Tracy Ruckman

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...

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...