Title – Kissing Kin
Author – Karen Hulene Bartell
Genre – Paranormal Romance
Publisher – The Wild Rose Press
Book Blurb –
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-generation 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?
Kissing Kin 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?
****
How long did it take you to write Kissing Kin?
Kissing Kin has undergone several iterations. I began the first version in 2020–a storyline of two generations of the same family linked by Covid and (via journals) the Spanish Flu of 1918. However, publishers turned me down, saying readers were sick of pandemics. Time passed. Kissing Kin languished.
The second version would have been part of series set in Colorado. I changed the location, the names, the family connections, adapted the story to the series’ outline, and left out the flu. That rendering didn’t fly, either. Time passed. Kissing Kin languished.
My third attempt is the version being released today, which underwent further changes and required rewrites from the previous two iterations. Overall, I’ve been writing Kissing Kin for four years, but had the first version clicked, the process would have taken less than a year.
****
Buy Links –
UNIVERSAL LINK: https://books2read.com/u/boXl10
AMAZON: https://shorturl.at/iwEIJ
GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/204849593-kissing-kin
APPLE: https://books.apple.com/us/book/kissing-kin/id6475424012
BARNES & NOBLE: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/kissing-kin-karen-bartell/1144521766
THALIA: https://www.thalia.de/shop/home/artikeldetails/A1070849208
Author Biography –
Author of the Trans-Pecos, Sacred Emblem, Sacred Journey, and Sacred Messenger series, as well as Kissing Kin, Fox Tale, Wild Rose Pass, The Keys: Voice of the Turtle and more, Karen is a best-selling author, motivational keynote speaker, IT technical editor, wife, and all-around pilgrim of life. She writes multicultural, offbeat love stories steeped in the supernatural. 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. 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.
Social Media Links –
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
Alana Lorens, author 