Chelle Cordero

Chelle Cordero is a freelance writer whose articles have appeared in various publications including The Journal News, Hudson Valley Magazine, Emergency Magazine, Spotlight, Auto Trim News, EMS Products, Sound Management Magazine, and Creator’s News supplements.

Hi Chelle, please tell everyone a little about yourself.

Chelle:  I am a Romantic Suspense author with eight novels (seven romantic suspense and one mystery) published by Vanilla Heart Publishing. I also have short stories in the anthologies With Arms Wide Open, Nature’s Gifts, Passionate Hearts (Vanilla Heart Publishing),Forever Friends and Forever Travels (Mandimam Press).

I have conducted several writing workshops and author the Amazon Kindle blog, Living, Breathing, Writing (available by subscription). I also do book and project editing in my “spare” time. Along with my husband Mark, I am a partner in By-Lines, an editorial and photography company catering to the business community. I am also a NYS EMT and my entire family volunteers with the local ambulance corps.

When did the writing bug bite, and in what genre(s)?

Chelle:  When it came to fiction writing, I was always a fan of romance. Today my favorite genre is romantic-suspense.

Briefly tell us about your latest book. Is it part of a series or stand-alone?

Chelle: My latest work in progress is a stand-alone book that features a character first introduced in the novel, Final Sin. Matt Garratti was the heroine’s best friend; this book is his story.

What’s the hook for the book?

Chelle: Matt has moved his little family down south when he takes a job as a flight medic. A series of questionable events, unexplained deaths and ominous threats plague their world.

How do you develop characters?

Chelle: I like to build my characters before they even begin their journey – every character has a history and all of their actions and reactions reflect that history.

Who is the most likeable of all your characters?

Chelle: I recently wrote a short story called The Vacation (VHP anthology Passionate Hearts). The hero of the story is Bob, a wounded vet who served in Iraq. He’s in love with Darlene, a divorcee who is struggling to support her kids and home.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Chelle: I begin with a basic idea, setting or conflict and throw my characters into it. Then I let them just react, they wind up writing their own story.

Do you have a specific writing style or preferred POV?

Chelle: I like using third person point of view for most of my writing. However I found that interjecting first person POV as the antagonist in a murder mystery really helps to heighten the tension.

How does your environment/upbringing color your writing?

Chelle: I’ve always had a very vivid imagination and have always been involved in my community. I also had several very interesting jobs. Through the years I’ve had the opportunity to see otherwise normal situations from “other viewpoints” and then with my imagination, I’ve always been able to see more possibilities. Some of those possibilities make for very intriguing plots.

Share the best review (or a portion) that you’ve ever had.

Chelle: Within the Law:

Chelle Cordero begins Within The Law with a great setup of murder, betrayal, and plot twists that engage the reader immediately. In Ken Follet style, the novel subsequently explores the tragic sequence of events keeping Tom and Alli from being together. The novel is, therefore, less courtroom murder mystery and more star-crossed love story.
Cordero’s writing and plot is engaging and entertaining. One is drawn to Tom and Alli and their story just as they are drawn to one another. The dialogue is real and crisp and the novel moves quickly. Within the Law makes a great summer beach read.

Where can folks learn more about your books and events?

Chelle: I maintains an author’s blog at http://chellecordero.blogspot.com/, and my website at http://ChelleCordero.com

Black Diamond by Ja’Nese Dixon

Black Diamond by Ja’Nese Dixon is a romantic suspense novel about an undercover FBI agent investigating a vicious group suspected of trafficking conflict diamonds.  Ja’Nese chats about some of the key topics she researched while writing Black Diamond.

About Black Diamond

Camille Blackwell, an undercover FBI agent, poses as a jewelry purchaser in an international diamond trading company in hopes of identifying the domestic players in a vicious rebel group suspected of trafficking conflict diamonds. The Bureau requests CIA renegade Marc Fulton’s assistance with sweeping international intelligence to identify the major rebel organizations with the finances and stateside connections strong enough to evade criminal prosecution, despite Camille’s objections.

Their attraction is instant and tense; both resolve to focus on the case. But when Camille receives an encrypted memory stick from a murdered co-worker Marc may be the only person she can trust.Black Diamond is the eagerly anticipated debut novel by Ja’Nese Dixon. True love, like black diamonds, is rare and precious but when murder and a persistent criminal threaten a frail relationship, will love triumph?

About Ja’Nese Dixon

Ja’Nese Dixon writes fiction novels for readers yearning to escape and disappear into a good book. Ja’Nese’s debut novel, Black Diamond is scheduled for release in June 2010. She resides in Houston, Texas, with her husband and their two children. For more information visit http://www.janesedixon.com.

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Black Diamond by Ja’Nese Dixon Virtual Book Tour is organized by Nia Promotions, a marketing company that assists authors and publishers with using web-marketing strategy to market and promote books on the internet. Follow Ja’Nese’s tour at http://bit.ly/blackdiamondvbt.