Ute Carbone's Blog, page 27

At Amie Denman's Blog

I'm chatting about Dancing in the White Room, Mr. Darcy and cake over at Amie Denman's Blog today.
Come on over and join me!
http://www.amiedenman.com/amiedenmanp...

Valentine's Day Blog Hop Winners

Thanks to everyone who stopped by for the Valentine's Day Blog Hop!


  The Grand Prize of a Kindle Paper White loaded with books goes to Lori Daamen Jolly

Debra Neiman won a Valentine's Headband
Cathy Lee won a box of Chocolates
Daniel M won an Amazon Gift Card

Jean MP-- won an e-book from this blog

Congrats to all the winners!

White Room Snippets; Opening Lines

I was told, once, never to begin a book with the character waking up. That is, of course, exactly how I started Dancing in the White Room. Though Mallory is not waking so much as lying awake.




The alarm goes off at four-thirty, and I stare at the skylight of our sleeping loft. Bell bangs on the clock to keep it from singing out again. I turn my back and nestle under the blankets. It’s almost March and it shouldn’t be as cold as it is—five below last night according to the thermometer propped outside the kitchen window. The temperature inside’s not much warmer. Bell would probably say I’m the one causing the freeze. We spent the past few days fighting. I did my share of pleading and cursing. I refused to help him pack his gear.
I wait for it, the hand that comes to my waist soon enough. Bell’s long fingers caress the contour and follow up under the curve of my breast.“Mallory, you awake?”I try to decide if I should answer him. I try to decide whether I want to have this conversation again, the one we’ve had off and on for the last six months, ever since he let slip he would be going back to Alaska to do the glisse on the West Rib of Denali.I’ve never been good at pretense, so I turn to face him. His face is angular in the gray light of the room. His blond hair shuffles around his shoulders. He reaches over, his arms still warm from the down of our comforter, and kisses the arch of my shoulder.“I’m going to miss that.” His voice is as inviting as a warm bath in the winter. It would be easy to fall into his warmth, easy to make this goodbye tender and inviting,the way our goodbyes usually are. Soft and intense, full of a kind of sweetness that can hold us,both of us, for a week or a month. A goodbye that promises a return, that says we’ll be here again, together.Today, I push him away. I’m in no mood for sweet goodbyes. Last minute lovemaking won’t change his mind. And what I want is a mind change. What I want is a turnaround. I’m too stubborn to settle for less.
Dancing in the White Room is now available at TMP and Amazon

Dancing in the White Room is here!

After lots of pacing and a big bunch of hard work done double time by a great bunch of good folks at TMP, my book released a month early. Just in time for the winter Olympics! If you've got ski fever, come check it out. Heck, even if your sick of winter, come check it out! It's set in and around skiing, but it's a love story at heart, so--also right in time for Valentine's Day.
 The blurb has been posted before, so I risk being redundant. But, if you missed it, here's what the book's about:
Dancing in the white room is slang for skiing or boarding in deep powder snow. The dancer is PD Bell, one of the best extreme skiers on the planet. Mallory Prescott, the woman who lives with him and loves him, is used to Bell’s exploits. A patrolwoman at Whiteface Mountain near Lake Placid, New York, Mallory is no stranger to risk, but this time Bell is taking on the West Rib of Denali, highest and most dangerous mountain in North America. It’s a descent that has never been done, though it’s been tried. Five years ago, Bell tried it. The attempt nearly killed him. Five years ago he promised Mallory he wouldn’t try again.Over the six weeks in which he’s gone, Mallory begins to question her relationship with Bell. Does he really love her? Is he in it for the duration? What has loving him cost her? Mallory’s life choices are thrown into stark relief when her daughter Emily takes a terrible fall. Together with her lifelong friend, Creech Crèches, she must work her way through a maze of uncharted territory at a hospital miles from home.Dancing in the White Room is the story of the love we keep, the price we pay for that love, and the forgiveness it takes to hold on to what is precious.You can buy a copy from my publisher HERE or at Amazon HERE

Valentine's Blog Hop #CBG

Have you bought your chocolates yet? It's nearly Valentine's Day. In celebration, I'm blog hopping with some other great authors.
It's a big week for me--I have a new book releasing on Tuesday. The book, Dancing in the White Room, is about skiing and love. What could be better for a big heart winter celebration?

Dancing in the white room is slang for skiing or boarding in deep powder snow. The dancer is PD Bell, one of the best extreme skiers on the planet. Mallory Prescott, the woman who lives with him and loves him, is used to Bell’s exploits. A patrol woman at Whiteface Mountain near Lake Placid, New York, Mallory is no stranger to risk. But this time Bell is taking on the West Rib of Denali, highest and most dangerous mountain in North America. It’s a descent that has never been done, though it’s been tried. Five years ago, Bell had tried it. The attempt nearly killed him. Five years ago, he promised Mallory he wouldn’t try it again.     Over the six weeks in which he’s gone, Mallory begins to question her relationship with Bell. Does he really love her? Is he in it for the duration? What has loving him cost her?  Mallory’s life choices are thrown into stark relief when her daughter Emily takes a terrible fall. Together with her life-long friend Creech Creches, she must work her way through a maze of uncharted territory at a hospital miles from home.            Dancing in the White Room is the story of the love we keep, the price we pay for that love, and the forgiveness it takes to hold on to what is precious.
I'll have more updates and some sneak peeks at Dancing later this week. Meanwhile, leave me a comment for a chance to win any one of my books you choose. 

There's more fun and prizes at all the stops below. And a GREAT GRAND PRIZE of a Kindle Paperweight e-reader loaded down with books, including the first two novellas of my Anton and Lenora Series:








Did I mention the kindle is chock full of books? Here's a list of all the titles:
J.A. Garland Books: INSTINCT, Dysus DreamerCelia Breslin: HavenPippa Jay: GethyonMimi Sebastian: The Necromancer’s SeductionCecilia Dominic: The Mountain’s ShadowJude Johnson: Save the Last Dance TrilogyIsabella Norse: Assassin’s HeartDani Harper: First Bite, Storm WarriorRita Bay: The Aegis, Into the Lyons DenAllison Knight: Lynbrook’s Lady, Betrayed BrideJoyce Proell: A Deadly TruthHolly Hunt: The Devil’s Wife, Scale & FeatherCeci Giltenan: Highland SolutionUte Carbone: To the Wind, Sweet LenoraCassiel Knight: Blood on the Moon, Key of SolomonAudra Middleton: HitchhikerMorgan Wyatt: Dangerous Curves, Escaping WestAngela Kay Austin: RumerLiz Crowe: Floor Time, Sweat Equity, Closing CostsJanuary Bain: Forever Man, Forever Woman, Forever ClanSusan Frances: The King MakerLinda Rettstatt: In The Spirit, A Falling StarGraeme Brown The PactDani Collins: The Healer

Stop by at The Valentine's Day Blog Hop Home Page for your chance to enter. And be sure to check out all the other hop stops, too, for chances at more prizes and fun!  

Dancing in the White Room #BookTrailer

Ready, set, go! Dancing in the White Room is being released on February 11th! Holy smokes, that's on Tuesday! Stay tuned for places to buy the book and lots more about this ski-based story. Next week, I'll also be doing a Valentine's Blog Hop with some other great authors. There'll be lots of fun and prizes, including a grand prize of an e-reader loaded down with books, books, books. I'll have more for you on that on Monday.
Meanwhile, in the countdown until Dancing in the White Room's debut, here's the trailer for the book-

Dear Winter #WTFriday

Dear Winter,

I’m sorry. I've been moping ever since your fickle brother, Summer, packed up his wine coolers and his Frisbee and left me with you. Silent brooding stormy you. I missed those silly songs he sang, how he laughed long and hard at just about anything. I locked myself away from you. I called you a cold hearted bastard, I named you cruel. I made fun of the way you never seem to have anything at all to say. Then today, you stood at my doorstep with the sun in your arms and asked me to come away with you. I didn’t want to leave the warmth of my house, my steaming coffee, the novel half-read on the end table. I gave you a million reasons why I couldn’t—there was e-mail to answer and laundry to wash and the refrigerator needed cleaning. I’d forgotten how persistent you can be. You stood fast, saying nothing, in your white suit and carrying that sun. And finally, out of excuses, I bundled myself, still grumbling, into my coat and hat. I got my skinny skis from the back of the closet. You’d done your magic on the park. The pine boughs draped in white linen , the snowflakes lit to flickering under that luminous sun, the  brilliance only you know how to conjure. And the quiet—I had forgotten how it slows down the world, how it reminds me just breathing is enough.I glided on the soft snow and remembered how, in my younger days, I’d loved you best of all. Your snow filled woods had filled me with wonder. I swooped down your sunlight slopes, the wind racing through my hair singing yes, yes and yes again.
How could I have forsaken you? Today you came to me dressed in your finest white and asked I come away with you.  I am glad I didn’t refuse you.  I love you, still.

Cover Reveal: Dancing in the White Room #TMP

Can I have a drum roll? The cover for Dancing in the White Room is here!

Getting cover art is one of the truly fun parts of being an author. It's like unwrapping a Christmas gift. I love the energy in this cover, by Kim Jacobs. It looks like the skier is going to ski right off the page, doesn't it? Perfect for this ski-themed book.
Dancing in the White Room will be available in mid-February, just in time for the Winter Olympics. It's set in ski country, but at it's heart, it's a love story.

Here's the book blurb--

 Dancing in the white room is slang for skiing or boarding in deep powder snow. The dancer is PD Bell, one of the best extreme skiers on the planet. Mallory Prescott, the woman who lives with him and loves him, is used to Bell’s exploits. A patrol woman at Whiteface Mountain near Lake Placid, New York, Mallory is no stranger to risk. But this time Bell is taking on the West Rib of Denali, highest and most dangerous mountain in North America. It’s a descent that has never been done, though it’s been tried. Five years ago, Bell had tried it. The attempt nearly killed him. Five years ago, he promised Mallory he wouldn’t try it again.     
    Over the six weeks in which he’s gone, Mallory begins to question her relationship with Bell. Does he really love her? Is he in it for the duration? What has loving him cost her?  Mallory’s life choices are thrown into stark relief when her daughter Emily takes a terrible fall. Together with her life-long friend Creech Creches, she must work her way through a maze of uncharted territory at a hospital miles from home.       
      Dancing in the White Room is the story of the love we keep, the price we pay for that love, and the forgiveness it takes to hold on to what is precious.

#Write-a-thin Check in. Week Four

Sometimes, it seems, the goal posts move. It's the final push in the month-long write-a-thin sponsored by the Women's Fiction Writer's association. I had set writing a first draft of Willow, part four of the Anton and Lenora historical novella series, as my goal for the month. I haven't, and won't make this goal. Primarily, because the book my publishers at TMP had scheduled for a March release is, with a little luck and work, being released early.
The book, Dancing in the White Room, is set in and around skiing. The publisher has hoped to release it to coincide with the Winter Olympics. Which is a fabulous idea. It means I've had to work hard to get my galley proofs (the final edit before the finish line) in a lot sooner than expected.
I've got the galleys done--and, if the fates allow, the book will come out mid-February.
I've got a fabulous new cover, which I can't wait to show off. I hope you'll stay tuned for exciting new updates on the project.
Sometimes, having to goal posts move is not such a bad thing, after all. 

#Write-a-thin check in

My goal--get a good start on the first draft of Willow, book 4 of Anton and Lenora

January is whooshing by, or here in the great white north, skating by. I haven't increased my word count at all this week. In fact, I've taken a giant step backward because I had taken a wrong turn. I was stuck, as sometimes happens in a manuscript. When it happens, I need to sit back and ask myself why. The answer, this time, was clear--I needed to do more research.  I saw the wrong turn, went back, took a deep breath and pulled off the last 2,000 or so words. Sigh. The new words will be better, I think.

I'm also doing proof galleys for Dancing in the White Room. The full length novel comes out March 9 and proofs are the last step before we go to publication. There's some exciting new cover art, too. Stay tuned.

Here's a short snip from Dancing--

Emily goes outside with Chance when we get home. I fry up a couple of burgers and watch her from the kitchen window. She and the dog chase each other through the yard, then  Emily climbs up on her swing set. It’s only a short reach to the lower branch of a huge maple that stands in our yard. She grabs the branch and swings on that, Chance yapping at her heels. I hold my breath a second. A few times she’s climbed up into the tree. Both Bell and I have told her not to, but she’s fearless like her father. Each time I try to stay very calm and tell her to come on down. She can’t understand what the fuss is about.