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Courage is fear holding on a minute longer -George S Patton
KarinaBartow.com
I am privileged to introduce Karina Bartow, who is today’s guest writer on StPA. In this interview, Karina writes about publishing, her latest book, plus what she enjoys most about blogging and creative writing. Karina’s extensive research, curious mind and the fact that she types her novels with only one hand means she is someone who truly inspires me to make more of each day.
Her debut novel, Husband in Hiding, was accepted for publication in 2015. Despite a variety of professional setbacks, six more of my novels have been traditionally published in the decade since then, primarily by The Wild Rose Press.
In this interview, Karina generously shares an excerpt from her latest book, Undeveloped Memories.
Amanda: Can you tell me about your book Undeveloped Memories and what sparked you to write this story?
Karina: The story was inspired by my family’s dilemma when my mom lost a roll of film from a special event. When I was going through old pictures and hoping to find it somewhere, I started thinking about what would happen if somebody in the next generation came upon it and what they may find out about us that they never knew. I chose to make it about the Alaskan earthquake because a friend of mine survived it as a kid and shared her story with me.
Undeveloped Memories follows photographer Lorelei Carmichael’s quest into the past. She discovers a roll of undeveloped film that belonged to her uncle, who was also a photographer, and when she processes it, the pictures show her another side of his life that she never heard him discuss. Through the course of her personal investigation, she learns that he travelled to Alaska in 1964, during the aftermath of a massive earthquake that shook the state…and he wasn’t alone.
Amanda: Did the plot/characters/theme change during the writing process?
Karina: I never do much planning with my plots, being a “pantser” all the way, but this took several evolutions. I wrote it over a three-year span that had its share of personal challenges, so they kind of changed my approach here and there, even though the story has nothing to do with those real-life struggles. My “big reveal” scene also transformed a couple of different times, mainly based on research I did that crafted it.
Amanda: What makes your book stand out?
Karina: Since its release last September, the feedback I’ve heard multiple times now is readers’ fascination with the earthquake. It’s pretty overlooked in history, and even I didn’t know much about it until my friend discussed her experience. The research I did helped me to present a vivid account, and I guess that translated to readers, with a few coming away from it wanting to do some research on their own.
Amanda: Can you please describe your process for discovering the initial creative idea for your book?
Karina: Just about every story I write begins with a “What if” such and such happened. My initial “What if” concerned the lost roll of film, like I mentioned earlier, but when I brought in the element of the earthquake, so many scenarios spiralled off of that.
Amanda: How do you approach researching a topic you aren’t initially familiar with?
Karina: With Alaska in general and the earthquake itself, I took a step-by-step approach. I did quite a bit of research at the start, but I left certain topics to study as I reached the points when I needed them. That way, I had the pertinent information fresh in mind, and I didn’t overwhelm my brain with too many facts early on. [Amanda: Excellent advice, Karina]
Amanda: How would you manage creative block?
Karina: If I don’t know where I’m going, I typically just take a break for either a few hours or a day or two. Those little respites clear my mind enough to get a foothold on the direction I want to take. A good ride on my golf cart does the trick, too!
Amanda: What do you think is the most effective way to grow a writing audience?
Karina: Growing an audience is hard, especially with how saturated the book world is now. I’ve done my best with online marketing, as well as attending book events throughout the year to reach new readers.
Amanda: What is the best advice for an emerging author regarding the publication process?
Karina: Don’t give up! It may sound cliché, but resilience and persistence are must-haves in all stages of your career.
Here Karina shares her thoughts on blogs and creative writing.
Amanda: What do you enjoy most about creative writing?
Karina: I love the fact that there are no rights or wrongs. Everyone has their own process and imagination, so you have a lot of room to put your personal stamp on your work. Sure, we might get nudges from our editors to change this or that, but even then, we have the opportunity to make it our own and just enjoy the whole experience.
Amanda: What do you find the most frustrating aspect of blogging or creative writing?
Karina: Blogging didn’t come naturally to me and wasn’t something I set out to do without some persuasion from my publisher. I love creative writing because it’s an escape from real life, but blogging is the opposite. It took me a while to even decide what kind of topics I wanted to highlight on a blog, and coming up with new ideas is probably the hardest part.
Amanda: How do you motivate your writing mojo?
Karina: I try to brainstorm subjects that I’m passionate about and think others may enjoy.
Amanda: What is something you wish more people knew about blogging?
Karina: It can be a therapeutic outlet that other people can relate to.
Amanda: How do you measure the success of a blog beyond page views?
Karina: I have friends who are loyal readers, and I really appreciate it when they tell me how a certain line struck them or how the post overall helped them work through something. It’s also nice, especially with my writing-based posts, when I’m alerted that someone has read one months or years after I wrote it. I’m glad that the tips I share are still relevant and effective.
Amanda:How do you balance creating high-quality content and screen time while maintaining a busy life?
Karina: I schedule almost all of my social media posts days in advance so that I don’t have to break off what I’m doing in real time. With blogging, I schedule most of them weeks or more out. Since the topics can be tricky to choose on a regular basis, I make a note of prospective ones as they occur to me, and I write several at a time while I’m between scenes or chapters in my books.
That way, I can stay focused on the book for a good while without having to compose a blog on
the spot.
Karina kindly shares an excerpt from her latest book Undeveloped Memories below.
Reed Carmichael hoisted his blue tweed suitcase onto his bed and unfastened the zipper. He hadn’t drunk a sip of alcohol, but the faint whiz of the metal teeth crashed in his mind as if he were hungover. The tiny, insignificant pulley slid across its track without any effort, oblivious of what its three-second journey meant to his life’s trajectory. As it unlocked each clasp, his memories of the past two months—along with the dreams born during that time—ripped apart in similar succession. Like the inanimate object’s one-way course, his future stood in front of him with a single path, and he couldn’t turn back by his own accord. Numb, he sorted through his clothes inside. He washed a load of laundry the day before, so most everything could go right into his closet. He emptied his thoughts while he performed the mundane task, blocking out the stories each garment could tell. He even sucked in his breath, not wanting to catch a whiff of the familiar scents remaining that would surely pierce his heart. Being August in Sedona, Arizona, he wouldn’t need any of the cold-weather gear he packed for a while, so he stashed all the flannel and sweaters into a trunk. He questioned why he bothered to cart home the heavy insulated boots he purchased, given he never headed farther north than Flagstaff in the wintertime. Truth be told, snow grew on him along his travels, and under different circumstances, he’d seek it out more often from now on. Considering the emotions that the ice crystals would evoke, though, he planned to avoid cold climates with more fervour than ever. His hazed state made the chore pass quickly, and he winced when he noted the stack of clothes had dwindled away. At the bottom of the case lay an envelope of photographs, alongside a canister of film. The roll it contained dwarfed all of his previous work, even if the shots on it wouldn’t net him the accolades he used to prize. He didn’t imagine they would meet the typical standards he held for his art, but he could only fathom the depths of his reverence for them. He once believed he loved photography that captured the unspoken messages of life and required contemplation to untangle them. In this instance, the prints would declare a message with sharp clarity. He just couldn’t decide if he’d be able to bear having that message stare back at him.
(Prologue, Undeveloped Memories)
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts on StPa, Karina. It gives our readers and creative writers an insight into what it takes to start, research and complete a successful novel.
The following quote was one Karina shares on her blog. I think it is particularly apt and shows a positive attitude towards adversity.
It is not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it. Lou Holtz.
Something we can all ponder about.
Since my original Shibuya post was published and reblogged, [I’d intended to write a comparative post], I’ve been fortunate to visit Japan, on two occasions, the latest six months ago. If you haven’t read the original post, things have changed since 2018/9 and not for the better, as I will explain.
This year, Japan is experiencing a massive tourist boom.
As an outsider, I consider the Japanese people to have mastered the art of moving a huge population. Particularly at train stations, like Shinjuku and the Shibuya Crossing Station, people travel in a neat and orderly fashion. They are astonishingly considerate, efficient pedestrians.
With so dense a population, it’s intense, but it works. But lately, there’s been a problem at popular spots, like Shibuya and Chureito.
When visiting Shibuya Crossing, the busiest pedestrian crossing in the world, I recommend L’Occitane Cafe, for a light meal or drink and the perfect spot to overlook Shibuya crossing without the pedestrian crush. You do have to queue for a seat, (common in the larger Japanese cities) and, it’s worth it if you want the best way to experience Shibuya.
Starbucks is also located at Shibuya, but is far too crowded, mostly with tourists, as you can see in this photo.
From L’Occitane’s higher vantage point, you have a perfect view of Shibuya, without the crowds. You can relax and watch the spectacle unfold when the traffic lights on all five roads turn red.
Whilst dining there, I noted something.
I watched several folks cross towards the middle of the pedestrian crossing space, stop, and amid the crowd, a companion would begin filming them standing there, compiling a social media post. Some would dance, make funny faces or signs with their hands. Some would talk. They were having fun.
Who wasn’t having fun crossing were the businessmen and construction workers trying to cross over, or pedestrians trying to access the station entrance on the other side, as well as tourists trying to locate the famous Hachiko statue. But Japanese people are polite and they said nothing. But there are signs….
Japanese pedestrians do not suddenly stop to look at their phone, or retrieve something from their bag or film an Instagram post. If they do, they will more than likely move to the side, so that the human mass can proceed, without interruption. It come backs to manners, doesn’t it; to step out of the way and not block the forward movement of others? Yet some tourists appear oblivious.
This increasing problem in Japan is Instagrammers, or would-be influencers, people who want to build a profile in social media on Tiktok, who film segments at popular locations. It’s a shame that Japanese and foreign visitors are inconvenienced by audacious individuals taking liberties, just for clicks.
And it wasn’t just in Shibuya. More on this, below.
Japanese railway stations are crowded places and dragging luggage through there is a problem. One rarely sees Japanese people with luggage at these places. They take advantage of a internal and very efficient luggage transport system, Takkyubin or Ta-Q-Bin to transport their baggage from place to place, so you rarely see them lugging a suitcase through a crowded railway station. Sensible? Yeah!
I’ve used it, twice myself, to travel across cities in Japan. It is easily organized through your hotel, making for a more enjoyable travel between cities. Plus, it saves your back and blocking the movement of commuters in peak hour transits.
It is something I recommend to make your holiday easier for you and others.
Popping up in many tourists spots in Japan this year, are signs in English, stating NO FILMING. NO VIDEOS.
In visiting a beautiful Japanese Zen Garden in Kyoto, I noted a sign ‘No Filming, No Videos’ at the entrance. It wasn’t the first time I had seen this at shrines, but it was something new, something I’d not seen before in street food stalls in Ochiro, in Hakone, and tourism spots in Kyoto.
Japanese tourists after all, love taking photos. But filming and posing for videos, in some locations, ruins it for visitors who want to take a happy snap to remember their trip.
Could we not take a snap at the gorgeous garden?
Using her Japanese language skills, my cousin clarified that the Zen Garden operators did in fact permit snapshots, but did not want any visitors posing for videos or filming. It makes sense really.
If you come to Japan to experience the sublime cultural gardens and shrines, you do not want visitors, of any nationality, filming TikTok segments, preventing the enjoyment of others.
On my recent visit to the picture-postcard Chureito Pagoda, pictured above, the perfect weather brought out the very worst Instagram and TikTok offenders.
Use Common Sense, Manners and Always Ask Before Filming
Standing at the railing to take a holiday snap, I was harassed by a foreigner of unknown nationality. He demanded I move out of his way. He wanted to film a video in a public spot that he had claimed for himself. The absolute plum spot that everyone seeks out.
I have since cropped him out of my shot. [His arm is almost visible on the left of the photo]. At the time, my advice to him was to use the edit function on his smartphone and edit me out. I would be less than 10 seconds, the time it took to snap a couple of frames. and, it was a public place. He wasn’t impressed and repeated his demand that I move away. Having taken a photo, I did, move away.
But, for the next ten minutes, I watched him from a distance, curious to know what he was doing.
He was clearly undeterred by the long line of people waiting patiently in line for their chance at a holiday snap. He wasn’t a professional photographer. He was someone who owned a smart phone filming his girlfriend in differing poses, arms extended wide, up in the air, waving, close-ups and panoramic videos with accompanying audio gibberish, filming TikTok or some transient social media rubbish, all for likes or clicks, and all the while blocking the spot for others.
Such an inconsiderate fellow gives tourists a bad name. After that, I was not surprised that Japan has an increasing number of signs prohibiting filming. I wondered if I should carry one myself.
Of course, not all tourists are inconsiderate, but perhaps the considerate ones are an endangered species.
It doesn’t take long for the uninitiated to get their head around the rather logical Japanese transport system, however it’s negotiating the myriad of entrances and exits, at the stations themselves, that can be daunting for the novice traveller. Entering the wrong one, can leave you lost or disorientated. Google maps appears to work really […]
Shuffling through Shibuya
Please see the update to this post regarding 2026 by clicking here.
Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned. Peter Marshall
Adhering to the above adage, the older post shared below contains salient wisdom and commentary from 2017.
Timeless advice.
Thanks to author Karina Bartow for sharing this quote from Marshall.
An interview with author Karina Bartow, is coming up soon.
Karina wrote Undeveloped Memories, a sentimental story centered around the importance of family, and the impact that unexpected, life-changing events can have on one’s plans. Here is a snippet:
We assume we know everything there is to know about those who raised us…until we discover that we don’t!
Lorelei Carmichael returns home to check up on her aging uncle, but another investigation awaits her. An undeveloped roll of film, abandoned by her photographer uncle, beckons her attention. Also a photographer, she develops the images and discovers an Alaskan journey he never disclosed, alongside a woman and child.
Check back for more about this accomplished author.
