Monday, January 12, 2009

GUEST AUTHOR: Chelle Cordero

A writer’s ego is a fragile thing and there are so many influences and factors that can bring it up or down in a real big hurry.

We love praise – but what writer doesn’t sit back and question the sincerity? Even though we know our friends and family are often well meaning, how do we really know that they LIKED our stories? Maybe they are just trying to feed that undernourished ego and avoid the inevitable “funk”.

Then there are Amazon rankings, blog comments, sales figures and (when we are lucky) royalties – all numbers that play havoc with our psyche. And just in case you think the No-Confidence status belongs just to the newbies, look at hugely successful authors like Danielle Steele. Ms Steele, the author of 74 bestselling novels, often worries that she will not be able to keep producing the quality of stories that her fans have come to expect. If an author of Danielle Steele’s acclaim can worry – then certainly my wilting self-esteem MUST be justified.

Obviously writers are masochists.

We pour hours over a manuscript that may or may not ever see the finished, saleable form. We subject ourselves to rejection and criticism constantly. And yet when we see our names printed on the spine of a book or in a magazine, we are thrilled; it doesn’t matter if we had enough money to pay our rent or buy food – we celebrate the accomplishment because to us, this is the absolute best.

I recently attended a seminar led by David Henry Sterry, author of Chicken and Master of Ceremonies. Mr. Sterry explained that every writer needs a “team” and in this team he/she needs financial and legal consultants, publicists, cheerleaders and someone who “hates everyone equally”. The consultants and publicists obviously are to help a writer maneuver the business roads of writing. The cheerleader and the “hater” are there to support and cater to the writer’s ego, or lack thereof.

As I recently said to a friend of mine – writing (to me) is like breathing, it’s kind of a necessity.

So my friends, I plan to keep on writing despite the potential wounds and desperate prayers. When asked where I see myself five years from now, my answer is simply, “at my keyboard”.

Chelle Cordero
Contact Chelle at ChelleCordero@gmail.com
Purchase thru Amazon at http://astore.amazon.com/css01-20
http://chellecordero.blogspot.com/ Chelle Cordero, Author
http://chellecordero.com/ Chelle Cordero Website
http://www.geocities.com/bylines333/res_chelle.html Chelle's Online Portfolio

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Forgotten

An unforgettable romance about two people who meet by chance, love by choice and are torn apart by intrigue.

Their romance survives a foreign threat to national security, kidnapping, personal tragedy and a murder attempt.

The story of Brandon Price and Caitlyn Smythe and a love which survives dangers and grows stronger despite modern day threats and personal baggage.





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.



Forgotten and Within the Law are two highly sensual, romantic and edge-of-your-seat tales. Although Forgotten and Within the Law are two separate stories, they are woven together by a common thread-cousins Caitlyn Smythe and Tom Hughes. Some favorite characters appear in both novels.

  

4 comments:

J.K. Coi said...

Hi Chelle, welcome to the blog today! I know exactly what you mean about the fragile ego of us authors. So many variables as we work hard to promote our work and ourselves, and we'd like it all to end up showing as sales, but it's not always so easy to see the results. They aren't so cut and dried.

Not to mention, I'd love to have a "team" working for me. I wonder where you can get one of those for free?

So tell us what your next book is about.

Chelle Cordero said...

Hi,

First, thanks so much for showcasing me today. It's a real honor.

I guess the cheer-leading team in my case comes cheaply - the kids I've raised & the hubby I cook for - seriously, I am very lucky to have a lot of support from within my own family (including siblings) and close friends.

My next book actually hits the market this week - Courage of the Heart (& it just became available as an ebook today http://tinyurl.com/8cv45c)

In a way, Courage of the Heart touches on "cheer leading teams"; Adam has something in his past that haunts him and yet when he shares this info with Davie he is surprised that she doesn't turn away from him. Her support helps him find an inner strength...

Namid said...

How true! We do subject ourselves to so much, just to see our name in print.

By the time I queried VHP, I had given up on ever being published, and yet here I am now, with VHP as my "team" and several books out. We are so fortunate to see our hard (and I do mean HARD) work come to fruition.

Your books are phenomenal, and I am thrilled to see you being show cased yet again ;) Keep up the great work, 'cause we'll keep reading!!! :)

Bobby Ozuna said...

Hello Chelle, my name is Bobby Ozuna and I have become somewhat of a follower of J.K.'s guest authors...and I was intrigued by your comments/posts tonight and I wonder if there is more you wish to say...

I am now the host of an Internet Radio Show called--The Soul of Humanity--and it will air LIVE beginning in February (4th) @ 7PM CST. I would like to know whether you would be interested in being a guest author on my show--a place where we can discuss the agonies of being an author and the minute accomplishments that make us keep doing what we love...

My show will stream LIVE over the www every Wednesday night @ 7PM and you will have a full hour (52 mins in Internet Radio terms) to discuss your books, your writing career and especially your future projects...

Let me know if your interested. JK will be a guest soon and she can tell you lots of dirty secrets about me...

~Bobby Ozuna
Drawing Stories...With Words