Virtual Book Tour: Kissing Kin by Karen Hulene Bartell

 Good morning, everyone! Please welcome author Karen Hulene Bartell to Full Moon Dreaming today! She is here to talk about her new release, Kissing Kin. Karen will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to one randomly drawn commenter via Rafflecopter during the tour. The more you comment, the better your chances of winning! To find the other stops on her tour, go here. Don't forget to look for the Rafflecopter at the end of this post!

 

KISSING KIN

by Karen Hulene Bartell

 

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GENRE:  Paranormal Romance

 

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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?

 

 

 

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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:

 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KarenHuleneBartell

MeWe: https://mewe.com/i/karenbartell

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HuleneKaren

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/karenhulenebartell/   

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/611950.Karen_Hulene_Bartell  

Website: http://www.KarenHuleneBartell.com/ 

Email: info@KarenHuleneBartell.com

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/karenhulenebartell 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karenhulenebartell/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/karen-hulene-bartell

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenhulenebartell/ 

 

Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/Kissing-Trans-Pecos-Karen-Hulene-Bartell-ebook/dp/B0CRJ6P13V/ref=sr_1_1

 

 

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How do you keep your writing different from all the others that write in this particular genre?

 

Paranormal creatures and cryptids fascinate me. Each legend or local myth is so unique to its geographical area that the stories seem to write themselves. Perhaps my writing is different because of how intensely these supernatural characters seize my imagination.

 

What is your favorite meal?

 

I’m a foodie, so asking me what’s my favorite meal is a tricky question. However, if a menu is combined with a holiday--for instance, Thanksgiving--that fusion transcends mere ingredients to edible (and cherished) memories. With that synthesis in mind, I’d say my favorite meal consists of smoked turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, a medley of root veggies, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie with whipped cream.

 

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.

 

Say your publisher has offered to fly you anywhere in the world to do research on an upcoming book, where would you most likely want to go?

 

If my published offered to fly me anywhere in the world to do research, I would choose Ireland. Why? For a decade, I’ve had an idea for a book set in Ireland, but I haven’t had to opportunity to fly there. I’m a writer that has to research in person. Because the web and libraries only take me so far, I need to walk the streets to “own” the locale. I need to talk to the residents about their experiences--usually paranormal. I need to eat the local fare, breathe the fresh or stale or smoggy air, and drink the water before I can create a story.

Why Ireland? I’ve visited England, Scotland, and Wales, but somehow missed the emerald isle. For a decade, I’ve had an idea for a book about Saint Brigid of Kildare or Brigid, the original goddess of the Tuatha dé Danann, but I’ve yet to make the journey to Ireland or author the book.

 

Describe your writing space.

 

One of the ginger twins is spread out on my Queen Anne desk, shedding cat hair over the keyboard as I type. That’s okay. He’s my “mews,” one of four, actually, who inspires my imagination.

A quarter of a century ago, I sanded and stained my wooden Queen Anne desk--although, over the years, the cats have scratched its surface to shreds. On top of the desk is my reading list, a stone coaster from my husband, engraved with “I will always love you,” and a myriad of yellow notes to self.

A water bottle sits at my left, and a coffee cup sits at my right.

Armed with my “mews,” surrounded by reminders of love, and bolstered with caffeine, I’m ready to write!

 

 

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