. . . Locals whisper of the bayou’s thin places, where boundaries blur, and the rift distorts between fact and folklore. . .
Wild Women Authors is pleased to feature Karen Hulene Bartell
and Blue Dog, a contemporary novel of suspense and a touch of the
paranormal, a current release out of the Wild Rose Press.
First up is Deirdre “Dare” Doyle, a budding
PhD candidate and explorer of many facets of the Louisiana bayou.
Good morning, Dare. Thank you for joining us.
Let’s begin with you telling us a bit about Blue Dog. It is the story of my summer from hell…the
two—not three months I’d been promised—but two months to
complete/defend my dissertation to keep my job as adjunct professor and
nurse my aunt as she recovers from her rotator cuff operation. If my toxic ex isn’t
sabotaging me, a Louisiana hurricane and a bayou shapeshifter are threatening
me. As if that isn’t enough, a seductive
ranger’s competing for the little time I do have.”
Sounds like the typical, well-rounded life of
a busy grad student. Not. What made you choose being a professor of
Environmental Geography for a profession/career? In a nutshell…I wanted to be just like my
favorite aunt, who’s always been more than an aunt. Kim was a second mother. Growing
up, I spent more time with her than my parents, who were always on the road
conducting fieldwork. They believed providing was the same as parenting. They
always thought they could postpone their time with me until a car accident kept
them away permanently.
She was my role model. She was my anchor. In
fact, her house was—is—the closest thing to a home I’ve ever known, and I
wanted to follow in her footsteps…be an Environmental Geography professor just
like her.
Knowing what you know now, if you had it to
do over again, would you stick with being an Environmental Geography professor
or do something different? Funny
you should ask. Recently, Kim paraphrased Marilyn Monroe, saying, ‘A career is
wonderful, but you can’t curl up with it on a cold night. I want you to be
happy, and to do that, your life needs a balance between goals and
relationships.
When I asked if her life had been happy, a
tear trickled down her cheek. ‘My life’s been good, fulfilling, but I wouldn’t
call it complete, either. What I’m trying to say is, don’t be so single-minded
that you don’t leave room for relationships…There’s more to life than work.
Work to live, don’t live to work. Don’t confuse a career with your identity.’
And that conversation made me reassess my relationship with Clay.”
What is your biggest fear? My biggest fear depends on the day of the
week. If I’m not worried about losing my job as adjunct professor or if my toxic
ex isn’t sabotaging my dissertation with his sped-up timeline, I’m concerned about
my aunt’s mood swings and side effects from her post-surgery pain meds. Other
days, I’m terrified of the shapeshifter stalking me or whether I’m making the
right choice regarding Clay. But my greatest fear is being in the direct path
of the Category 5 hurricane making landfall.
With all that going on, who is your favorite
fictional character and why? Scarlett
O’Hara is my favorite fictional character because she always kept going, no
matter what wrenches life threw at her.
What is the best piece of advice you ever
received? Aunt Kim’s advice,
‘Work to live, don’t live to work. Don’t confuse a career with your identity.’
Thanks for
taking the time out of a busy and fulfilling schedule, Dare. Now we’d like to
chat with your creator, Karen Hulene Bartell.
Which writer or character[s], from either
books or movies, [or both] have had a major impact on your writing? I have to agree with Dare’s choice: Scarlett
O’Hara and, of course, Margaret Mitchell, her creator.
With regard to research for Blue Dog,
where did you start? And, did that lead you down different paths, thereby
changing the original concept? Many
years ago, I became concerned with the ecological issues surrounding the
Atchafalaya Basin. I started by researching the environmental impacts online,
found references to rougarous, then attended the Rougarou Festival in Houma,
Louisiana. Locals whom I chatted with in the Cajun country gave me far more
insights than Googling. What evolved is (I hope) an entertaining story that
highlights the plight of Louisiana’s bayous and its residents.
And it certainly did that! Tell us a bit
about your publisher. How did you hear about them; what influenced you to
submit to them? I first
approached The Wild Rose Press in 2017 with my manuscript Wild Rose Pass.
Honestly, it was the similarity of the names that caught my attention. But after
nine years and six books with them, they’ve become my publishing home.
How is the submission process; what is the
turn-around time from date of query to date of release? Largely dependent on the editor, the
turn-around time has diverged quite a bit. I think Wild Rose Pass and my
previous book Indigo took the longest—roughly two years each, but Blue
Dog (editor Ally Robertson) has
been the fastest turn-around from query/submission to release date—about four
months, if that.”
What are you reading right now? I’m currently reading Night Magic by Leigh
Ann Henion and The Giver by Lois Lowry. Each is the recommendation for a
separate book club—one environmental, and one social.
What's next for you? My [current] WIP is tentatively entitled Once
in a Blue Moon. This suspense romance is the third in the Cryptid Charisma
series and is set near Caddo Lake, along the North Texas/Louisiana border,
where sightings of wood apes and bigfoot are regularly reported—and I kid
you not!
Having read and thoroughly enjoyed Blue Dog,
we can’t wait for this one. Thank you, Karen, for your understanding and
patience with getting this blog visit up and running. We appreciate you more
than you’ll ever know. KHD/vl
To learn more about Blue Dog and the
stories Karen Hulene Bartell creates go to:
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/
AUTHORSdb:
https://authorsdb.com/community/17847-karen-hulene-bartell
To purchase Blue Dog, go to:
Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H5X15M1P/thewildrosepr-20
Apple Books
(iTunes) - https://books.apple.com/us/book/blue-dog/id6781672441
Universal Link - https://books2read.com/u/3yqjrZ
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