Today I’m happy to welcome Cheryl Kaye Tardif, whose suspense novels have captivated me…and now, I’m ready to begin reading her romance novel in her new incarnation as Cherish D’Angelo.
The Birth of a Contemporary Romantic Suspense Novel
by Cherish D’Angelo, aka Cheryl Kaye Tardif
I was probably around 12 when I started reading romance novels. It started by accident; I was bored and picked up one of my mother’s books. After reading it, I was fascinated by the happily ever after and the romance. The writer in me had already reared her head and in the back of my mind I thought, “One day I’m going to write a romance novel.”
Flash forward many years. I was a published author, but not in romance. I’d succumbed to the call of my most favourite genre―suspense. My first novel, Whale Song, was light suspense with a hint of mystery and a lot of heart. The next two were thrillers, Divine Intervention and The River, both with a small dose of romance thrown in. Again, I was drawn to the thought of writing a romance novel.
So I started one I titled Reflections. It was to be a contemporary romance, no suspense at all. But partway through, I decided it needed more excitement, so I plotted out a secondary theme where someone from the main character’s past comes back to kill her. I showed a few chapters to a friend and she liked it, but for some reason I buried the folder on my computer. I just wasn’t ready to be known as a romance author yet.
Flash forward a few more years. I was doing well as an author, had found a literary agent and a traditional publisher and was working on other novels and a collection of short creepy stories. Then I found Textnovel.com. Or they found me.
The founder of Textnovel, Stan Soper, had seen me online promoting Finding Bliss, a novel I was writing on my iPhone, and he invited me to check out his site, a place where writers could post chapters of a work by cell phone or by PC. I was intrigued, especially since I’d heard that text novels are all the rage in Japan. I joined and began posting some of my short stories and excerpts from published works.
Then came some exciting news from Textnovel; they were partnering with Dorchester Publishing, a publisher I was interested in, and would be holding a contest. The only catch was the genre had to be romance. A light bulb lit up in my mind. Reflections! I had a story that was mostly finished with all my notes on the final chapters. What if I pulled it together and entered it? What did I have to lose? Absolutely nothing. So I entered the Dorchester “Next Best Celler” romance contest.
I re-wrote the first couple of chapters and posted it online, where Textnovel members could read the entries, vote for their favourites and leave comments. The response was good early on, but I wasn’t feeling the story. Or the title. So I dug deeper and came up with Lancelot’s Lady. Still, something was missing. Characters were changing slightly and subplots I’d thought were strong turned out to be weak or overdone. My novel needed something fresh.
Enter Winston Chambers, a sleazy, blackmailing private investigator with one thing on his mind. Rhianna. Winston added the element of suspense I’d wanted and one of the best secondary characters I’ve created. I even held a contest, describing the character’s traits and asking people to give me a name. The winner came up with “Winston Chambers”, and it’s perfect. As soon as Winston entered the scene, everything picked up and danger was imminent. And readers at Textnovel loved it.
Throughout the contest, the votes flew in and comments from readers said one main thing. “We want more!” I gave them more than the minimum required for the contest, but I held back the last quarter. Then came the time for the semi-finalists to be selected. Since Lancelot’s Lady had been #1 Most Popular in the contest for the first 3 months and then #3 Most Popular for the last 3 months, I was fairly sure it would make the semi-finals. And it did.
Later, the finalists were selected. Lancelot’s Lady didn’t make it. But I was stoked with excitement. Comments from readers told me something very enlightening. They loved the characters. They loved the plot. And they wanted to know more, read it to the end.
Not long after, Lancelot’s Lady was published as an ebook edition. A spectacular cover was designed and I received a review blurb from Gail Bowen, a well-known Canadian suspense author whom I idolize.
“From the cold rocky shores of Maine to the extravagant mansions of Miami to a lush tropical island in the Bahamas, Cherish D’Angelo takes her heroine through a series of breathtaking romantic adventures that mirror the settings, often in surprisingly ironic ways. A page turner in the best possible sense.” ―Gail Bowen, author of the award-winning Joanne Kilbourn series
Lancelot’s Lady started as an idea years ago. It went through some major changes before becoming what it is today. It has gone on to be listed as a bestseller on Amazon and it launched my pseudonym Cherish D’Angelo, the name I use when writing romance. Cheryl Kaye Tardif can continue building up her brand as a suspense author. I owe a huge thank you to Dorchester Publishing and Textnovel. If it wasn’t for the “Next Best Celler” contest, Lancelot’s Lady may have remained a first draft in a folder buried on my PC.
CONTEST: Leave a comment and your email address for your chance to win Divine Intervention. Three winners will be selected and awarded the ebook edition.
Lancelot’s Lady is available at Amazon, KoboBooks, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble and more. A trade paperback edition will be released this spring.
Cheryl Kaye Tardif, aka Cherish D’Angelo, is a bestselling, award-winning suspense author. She’s releasing two new thrillers this spring―Children of the Fog and Divine Justice, book 2 in the Divine series. Visit Cheryl’s website, blog and follow her on Twitter.
Creative Comments