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.
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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—”
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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!
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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.
Tena, thank you so much for hosting Cadence and me!
It’s my pleasure! Good luck with Wild Rose Pass! Can’t wait to read it, the book is next in line in my TBR list! Yippee!
A split skirt for riding astride? Girl, you are a daredevil. Good luck 🙂 I enjoyed the interview, Tena, Karen, and Cadence. Best of luck with the book, Karen.
Thank you, Barbara, for your chuckle – AND for stopping by! Appreciate your good wishes <3
Tena, thanks again for hosting us! Cadence is a character. And THANK YOU for making Wild Rose Pass your next book to read <3 Hope you enjoy it!