Cheryl Cooke Harrington

Welcome! This is where I introduce myself and tell you a bit about the person behind the stories. I'm a Toronto native—born and raised in 'the Beaches' district—and like so many in this city, I feel an almost mystic connection to Lake Ontario and its miles of boardwalk. These days, home is a west Toronto condo shared with an opinionated miniature parrot and his companion cat.

I've been telling stories for as long as I can remember—a habit that occasionally got me in trouble when I was a kid! But until the winter of '93, I'd never considered writing an entire novel. That winter, I was possessed by a couple of characters who would not give me peace until I'd told their story. It took me two and a half years to complete that first book and while it will never see publication, it was a terrific learning experience.

A year later, I teamed up with my friend Anne Norman and together we wrote two novels, ROCK SOLID and FAST FOCUS, both still available as part of Avalon's Career Romance line.

My latest solo release from Avalon Books is SPARKS FLY, a forest fire adventure/romance set in Ontario's far north. It was an exciting story to research and tell and I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I have.

My 'book of the heart', ONE FOR SORROW, TWO FOR JOY, is a cross-country romantic suspense, available in trade paperback and multiple electronic formats from Hard Shell Word Factory, and in large print (sold out!) from Ulverscroft Press. It's the story of a fiesty young chef, suddenly on the run for her life with...well, you'll have to read the excerpt!

Cold Comfort, my first published literary short fiction, is featured in SHARDS, the DLSIJ Press anthology of women's fiction in support of the Breast Cancer Fund. Wildfire, a novella written specifically for adult new readers, was a finalist for the Robin Award, co-sponsored by Laubach Literacy and Romance Writers of America.

Along with excerpts from my books, these pages contain bits and pieces of my adventures in research—everything from back-alley explorations of Vancouver's Gastown (One for Sorrow, Two for Joy), to my first flight as pilot of a Cessna (Sparks Fly).

Enjoy your visit!

Anne Norman
co-author of Rock Solid and Fast Focus

Anne is a freelance writer and reiki master with a background in singing, acting, and modelling. Her life, shared with grown children, pets, friends, and colleagues, is a study in perpetual motion.

• Avalon Books. Thomas Bouregy and Company, Inc.  Find books, interviews, and news for librarians at Avalon's online home.
• Hard Shell Word Factory. Offering quality books in electronic and trade paperback formats in all genres. "Save a tree, read electronically."
• Canadian Romance Authors' Network. We're Canadian, eh?
• Writer's Union of Canada. A national organization for writers... fostering diversity and inclusiveness in all their forms.
• Romance Writers of America. "The voice of romance", with over 9000 members worldwide.
• Romantic Times BOOKclub: "Your definitive women's fiction guide."
• Eclectics.com, an exciting online community of authors.