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Showing posts from March, 2020

Writing Spaces: Karen Hulene Bartell

Let's take a peek at the writing spaces of romance writer Karen Hurlene Bartell! In Tuesday’s post, I blogged about A Day in the Life of Karen , illustrating my <ahem> “methodical” approach to writing, while dealing with rescued cats and dogs, who share my space ;) Today, I’d like to show you that space—the cat-scratched, French-Provincial desk I hand-finished twenty-plus years ago, along with my desk mates, the “twins” (Marmalade and Habibi—Beloved in Arabic), the longhaired cat (Hui Gui, Chinese for Gray Ghost because we found him on Pentecost), and the catahoula leopard dog (Tory, short for Toreador because his brindle markings make him look like he’s wearing skin-tight toreador pants—and leopard because of his coat’s spots). I call the cats and the catahoula leopard dog my “mews” because, despite their interruptions, they stimulate my creativity. Most of my novels include dogs, cats, or horses, and my critters are the models for their literary counterparts. Marmal

A Day in the Life of Karen

Today, we get a glimpse into the furry life of romance writer Karen Hulene Bartell. On Thursday, we'll get a glimpse of her writing space, too! Thanks so much for hosting me on your blog. It’s a pleasure to be here! DAY IN THE LIFE OF KAREN and WILD ROSE PASS by Karen Hulene Bartell Welcome to my world—not normal by most standards—but my life as it is ;) An oversized cup of steaming coffee beside me, I sit at the cat-scratched, French-Provincial desk that I hand-finished twenty-plus years ago. As I focus on my work-in-progress, I re-read—aka edit—yesterday’s words, so the process leads my imagination back into the story. One of the twin tiger cats (litter siblings) climbs on my lap, interfering with the pull-out keyboard, while the other twin hisses at the longhaired cat in a territorial dispute over which lounges closest to me on the desk. Our catahoula leopard dog lazes on his bed nearby until I accidentally rustle a paper. Then he pounces on my lap to “retrieve

Activities for Sheltering in Place

We've entered a new stage of life for all of us worldwide this week. The coronavirus (COVID-19), which I will abbreviate as CV, has impacted us all, and we're just in the beginning stages of dealing with it here in the United States. I've always seen our country as being strong and resilient, but right now, the world is watching and we're whining about having to stay home with our kids. When did "home" become a bad place to be? Why aren't our homes our sanctuaries and safe places? [And yes, I'm well aware that there are homes out there that aren't so safe or happy, but this blog post isn't directed to those.] As I've watched this story unfold, I've seen countless memes and posts about things to do while we're "stuck at home." I've seen things like cleaning, organizing, binging on Netflix or family movies, homeschool, and as of last night, even putting out Christmas decorations. While none of these activities are

Preparing is NOT Panic

I’m not afraid of getting the Coronavirus, I’m not afraid of dying (if you’d like to know why, send me a note). I’m not panicked about the illness, not panicked about anything. I am concerned though, at the thought that I, or that anyone else, could be a carrier of this virus to my loved ones, without even knowing it, because of the germs picked up somewhere randomly. So yes, please wash your hands, cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze, and please, please stay home if you are sick. Now is NOT the time to go visiting, NOT the time to go shopping, NOT the time to party. Now is NOT the time to “push through” the sickness to be a superhero at work. IF YOU ARE SICK, STAY HOME. But I have been preparing, and will continue to prepare as the need arises. Not out of fear, but prudence. For the past couple of weeks, I’ve observed people on social media and in the public ridicule and mock people who decided to stock up in case of possible quarantine due to the Coron