Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Karen Bartell & Her New Release The Keys: Voice of the Turtle


Please welcome Karen Hulene Bartell, author of several paranormal romances. She’s going to introduce us to The Keys: Voice of the Turtle, which releases today from the Wild Rose Press. It is now available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Karen, can you tell us about the book?



Thank you, M. S. Spencer, for inviting me to your blog! It’s a pleasure to chat with you and your readers any time, but especially today, the day The Keys: Voice Of The Turtle is being released.

The setting for this mainstream fantasy is the Florida Keys, specifically Marathon and Key West. Why the Keys? Their raw beauty, magnificent sea-turtles, colorful buccaneer history, as well as the lure of buried treasure and the Keys’ bigger-than-life residents, like Earnest Hemingway, all captured my imagination, and all would play a role.

Key West is a town that doesn’t sleep. The city island is a continuous party that starts at breakfast with cafe con leche, Cuban toast, and mimosas. The festivities runs throughout the day in bistros, pubs, brasseries, or beside food-carts vending conch fritters and pink shrimp scampi. It reaches full swing at Mallory Square’s Sunset Celebration with to-go cups in hand and then continues long into the night on a Duval Crawl.

Key West is a wide-open town that’s historically attracted pirates and wreckers. Today, the island’s sheer beauty, tropical vibes, and distinct culture draw vacationers, sailors, sun-lovers, and mavericks, as well as real-estate developers and hoteliers, who also play dark roles in The Keys: Voice of the Turtle.

The Keys: Voice Of The Turtle, by Karen Hulene Bartell

Date of release: August 14, 2019
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press, Inc.
Series: Sacred Emblem
Genre: Mainstream Fantasy
Pagination: 328 pages
Heat rating: Sweet

Blurb:

Hours after arriving in the Florida Keys to help her cousin Keya create a turtle preserve, Ruth discovers a washed-up body and not one, but two apparitions—Maita, the angry victim's spirit, and Bart, a swashbuckling ghost. Ruth's curious ability to connect with the ghosts may help them move on, but how?

Keya is in a probate battle over her turtle-nesting beach. Land-hungry relatives want it bulldozed and developed. Like Ruth, she has a special gift—she can talk to animals. Between Ruth's help and Keya's unique ability, they work to save the property, but is it too late?
Can Keya save her beloved turtles? Can Ruth find Maita's murderer or help Bart solve his 400-year-old mystery? There's more than meets the eye to Keya's land. Add in a dashing sailor who believes in her, and Keya may have more than she bargained for…


Excerpt:

 ~ Key West—Cayo Hueso—Island of Bones ~

“Conveying this land to the turtles would be my way of leaving the world a better place.” She turned toward Ruth. “Does that make sense?”
Ruth nodded and gazed at Keya as if for the first time. Her cousin’s intentions were clear. “But legally, how can you will the property to the turtles?”
“Easy. I leave it to the Turtle Refuge.” Keya laughed inwardly as they meandered along the beach. “And this is where you come in. When you’re writing the brochure, add a few paragraphs about planned giving and charitable bequests…” Her words broke off as Keya stared as if in a trance.
Ruth looked at her. “What’s wrong?”
Her hand shaking, Keya pointed to a shady patch of beach half hidden by sand dunes. A lifeless hand lay tangled in seaweed, its fingernails broken and bloodied.
Racing behind the sandbanks to help, Ruth skidded to a halt, her heels digging into the sand. A woman’s bloated body lay staring at the sun, her eyes opaque and unseeing. “Do you recognize her?”
“No.” Keya shook her head as the cat gingerly approached, sniffing and meowing. “But Earnestine said she smells familiar.”
Two hours later, the police left, and Keya turned to Ruth. “How about a mojito?”
Earnestine cocked her head and stiffened as she growled in her throat.
“Knock, knock,” called a man’s voice.
Ruth flinched at the sound.
“Who’s there?” called Keya, her tone curt.
A tall, thin man wearing khakis and a nautical polo shirt waved from the property line next door. Then he stepped over the low row of pilings and picked his way through the thorny pyracantha bushes that served as a boundary between the properties. After pointing to the house behind him, he brushed his salt-and-pepper hair from his eyes. “I’m your next-door neighbor, Gerald Granger, but call me Gerry. Hope this isn’t an inopportune time to introduce myself.”
“I didn’t realize anyone lived there.” Her smile stiff, Keya stood, seeming to gather her shaken nerves about her like a flowing kaftan.




Amazon eBook: https://amzn.to/2XV2wO1
Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/2yfSB7b  
Barnes & Noble NOOK Book: https://bit.ly/2YFHWgQ
Barnes & Noble Paperback: https://bit.ly/2yuBEWO

Karen Hulene Bartell
About the Author:

Author of the Sacred Emblem, Sacred Journey, and Sacred Messenger series, Karen is a best-selling author, motivational keynote speaker, wife, and all-around pilgrim of life. She writes multicultural, offbeat love stories steeped in the supernatural that lift the spirit. 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. Wanderlust inherent, Karen enjoyed traveling, although loathed changing schools. 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 Hill Country with her husband Peter and her “mews”—three rescued cats and a rescued *Cat*ahoula Leopard dog.

Contacts:

8 comments:

Mary Morgan said...

Wow! You've sold me on the book and Key West, Karen! Wishing you all the best with your new release!

JENNIFER WILCK said...

Congratulations on your new release!

CB Clark said...

Sounds like a terrific read! Thanks for sharing. Best of luck on your new release.

Sandra Dailey said...

Happy Release Day, Karen. This book sounds so intriguing. Good luck and great sales.

C.Becker said...

What an interesting premise for a story! Good luck on your book and enjoy this special release!

Karen Hulene Bartell said...

Thank you SO much for stopping by! Can't tell you how much I appreciate your well-wishes!

AND one of you will be the lucky winner of the draw to receive a copy of "The Keys: Voice of the Turtle" in your preferred format: epub, mobi, or pdf!

Thank you again! Karen

M. S. Spencer said...

Thanks to all for reading. If Karen doesn't have the winner's email she'll post it here--so check back! Thanks Karen for sharing and good luck with the release.

Barbara Bettis said...

Happy Release Day, Karen! Love the sound of your book. I can't wait to read it:)