Champagne Book Group Blog: Tattle and Wrye column November 2017 edition

From the desk of ~

DONA PENZA TATTLE, ESQ.

AND

ASSOCIATE WRYE BALDERDASH

Greetings,

We are so happy and eager to this interview with J. S. Marlo! So, rather than dicker and dacker, we are off for our Love of Literature Leap immediately!

Tattle and Wrye leap into J. S. Marlo’s kitchen.

T: Ta Daaaaaa! We’re baccccck.

W: Aren’t ya glad to see us. (Tosses J. S. an apple) We’ve been eating healthy lately and encouraging others to do so.

T: (Chews quickly so her chipmunk cheeks won’t give away that she just squirreled away two cookies before they left) Yum, yeah, right… errrr…. I brought grapes and plain water. (Can’t help crossing her eyes cause she hates plain water)

J. S.: Hey guys! I’m guessing you didn’t bring any melted dark chocolate for me to dip the fruit in, did you? Nevermind, I’ll melt some right now. Make yourself comfortable.

W: (Grabs a chair and straddles it backwards) So, it’s like this, doll face.... and instantly starts dipping into the melted chocolate. Tattle snatches the biggest strawberry before he can get it.

T: (Interrupts) Doll face? Really? What century are you in?

W: (Blinks, checks his notes) Oh, wait, sorry, I was just reading a gangster dime novel from the thirties, got my timeline confused. (Gives big puppy eyes) Please accept my apologies for being inappropriate. Book/genre hoping can throw a guy off.

J.S.: No worries, I’ve been called worse. I was in charge of an election office a few years back, and you should have heard what some people called me when they were too late to vote. Come to think of it, you don’t want to know what these guys called me.

T: And with that, we are jumping right into our interview. Be warned, we are getting downright serious with our interview. We have totally become investigative reporters, so brace yourself! (Gives J. S. the narrowed eyed ultra- serious look) What character do you think about most when you are alone in your car?

W: (Mouths) That’s all you got?

T: (Mouths back) I’m new at this serious stuff.

Both look at J. S. awaiting her answer.

J.S.: Let's see…if I’m alone in my car, that means I’m driving, right? And when I’m driving alone, I like to sing-along my playlist. That way I don’t scorch anyone’s ears. Between you and I, I’m an awful singer, and I couldn’t carry a tune if my life depended on it, but I still like to sing. So, to answer your question, I don’t think about any characters.

W: Now let’s get down to business. (Pops up from his chair, walks around J.S., eyeing like a private detective from that dime store novel he had been reading. A toothpick appears in his mouth) What would be the soundtrack to your HEART and ENDURANCE series?

J.S.: “Never Surrender” by Corey Hart

…So if you're lost and on your own
You can never surrender
And if your path won't lead you home

You can never surrender
And when the night is cold and dark
You can see, you can see light
Cause no one can take away your right
To fight and never surrender…

It’s a beautiful song. Perfectly fitting. You need to google it and listen to it.

T: If your characters Hope Craig, Sheriff Morgan and Colonel Matheson from your Novel COLD SWEAT came for dinner, what would you cook for them?

J.S.: Hopefully they would come during the summer so I can barbecue. I live in northern Alberta, so sorry but I don’t cook outside at -40C (-40F). I’d barbecue T-Bones, baked potatoes, corn on the cob, and I’d make a giant garden salad.

T/W: If you could live in one of your books, which book would it be?

J.S.: Tough choice…It’d be a toss between living on Riley’s ranch in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Alberta (in Unscripted – Duty Bound Series #1) and living on a cliff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean in Prince Edward Island (in Unearthed – Duty Bound Series #2).

T/W: Do you remember the first galactic alien you ever met? (Feel free to use your imagination if you hadn’t met any.) And what book of yours did it want to read and why?

J.S.: I knew my imaginary friend Bob wasn’t imaginary. He’s an alien! Sorry Bob for mistaking you for a figment of my imagination all these years.

Bob loves “Cold Sweat – Heart & Endurance #1”. He read it three times. He’s fascinated, and a bit infatuated, by Hope and her abilities, resourcefulness, and resilience. See, Hope is deaf, but she can read lips and people better than Bob can, and she refuses to let anything or anyone stand in her way. She’s a tough cookie, the kind Bob loves.

T: Is being a writer a gift or a curse? If it is a curse, would you like to curse someone else and who would that be? (Tattle points to Wrye)

W: Hey, I am already a writer and I think it is a gift.

T: I know, silly-smarty-pants, I just like it when you turn red and sputter.

W: Oh… ummm… Cheese doodle on a cracker, ye-literary-goofer, that was a conversation ender. Sooo, m’dear, J. S. (Offers J. S. a gentlemanly bow) As always it has been a pleasure.

T: Yes, thank you for your time. You are indeed a delight.

As they escort themselves out, Tattle leaves a box of homemade chocolate chip cookies.

J.S.: Thank you, guys! It was fun. Come again. My door is always open….except when it’s cold. Then you have to knock, and hurry in. Au revoir!

Book Titles:

Salvaged

Unscripted – Duty Bound Series #1

Unearthed – Duty Bound Series #2

Untamed – Duty Bound Series #3

Cold Sweat – Heart & Endurance #1

Thin Ice – Heart & Endurance #2

Hot Water - Heart & Endurance #3 (coming in August 2017)

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