FROM THE DESK OF
DONA PENZA TATTLE, ESQ.
AND
ASSOCIATE WRYE
BALDERDASH
Greetings,
"Library?" Tattle popped up out of her seat and twirled
with excitement. "I adore the library! Can we go right this second. Is this a cuddling with a book event or a
seek and find outing or..."
"Interview!" Wrye explained. "We're going on our Love of Literature
Leap to interview Keith W. Willis, author of the fantasy novel TRAITOR KNIGHT."
"Ooooh, castles and knights and dragons, oh my! Let's
go!"
"After you." Wrye stepped aside, allowing Tattle to leap
first.
Tattle appeared in the library, medieval gown puffing up around
her, and dragon smoke haloing her head. Fluttering her hands at the smoke, she
coughed and simultaneously tapped Keith W. Willis on the shoulder. “Hi, ready
for your interview?”
Catching his stunned look, Wrye, wearing clanging armor, added,
“We arranged this a while back? You know, for CBG?”
Noting the author kept blinking as if chasing away an
hallucination, Tattle and Wrye looked at each others’ outfits. Wrye pointed at
his helmet. “A bit much.”
Tattle looked down at her bodice. “You think?”
Another puff of smoke and their garments changed to everyday wear.
“Ta da!” announced Wrye.
“Wow, very
cool. I especially like the smoke effects. Did you need a lot of training to
learn that? In
Kilbourne, the wizards have to go to school for years to learn how to spell.”
“We bought the book SPELLS
FOR DUMMIES." Wrye grinned.
"We thought we’d be interviewing you in the library at Kilbourne,
but this will do.” Tattle smiled and took a seat. “I must say, TRAITOR KNIGHT sounds yummy. And from the reviews, we know it’s a
hit, with amazing, complex characters and a sprinkling of humor. Can’t wait to
read it, and I’m just going to blast out my first question.” Looks serious and
grim. “Who is the Jabberwock and why should we beware? Do we need a special
charm to protect ourselves?”
"Ah,
we’re getting into the frumiously metaphysical stuff already? Very well—I am
the Jabberwock.
You are the Jabberwock. We are all the Jabberwock. We have met the Jabberwock,
and He is Us (apologies to Walt Kelly).”
“As for
why you should beware the Jabberwock—I would think the ‘teeth that bite, the claws that
catch’ thing would be a dead giveaway. Protective charms, eh? Hmm. Only two things I
know of. One is a white rabbit’s foot, minus the white rabbit. The other is a judicious
singing of carols. Lewis Carolls.”
Wrye nodded with comprehension. “From the legendary works of
Tolkien, would you rather be Aragorn II a.k.a. Strider, Legolas the Sindarin
Elf of the Woodland Realm, or Frodo Baggins, hobbit of the Shire, and why?
"Aragorn,
no question. The last time I tried to use a bow a la Legolas, I nearly skewered two camp
counsellors, a tent mate and an outhouse. I think I’ll stick with my trusty
sword. The world,
generally speaking, will be a much better place for it.”
“Good choice!” Tattle happily fiddles with her Arwen Evenstar
earrings. “If you had Commander Morgan McRobbie over for dinner, what would you
serve?”
"Ale.”
Notes that Tattle and Wrye are both still gazing expectantly at him. Their
stares become a bit strained. ”Oh, you meant food? Sorry. I’d likely serve a
nice joint of beef, flame roasted. Assuming you can get your dragon to
cooperate and roast the joint without snarfing it himself…. Potatoes and peas
to round it out, and a fruit cobbler for dessert. And ale."
Wrye leaned forward. “Man to man, be honest, I know you have an
old red canoe. I know waterways can be deceivingly calm even while they are
tumbling wildly. Have you ever lost your paddles?”
"I’ve
never been up the creek without a paddle.” Keith looks around to make sure
they’re not being overheard. “I have, however, lost a lot of other things over
the years. My keys. My car. My mind. Of all the things I’ve lost in life, I
miss my mind the most.”
Tattle thought of the time she fell out of a rented canoe but
decided not to share, and wondered what was wrong with losing one's mind. Hers
had been missing for years. “From our
snooping… errr researching, we discovered you and your wife have a wonderful,
tight-knit relationship. Which of the female characters you created remind you mostly of your wife?”
"Allow
me to start off by saying that none of the characters in Traitor Knight, male, female, or
draconic, are based on real people. That being said, I think you could safely
say that Lady
Marissa duBerry and my darling wife Patty share come common traits. Intelligence,
wit, and a definitely feisty nature.”
Wrye stood, walked about the table, and then abruptly sat again,
straddling a chair. “Let’s talk dragons! What is the best way to avoid getting
fried?”
"A
trick question, eh? Dragons never fry. They’ll roast you, absolutely. Bake you,
on occasion.
Actually, knight baked in armor, or ‘tinned’, as they like to call it, is
considered a dragon
delicacy. But you can trust me when I say a dragon will never fry you. So you
no longer
have to worry."
Wrye still looked worried!
“A cockatoo told us you also write cozy mysteries. And yes, I
speak cockatoo. Which universe would you prefer to exist in, that of a mystery
or that of fantasy?” Tattle queried.
Keith hastily
draws his sword, looking around wildly. Spying no danger he sheepishly sheathes
the sword. “Oh. You said cockatoo, didn’t you? I thought for a moment you said
Cockatrice. And we all know how deadly those can be.”
“So, I
guess I’d rather exist in a fantasy world—because then I can make it anything I
like. In a
mystery universe, things have to follow a certain inexorable order which
precludes that
freedom. But living in a fantastical universe, if I want unicorns, I can jolly
well get in unicorns.
Dragons—you betcha. It’s pretty much a free-for-all. Although I try not to
dream of
misogynistic megalomaniacs bent on world domination, in case I get one. Oh,
wait, I just turned on
the TV, and… excuse me, I’ve got to go create another universe, quick!”
"That was such fun! Thank you for taking the time to chat
with us. Next time, bring the dragon. Wrye is great and fluid in dragonesse."
Another
leap has Tattle and Wrye bouncing into the historical, romantic mystery, Joyce
Proell's A WICKED TRUTH.
"Oh no, we have to help her!" Tattle wails as
they find themselves locked in a crude cell-like room with a drugged young
girl.
Wrye gently turns Tattle away and snaps them out of the
prologue just as the door opens, revealing the jowly face of an older man
dressed in gentleman's attire.
"Monster!" Wrye mutters. "What's going to happen to her?"
"It isn't good," Wrye whisked his friend away to
the first chapter. "Best not to dwell, m'literary empathetic. This book is
a wonderful historical, mystery treat with a good dose of sweet romance and
lots of Doing the Bear but dark evil exists as well."
Tattle romped through the chapters, big eyed and totally
engrossed. "Yes, yes, yes. A story to be enjoyed, especially on a dark and
stormy night," she parrots a teasing groaner cliché. The next moment,
Tattle is all brightness, "Oooh, so this is a Cady Delafield Mystery and
we're in the Victorian Era. Hence the reference to Doing the Bear, Victorian slang for hugging." She took in the prim
and proper settings of a lovely boarding home.
"Couldn't help meself. They had such grand
sayings."
Does her infamous eye-roll to the heavens and stars.
"Just explain on the way, m'dizzy
age bud."
"Calling me old just cause my elder years makes you
dizzy to think on them?" He huffed, thinking hey I was supposed to pull
out the yesteryear sayings.
Grins. "Oh don't get as Mad as Hops (excitable), just teasing. Now, back to the book."
Calming himself, he offers, "Yes, but of course, the
boarding house is where Mrs. Demsey hosts four female boarders, including
Cady. Though she adores her family, Cady
needs a respite from Grandmother Ophelia's somewhat over-bearing demeanor.
They, her three sisters, including twins and mother, had lived with her grandmother
since Cady's father's death. Unfortunately, the matriarch doesn't care for
Cady's fiancé Doyle Flanagan."
Feigning a semi-swoon, Tattle sighed. "He is hot as
roasting chestnuts and as romantic as Robert Browning wooing Elizabeth Barrett.
However, Ophelia can't see beyond his past. He had previously been accused of
murdering his wife, and though acquitted, Ophelia feels trouble follows him
about. Cady, though, knows he is the essence of decency and loves him beyond
reason. They are truly ready to marry, and believe nothing can stop that until
Sophie Newberg, a friend of Doyle's deceased wife appears, begging for his
assistance, which insures risk. Her sister, Sarah, is missing. A seventeen year
old never returned home from school. Most thought she eloped with her new beau, Mr.
Driscoll, but Sophie believes something horrible has happened, and her father
refuses to pull the police into the matter. More concerned for how things
appear than the truth."
"Doyle is reluctant to be brought into police
business so close to having been exonerated and is quite determined to never
put his fiancé in danger again, a tragedy in his own past connects him to
Sophie's pain. He knows he has to help. Of course, the genteel Cady, the Jammiest Bit of Jam, (perfect young
female) backs Doyle in every way, besides, she is as tough and stubborn as
her Grandmother Ophelia, and even accompanies Doyle to the morgue." Wrye
looked pleased he remembered another old saying.
"Nor does Cady object to his friendship with
Inspector Jack Dinsmore, the one officer who believed in Doyle's innocence. In
fact, Doyle and Cady invite him to dinner and include her sister Grace. The
instant attraction is obvious, but Jake is soon involved in the murder of an
unidentified young girl as well as that of his boss, Captain Vernon Lester. Both on the same
night, both intensely mysteriously. Are they connected? Later, in the story, an
eleven year old is abducted and soon afterward, someone in Cady's family. Yeooowl!" Tattle sang softly. "...Ya got trouble,
my friend, right here, I say trouble right here..."
With a wince at her not-so-on-key voice, Wrye added, "Meanwhile,
a sinister business man Hollis Grover along with his cruel, but slimy suave
brother have their own personal battles, but are they the red-herrings, or
truly the evil behind white slavery and prostitution? Intermingled with it all is a self-serving
police captain, a tawdry voice coach, an insensitive father, a thieving
roommate, and Doyle's own mysterious past. Though the devoted couple, Cady and
Doyle, are determined to overcome the turmoil surrounding them, fate just might
have other plans."
Contagious excitement accompanied Tattle's words, "This
is a genre mixture of pure delight! The pages turn on their own, and the
characters' voices are rich, clear and identifiable. I feel as if Cady and
Doyle were friends and I wanted to step right into their world. Well, maybe not
the parts when they were in danger!" Offers a little chicken squeal for
emphasis. "The back story was also easy to follow despite not having read
the previous novels in the series, and the tale itself hankered back to a time
when a plotline, well-structured prose, literary layering and a charming love
story still existed in a romance novel.
Though sweet, it still had plenty of heat, yet bed-room bliss wasn't the sole
reason for the plot. This made the entire read enchanting and refreshing. Kudos! I really enjoyed having a storyline
with a side of oooh-la-la."
"At the same time, the novelist brought out the
underbelly of the Victorian world's veil of propriety and purity. The contrast
between good and evil was as stark and sharp as black and white. There was no
holding back on just how harrowing and bleak living without station and wealth
could be, how the lower class could be taken advantage of, and how evil finds
its way into every nook of life. Because of this distinction, the book had just
the right level of a chill, taking it a notch above a cozy mystery," Wrye
commented.
"All in all, this is an exceptional story from a
prolific and talented author, who created her own genre, and we are
consummately hooked! If you want a read that crosses every T and dots
every I, you have to grab and gobble up Joyce
Proell's A WICKED TRUTH."
With that, they dashed off and slipped into one of CBG's Burst
Books, within the sci-fi world of Michael W. Davis' HOME WORLD. Tattle blinked back tears as she looked about the
amazing story. "I miss Big Mike," she said with a sigh.
"As do I. He was a good man with an exceptional talent not
just with words but he had a big heart, always generous with his time, always
mentoring other authors and promoting their works, always writing for his
readership." Wyre smiled softly in remembrance of the giving, caring man
who left our world all too soon. "I believe, we get to visit with him
through his writing."
Tattle's smile returned.
"Yes, in this way, he will always be with us."
Together, they fully merge into the story of HOME WORLD.
Wrye dove into the pages, revealing the bones of this excellent
sci-fi thriller. "Derek Fagab and Marla Falco had covered each other's
backs from childhood, where they barely managed to survive as Nulls,
non-classed citizens, living on Home World.
They had squirmed their way out of this abused and dehumanized existence
and served the oppressive dictators of Earthcom as warriors, Tier Five, of the
Tellurian Entente. In this Class system,
it was difficult to rise to the next Tier and that would only happen if they
even managed to survive."
"That would take becoming the best of their kind, winning
skirmish after skirmish," Tattle winced at the slaughter. "Problem
was to do that they had to destroy Nulls, to keep them impoverished and corralled
like beasts in an over-populated pen.
The morality of it disturbed Derek, for he was once a Null. Plus, deep inside he knew the entire class
system was wrong."
"Marla had less sympathy, believing any Null could brave their
way out by being tough and being willing to take chances with their
lives." Does a double nod at Marla's spunk and tenacity. "She wanted to climb into a higher Tier
and she wanted to do it with Derek. For a good amount of time, they were both field-mates and bedmates." Wrye whistles with approval.
"Until, he wanted something more than Marla. He wanted a child, and found a woman, Yana,
that wanted the same thing. Though Marla's and Derek's friendship remained
strong on the battlefield despite her rising above him in rank, they had a
personal rift." Pouting, Tattle doesn't reveal she was sympathetic and
secretly wished they could heal that fissure.
"Still, Derek couldn't have a child unless he became a Tier
Four, and further ambitions to provide a good life for that child by rising
to a Tier Three. Only, to do so, he had to survive a secret mission and that
mission would take years. Yana said she
wouldn't wait those years."
Tattle continued, "At the same time, many believed that
Earthcom was crumbling from the inside out.
Would it? And what about Marla, would the love and bond between her and
Derek outlast his more sedate feelings for Yana? Would either of them survive
the latest war to retrieve something mysterious that the Toppers of Tiers One
and Two needed to survive?"
"Michael had a way of blending the best realistic futuristic
technology reminiscent of Star Trek while the swift pacing and battle intensity
was suggestive of Storm Troopers. However, unlike most action driven plotlines,
HOME WORLD had a depth and humanity that would equal any dramatic saga.
Sub-plots played throughout as an irresistible undercurrent, hinting at a
stunning revelation that kept the pages turning."
"I've enjoyed everyone of Big Mike's books, and this one will
not disappoint. If his name wasn't on the book, you would still know it was his
work. He has a unique style of writing that mesmerizes, brings you right into
the inner voice of the characters and the inner conflict of the plot. And just when you think you are about to
figure out the ah-ha moment, you discover you didn't and there is another ah-ha
smacking you upside the head. His talent
with plot development, depth of character and realistic dialogue was
remarkable. I enjoyed this book tremenduously, and recommend it needs a place on
your cyber bookshelf!"
"Home World by Michael W. Davis is a winner. Read it and don't plan on sleeping."
Hope
you enjoyed our leap into our reviews and interview. Until next time, keep reading!
Dona
Penza Rutabaga Tattle, Esq. and Associate Wrye Balderdash
of
Blather City, Wannachat
Created and written by: Angelica Hart and Zi
Books by:
Angelica Hart and Zi
KILLER
DOLLS ~ SNAKE DANCE ~
CHASING
YESTERDAY ~ CHRISTMAS EVE...VIL
Books by:
Vixen Bright and Zachary Zane
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