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—”
Buy Links:
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!
Views: 1
Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Contemporary Western Romance, Karen Hulene Bartell, Wild Rose Pass by Tena Stetler with 11 comments.
Wild Rose Pass by Karen Hulene Bartell
Give a warm welcome to Karen Hulene Bartell. It’s a pleasure to have you join us with a second guest, Cadence, from Wild Rose Pass. 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 Cadence, heroine of Wild Rose Pass. Last week we talked with Ben, the hero of Wild Rose Pass. In this second installment we’ll visit with Cadence, the heroin from the same book. Correct?
Thanks so much for hosting me on your blog. It’s a pleasure to be here> Yes, I’ve brought along Cadence, the heroine of Wild Rose Pass!
Cadence you’re up first, tell us who are you really?
“I’m Cadence McShane. Though I’m the daughter of the fort’s commander and expected to behave like a lady at all times, I’m a tomboy at heart, who wants adventures and challenges. I’m tired of the rounds of teas and dinner parties, parcheesi, and pinochle, I want to cantor out the fort’s gates and gallop across the Chihuahuan desert, a place with no prying eyes and no eavesdropping ears. I’m tired of being bridled, and I need something more to do than just fill my time. I want to accomplish something.
……Tell us three things we’d find if we looked under your bed?
You’d find books of poetry, my journals, and patterns for the convertible riding skirts I design that look like ordinary skirts at first glance, but that have flared pants to allow me to ride horses astride—not sidesaddle.
……What makes you laugh out loud?
Horseback riding and waltzing—I love to take off at a gallop and race my horse. I also love to dance until I’m breathless and dizzy.
……What makes you angry?
Condescending, patronizing, chauvinistic attitudes, where women are manipulated, controlled, and treated like hobbled horses or collared dogs on leashes.
……What do you sleep in at night?
I wear cozy flannel nightgowns in floral patterns with smocked bodices and necklines shirred with ribbon.
……Who were the biggest role models in your life?
My mother was the biggest role model in my life. She was always the consummate lady, but as I’ve recently discovered, she chose the safer path and lived her life with disappointment.
My father taught me to ride and encouraged—even applauded—my tomboy escapades as a child. Though I wasn’t a male heir to carry on the family name or military tradition—or if truth be told, the son he probably would have preferred—I always knew he cherished me. His love was implicit, and I never doubted his affection.
……What kind of man do you want to spend the rest of your life with?
I want someone who’s compassionate, kindhearted, and considerate, yet brave. I want someone who’s interested in more than military maneuvers or promotions and knows where to find natural treasures, like wild plums, pine nuts, pecans, or twinned-crystal calcite. I want someone who would treat me as an equal and a cherished fiancée.
……What kind of man would you never choose?
I have no patience for a man who’s condescending or solely focused on military advancement—who’d make me wonder if he were only marrying me to become my father’s son-in-law—his protégé—instead of my husband.
.…What is most important to you in life?
Freedom and independence are most important to me. I want new experiences, not a repetition of what I’ve always done. I want to live life, not sit idly, drinking tea and watching life pass me by. I need adventures and challenges.
……What is your biggest fear?
My biggest fear is that my entire future will be plotted out on a chart, where I’ll have no choices or options. I don’t want a neatly laid-out tactical maneuver of my husband’s design, and I don’t want my life to pass without my living it.
****
Karen, tell us a little about writing this story. Was it fun or difficult?
Writing Wild Rose Pass was a stretch for me because I’d never written in the Frontier, Western, or Historical genres before—no ghosts and nothing paranormal. Adding to my dilemma, the timeline was 1880 Texas, so every phrase they spoke, every idiom they used, every food they ate, every dress and uniform they wore, as well as the roles they played, all had to be double-checked for historical accuracy. Writing it was slow going.
And although romance is always a part of my novels, I’d never written a true “Romance” before, so I had to learn how to write from two points of view and speak in both the heroine’s and hero’s voices.
Still, it was fun. I enjoyed getting into the Old West mindset. Guess it reminds me of the old Westerns I used to watch as a kid 😉
Do your characters always act as you expect?
Usually, but not always. My characters definitely have minds of their own!
Are you a plotter, or fly (write) by the seat of your pants?
Hmmm…a little of both, I’d say, but mostly I fly by the seat of my pants. I write mini-plots on scraps of paper that lead to a scene’s conclusion, but I never know, from that scene to the next, what the next action will be until inspiration strikes.
I know that feeling myself. LOL
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?
My thoughts on Wild Rose Pass:
First let me say, I don’t usually read western romance, but this one hooked me from page one, a real page turner and I loved every moment of it!
Wild Rose Pass is an exciting tale of romance, second chances, and the rough & tumble Texas history set in frontier Times. Vivid details, which is something I love in a story. I enjoy being immersed in the details and the story so I feel like I am there with the detailed characters. This books fills the bill on all fronts. The details of customs/culture and mine-set of the day were spot on giving the tale historical resonance. Wild Rose Pass is an exhilarating western with high-stakes adventure and very satisfying ending. If you like tales of frontier days and western adventure, pick up this book today. You’ll love it.
Bonus – Recipes included of which I intend to try each one.
5-Stars from me!
A 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—”
Buy Links:
About the Author:
Karen is the author of the Trans-Pecos, Sacred Emblem, Sacred Journey, and Sacred Messenger series, she 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!
Views: 1
Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged 2880d, Frontier Romance, Historical Romance, Karen Hulene Bartell, Western, Wild Rose Pass by Tena Stetler with 5 comments.
Wild Rose Pass by Karen Hulene Bartell
Give a warm welcome to Karen Hulene Bartell, author of Wild Rose Pass, just released. 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 Wild Rose Pass.
Thanks so much for hosting me on your blog. It’s a pleasure to be here!
My pleasure. I see you’ve brought a guest along.
Yes, this is Ben the hero of Wild Rose Pass.
Great! Lets start with BEN, tell us about the real you—
Ben shakes his head with a reluctant laugh. “Not much to tell, ma’am. I just do the best I can. Someday, I hope to resign my commission, buy some land, settle down, marry, and raise a family, but for now, I follow my commanding officer’s orders and give an honest day’s work for a day’s wages.
Tell us three things we’d find if we looked under your bed?
“You’d find my Jeff Davis boots, a shoe-shine kit, and my Springfield .45 caliber ‘Trapdoor’ rifle.”
……What makes you laugh out loud?
“I’m a quiet man by nature, ma’am. I keep my feeling to myself, except”—hiding a grin, he dimples—“when I dance. Then, sheer enjoyment prevails.”
……What makes you angry?
“Brutalization, ma’am. I’ve seen enough on the frontier. Seeing its effects in ‘civilized’ society rubs me the wrong way. One thing I can’t abide is a woman beater.”
……What event in your past has left the most indelible impression on you?
“My earliest memory is watching the Comanches kill my father and brother.”
Ben speaks with disinterest—as if repeating a story he’s heard or keeping emotional distance.
“A roving band of Comanches raided my parents’ farm, burning the crops and torching the log cabin my pa had built with his own hands. Then using that same ax he’d used to cut the logs, they swung it into his back, breaking his spine and killing him. I never saw what happened to my mother, but as my brother ran away, they shot an arrow in his back. One Comanche slung me over his horse and rode back to camp, carrying me in front of him. At first, camp life was bad.”
Ben speaks in a slow monotone, as if the words conjure painful memories.
“The man beat me so often another Comanche took pity. He and his wife had three daughters but no son, so he traded me mula ensillada, for a mule and a saddle, and raised me as his own son.”
……What do you most value?
“Family, ma’am, because without family, what does a person have?”
……What do you sleep in at night?
“Long johns, ma’am. Being in the cavalry—especially now with the Indian Wars—I have to be ready to ride at a moment’s notice.”
……What is the type of woman you want to spend the rest of your life with?
“A strong woman, ma’am—a lead mare, a trail blazer—someone who thinks for herself and makes her own decisions. Then once she makes up her mind, she pins back her ears and stands her ground.”
……What do you consider most important in life?
“I’ve already told you, ma’am, family. To me, it’s more important than anything else. A person can always earn money. Livestock and goods can be replaced, but to my way of thinking, neither wealth nor position measures up to family because, without it, what does a person have?”
……What is your biggest secret?
“I’m in love with the captain’s daughter, ma’am, but she’s out of my class. She’s cultured and been educated out East. Besides, she’s West’s woman. He’s a West Point graduate, while I’m just a battlefield-promoted mustang. He shares family connections with both sides of her family and, as First Lieutenant, he outranks me.”
****
Author, Tell us a little about writing this story. Was it fun or difficult?
Writing Wild Rose Pass was a stretch for me because I’d never written in the Frontier, Western, or Historical genres before—no ghosts and nothing paranormal. Adding to my dilemma, the timeline was 1880 Texas, so every phrase they spoke, every idiom they used, every food they ate, every dress and uniform they wore, as well as the roles they played, all had to be double-checked for historical accuracy. Writing it was slow going.
And although romance is always a part of my novels, I’d never written a true “Romance” before, so I had to learn how to write from two points of view and speak in both the heroine’s and hero’s voices.
Still, it was fun. I enjoyed getting into the Old West mindset. Guess it reminds me of the old Westerns I used to watch as a kid 😉
Do your characters always act as you expect?
Usually, but not always. My characters definitely have minds of their own!
Are you a plotter, or fly (write) by the seat of your pants?
Hmmm…a little of both, I’d say, but mostly I fly by the seat of my pants. I write mini-plots on scraps of paper that lead to a scene’s conclusion, but I never know, from that scene to the next, what the next action will be until inspiration strikes.
Wild Rose Pass by Karen Hulene Bartell
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—”
Buy Links:
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! This is the first of a two parter, Karen will be back on April 7th with more surprises and another special guest! So please check back.
Views: 1
Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Historical Romance, Karen Hulene Bartell, Western, Wild Rose Pass by Tena Stetler with 17 comments.
