Karen Hulene Bartell Author of Wild Rose Pass
Give a warm welcome to Karen Hulene Bartell. It’s a pleasure to have you join us today. Pull up a chair, grab a drink of your choice from the cooler, a Chocolate Chip or Peanut Butter cookie from the plate, and let’s find out a little about Karen and her Wild Rose Pass. First of all I can tell you are an animal lover. Is that Tory with you in the picture?
Sure is.
- What inspired this particular story?
Sixteen years ago, my husband and I spent Christmas week hiking and horseback riding in Big Bend National Park—the southernmost tip of Texas that borders the Rio Grande and dips into Mexico. Driving home early that morning, we missed the turnoff in Alpine and followed TX-118 north. Snow-covered and glinting against the frosty blue January sky, the remote jumble of mountain peaks and ranges beckoned as they rose above the desert floor. I was enchanted.
Gazing at the sky island for the first time, wide-eyed, I wondered whether those rocky pinnacles were mirages or optical delusions, but a hasty glance at the map told us these were the Davis Mountains. Vertical basalt columns rose like giant fingers reaching for the sky. The palisades, buttes, and bluffs towered above both sides of the only route through those mountains—Wild Rose Pass.
That missed turn bloomed into Wild Rose Pass, Book I of the Trans-Pecos Series. The area’s mystique and raw beauty set the tone for this historical romance.
- Why did you choose the cover concept you did?
I wanted the cover to shout romance, yet reflect the time period of the 1880s novel, so I requested the hero and heroine to be dressed in period clothing, while holding each other in an embrace, with the craggy mountains as the backdrop. I remember emailing WRP, “all I really care about is that prospective readers want to be the girl the hero’s holding on the cover.” 😉
- What inspired you to write?
I always had a creative imagination. (My childhood dolls were never baby dolls—always lady dolls, who went on exciting adventures.) But what inspired me to write? In a word, reading. In second grade, my mother took me to the library and helped me choose books. By third grade, I had my own library card, walked to the library alone, and chose my own books. All during my childhood, my mother let me stay up as late as I wanted—if I read. As a result, I became a voracious reader and, in my case, writing was simply a natural progression.
- If writing is your first passion, what is your second?
Traveling, hands down. Nothing ignites my passion for life as much as traveling to provocative places, encountering new experiences, sampling different ethnic foods, and meeting stimulating people, I’m inspired. Ideas flow. (I should’ve been a travel correspondent.) Traveling that takes me out of my rut and propels me into new realms of possibility.
Traveling inspires me. Ideas flow. (I should’ve been a travel correspondent.) There’s something about traveling that takes me out of my rut and propels me into new realms of possibility. I’ve written some of my best concepts sitting in airports or hotel bathrooms at midnight (so I don’t wake my husband with the light). Being out of my element and in new environments stimulates my imagination.
Yep, I know the feeling. Happens to me on our RV camping trips.
SPEED ROUND FOR A LITTLE ADDED FUN:
Speed Round (one word only answer): Yep, I know torture for a writer!<evil laugh>
Favorite movie: GREASE
Favorite book: 1984
Last book read: TEXAS
Favorite color: BLUE
Stilettos or flipflops: FLIPFLOPS
Coffee or tea: COFFEE
Ebook or audiobook or paperback: EBOOK
Pencil or pen: PEN
Favorite song: MAGIC
Streak or not: NOT
Favorite dessert: SOFTSERVE
Favorite junk food: PRETZELS
Favorite thing to do to relax: MASSAGE
Champagne or gin: CHAMPAGNE
Paranormal or Historical: PARANORMAL
Wonder Woman or Top Model: WONDER WOMAN
Favorite TV show: MASH
Hot or cold: HOT
POV: THIRD
I’d die if I don’t have: FREEDOM
Review or Not: REVIEW
Tell us a little about Wild Rose Pass.
Cadence McShane, free-spirited nonconformist, yearns to escape the rigid code, clothes, and sidesaddles of 1880s military society in Fort Davis, Texas. She finds the daring new lieutenant exhilarating, but as the daughter of the commanding officer, she is expected to keep with family tradition and marry West Point graduate James West.
Orphaned, Comanche-raised, and always the outsider looking in, Ben Williams yearns to belong. Cadence embodies everything he craves, but as a battlefield-commissioned officer with the Buffalo Soldiers instead of a West Point graduate, he is neither accepted into military society nor considered marriageable.
Can two people of different worlds, drawn together by conflicting needs, flout society and forge a life together on the frontier?
Sneak peek between the pages of Wild Rose Pass.
Reining his horse between catclaw and prickly-pear cactus, Ben Williams squinted at the late summer sun’s low angle. Though still midafternoon, shadows lengthened in the mountains. He clicked his tongue, urging his mare up the incline. “Show a little enthusiasm, Althea. If we’re not in Fort Davis by sunset, we’ll be bedding down with scorpions and rattlesnakes.”
As his detachment’s horses clambered up Wild Rose Pass, the only gap through west Texas’ rugged Davis Mountains, Ben kept alert for loose rocks or hidden roots, anything that might trip his mount. A thick layer of fallen leaves created a pastiche of color shrouding the trail from view. He glanced up at the lithe cottonwood trees lining the route, their limbs dancing in the breeze. More amber and persimmon leaves loosened, fell, and settled near the Indian pictographs on their tree trunks. When he saw the red- and yellow-ochre drawings, he smiled, recalling the canyon’s name—Painted Comanche Camp.
“How far to Fort Davis, lieutenant?” called McCurry, one of his recruits.
“Three hours.” If we keep a steady pace.
Without warning, the soldier’s horse whinnied. Spooking, it reared on its hind legs, threw its rider, and galloped off.
As he sat up, the man groaned, caught his breath, and stared into the eyes of a coiled rattler, poised to strike. “What the…?”
Flicking its tongue, hissing, tail rattling, the pit viper was inches from the man’s face.
A sheen of sweat appeared above the man’s lip. “Lieutenant—”
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About the Author:
Author of the Trans-Pecos, Sacred Emblem, Sacred Journey, and Sacred Messenger series, Karen is a best-selling author, motivational keynote speaker, wife, and all-around pilgrim of life. She writes multicultural, offbeat love stories that lift the spirit. Born to rolling-stone parents who moved annually, 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. Westerns spurred her to write (pun intended). Wanderlust inherent, Karen enjoyed traveling, although loathed changing schools. 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 Hill Country with her husband Peter and her “mews”—three rescued cats and a rescued *Cat*ahoula Leopard dog.
Connect with Karen:
It was wonderful having you with us today. Please feel free to stop by anytime. Good Luck with Wild Rose Pass!
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Contemporary Western Romance, Karen Hulene Bartell, Wild Rose Pass by Tena Stetler with 11 comments.
Thanks so much for hosting me today, Tena! (And the peanut butter cookie was delicious 😉
Always my pleasure Karen. Peanut butter cookies are my favorite!
Nice getting to know you better!
Thanks for stopping by, Jennifer!
THanks for popping in Jennifer! Have a great day! Stay safe.
Being an “only” myself, I know how important book friends can be. Best wishes on your book!
Yep I can relate to that being an only too. The bookmobile was my sanctuary as a child during the summer. Thanks for stopping by lona!
Wow – another “only”! Sounds like we have similar literary childhoods…No wonder, we all became writers!
Nice to meet another “only,” Ilona – and thanks so much for stopping by!
Hi Karen: Love the adventure that inspired your book. Looks like the cover captured everything you hoped for!
Gini, thanks so much for stopping by! Yes, I love the inspiration of traveling.