going downstairs where he was snatched up. I laughed at the conspiracy, and was surprised when my sister, sister-in-law-to-be, and a friend, also carted me off to dinner, and then to the friend’s house where the guys showed up and we partied till the late hours.

Saturday night, December 27, 1975, Mark and I promised not to see each other and to spend the night before our wedding with our respective parents and siblings.  I was giddy with the anticipation. My poor Mom was still being harangued by “a relative” (who was NOT contributing a cent to the event) telling her all the things we did wrong, who we should have invited, and criticizing (without seeing it) the gown my mother made for me to wear that day! We were all a bit on edge.  I made sure to get to sleep, or at least to bed, nice and early that night so that I could truly enjoy OUR DAY.

Sunday morning, December 28, 1975… it was finally HERE. Mark and I agreed to meet at the catering hall in Queens, get dressed out there, and have a zillion family pictures taken before the actual ceremony. I was excited. My parents left the apartment first, my dad had to help my partially disabled Mom down the three flights of stairs, my 4-year-old nephew and my grandmother went with them. My sister, her husband, and I carried our gowns/clothing in garment bags, locked the apartment door and started downstairs.

My poor sister tripped and fell down an entire flight of hard, marble steps. She was laying crumpled on the landing, conscious, and in tremendous pain. While my brother-in-law tended to her, I ran downstairs to get our dad; my mom, her mom, and my nephew stayed in the car and worried. My first thought was that my sister would have to be taken to the emergency room of the local hospital. My Dad, who was trained in First Aid, checked her out.

Knowing that no matter what we did, I had to reach Mark and let him know what had happened and, possibly, to ask if he would meet us at the hospital. But this was the days before cellphones, and although I tried the office phone at the venue, no one picked up the ringing line. Finally, my sister, being a real trooper, insisted that she was going to walk down the aisle as my Matron-of-Honor even if she had to limp all the way. It took a while for her to get PAINFULLY upright and between my dad and my brother-in-law, they pretty much supported the rest of her journey down the stairs and into the car.

And then traffic was HORRIFIC, and it was not people heading out to watch our nuptials… I cried most of the way from the Bronx to Queens and watched as the time seemed to rush by. Finally, we arrived, and I saw Mark’s brother pacing up and down the sidewalk. I was so afraid that everyone had left, and I burst into uncontrollable tears as I told him what had transpired. He went ahead and told everyone of my arrival.

I was thankful and amazed… THE MAN HAD WAITED FOR ME; Mark and I were going to be married!

My family all got dressed. My Mom helped my sister who bemoaned that she couldn’t wear the beautiful pair of shoes she bought to match her gown and would be walking down the aisle in her sneakers. My Mom’s nerves were totally frazzled… and she still had to put up with the one meddling relative. The service went well, my nephew, our ring bearer, interrupted the Rabbi asking him to please bless our wedding rings, and everyone shouted Mazel Tov at the end.

After posing for less than the zillion photos we planned, we went into the reception hall and danced our first dance as husband and wife to “We’ve Only Just Begun”. Shortly after, my poor Mom, with all the stress she had had over the past weeks and that morning, had a diabetic reaction. She refused to leave the building but did concede to lying down in the bridal suite – where she spent the bulk of our reception. My father-in-law, nerves wracked over my tardiness, imbibed a little too much on an empty stomach and began to serenade our party with a rousing rendition of “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling”.

Mommy did rejoin the party close to the end and was there to see us off. We walked out of the venue to a lot of snow! Mark and I had decided to spend the first night of our married life in our Rockland County apartment and head off on our honeymoon the next morning. By the time we got to our apartment complex, there were snowbanks everywhere. I had to call my parents to make sure my mom and my sister were okay, but we didn’t have a phone installed yet. He was still in his tux, and I was still in my gown, when Mark spied a payphone, he lifted me up and carried me through the snow so that I could call home.

The next morning, we woke and headed out through the snow to Mt. Airy Lodge in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. We had the most delightful honeymoon for the rest of that week.

And now, in 2022, 47 years later, we retired and now live in the Pocono Mountains. Mt Airy LODGE closed in the 1990s, now it is a casino, and yes, we’ve visited a few times. We’re older and still head over heels in love.

And we are happy… all because

THIS MAN WAITED FOR ME. 

December 28, 1975

 

Forty-six years ago my sister fell down a flight of stairs…

 

We were on the way to my wedding. Our parents had already made their way out to the car, my sister and I were the last to leave our parents' apartment when she tripped over the gown bag that she was carrying. She laid crumpled at the bottom of the flight of marble steps between the second and third floors in the Bronx apartment house where we were raised. I don't remember if it was my brother-in-law or me that ran to get my dad.

 

While she laid there in obvious pain, her concern was that she was making me late to my wedding. While my dad and her husband made an assessment about whether she needed to get to the hospital, I ran back into my folks' apartment to use the phone. In the years before the popularity of cell phones, I hoped that someone would answer the phone at the catering hall – no answer and no answering machine to leave a message. I was so frantic that my fiancé wouldn't wait.

 

Determined not to ruin my wedding my sister argued with my dad and her husband that she just needed help to get to her feet. Leaning on the two of them, she managed to hobble her way down to the car. Fighting traffic all the way, we finally reached the site of the planned wedding and reception out in Queens. I cried in the backseat of my parents' car and kept an eye on my sister, brother-in-law and nephew in their car.

 

My husband-to-be's younger brother was pacing across the entryway when we got there. I got out and burst into tears telling him what had happened. He ran in to assure my betrothed that I had arrived and told him and explained about the delay. My mom dabbed my eyes with a cold washrag to try to minimize the puffy eyes from my crying and she helped my sister get her gown on before she got herself dressed in a hurry. Finally, we were ready — the next step was our "First Look" and then photos while our guests munched on hor d'oeuvres in the next room.

 

The ceremony began. My 4-year-old nephew, my sister's son, was our ringbearer… we all laughed when he stopped the ceremony demanding that the Rabbi bless our rings. Then our attendants began their walk down the aisle. My sister, my Matron-of-Honor had a huge smile and looked beautiful as she wore her beautiful gown and a pair of everyday shoes, she couldn't walk in the matching heels she had planned after taking that fall. And Mark and I were married in front of all four parents, our siblings and dearest friends. The reception had its own tsuris (troubles); my mom, a diabetic, had a bad reaction from her worry, refused to go to the hospital and spent most of our reception lying down in the bridal suite.

 

At the end of the reception, in the middle of a snowstorm, Mark and I finally drove away to begin our new life together. It was 45-miles to our apartment where we decided to spend our first night as a married couple and since we didn't have a phone in the apartment yet, Mark stopped at a pay phone and carried me, in my gown, over a snowbank so that I could call my parents and make sure my mom and my sister were really okay. After being reassured, we finally spent a romantic evening as Mr. and Mrs.

 

The next morning, we headed off to our honeymoon in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. This wonderful week began our wonderful marriage, still filled with lots of ups and downs. Through the years we shed tears as we buried our parents, celebrated as we bought a home, rejoiced as we raised our remarkable children, a daughter and son, watched nephews and nieces grow, survived health scares, and finally retired.

 

Life goes on still filled with joys and tears. This past year we sadly buried my sister, and we celebrated as her eldest son, our ringbearer, became a grandfather. Three years ago, we made a move to our "retirement" home, a beautiful house in the great Pocono Mountains — kind of where it all began.

 

I love you Mark, now and forever.

45 Years!

 

I married the love of my life 45-years ago on December 28, 1975 and it has been a wild and wonderful ride.

 

Although we went to the same high school, we never REALLY met there (okay, I punched him one time when he was a hall monitor and attempted to stop me from going to my classroom after the “switch” was over); we actually MET a few years later as volunteers in the NYC Auxiliary Police. I was already a member of our unit when he signed up and, as Personnel Officer, I had to interview him. He passed and was admitted into our unit… but neither of us liked each other, lol.

 

However, as time went on we did eventually go out on a date and we both seemed to enjoy each other’s company… he asked me out for the following weekend. Within two weeks, he proposed, I said NO (not because I didn’t like him, I just didn’t think I was ready) — he was “persistent” and the following morning we announced our engagement. Then I went away for eight weeks to work at a summer stock theatre, he drove up to visit me several times.

 

By the time I returned home everyone wanted to know if we had set a date, we hadn’t yet. On December 28, 1974 we attended a formal ceremony for my Dad at the local J.W.V. chapter, they were honoring him for his community service as the local Auxiliary Police Captain as well as his WW2 service in the Army Corps of Engineers. While there, once again Mark and I received a multitude of questions about the date of our wedding until we both just looked at each other, smiled, and responded “One year from today”.

 

We did start discussing what kind of wedding we wanted, I was all for a small Rabbi’s study with just our immediate families present. Although Mark was easy going, his father and one of my aunt’s made it difficult to plan something intimate. We wound up compromising on a guest list of 90 (approximately 80 showed), both of his folks were pleased, the aunt made arguments right up to the wedding (and no, she was not paying for it!).

 

The day of the wedding was… memorable to say the least. My mom was totally stressed dealing with the intrusive aunt, on the way to the catering hall my sister (my Matron-of-Honor) fell down a flight of stairs and we thought she had broken her leg; trooper that she is, she managed to pull herself together and promised to be able to “hobble down the aisle” for her little sister, and I hadn’t been able to reach Mark (before the era of cellphones) and we arrived so late that he had almost  given up waiting.

 

Everything was finally underway! We posed for an array of photos, and then the ceremony began. We were married!!!!! Then… my poor Mom, a diabetic, had a serious low-blood sugar reaction to all the stress and upset about my sister’s tumble and she wound up spending the majority of party time lying down in the bridal suite while my Dad took juices to her; she wouldn’t leave and go to the hospital. Finally, the end of the party came, my mom was able to be present for the latter half of the party and in time to see me throw my bouquet and leave with my new husband.

 

Maybe we should have realized that our wedding day was a forecast of our marriage with all of our ups and downs, but in the end we drove off TOGETHER excited about our new life. We weathered crazy downstairs neighbors, the deaths of all four parents (in a five year period), a few miscarriages, buying a house, the birth of our daughter, the preemie birth of our son, ups and down in jobs and finances, seeing both of our children grow into phenomenal adults and (after a few false starts) settle down in their own homes with loves that are terrific people, we survived a serious illness, and finally a retirement and move to a beautiful home not far from where we actually honeymooned.

 

In 45-years our love has grown, been tested, and shined even brighter with each new day. I am so glad that he was persistent on the night he proposed — I couldn’t imagine any other life.

I love you, Mark, now and for eternity.

.

 

The Fairy Tale of Love - #MondayBlogs

Long, long ago in the magical realm known as NYC, lucky young knights and maidens were given the privilege of study at the hallowed halls called A&D where they learned the creative arts… and jousting. It was there that the princess first encountered the prince. She was a fair Theatre Arts student and as was wont in the hallowed halls, the students of Theatre Arts oft lived by their own rules. It was an accepted practice and most monitors of those hallowed halls did tend to look the other way, except for one knight, a prince in disguise, who was most fastidious about the rules. The magic began the day he barred the maiden from joining her stage crew because the sacred bell had not been rung. The maiden had been tutored in the art of sparring by her father, a grand king, and in anger she punched the young knight and raced to the safety of her crew.

Aside from a few rare glimpses in those hallowed halls, the prince and princess had no more encounters for several years, long past their individual assignments at the great castle known as A&D. Several autumns later, perhaps six or so, they chanced again to meet in the massive shelter of the local constabulary — neither was in trouble but they were both duty-bound to serve their communities in the practice of Auxiliary Police. The princess’ father, the grand king, did preside over their unit and looked on this couple with great favor. Together and in spite of their protest, the two did patrol the kingdom on many eves. And so finally at one assignment, a Memorial Day parade detail, the two did chance to speak in a polite way, and before they retreated to their respective castles, the prince did request the fair princess to join him for dinner. Thinking that perchance he was merely being jovial, she did accept; realizing the error she had made, she felt honor bound to accompany him as promised.

They did dine on succulent East Indian dishes, a first for her, and afterwards enjoyed a stage show at Ye Olde Playboy Club and it was indeed a merry night. The one evening was soon followed by two more, nay, four more enjoyable adventures. And after the fourth venture, merely 14 suns and moons later, the young prince refused to return the princess to her castle before eliciting a promise to wed. The princess protested most profusely. She was indeed smitten by his charm but wary of wedlock. It was only when he promised her safe passage to her home in exchange for her acceptance that she did utter the words YES. In truth she had hoped her father, the grand king, would challenge the prince to a duel — to her surprise the king had been hoping for such a union between the kingdoms and truly believed that the prince would make the princess very happy. Still protesting, the princess did begin to love the prince and yearned to become his queen and he her king. Such a match was made on the 28^th of December in the year 1975.

Forty years later to the day, the new king and queen still sit side-by-side on their thrones in a grand castle they managed to conquer in the realm called Hudson Valley. Together they raised a royal princess and prince and watched with love as their offspring enjoyed adventures and fairy tales of their own; the new generation of royals have found their own true loves and are now kings and queens of their own monarchs The vast rooms of their castle have seen many laughs and loving gestures through the seasons as well as the pitter patter of many mythical felines.

And the fairy tale continues…

Happy Anniversary to My Loving Husband — #MondayBlogs

My husband and I celebrated our 39^th wedding anniversary yesterday… time flies. Thirty-nine wonderful years. I admit, there are times we had to work at it — work hard — but it has been worth it.

We went to the same high school (High School of Art & Design in NYC) but the only memory I have of him was a confrontation in the school halls when he, as an anal hall monitor, tried to stop me from going down to the auditorium between class periods. (I was a Theatre Arts student and we had a show to prepare for). It wasn’t until years later when we were both volunteers with the NYC Auxiliary Police that we really had a chance to talk with each other… and we instantly disliked each other. Thanks to the meddling of our superior officers (my own dad was our Auxiliary Captain) we finally went out on a date. Two weeks later we were engaged; our wedding date was set for December 28, 1975.

I was late to the wedding!

In my defense I had a valid excuse, my sister (my MOH) fell down a flight of stairs and in the age before cell phones I couldn’t reach Mark to let him know. Luckily he waited for me. Yes we were married with all four of our parents standing under the chuppa with us, and my sister was a real trooper and hobbled down the aisle in her everyday flat shoes instead of the dressy heels that went with her dress. It was so sweet when I spoke the words “Ani l’dodi, v’dodi li” (I am to my beloved as my beloved is to me). Mark had our wedding rings engraved “plus qu'hier, moins que demain"(More than yesterday, less than tomorrow).

After the ceremony my mom, with all the stress of planning and then worry over my sister’s accident, had a diabetic reaction and spent most of the afternoon lying in the bridal suite — she refused to let us call an ambulance. By the end of the reception she was feeling better and soon it was time to leave.

We planned to spend the first night of our married life in our own apartment in Rockland County so we drove IN A BLIZZARD from Queens over the Tappan Zee Bridge. By the time we reached the garden apartment complex I was in tears from worry about my mom and my sister. Since we didn’t  have a phone installed in the apartment Mark found a pay phone (in 1975 that was all we had). The snow drift was piled so high and Mark in his tuxedo carried me in my bridal gown over the snow. All was well back in the Bronx and we were able to relax back in our own apartment. The next morning we traversed semi-plowed snow covered roads to the Poconos for our honeymoon and we enjoyed the holidays and our first New Year’s Eve as Mr. and Mrs.

Through the years we suffered the loss of all four parents in a relatively short time period. We also celebrated the birth of two fantastic children [a daughter and a son], job and career changes, a house with a yard for the kids to play, and watching them as they grew and experienced life and the world. There were money problems and health issues, arguments and making up, laughter and tears, friendships that came and went, public accolades in our respective careers, family births, and the loss of some dear relatives. We’ve celebrated holidays with our sisters and their families, got to witness graduations, bar and bat mitzvahs and weddings for the next generation. Both of our children are married now, and our in-law children are wonderful, and we’re at the empty-nester stage and talking about eventual retirement. It’s definitely been a “ride”.

Sometimes our plans went astray, but we’ve adapted TOGETHER. Our marriage has been a lot of work and it definitely has worked for us.

The biggest constant throughout our married life has always been that I have woken every single morning having fallen more in love than I was the day before — and he has always shown me that it goes both ways.

I love you, Mark. Happy anniversary, Sweetheart.

An Interview With Chelle Cordero (courtesy of a few friends)

A short while ago while in a deliriously good mood about my husband and I reaching 38 romantic years of wedded bliss, I asked friends to send me questions for an interview. Thanks so much to both those who submitted questions and those who sent congratulations. So here goes, you asked…

1) Gladys asked, Should there always be a happy ending to a novel?

Some genres require happy ever after endings, like romance genres, but even if the chosen genre doesn’t require the HEA, I believe it should still be a fulfilling ending. Take a book like The Diary of Anne Frank, definitely not a happy ending, but by returning Anne’s diary to her father, the only survivor of the family, the story ending has something significant and the story itself has a “purpose”.

As a writer, whether I am writing a non-fiction article or a novel, it is my job to provide something for the reader to take away from my work – a thought, a value, inspiration… The average reader wants something final from a story, some type of solution. The solution doesn’t necessarily need to be outright happy, but no one should be left with haunting unanswered questions. Cliffhangers in a series will leave enough open to make the reader want to come back for more, but there have been answers and solutions along the way making the reader feel they’ve gained something along the way.

2) Cindy asked, How many of the settings in your books have you actually visited?

I really have to count this one out. I’ve never been to Vegas (used liberally in His Lucky Charm), Colorado (from Karma Visited), or Louisiana and Arkansas (from Hostage Heart). I think I’ve been every other place I’ve used as a backdrop, or at least to the general vicinity. I tend to soak up stories from others about places and experiences they’ve been through; I certainly live vicariously. It doesn’t matter whether I have been someplace myself or not though, I do extensive research on each location and try to include enough reality to make the place real – and yet not so much description that I get tripped up for “faking it”. 

Several of my stories have had NYC and Hudson Valley settings, places I am very familiar with, but how often have we heard stories of folks who grew up in NYC and yet never visited the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building? I like to check my facts instead of relying on simple memory. Amusingly I once had someone who has been to Las Vegas talk to me about where I had been and stuff – when I told her I never was she told me I “had to have been there” because I described something so well in my book. Travel guides and Chamber of Commerce or Tourism sites are so rich with knowledge and often include pictures, maps and even videos and allow for virtual visits.

3) Marshall asked, Do you think that your early education gave you "food for thought" in developing plots, concepts or characters for your novels?

Both my early education and experiences undeniably have provided me with a lot of fodder for my stories. I was extremely lucky to meet a lot of very interesting and colorful people. My parents were involved in the community which opened my eyes to different perspectives. 

Each school I attended from grade school through college allowed me to meet and socialize with people of varying backgrounds, faiths, economic status, and interests. I went to high school and college with artistic and creative types, and I worked a part-time job through college that allowed me to fulfill my sense of adventure (undercover retail investigation). All in all I grew up believing everything was possible and even the unexpected could happen.

4) Teresa asked, Where do you get inspiration for a story?

I people watch, I listen, I read EVERYTHING, and I play the game of “What if?” I love to exercise (writing) and I rewrite nursery rhymes, newspaper articles, TV shows and things that happened in my own life that I would do differently now with my vast experience, lol.

 My husband is part of a federal medical team; he spent six weeks in southern Louisiana after Katrina and Rita devastated New Orleans. When Mark came home he was filled with stories about the strength and resiliency of the people he helped treat, as well as tear-filled recollections of the destruction and loss in the area. The more he spoke the more I pictured a family who had to put their lives back together and Deanna Blair and her parents (Hostage Heart) were “born”. Tidbits from other stories (news items mostly) and memories of folks from my past filled in the rest.

5) Vicki asked, How did you start writing?

I volunteered with the NYC Auxiliary Police Department and worked under the auspices of our precinct’s public relations officer. Hank (the detective in charge) asked me to do a favor for him – a young man from our community was killed while trying to help a mugging victim and the weekly newspaper editor asked for an article about the incident. Hank knew I had taken creative writing in school and assigned the task to me. A week later, at the age of 18, I had my first professional byline.

Nine years later, married and pregnant with our daughter, I decided to build a business that I could work from home and I returned to writing professionally. I got a few assignments with local magazines and newspapers. Several years later I realized that I wanted to write fiction, something I had always dabbled with privately, and I kept writing until I found a publisher.

6) Daisy asked, What started you into writing? I know that it is just a matter of time before your books turns into a screen movie.

My parents always encouraged self-expression; however I was always very private with anything I wrote. I was shy and worried about exposing myself to ridicule or worse, vulnerability. No joke, putting something as personal as your written thoughts out there is tantamount to stripping naked and inviting a critique on every body flaw.

In high school I had a class in creative writing taught by the renowned poet Daisy Aldan. Ms. Aldan encouraged me to write and deal with the vulnerabilities. I will never forget one writing assignment, we had to write a serious love letter to an inanimate object – I wrote a Love Letter to a Guitar which later appeared in my school’s yearbook – we all chuckled under our breath when the assignment was given, but the exercise proved to be life-altering. I learned to write with much more than pen and paper, I learned to write with my heart and all of my senses.

Thanks for the kind words, I would absolutely love to see some of my stories on the screen and I often play around with casting the characters. Alex O'Loughlin would definitely have to play Jake in Final Sin! (Yum)

7) Jayne asked, How do you envision your hero in each book?

My heroes tend to be a compilation of people I know, have heard about, or dream of. I’ve been asked several times if the hero in a book is really my husband, there are qualities that each one shares with Mark, but they aren’t him. While I admit to falling in love with each and every one of them, they are all different and each one has a bit of “bad boy” in him. I think my heroes fit the stories that they are in.

One thing that I do in every story is gift each hero with a habit or trait that has my husband, Mark, all over it, even a few frustrating habits. In Courage of the Heart there is a humorous scene where Davie files Adam’s computer disks on his desk – only NONE of the disks are labeled and it winds up irritating him because he has to now go through them to make sense of the information. Back when we had diskettes Mark never, ever labeled them and it totally perplexed me.

8) From my publisher Kimberlee, Does your significant other read your stuff?

No, not at all. Mark likes action adventure books; his favorite books are probably Ludlum and that sort. He “claims” he doesn’t like reading romance – even suspense.

But a few years ago I heard another author talk about her husband not reading her books – she asked him if he felt self-conscious about reading the love scenes and that he might fear seeing himself on the pages. His answer to her was surprising, he was afraid he WOULDN’T see himself. I stopped trying to guilt Mark into reading my books after I heard that.

He is very supportive of my writing endeavors though and cheers me on with each accomplishment.

9) From my publisher Kimberlee, What is the hardest part of writing your books?

Writing “The End” and saying goodbye. I’ve created the characters and raised them to function and after all the time I’ve invested on them I now have to let them go off on their own. It really is an empty nest feeling.

10) From my publisher Kimberlee, Tell us about your recent release.

I love my novel Karma Visited – it was really a stretch for me to write, it was different from the others. 

Karma Visited is a Paranormal Suspense with a strong romantic edge. Annie Furman died on the operating table after an accident that took her parents’ lives – the doctors revive her but she has an unexpected ability to travel in her sleep to disasters and people in need. No one believes that her nightmares are real and her guardians put her into therapy, she eventually learns to pretend that she is “normal”. She gets married only to find that her husband, Scott, isn’t the man she thought he was. When she makes the mistake of confiding in him he uses the information to control her and threatens to commit her if she rebels. Annie meets Dave Turner in one of her dreams; surprisingly he can see and hear her. Dave and Annie grow closer and… 

Well, you’ll have to read the book to find out the rest.

http://ChelleCordero.com

Last Chance- Enter My Anniversary Celebration Giveaway

Dec.28, 1975

My husband and I celebrated our 38^th wedding anniversary on Saturday December 28! That put me in a real good mood so I’m going to celebrate by giving YOU presents.

…I want to ask you for a favor; my publisher wants us to give interviews and I need questions. Please think of a writing related question you want me, Author Chelle Cordero, to answer and then post it on my Facebook page  https://www.facebook.com/AuthorChelleCordero (if you haven’t already you will have to “LIKE” the page)

I’ll choose up to 10 questions to answer in a blog on Wednesday, January 8. I will give each person whose question I choose a gift – either a FREE downloadable audio book or an e-book from Smashwords (randomly chosen). Last day to submit a question is Sunday, January 5, 2014.

Here’s a list of prizes: (1 each) audio books of Bartlett’s Rule; Hostage Heart; & Courage of the Heart; and e-books of A Chaunce of Riches; CommonBond, Tangled Hearts; His Lucky Charm; & (4) The Many Faces of ChelleCordero.

It’s simple – LIKE my Facebook Author page, post an author interview question, and read my responses on January 8 on The Potpourri Parlor , my Facebook page, my blog  and my website.

Anniversary Celebration Giveaway

Dec.28. 1975

My husband and I are celebrating our 38^th wedding anniversary on Saturday December 28! That puts me in a real good mood so I’m going to celebrate by giving YOU presents.

…I want to ask you for a favor; my publisher wants us to give interviews and I need questions. Please think of a writing related question you want me, Author Chelle Cordero, to answer and then post it on my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/AuthorChelleCordero (if you haven’t already you will have to “LIKE” the page)

I’ll choose up to 10 questions to answer in a blog on Wednesday, January 8. I will give each person whose question I choose a gift – either a FREE downloadable audio book or an e-book from Smashwords (randomly chosen). 

Here’s a list of prizes: (1 each) audio books of Bartlett’s Rule; Hostage Heart; & Courage of the Heart; and e-books of A Chaunce of Riches; CommonBond, Tangled Hearts; His Lucky Charm; & (4) The Many Faces of ChelleCordero.

It’s simple – LIKE my Facebook Author page, post an author interview question, and read my responses on January 8 on The Potpourri Parlor, my Facebook page, my blog (here) and my website.

The LASR 4th Anniversary Blogfest

Visit the Anniversary Party Kick-Off Blog Party at LASR!!

It's being held here, and at the WC guest blog. 80 authors in all shapes, sizes and genres will be sharing over the next couple of days about love, writing, life and more. Have fun reading the posts.

But ... even better? YOU CAN WIN BIG. Every comment earns you an entry.

GRAND PRIZE:
Winners choice of either a B&W Nook, a WiFi Kindle or a $150 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC!

Plus... they'll randomly give out $5 GCs to commenters throughout each day -- and winning a smaller prize doesn't exclude you from the Grand Prize Drawing.

They're partying all month, too -- more chances to win eReaders and GCs abound. Check out all the details here.

So... Visit the blogs all day long and comment. Fun AND prizes! What more could you want?

Chelle has been guest blogging at this Anniversary Blogfest

Adrenaline rush

I am woman, hear me roar

Working Characters

My Anniversary Blog Tour

Upcoming Events

Nov. 20, 2010 - Beyond Romance

Nov 21, 2010 - Blog Jog Day

It's the 38th annual World Hello Day -
come say hello and "jog" around the world
visiting blogs

Dec 13, 2010 - Muse on Monday

Dec 14, 2010 - Tuesday Talks

hosted by SR Claridge

Dec 28, 2010 - Romance Lives Forever

It's my 35th wedding anniversary!
Yes, romance lives forever -
just like the romance in my novels.

Feb 4, 2011 - Savvy Authors

I'm blogging about the craft of writing

Feb 8, 2011 - An interview on Molly's Musings

For ALWAYS Updated Information On My Appearances

Visit My BookTour.com page

http://ChelleCordero.com

One Year Anniversary for Bartlett's Rule!

Woo-Hoo!

Bartlett's Rule has been on the market for a full year - my goodness it seems like only yesterday...

I have had so many wonderful experiences with this book. I've loved the book discussion groups, the book signings, and watching the sales ranks.

Bartlett's Rule underwent a face change several months ago after we spoke with readers who thought the couple on the cover needed to look older and it seems that the new cover is rather eye-catching now.

If you haven't read it yet, please do - I would love to hear your comments.

Bartlett's Rule shares the story of Lon and Paige's love affair; a romance filled with hardship, emotion, danger and triumph. Falling in love was never the challenge; being there for each other, knowing just what to say and making it work is the real test. Paige and Lon are real ; they are human, they cry and they laugh. Paige has to learn to trust. Lon has to learn to be patient.

Would you like to read the first chapter? http://tr.im/hv3I

Discussion Starters for Bartlett’s Rule by Chelle Cordero

1. How does Bartlett’s Rule explore the two distinct personalities of the main characters?

2. Discuss how the different personalities emerge in the beginning of the novel. Do these personalities stay constant?

3. How much do you think society’s expectations influenced Lon towards building his reputation as a player?

4. What pressures does society place on men in relationships? How different are those pressures now in 2008 as opposed to, let’s say, the 1950’s?

5. Lon admits he has to rethink his view of rape when he learns that Paige was raped by an ex-lover and not a stranger with a weapon. Discuss different concepts of what is rape, what is sexual abuse?

6. Have a discussion about Paige’s emotional scars and the trust she felt was betrayed. Should Paige “just get over it”? How realistic are some of her reactions? Was Paige allowing herself to move ahead? Discuss Lon’s support of her.

7. Hal attempts to blame people like Lon for the way he treated Paige. How does TV/music/movies/novels affect actions and at what point is the individual responsible for his/her own actions? For example, courtroom dramas like to blame the influence of TV, etc. for today’s violence.

8. Some TV/radio/print personalities enjoy an almost cult following and are considered “experts” in their various fields. Discuss some of these self-proclaimed “experts”: Dr. Ruth, Oprah, Dr. Phil, Geraldo, etc. Do these ‘stars’ sensationalize rape? How so?

9. How do you think you would feel if your private life, particularly romance, was scrutinized by the paparazzi? How much does a public figure owe to the public and fans in terms of privacy? How much does the media have the right to report?