KISSING KIN
by Karen Hulene Bartell
GENRE: Paranormal Romance
BLURB:
Maeve Jackson is starting over after a broken engagement—and mustering out of the Army. No job and no prospects, she spins out on black ice and totals her car.
When struggling vintner Luke Kaylor stops to help, they discover they’re distantly related. On a shoestring budget to convert his vineyard into a winery, he makes her a deal: prune grapevines in exchange for room and board.
But forgotten diaries and a haunted cabin kickstart a five-generational mystery with ancestors that have bones to pick. As carnal urges propel them into each other’s arms, they wonder: Is their attraction physical…or metaphysical?
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Excerpt:
“Mind if I camp out ’til the roads clear?”
“Under the circumstances?” The clerk shook his head. “Not a problem.”
“Thanks.” He started toward the sitting room and nearly bumped into Maeve, leaning against the wall. “Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you.”
“You didn’t.” She tossed her chin. “I was cat-napping.”
“Right.” He compared her guarded veneer to her sleeping-beauty persona. Which is closer to her true self?
“Couldn’t help overhearing.” Gesturing toward the clerk with her chin, she grimaced. “I’m responsible for you being out tonight--”
“No.” He shook his head. “This is just a freak storm.”
“You don’t have to sleep in a chair.” She took a deep breath and gave a quick, tight-lipped smile. “My room has two queen beds, and you’re welcome to one of ’em.”
Unsure of the extent of her invitation, he did a double take.
“Just so we understand each other, this is a bunk, a place to sack out. Period. Amen.” She spoke in a low-pitched, no-nonsense voice. “Nothing more, so don’t get any--”
“Got it.” He covered his disappointment with a laugh. “Thanks, I appreciate the offer, but I’ll be fine dozing by the fire.”
“Hey, I’ve bivouacked with soldiers in Afghanistan. We do what’s necessary under extenuating circumstances.” Shrugging, she glanced at the door. “And this blizzard qualifies.” Her face relaxed into a smile.
Her offer tempting, he compared sitting up all night to stretching out in a bed. Then he glimpsed the clerk.
“If you’re worried about my reputation, don’t be.” She laughed, the sound like sleigh bells tinkling on a crisp, wintry night.
What is it about her that conjures thoughts of other times--other eras?
Interview with Karen Hulene Bartell
Any weird things you do when you’re alone?
Hmmm…I talk to my “mews,” that is, our three rescued cats, who lounge on my desk, and our dog, a rescued Leopard CATahoula, who sleeps at my feet as I write. Of course, I also talk to them when people are around 😉
What is your favorite quote and why?
“Travel while you’ve got your health. Don’t wait until you’re too old to enjoy it.” Sadly, I can’t attribute the quote to its source, but I love the message. Don’t put off traveling. Memories are all you take with you when you leave this life, so explore to your heart’s content while you can still climb mountains and chart new waters. Everyone’s seen that meme of an elderly couple, asleep in a gondola in Venice. Don’t wait until retirement…until you have someone to go with…until you can afford it. Go now! You’ll find a way.
Who is your favorite author and why?
That is a tricky question because I have so many favorite authors. The authors of the books I’ve recently read are my new “favorites” until I read the next book and the next. So for today, having recently read The Last Garden in England and Before We Were Yours, I’d have to say Julia Kelly and Lisa Wingate are my favorite authors.
What, in your opinion, are the most important elements of good writing?
IMHO, an active imagination and a solid grasp of English grammar are the two necessary tools. Add to that an understanding of people and how they react in various situations, and voilà …you have a best-selling author!
Where did you get the idea for Kissing Kin?
The idea for Kissing Kin first came to me during 2020 because of the striking similarities between Covid and the Spanish Flu of 1918, but publishers convinced me no one wanted to read about pandemics. Time passed.
Then I noticed a handmade cookbook my grandmother had constructed during the depression. It’s made of two cardboard flaps reinforced at the edges with duct tape and held together by two metal ring binders. That book inspired me. (I used some of its recipes in Kissing Kin, for instance, Simple Sponge Cake, Mother’s Soft Gingerbread, and…the treatment of chicken lice with nicotine-sulfate.)
The general tone of the cookbook, which was meant as a Christmas present during the 1930s, was chatty. It read more like a diary than a book of recipes, and it motivated me to begin writing Kissing Kin.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Author of the Trans-Pecos and Sacred Emblem series, Karen is a best-selling author, keynote speaker, wife, and all-around pilgrim of life, who writes multicultural, offbeat love stories. Born to rolling-stone parents who moved often, Bartell found her earliest playmates as fictional friends in books. Paperbacks became her portable pals. Ghost stories kept her up at night—reading feverishly. The paranormal was her passion. Novels offered an imaginative escape. An only child, she began writing her first novel at the age of nine, learning the joy of creating her own happy endings. Professor emeritus of the University of Texas at Austin, Karen resides in the Texas Piney Woods with her husband Peter and her “mews”—three rescued cats and a rescued *Cat*ahoula Leopard dog.
Connect with Karen:
6 comments:
Many thanks for hosting KISSING KIN and me!
Thank you for hosting today!
This sounds like a good book.
Sherry, I hope you'll read and ENJOY Kissing Kin! https://www.amazon.com/Kissing-Trans-Pecos-Karen-Hulene-Bartell-ebook/dp/B0CRJ6P13V Please let me know! And thanks for stopping by!
Nancy, thank you so much for reviewing KISSING KIN and interviewing me today! Much appreciated!
looks like a fun one
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