Please help me welcome today’s guest, Karina Bartow…
Please tell us a little about yourself, where are you from? Where do you live now? Family? Pets?
I still live in the same small town in northern Ohio where I grew up. My house is run by a very charming yet opinionated parakeet!
Where did you get the idea for Undercover Babymoon?
A friend, who’s always hitting me up with ideas for stories, suggested I set a mystery on a cruise ship. I don’t really welcome suggestions about what I write unless it’s in a professional capacity, especially from this friend, who doesn’t typically offer the most serious tips! For a change, however, he made me perk up my ears. Instead of mentally discarding the notion, I filed that one away, waiting for the right opportunity to act on it. Since my family went on one voyage years earlier, I had experience I could tap into to make it realistic, which added to the viability of the prospect.
Why did you choose this genre?
This was the fourth mystery I wrote, and I’ve grown to love the genre. I enjoy the opportunity to implement red herrings and twists and turns. I like playing with readers’ minds!
What do you want readers to come away with after they read your book?
With all of my books, I always want readers to be entertained, first and foremost, but I also hope they feel the same emotions as the characters. In The Unde(a)feated Detective Series—which follows a deaf detective—I include a lot of experiences and stigmas disabled people have to rise above, so I hope readers learn from some of those lessons in the process.
What genre have you never written that you’d like to write?
I’ve considered sci-fi, specifically time travel. Never excelling in science class, though, I doubt I have enough brain power!
If you were stranded on a deserted island and you could have 3 (inanimate) objects, what would they be?
A Bible, jug of iced mocha, and my mp3 player.
What celebrity would you most like to be stranded on an island with?
Robin Williams.
What do you want your tombstone to say?
She died with her high heels on!
What character in your book are you least likely to get along with?
Camille, the next door neighbor. She’s a nosey phony but a blast to write!
Who is the most famous person you have ever met?
Joey McIntyre of New Kids on the Block.
How did you come up with the title?
I was struggling with it, but I was patient, figuring it’d manifest eventually. A friend was talking about planning a vacation and mentioned a website named Undercover Tourist. Undercover Babymoon clicked right into place!
Thank you for being my guest, Karina…I enjoyed getting to know you. Please tell us about your book…
Excerpt:
Gus rocked back in his seat, as he always did while contemplating. “And if it was, then it’s out of our jurisdiction. That ship’s on international waters, so anything that happens after it docks isn’t even the country’s duty. You guys just need to do what you can here to make sure our people are safe, even if you can’t solve this murder. Meanwhile, I’ll make some calls to the Coast Guard and Border Patrol to alert them of our suspicions about a drug trafficking operation.”
“Logan’s roommate on the ship said they had a few days between voyages, so this would be the ideal time to scope it out,” Cael said.
Minka agreed with his resolution, hoping the feds would uncover something. No detective wanted to accept a case going unsolved, and up to this point, she thankfully hadn’t had to. Now that she was in Homicide, the possibility became greater, and deep down, she figured the day would come.
An hour later, Gus reported that Emmett’s statement about the drugs didn’t give Border Patrol or even the DEA enough to launch an investigation. Neither agency received any other tips about the ship or crew. Plus, Emmett’s condition didn’t give the claim much credence, and even assuming he was correct, the words were uttered on land by men who might not have any ties to the ship.
On their own yet again, Minka and Cael combed through Logan’s phone for something that hinted to drugs or his secret, but the superheroes remained their only grounds for suspicion. With no leads emerging the rest of the morning, they took longer lunch breaks than usual. Minka spotted an issue of The Miracle of Motherhood magazine she’d bought at the café a few days ago and took it with her to peruse it, skimming an article on the latest nursery fashions. After she highlighted a couple of ideas, she flipped to the next write-up, which shared ways to enjoy your second trimester. With Cael seated across from her in the break room, she had to joke with him about it.
“Guess I’m not on trend. Chasing after killers isn’t ‘the thing to do’ during my second trimester.”
“Bogus article!”
She giggled, browsing through what she was supposed to be doing, including indulging in spa days and wellness classes. With the busy life she led, all of the luxurious suggestions amused her. When her eyes crossed the words “Take a Babymoon”, she initially kept her cynicism intact, until an idea occurred to her. She put it down and told her partner, “I need a babymoon!”
Buy links:
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About the Author:
Karina Bartow hails from Northern Ohio. Though born with Cerebral Palsy, she’s never allowed her disability to define her. Rather, she’s used her experiences to breathe life into characters who have physical limitations, but like her, are determined not to let them stand in the way of the life they want. Her works include Husband in Hiding, Forgetting My Way Back to You, Brother of Interest, Wrong Line, Right Connection, Accidental Allies and Undercover Babymoon. She may only be able to type with one hand, but she writes with her whole heart!
Author Alicia Dean 