Undeveloped Memories – Karina Bartow – Guest Post #NewRelease

Hello, friends, I am thrilled to welcome Karina Bartow to my blog today to talk about her new mystery, “Undeveloped Memories!” I’ll step aside and let Karina tell you all about it!

Thank you, Jan. I am excited to be here and share my new book with your followers!

Yesterday, The Wild Rose Press released my seventh novel, Undeveloped Memories. The plot follows a photographer who finds an undeveloped roll of film that belonged to her uncle. She processes it in his darkroom, and it avails her to a whole new side of his life she never knew about.

In 2025, I realize the concept of film is almost jarring to many, as it has long been replaced by digital formats. In fact, I recently mentioned the story to a classroom of fourth and fifth graders, and I had to explain the very notion of taking a picture without being able to see what it captured immediately. While I don’t consider myself a historical writer by any means, this is the second book I’ve written about so-called obsolete technology; in 2022, I released Wrong Line, Right Connection, which centers around a switchboard operator.

Why would a 30-something Millennial like me enjoy contriving tales about old-fashioned technology?

I’ve never been a history buff and only recently began to read period works. Nonetheless, I’ve grown to appreciate the simpler eras and what they fostered among people. Sure, the implements back then were inconvenient and time-consuming, which is why newer innovations replaced them. Still, I’d say that, in a lot of ways, they bred more patience and socialization, both because they didn’t yield instant gratification as well as how they necessitated people to depend on one another to a larger degree.

Along with that, I feel a personal connection to these outdated methods. In the case of Wrong Line, Right Connection, the protagonist was inspired by a cherished friend who used to be a switchboard operator in the 1930’s. Undeveloped Memories hit even closer to home, with my mom losing a roll of film after a special occasion.

My family has always been just about the last people among our inner circle to adopt the latest technology! Whether it be for financial reasons or our living in a rural community, we typically upgrade when we have no other choice or when the older generation of models are being clearanced out. For example, the account of my mom’s lost film happened in 2003, when quite a few friends already had digital cameras.

In my younger years, this used to irritate me, as I yearned to keep up with everyone else. With maturity, however, I’ve come to realize how much that trend of being trendless benefited me. For one thing, it made me more appreciative of what I had because I wasn’t guaranteed a new, shiny gadget every year. Further, it taught me priorities and that the old isn’t always worthless.

At this point, I don’t have any specific plans about future books that center on oldies but goodies. With Undeveloped Memories, though, I hope readers enjoy the nostalgia factor and get lost in the slower pace, when photos weren’t instantly available but well worth the wait…even if it’s fifty years!

PURCHASE LINK

BLURB:

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.

When an opportunity provides her the chance to peek into the past, she retraces his footsteps through the Alaskan countryside. Will she figure out the whole picture of this unfinished love story? And might the trail of breadcrumbs lead her to capture a love of her own?  

PURCHASE LINKS:

AMAZON

https://wildrosepress.com/product/undeveloped-memories

https://www.walmart.com/search/?query=9781509262908

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/undeveloped-memories-karina-bartow/1147667550?ean=9781509262908

SHORT EXCERPT:

SHORT EXCERPT**Optional** (No More than 500 Words and Keep it PG-13)

In preparation for the cold snap, she searched for her warmer quilt, the one cherished possession missing from her room. Her mom made the pastel blanket for her, starting it while pregnant and not completing it until Lorelei grew out of her crib. She asked Uncle Reed its whereabouts, but his memory failed him in that area. She hoped he stashed it away someplace safe, rather than the alternative possibility that her brother snatched it for one of his kids.  

She did a second sweep of her closet before scouring through the others on the main floor. When none of them presented it, she tried the attic, where her sentimental uncle stored a lot of the family’s keepsakes. She started her quest in the boxes that held select belongings of her mom and dad’s. On countless occasions, she lingered in the photo albums, trinkets, and the sparse collection of clothes her grandma gave them after settling the estate. With dust covering them and the order of their contents the same as she left them, however, he clearly didn’t disturb them.

She checked some of the other boxes, such as the ones where he secured her old toys, but they, too, appeared untouched. Running out of options, she gave up on the meaningful spots, many of which would be hard for the older man to access. She reverted to practicality, treading back to the alcove beside the stairs. The area didn’t harbor many boxes but primarily stowed old furniture he should’ve just hauled away.

Lorelei noticed a blue tweed suitcase she never remembered Uncle Reed using, and despite her doubts, she knelt down for a gander. The fabric on it didn’t show dust like the other surfaces, but its stale odor indicated its lack of use. Her logical brain needled her for even bothering to unzip the case, but she proceeded. Right before she opened the lid all the way, she caught a glimpse of her blanket on a rocking chair behind a nearby desk, but a glance into the suitcase commandeered her interest.

The canister lying in the shadows netted her attention first, as she guessed it to be from the sixties or seventies. Meticulous Reed Carmichael kept track of his unused rolls so as to not waste any, and she wondered why he missed this one. Fetching it, she spied the envelope in the opposite corner and picked it up, too. She extracted the photos inside and flipped through the stack. Frame after frame captured devastated houses, roads, and landmarks, along with a splattering of majestic mountains, lakes, and glaciers. One featured a wooden sign that was split in two but still bore the name Chenega Village.

All at once, she understood Gabe’s statement about Uncle Reed being a resource for the story of the Alaska earthquake: he witnessed it first-hand. But how?

And why wouldn’t he disclose that to her?

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 a mix of mysteries and love stories. She may only be able to type with one hand, but she writes with her whole heart!

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