Kissing Kin by Karen Hulene Bartell

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Welcome to It's Raining Books. If you could apologize to someone in your past, who would it be?
I would apologize to me, for not always being true to myself.

If you could keep a mythical / paranormal creature as a pet, what would you have?
If I could keep a paranormal creature as a pet, I would keep a fox--more specifically, a Japanese Kitsune. Why? Because April 8, my latest novel, Fox Tale, is being released. To write that paranormal romance, I had to research these supernatural foxes that can shapeshift and work time shifts, and I became intrigued.

Are Kitsunes real? Read one person’s opinion: “Most Japanese live in concrete canyons, and rational university educations replace superstition. Still, fox stories persist through theater, festivals, language, and literature…Even today, some believe in fox possession.”

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 are the best and worst pieces of writing advice you ever received?

I’ve received very little writing advice. However, I started life as an actor and received an immense amount of advice for that career. The best advice I received was to keep at it--acting, in that case, but the same words apply to writing. Keep at it. Don’t quit. Keep honing your craft and, eventually, you’ll succeed.

The worst advice I’ve received was from an editor--translation: a frustrated author--who attempted to appropriate my novel by overwriting my style with hers.

Are the experiences in Kissing Kin based on someone you know, or events in your own life?

To some extent, everything I write is based on my experiences and my reactions to events. In the case of Kissing Kin, I am enamored of the mountains and deserts of west Texas. Its isolated areas, abandoned ranches, and long-forgotten family cemeteries give rise to my imagination. So much joy, heartache, and history has taken place in these arid miles that the past cries out to me, and I weave my actual experiences with historical events and imagined outcomes.

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?

Read an 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?

About the Author:

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.

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

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