Contemporary Romance / Chick Lit Author
SPOTLIGHT ON:
Wendi
Dass
CONNECT WITH WENDI DASS
All About Wendi Dass
Wendi Dass is a Professor of Mathematics as well as a writer. Her interests lie in short literary fiction and novel-length women’s fiction.
Release Date:
September 30, 2020
Publisher:
The Wild Rose Press
Welcome Wendi to Jeny's TattleTales
Okay, lovely lady, we are doing something different.
So instead of interviewing you, the author of Bella Signa, I will interview one of your characters: Anna Franklin. Fun, right?
So, let's get started, shall we? How would people physically describe you?
Most people tell me I look like Lisbeth Sanders. You know, that petite chick with spiked dark hair from the Dragon Tattoo series? Yeah, that girl.
What’s your backstory? Where did you come from?
My folks are in academia-both professors in the Boston area. I appeased them by going to MIT before going AWOL and taking this job in Rome. I haven’t returned their calls in a few months…
My writing is also inspirational for both me, and hopefully for my readers. I put my characters in dangerous circumstances. In order for them to survive, they need to call forth the best in themselves and others, often discarding old prejudices & negative attributes. In this process, readers can follow the course of change and develop empathy for those involved. Supernatural horror is a great vehicle for this! Also, I set the book in 1885, a time that reflects many of today’s ills and allows me to explore them through a distant mirror.
I honestly couldn’t think of a better group! I’ve read all of those and they are fantastic. Laura’s escapades gave me a love for reading! Is there any advice for aspiring writers?
Listen to your heart. If you want to be a writer and everyone around you says you can’t or you don’t have enough talent or drive, ignore them and listen to yourself. There are more people who will nay-say than there are people who will lift you up when you have a dream they don’t believe in. You believe it and in yourself and your talent. Always.
If you could map out the next five years of your life, what would that look like?
Let’s see, Switzerland (skiing, of course). Germany (beer). Belgium (more beer). Maybe Britain (but the skiing and beer sucks there).
What do you do for fun?
Party
Life advice for the masses?
Party.
What’s your favorite number?
Seventeen. For starters, it’s super-prime, and I LOVE PRIME NUMBERS. Second, I noticed that’s the number of steps to the second floor in the building and the number of pencils on Sister Maria’s desk. Pretty cool, huh?
What’s the six-week max?
The six-week max is my rule for boyfriends. For optimum dating, only see someone for six weeks. Let’s be honest, we all lose interest after that, anyway. Plus, fifty two divided by six is eight and two-thirds so I can gave at least nine (yes, let’s be honest, we know not all will make it to SIX weeks!) boyfriends a year, and I love the number nine! It’s a perfect square.
Now that was fun! Character interviews are always great!
Bella Cigna
Blurb & Excerpt
Devastated by personal loss, Sarah Flynn escapes to Rome where she finds a job teaching English. Only the girls’ school is like a nunnery and she’s expected to speak fluent Italian overnight. What has she gotten herself into? While the beautiful sights rekindle her interest in art, not even her brush-finding canvas can heal all the wounds she carries. She’ll need the help of a meddling nun, a nutty mathematician, and a handsome Italian admirer. Can Sarah overcome the insecurities born of a shattered marriage? Will she again take a chance on love?
Excerpt 1
Eduardo laughed again.
His laugh wasn’t loud or overbearing but a genuine expression of amusement. His eyes, so rich with warmth, smiled, too. For a moment, she lost herself gazing into them, even after his laughter subsided. She cleared her throat and stepped toward the table, where she pretended to busy herself with collecting the folders and handouts. “So, did you have a question?” She kept her gaze on the papers in front of her.
“Question?”
She stole a glance at him and nearly gasped. With his eyebrows pressed together and his glasses dipping to the edge of his nose, she knew where she had seen his face before. Michelangelo’s David. His eyes, his nose, and his mouth were all strikingly similar to the image she’d studied in college. And she’d studied the David closely: the toned biceps, the chiseled abdomen, and the intricately carved genitals…
A deep blush rushed her face, and she shifted her gaze to the desk. Why was she so embarrassed? She wasn’t undressing him with her eyes. Even if she had paid attention to the wide shoulders and narrow hips that now caught her eye, she needn’t be ashamed.
How long had passed since she had felt the warmth of desire for a man? Sarah swallowed hard and fanned her face. Apparently, long enough that even an innocent attraction burned her cheeks bright.
He relaxed his brows. “Are you all right?”
Sarah froze her fanning hand in mid-flap. “Oh…yes. I’m still getting used to the temperature here
Excerpt 2
Sarah led the way and shuffled into the narrow pew.
The man at the end glanced up from his book. He did a double take then stood.
Sarah stopped, and her heart quickened. Not him. Anyone but him.
“Sarah,” Eduardo said. The hymnal slipped from his grasp and clattered to the floor. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
Sarah was too shocked to move. “Yes.” Her voice shook.
Eduardo knelt to pick up the book.
Swallowing hard, Sarah firmed her tone. “I mean, likewise.”
As Eduardo returned to standing, his gaze flitted between Sarah and the hymnal. He rubbed the spine of the book and chewed his lip.
Mom nudged Sarah’s side and mumbled something.
But Sarah didn’t catch what she said. She didn’t turn to ask, either. She could only focus on the questions racing through her mind: Is he alone? Where is Antoinette? And Lucia? She glanced back over her shoulder.
With a wave her hands, Mom motioned to Sarah to scoot down the aisle.
Sarah looked past Mom to the stoic face of Sister Maria, who conveniently avoided meeting Sarah’s gaze. She clenched her teeth.
Does hell have a special place for people who strangle meddling nuns? She inched down the pew, making room for Mom and Sister Maria—and bringing her closer to Eduardo.
