TATTLE AND WRYE CELEBRATE CHAMPAGNE BOOK AUTHORS

FROM THE DESK OF
DONA PENZA TATTLE, ESQ.
AND
ASSOCIATE WRYE BALDERDASH

Greetings,

Dressed in an old-fashioned violet patterned dress, a huge picture hat, lacey gloves and a parasol, Tattle tosses out her arms and quotes with a sigh, "Love is smoke made with the fume of sighs."

"William Shakespeare," Wrye declares, "And how appropriate for this month of poets, hearts, and romantic stories."

"'Tis true, 'tis true," Tattle proffers her arm. "Hence, this is indeed the perfect time to embark on a Love of Literature leap into Champagne Books' romances."

Wrye stares at Tattle, mouth slightly agape in bewilderment. "You feeling alright, m'friend. Your speech is a bit..." Before he could finish, they vanish.


The duo fall into the pages of a contemporary romance FAKIN' IT by Dr. Kris Condi, Ph.D. Tattle looks about and frowns, "The heroine is so unhappy. It's simply not right to be this unhappy, spring is in the air, life should abound with possibilities."

Again Wrye offers Tattle a baffled look. "It's still winter. Snow. Cold. Nothing's blossoming except perhaps Spartan Fluey who has finally taken steps to disentangle herself from her husband, Goddard. Nearly thirty years in a loveless marriage, no wonder she is despondent. Even she can't figure out why she had stayed."

"Aye," Tattle says with another soft sigh. "Now, she only wants to find true love, something she never had, despite all those years she had invested trying to feel for something sincere for a chauvinistic, narcissistic husband."

Aye? Wrye mouths, and then, "Ah, but cupid's arrow could strike when she signs up for an escort service and meets...." A brow wiggle combines with a bellow, "Da da da daaaaaa, Benjamin Brennart, the man who might just ignite romance."

"A dream of a hunk who has his own torment. He lost his restaurant in Hurricane Katrina and still harbors love for his ex-wife." Tattle sniffles. "Oh such woe."

Wrye touches Tattle's forehead as if expecting to find a temp high enough to bring on delirium, finding her cool, he distances himself by running amuck through the pages, settling finally and declaring, "Something is flourishing! Passion and admiration and possibly lovvvvvvvvve, oh my! But...."

"But what?"

"Read and find out," he teased. "No time to dilly dally. Our next romance awaits."



As they enter the world of LUCKY IN LOVE by Stacey Coverstone, a western romantic suspense, Wrye dons a Stetson and chaps. Tattle proudly displays cowboy boots and changes her speech pattern from ole world to country drawl, "I do declare, Wrye, Jordan Mackenzie, who is so pretty she could make a hound dog smile, has her hands full with having inherited the Lucky Seven ranch from her aunt."

Mounting a horse he has discovered on the ranch, Wrye observes, "The good news is she decided to move from Colorado to New Mexico to start a new life on the ranch. The bad news is she's hurting from a horrific romantic breakup."

"Bless her pea-pickin' lil' heart. The poor thang discovers the ranch is a shambles and a nasty ole land developer is eager to take it off her hands." She pauses, grins and adds, "But then there is Wyatt Brannigan, hotter-than-the-hinges-on-the-gates-of-hell new neighbor and Cole Roberts, the oh-my-hunka-of-burnin'-love local contractor that shows he's more than interested."

"Is she?"

A mischievous smile lights Tattle's face. "That there gal is attracted to both!" The smile fades, "Only, she's still a-hurtin' bad over the breakup with her boyfriend."

"Meanwhile, the demented land developer will do any heinous thing to get Jordan to sell, even threaten her life."

"That man ain't got the dencency to die!" Tattle declares. "If I were a reader, I'd certainly want to find out if Jordan survives long enough to decide which cowboy will win her heart."



DANGEROUS DESIRE by Romona Hilliger completes Tattle and Wrye's journey, and they quickly find themselves intruding on a spat between the lovely married Amy Anderson and her seven years younger art teacher who has a girlfriend.

"I smell trrrrouble!" announces Tattle, her speech finally returning to normal as she scans the book's pages. "Her marriage is over except for in name, but her conscience is certainly pushing her away from this naughty attraction to a younger man.

"Jamie, the heart-tugger in question, doesn't think it's so naughty. He seems star-struck, and he is quite hurt by her rejection ."

"Amy hurts just as much." Tattle flips through several pages. "She believes what she is doing is wrong, but she also can't resist. Mmmm, such delicious pull-n-tug. Her hesitating, then giving into coffee dates...him pursuing...her refusing...him chasing...her remembering her dissolving marriage and that love often equates to pain...he being so different...her falling..."

Wrye puts up a halting hand. "I get it. I get it. She feels she should have learned her lesson about love, but as we can see...," he points to several paragraphs, "she's having a tough time keeping barriers in place."

"As is Jamie. He lost his family and his first love. He feels affection for another, but nothing resembling passion." Tattle places a finger on her heart and makes a sizzling sound. "Amy, though, done-gone and brought the heat back to his heart. He wants to push her away but can't seem to find the will."

They watch Amy and Jamie struggle, each tossing out hurtful words as their spirits dissolve in despair. Tattle says softly, "Will they ever be able to find a path to each other?"

"Perhaps not," Wrye returns, "but this is the month of romantic possibilities. So, read and be part of the character's passionate journey."


Hope you enjoyed Cupid's offerings! Next month, we'll sojourn into the worlds of a few of Champagne Books' nominees for Novel of the Year. THE KEEPER OF MOON HAVEN by Ciara Gold, SHADOW OF GUILT by Michael Davis, and SHADOW FOX by Ashley Barnard.

Happy Valentine's Day!


Dona Penza Rutabaga Tattle, Esq.
and Associate Wrye Balderdash
of Blather City, Wannachat



Created and written by
Angelica Hart and Zi