Ute Carbone's Blog, page 22

Book Trailers and Other Fun Diversions

Of all of the things I do to promote my books--create flyers and cards,  write blog posts, and answer interview questions just to name a few, the thing I like best is creating book trailers. So far, I've done simple sorts of things, pictures, words and music, with backgrounds I get through Animoto, but there's much more authors can do with video. I'm looking into reading excerpts, talking about the book, and using some more 'movie like' elements. As of this writing, I don't have the technical know how to do those sorts of things, though it might be fun to learn sometime in the future.
Stay tuned, you never know. *grin*. Meanwhile, I've posted the video I made for Confessions of the Sausage Queen. You can check it out  on my writing news page. 

Writing about skiing in the month of June

The weather here in New England has finally, after much hesitation, turned towards summer. I've been hiking in shorts and sitting on the deck and eating hamburgers cooked on the grill.
And yet,  as I sit at my writing desk, I'm deep in the heart of winter season. I'm making inroads with a new book,  called Fall Line, which is set in ski world. I'd wanted to write another ski book after Dancing in the White Room, but hadn't sat down to do it  until recently. Creech,  a secondary character from DWR, has been calling on me to tell his story. He's become ski coach of world class racers. On his team is Mia Whitmeyer, a champion skier with a long list of accolades. We've all been busy getting acquainted here in the garret. And Mia and Creech dance around each other, slowly, slowly coming to...well, something.  
Those of you who know me know that I've always got several projects brewing on my laptop. I'm going to have to let go of my winter time story soon and turn my thoughts to the eighteen hundreds and clipper ships, because Anton and Lenora too, have one more long story to tell before I'm through with them. And then there's my feisty comedy heroine, Georgette, who likes to grab the spotlight. 
But, for now, I'll ski with Mia and Creech and hang on to winter for just a little bit longer.
Here, for no special reason, are a few lines of the story, unedited and not yet ready for prime time

He laughed. “I am the proud owner of a dilapidated farmhouse. Four bedrooms, leaky roof and a bathroom with rusty pipes.  I’m not sure I want to sell it. I managed to rent it out, which is how I’m funding this place.”

“The farmhouse is in Lake Placid?”

“Wilmington, actually. Not far from Whiteface Mountain.”

“Why wouldn’t you want to sell? It’s a long commute from here.”

He ran his finger over the tape along the top of the box. “I don’t know. I kind of love the place, I guess. It’s nice to think a piece of my life is still back there, waiting for me to return to it.” He shook his head. “Sorry, I’m getting real sentimental in my old age.”

And Still I Rise

As a writer and as a women, there are few words more inspirational than these. Maya Angelou was one our great treasures. Her words and her spirit will live on.

Very Inspiring Blogger

There's a bit of serendipity at work here. As I sat down at my writing desk this morning, I thought I ought to post a writer's garret blog. But what to blog about? Then I opened an e-mail from my fellow writer friend Catherine Cavendish, asking if I'd like an inspiring blogger award for the new blog. Perfect!
The award rules are simple, well, sort of. First off, post the award banner. Done. Then link up to the site of the person who awarded it to you. Easy peasy. I highly recommend Cat's blog, I love her posts. You can find it here
Catherine Cavendish

The next rule wasn't quite so easy peasy. List seven things about yourself.  Cat suggested I have fun with it. Hmm, let's see. What can I tell you about myself?

I live in New Hampshire, a lovely wooded place. I love hiking through the woods. Rocky Pond, pictured here, is one of my favorite hiking spots. I've got a thing for gummy bears. Love them. I think this is the first time I've admitted this anywhere. I love New York.  My husband and I go to visit once or twice a year. We're big theater fans and what better place to see live theater than the Great White Way? My favorite plays include Once, August Osage County, and Memphis. We'll go again this summer,  and are busy deciding what to see.  Although most people would disagree, I like winter. Or, at least, I like beautiful snow bright days when it's not too cold to go outside.  I grew up skiing and, though I don't get to go downhill much anymore, there's nothing much more fun than getting out on my skinny skis and doing some cross country at the the local park.  I like to listen to music when I write. I make playlists for all of my projects, music that picks up on the tone of the book. I've shared some of the selections on each of my book pages, you'll find them next to the icon at left. Since I've named my other blog 'coffee with friends' it should come as no surprise that I'm a coffee addict. Yes, that is Anton and Lenora floating around in the foam. My publisher did it as a Sweet Lenora promotion. Isn't it terrific?  One of my other favorite places in the world is Cape Cod Bay. Sunset on the bay at the end of a perfect summer's day-- oh yes, that's life as it should be.   The last rule is to pass the blog award along to three more bloggers. 
I'm nominating
Stephanie Joyce Cole (Compass North) 
Ally Shields 
Brinda Berry

Judging Rising Star

I've been asked to be a preliminary judge for the rising star contest that's being sponsored by the Women's Fiction Writer's association. 

I'm honored they asked, but also taken by the awesomeness of the responsibility. I know only too well, as a writer, how difficult it can be to ask someone else to evaluate your story. It's a process we writers go through regularly, of course, whether it's submitting something new to an agent or editor,  or asking for a review, or entering a contest,  we are always asking others to judge the value of our work. You would like to think it gets easier with time, but the truth is that each work is a bit fragile when we first bring it forward. It's difficult to send it out into the world and it can be devastating if someone says something disparaging about it. I've been told we're supposed to develop a rhino hide when it comes to these things, but for writers, who's work depends so much on opening up  emotionally, this can be easier said than done.

The best critique I've received over the years includes what's good about the work, along with constructive ideas on how I can make it better. Constructive critique can be exciting and eye-opening, it can give me a kind of 'yes, exactly, I don't know why I hadn't thought of that' epiphany. I've been blessed to have editors who are exceedingly good at making me work hard to bring out the best in my work without trampling on it. 
I hope I can do the same in critiquing the fresh faced manuscripts that have been entrusted to me for this contest. 

The ARC for Confessions of the Sausage Queen.

I got the ARC for Confessions of the Sausage Queen yesterday. ARC stands for 'advanced reader copy'  and my last job as a writer in the process from signing a contract to having a book released is to go through this copy with a fine tooth comb, rooting out all of the typos, the double periods, the missing quote marks, and so forth. 
I love getting ARCs because it means the book is almost ready for publishing--Confessions is set to release the first week in July-- and that's an exciting thing, though, quite honestly, proof reading isn't my favorite activity. I'm not a detail person and always worry that I miss things in this 'dental draft'. (Stay with my blog long enough and you'll no doubt see a few mistakes in the text).  On the plus side, the book has been edited for content and then line edited again, so the mistakes are few and far between. I'll root out a few and hope I catch them all. 

It's lovely to see you here, Dear Reader.

I've long kept a journal of my writing trails and tribulations, hopes and triumphs. I thought I might share part of the journey with you. As with any newborn project, I'm not entirely sure what this blog will become.. I imagine myself sharing what I'm thinking, and feeling,  writing wise, a bit of news about publishing here and again,, maybe a few snippets of my current projects and some things I think about while writing them, a few writing prompts that inspire me. Like my work, it will be a  patchwork quilt, made of all the bits and pieces that roll around in my imagination. 
 I  hope you come to visit here now and again. 

WTFriday. New Gadget division--The Motorized Ice Cream Cone

Welcome to WTFriday, the occasional Friday blog where I expound on some of the awesome, quirky, amazing, and sometimes really weird things in today's world.
photo from Gadgets NetworkWhat better way to enjoy a hot summer afternoon than with a cold scoop or two? But you know how it is on those shirt-stick-to-your-back days. It's haaaard to moooove. You get kinda lazy and all you want to do is lie there and adsorb the sun. Who has the energy to turn to cone?
Fret no more, dear friend, the solution is at hand. Hog Wild, the inventive toy and gizmo geniuses who brought you the talking Moo Mixer and the twirling spaghetti fork have devised a motorized ice cream cone. Just turn it on and stick out your tounge. Yum.

PS if licking becomes to arduous, I can be hired for a nominal fee. You supply the Cherry Garcia.

Flash! #flashfiction Sudden Rain

I've (finally) posted a new flash story for spring. The story, Sudden Rain, is a short literary piece.
Check it out on the flash! page of my website
or at Readwave

Fall into reading....reviews: Spotlight: ALL THINGS RETURNED by Ute Carbone + #...

Last, but not least, stop on the blog tour.

Fall into reading....reviews: Spotlight: ALL THINGS RETURNED by Ute Carbone + #...: All Things Returned Ute Carbone Anton & Lenora Book 3   Historical Romance Women’s Fiction San Francisco Anton and...