Karen S. Bell’s ‘Walking with Elephants’ spotlights working mothers

Karen S. Bell’s contemporary women’s fiction novel, Walking with Elephants, draws on her 15 years in corporate America to explore workplace rivalry, marriage, and motherhood. The book has earned independent publishing recognition and is available in Kindle, paperback, and audiobook formats.

Why it matters: - Walking with Elephants centers the pressures working mothers face when career demands collide with family obligations, a theme that can resonate with readers navigating similar tradeoffs. - The novel frames those pressures through humor and workplace drama, making a familiar social issue more accessible.

What happened: - Karen S. Bell is promoting Walking with Elephants, a contemporary women’s fiction novel about Suze Hall, a middle-aged working mother of three. - Suze’s life starts to unravel when her longtime workplace rival, Wanda, becomes her new boss. - Suze’s husband, Bob, is preparing for a six-month sabbatical in Australia, which leaves Suze to handle more of the family’s daily needs. - Suze’s closest friend, Marcia, becomes absorbed in a new relationship. - David, Suze’s first love, returns at the same time Suze faces difficult professional decisions.

The details: - Bell drew on 15 years in corporate America for the novel’s workplace conflicts and family tensions. - Bell earned a master’s degree in mass communication from Oklahoma State University. - Before writing fiction, Bell worked as a theater critic and celebrity interviewer for a weekly tabloid in Jacksonville. - Bell later worked as a technical writer and editor in corporate America. - The novel examines how employees with family responsibilities experience work differently from colleagues able to focus more fully on advancement. - Bell said in her author feature: "I salute all those mothers who are the glue that holds their families together while pursuing the nine to five brass ring." - Walking with Elephants received the Awesome Indies Seal of Excellence. - The book was also a top-five finalist in the New Kindle Book Review’s Best Indie Books of 2012. - Bell recorded the audiobook herself. - The book is available in Kindle, paperback and audiobook editions. - The novel’s title echoes the matriarchal structure of elephant herds, reinforcing themes of female relationships, responsibility and mutual support. - Bell’s other books include When a Stranger Comes…, Like a Lily Among the Thorns and Sunspots. - Bell lives in Ponte Vedra, Florida, with her husband and is a mother and grandmother.

Between the lines: - Bell’s pitch is less about one mother’s crisis than about the cumulative strain of trying to satisfy work, marriage, friendship and identity at once. - The book’s independent-book recognition suggests its mix of comedy and social observation found an audience beyond mainstream publishing. - The story’s emphasis on workplace rivalry and unequal domestic load reflects a broader conversation about how caregiving shapes women’s careers.

What’s next: - Readers can find the book on Amazon. - More information is available on the author’s website. - Bell’s broader catalog continues to focus on relationships, social issues and human behavior.