Win a $25 GC: Fox Tale by Karen Hulene Bartell

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. A randomly drawn winner will be awarded a $25 Amazon/BN gift card. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Who would play you in a film of your life?

Hopefully, Dame Helen Mirren would play me in a film of my life. She’s such an amazing actress, who’s earned the “Triple Crown of Acting”: an Academy Award, an Emmy Award, and a Tony Award, not to mention a Golden Globe and SAG Award for best performance for an actress.

That she neither fights aging, nor attempts to conceal the wrinkles appeals to me. She celebrates her long, full life and welcomes each day.

I love her advice as told to told Britain’s HELLO! Magazine: “That feeling of, ‘This is my space, I’m taking it and filling it up’ makes an enormous difference. So as you travel through life, keep taking your space and don’t let anyone else take it. There’s no one else in the world like you.”

Growing older is part of life. Mirren said our culture needs to change our vocabulary, so we emphasize maturing rather than aging.

Have you ever read or seen yourself as a character in a book or a movie?

When I was thirteen, I wanted to be just like Scarlett O’Hara! Luckily, I (somewhat) grew up.

What is the single most powerful challenge when it comes to writing novel?

Ugh! Marketing is the nightmare to the dream of writing! Promoting my books is the hell to the heaven of authoring them. I’d much rather keep “plugging away” at finishing a chapter than “plugging” myself on social media.

What do you consider your biggest failure?

Not learning to play piano was possibly my biggest failure. My mother taught me when I was five, and I learned to play tolerably well—for a five-year old. However, we moved frequently during my childhood, and we didn’t have a piano again until I was thirteen. By that time, I had forgotten how to play it. I did not like the repetitive scales at all, and I found it difficult to relearn. As a result, I let a perfect opportunity slip through my fingers.

Heights terrify Ava. When a stranger saves her from plunging down a mountain, he diverts her fears with tales of Japanese kitsune—shapeshifting foxes—and she begins a journey into the supernatural.

She’s attracted to Chase, both physically and metaphysically, yet primal instincts urge caution when shadows suggest more than meets the eye.

She’s torn between Chase and Rafe, her ex, when a chance reunion reignites their passion, but she struggles to overcome two years of bitter resentment. Did Rafe jilt her, or were they pawns of a larger conspiracy? Are the ancient legends true of kitsunes twisting time and events?

Read an Excerpt

I applied my makeup with an artist’s hand, blending three shades of eyeshadow and going heavy on the mascara. Then I slipped into the black cocktail dress I’d bought for the occasion--a fusion of chic and slutty.

Wish I knew what Rafe planned for my birthday. Dinner at an upscale restaurant? Pub food at a sports bar?

“A surprise,” was all he’d said.

What’s the fine line between dressed to kill and overdressed? Glancing at the mirror, I glimpsed the exposed décolletage, then examined my naked left hand. More importantly, is tonight the night? After dating for three years, the conversation had finally turned to rings and weddings, and with graduation a month away, I was eager to take the next step.

At six o’clock sharp, I sat by the door, butterflies fluttering in my belly.

Ten minutes passed, fifteen. I texted him. An hour later, I called. When he didn’t pick up, I left a voicemail.

At eight o’clock, I checked my email. No messages, no texts--radio silence.

At nine o’clock, I removed my makeup, the black, smoky taupe, mauve, and greige streaks on the cotton pad mirroring my mood. After showering, I picked at soggy leftovers as I studied my bare left hand. Leftovers…

When the phone dinged, I flinched. Rafe?

Mia--Guess who’s at Tootsie’s? And Rafe’s not alone. What’s going on?--

I sat back, stunned. He wouldn’t break up with me on my birthday--without even the courtesy of telling me--would he?

About the Author:

Author of the Trans-Pecos and Sacred Emblem series, Karen is a best-selling author, keynote speaker, wife, and all-around pilgrim of life, who writes multicultural, offbeat love stories. Born to rolling-stone parents who moved often, 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.

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