Ute Carbone's Blog, page 31

#8Sunday #SundaySnips Slow Hands

Welcome to the Sunday eight, the blog hop where writers post eight sentences of a project.
This week I've been knee deep (or maybe that should read pen deep?) in edits for my next feature-length novel.
The book, Dancing in the White Room, is upmarket women's fiction. It's a story about the love we keep and what it takes to hold on to a relationship. It's due out with TMP next March.

In my snippet, the heroine, Mallory is remembering a time with her boyfriend, Bell, who is an extreme skier.
Photo by Tina Phillips


He let go my hand and went back to working on the chair. He was measuring spokes for the back, piecing them into the seat. It amazes me how careful his hands are when he builds. You would never know it, watching him ski a slide or a glade. He’s all body then, all sharp turns and angles, his legs and arms all hammer and spring. Yet with this task, he takes his time, his hands grow soft, measured.
They are that way with me too. Soft, measured, slow.
Thanks for stopping by! For more great snippets to enhance your Sunday, please visit Weekend Writing Warriors and Sunday Snippets.For more about Dancing in the White Room, check out my Dancing web page.  

Linda LaRoque's Musings: Ute Carbone and her New Release—To the Wind—a Hist...

I'm blogging at Linda LaRoque's Musings today. Come stop by and say hello. Leave me a comment for a chance to win a copy of Sweet Lenora. 

Linda LaRoque's Musings: Ute Carbone and her New Release—To the Wind—a Hist...: Welcome Ute. I'm so glad you explained how to pronounce your name as I've often wondered. It's beautifu...

Anton and Lenora--the journey continues today

Journey to adventure on the high sea.  To the Wind, book two of the Anton and Lenora series is now available. Anton and Lenora is a series of historical novellas set in the 1850s. To the Wind is told in the voice of Anton Boudreaux, Captain of the Sweet Lenora. It



In this sequel to Sweet Lenora, Anton and Lenora sail away from trouble in Rio de Janeiro only to encounter new problems. With only half a crew and a first mate that is hated and feared, they venture to San Francisco plagued by threats, mutiny,and illness. As they arrive at their destination, the ghosts of the past come back to haunt them and may prove to be the greatest menace of all. At each turn, the love they have forged is tested. Will it prevail?   

To the Wind is available for download at most e-book distributors including
 Champagne Books

and
 



PS The first book of the series, Sweet Lenora, can be purchased here:

#8Sunday #SundaySnips To the Wind is out tomorrow!

Hi and welcome to the Sunday eight, the blog hop where writers post eight sentences of a project. It's release week for me--the second novella of the Anton and Lenora series, To the Wind, is coming out on Monday.
To the Wind is first person, written in the hero, Anton's voice. He's a sea captain, it's 1852, and the ship is sailing from Rio to San Francisco. Here are the first eight lines--




The world is a wicked place, full of lies and deceit. A man
must stand strong against the force of evil, lest he perish.
So  I thought before Lenora came into my life. She was an angel, appearing in a moment’s time upon the deck of Sweet Lenora, the ship named for her. The ship I commanded. She seemed so fragile a creature I knew I must protect her from the world. And protect her vowed to do for all my days on this earth. I had locked my heart away in a box of iron, but Lenora broke the seal and set my poor heart free.











For more writing snippets, please visit Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday

To The Wind:
In the sequel to Sweet Lenora, Anton and Lenora sail away from trouble in Rio de Janeiro only to encounter new problems. With only half a crew and a first mate that is hated and feared, they venture to San Francisco plagued by threats, mutiny,and illness. As they arrive at their destination, the ghosts of the past come back to haunt them and may prove to be the greatest menace of all. At each turn, the love they have forged is tested. Will it prevail?   

For more on  Sweet Lenora and To the Wind, please visit Anton and Lenora

Sweet and Steamy Blog Tour

Sweet romance author Sharon Kleeve and Steamy romance author Kara Leigh Miller decided it would be fun to blog tour together. I'm most excited that the virtual tour bus has made a stop at my blog today. Please welcome them



You can find all the blog stops here: http://authorsharonkleve.blogspot.com/

Book Title: Jilted Author: Kara Leigh MillerPublisher: Books to Go NowGenre: Erotic Contemporary RomanceRelease Date: 9.15.2013Length: 49KHeat Rating: Hot
Book Blurb: Amy and Brett have been friends since they were kids; and their friendship has withstood the test of time. But can it withstand Brett's fiancée, Vanessa?
Brett Hudson has often wondered what it would be like to be more than Amy's friend, but when he's chosen as the newest professional dancer on Dancing with the Stars, he meets Vanessa, one of the shows costume designers and it's a whirlwind romance that ends in a wedding proposal. As the big day draws closer, Brett begins to think that marrying Vanessa might be a bad idea. She wants him to give up Amy. Completely. Will he give up his best friend for the woman he's supposed to marry?
Amy King is heartbroken to learn that Brett is marrying another woman. But, when Brett is jilted at the altar, he begs Amy to go on his honeymoon with him. A week on a tropical island with her best friend, the man she's fantasized about for years is a dream come true for Amy. But when Brett suggests crossing the line from friends to lovers, Amy is reluctant. Will she risk years of friendship for one night of passion?
Buy Links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Jilted-ebook/dp/B00F6DFUG0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379161399&sr=8-1&keywords=Jilted+kara+leigh+miller
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/jilted-kara-leigh-miller/1116906522?ean=2940148724681


Excerpt: "It's because you go for the wrong type of guy," Brett said matter-of-factly, pouring a third shot down his throat. "Those muscle bound jocks are all bark and no bite. They look good on the outside, but they're a mess on the inside."            Amy threw a piece of ice at him and laughed. "And the goody two shoes, school teacher types you date are much better?"            "Nope." He grinned. "Which is why we're both still single."            She sighed. "Yeah, so much for my dream of having kids."            "You're young. I'm sure you'll find someone." He drank his last shot and chased it with his beer.             "I'm thirty, Brett. By the time I find a man, date him, and get married, I'll be an old hag with no viable eggs."            The thought of Amy finding a man to marry and have kids with didn't sit well with him. He couldn't stomach the thought of losing her. "I'll tell you what." He leaned across the table and pointed at her. "Three years from now, if neither of us are married, I'll marry you and give you as many babies as you want." Brett's words were slurred. Yup. He was definitely drunk. He wouldn't have made that proposition otherwise.             "Yeah right." Amy rolled her eyes. "You and me? That would be like fucking my brother. Thanks, but no thanks."            He flinched at her words. "You think of me as your brother?" That bothered him a lot more than it should, especially considering he'd never once thought of her as a sister.             She shrugged. "We're best friends. How else would I think of you?" Amy glanced away, and then set her gaze on him again. "Why? How do you think of me?"            Oh shit! He hadn't expected the conversation to backfire on him like that. What was he supposed to tell her? That he thought of her as a best friend that he wanted to fuck? No, he definitely couldn't tell her that. "As a friend, I guess. I don't know. It's not like I sit around and think about how I should think of you. You're Amy."            "And you're drunk."            "Maybe a little." He grinned. "So, do we have a deal or what?"
Author Bio: Kara is a multi-published romance author who dabbles in young adult, new adult, paranormal, and contemporary romances. However, her genre of choice will always be erotic romance. She's a member of the CNY Writers Haven and the Romance Writers of America. Writing is her passion and she loves to share her knowledge and enthusiasm with her fellow authors and her fans. Today, Kara resides in Upstate New York with her husband, five kids, three cats, and two dogs. When she's not reading or writing, she's spending time with her family and friends. Nothing excites Kara more than hearing from her fans. So, send her a note. She'll go total fan girl over it!
Social Media Links: Website/Blog: www.karaleighmiller.comEmail: karaleighmiller@yahoo.comFacebook: www.facebook.com/KaraLeighMillerTwitter: www.twitter.com/KaraLeighMille1Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/KaraLeighMiller


Book Title: Halo's WishAuthor: Sharon KlevePublisher: Books to Go NowGenre: Sweet Contemporary Christmas RomanceRelease Date:9.15.2013Length: 11KHeat Rating: Sweet
Book Blurb: Halo Ann Carlyle wishes for a home, family, and a boat-load of pets. What she gets is a bruised hip, a lump on the head, a broken ankle, and her new yellow Honda Civic is demolished. Rich McFarland, a sexy veterinarian, keeps showing up in the most unexpected places, promising everything she's ever wanted.  Halo believes she only has time to pursue her career as a pet detective and must ignore her growing attraction to achieve her dreams.Will Halo trust her heart, and find a way to get both for Christmas? Buy Links: Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Halos-Wish-Dreams-Come-ebook/dp/B00F4M2N6S/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1379080942&sr=1-11&keywords=sharon+kleveAmazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00F4M2N6SSmashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/356656Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/halos-wish-sharon-kleve/1116903897?ean=2940148724476
Excerpt: She'd just placed another call through to Pemsky's office, which went straight to his voicemail, when the office door opened. Halo smiled and looked up into dreamy, gold-flecked green eyes, short sandy brown hair, a slight cleft chin, and full lips set in a hard line. Even with the stern look he had on his face, my hormones jumped into overdrive. Mr. Dreamy cleared his throat—she must've been staring. In her most professional voice she said, "Good morning. How may I help you?" He removed a piece of paper from his shirt pocket and unfolded the sheet."I was parked in front of the Beacon Hill Ale House and my driver's side mirror was sideswiped by one of Pemsky's Security's SUV's Friday night." Halo loved the Beacon Hill Ale House. Every Saturday night the Ale House allowed local bands to jam together. That's where she'd met her last loser boyfriend. She'd had a lot of loser boyfriends. She's currently on a hiatus from dating, but she wouldn't mind jumping back into the dating game for this dream-boat.He handed her the piece of paper."I wasn't able to get a look at the driver, but I got the license plate number of the vehicle that hit my car and drove away." He emphasized the last part."I'm very sorry about your car. I'm sure Mr. Pemsky will be happy to cover the damage." Halo checked the company log and Pemsky's name popped up as the driver—she gulped.
Author Bio: Sharon Kleve was born and raised in Washington and currently lives on the Olympic Peninsula with her husband.Sharon is a writer of paranormal and contemporary romance. She loves romance. She loves reading romance, living romance, and especially loves writing about romance. She gets no greater feeling than watching her characters come alive in each other's arms. Most of all, she loves giving her characters the happily ever after they deserve—with a few bumps and bruises along the way.One of her favorite things to do is picking up a new book and sinking into the story, immersing herself in the emotions between the characters. She hopes to inspire her readers the same way her favorite authors have inspired her.When not writing, she can usually be found either curled up in her recliner with her cat and a good book, or in the kitchen baking sourdough bread or bagels.

Social Media Links: Email: sharon.kleve@yahoo.comBlog: http://authorsharonkleve.blogspot.com/Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sharonrkleveTwitter: https://twitter.com/SharonKleveGoodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5399389.Sharon_KleveLinkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/sharon-kleve/56/ab/691/

Rafflecopter Giveaway Info: Prizes: One (1) Winner will receive a $25 gift card to a book seller of their choiceOne (1) Winner will receive Kara Leigh Miller's complete backlist, which includes five novellas and two full-length booksOne (1) Winner will receive Sharon Kleve's complete backlist, which includes six booksThree (3) Winners will receive a signed paperback copy of Kara Leigh Miller's, Death of a WaterfallThree (3) Winners will receive a signed paperback copy of Sharon Kleve's, Love Crazed HTML Code: a Rafflecopter giveaway Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/shar... Legal Information: - Entering this contest means you have read, understood, and agree with all rules and regulations stated.
- Entrants must be 18 or older (or age of majority in your country) to enter and to win.
- No purchase necessary.
- Void where prohibited.
- All stated rules are subject to change without notification or reason given.
- Chances of winning vary widely based on the number of entries received.
- Prize is as stated. No substitutions or exchanges.
- Contest host/organizer is not responsible to misrepresented/mis-typed email addresses, spam filters, mailer demons, and other internet wackiness that may crop up at the time of winner notification.
- Winners are final.
- Contest Starts 00:01EST September 15, 2013 and Ends 12:59EST October 16, 2013 and open to International participants.
- Winners will be notified via email, Twitter, or Facebook no later than 12:00EST October 18, 2013
-Respond by date to collect prize is 14 days from notification date.

#8Sunday #SundaySnippets: India's Birthday

I'm done with part #3 of Anton and Lenora and taking a little breather before I move on to part #4. Since my birthday is coming up soon, I thought I'd share a bit on birthdays from my romantic comedy, Afterglow:
India is a kindergarten teacher of a certain age, who is in the midst of getting a divorce from her husband of thirty years. And also in the midst of a budding love affair with a handsome young doctor named Mitch. Eva is her best friend.
My birthday fell on a Thursday that year and coincided, as it happened, with Eva's and my last day of community service. Eva thought a birthday at Darrow with the derelicts was about as appealing as a birthday spent having your tonsils removed without anesthesia. I thought otherwise. Between work and the Darrow Street Mission, I’d been busy. And busy was exactly how I'd wanted to be. I felt about my birthday much as I felt about my divorce. Given a choice, I think I’d rather not. Given a choice, I would have skipped merrily ahead to Friday, when Mitch would come pick me up in hisbrand new SUV and we’d head out for what Eva called The Great Northern Adventure.


Thanks for stopping by! For more great snippets please visit Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet  Sunday                                        India Othmar isn’t having a great year. Her husband of thirty-one years has left her for their son’s ex-girlfriend. Her grown children have moved home. Her best friend Eva seems determined to set her up with every oddball in their small Massachusetts town. And her most significant relationship these days is with Cherry Garcia.

But India is more resilient than she thinks. And though it will take a broken arm, a lawn littered with engine parts, some creative uses for shoes, and a scandalous love affair of her own, she learns, much to her surprise, that her life hasn’t ended with her marriage.  For more on Afterglow, please visit my Afterglow web page  or Amazon: 
 
                                                                                                                                                                 

Love Poetry; J.S. Watts is my guest today

I'm very excited to have  J.S. Watts here today. She's the author of several volumes of poetry and the novel, A Darker Moon.










Love Poetry – Counting The Ways



“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.”
If, instead of ways, you count published love poems, you’ll come to the conclusion that an awful lot of people love an awful lot more people in an amazing variety of ways.
There’s been some beautiful poetry written on the subject of love and an impressive amount of it has developed iconic status within the canon of English language poetry. Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s sonnet “How do I love thee?” is just one such poem. There are also any number of Shakespearian sonnets, though “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?/ Thou art more lovely and more temperate” probably has the edge.
I’ve always had a soft spot for John Donne’s tender song of parting “Sweetest love, I do not go/ For weariness of thee”, but the man wrote a wide range of vibrant love poems, both soulful and carnal, before turning his attention to God. It has been argued that his Holy Sonnets are just more love poems, but with God as the object of adoration, rather than his previous assorted mistresses. Love poetry is a broad genre and there is ample room for the romantic, the raunchy and the religious within it. There is even room for the anti-romantic.
In this category, one of my favourites is Dorothy Parker’s brief but biting “Unfortunate Coincidence”, which opens with the apparently romantic line, “By the time you swear you’re his,” but ends on the telling note, “One of you is lying” – a wisecracking and cleverly jaundiced take on the reality of romantic love. I also can’t help but reference the English language translations of the Roman poet Catullus; like Donne, a writer of both romantic and carnal love poetry. The century is irrelevant. As in our own times, the course of true love did not always flow smoothly back in Catullus’s day,
            “the words of a woman to her ardent lover              should be written on the wind and the fast-running water.”
Even I’ve been known to write the odd love poem:
Painted Eggs*
            Empty and hollow as a blown egg            Because you are not here.            Painting me up in pretty colours            Can’t disguise my fragility,            My want of guts.            Only your presence can provide that;            Pivot and substance of my universe,            Big nest.




The poem is a lament on the absence of a loved one and I am not inured to the siren call of romance, but, I confess, my natural sensibilities lean more to Dorothy Parker’s view of things. “Lycanthropist”, a poem from the same collection as “Painted Eggs”, describes an unusual way of breaking free from a failed relationship – “On nights such as this I feel the wolf within me”. Although not poetry, I’m also conscious that the ageless love affair at the heart of my novel, “A Darker Moon”, is a black and complicated thing, not conducive to happy outcomes, but then the novel is a dark, literary fantasy, so it would hardly be appropriate to centre it on a relationship that was all red roses and puppy dogs.
For all my self-proclaimed cynicism, I’m as moved as the next reader by poems such as Philip Larkin’s “Arundel Tomb” (even if the sentiment ascribed to it, isn’t quite what he intended) – “What will survive of us is love” and Tennyson’s “In Memoriam” – a melancholy sequence of poems, lamenting lost love and friendship, but which avows,
                        “’Tis better to have loved and lost                       Than never to have loved at all.”
So there we have it: a range of forms, styles, subjects and sentiments, but regardless of when these poems were written, humanity’s fascination with love is what fuels them. There are many ways to express love in poetry and many types of love to be expressed, but whether dark and bitter or light and hopeful, it always comes down to our need to be loved.

J.S.Watts

* “Painted Eggs” was first published in the literary magazine “Envoi” and appears in the poetry collection “Cats and Other Myths” by J.S.Watts.

Also by JS Watts:  
Abe Finchley is a damaged man, an orphan with no roots and no family ties. When he finally meets the woman he has been looking for all his life, he finds not just love and passion, but a dark and violent family history that spans generations into humanity’s deepest past.

Eve is the woman of his dreams; but dream is just another word for nightmare, and Abe knows all about those. Amidst a confused web of lies and secrets, Abe is trying to discover who he is and make sense of what he may become. More than just his future and his new-found love is at stake. When he discovers that he has a brother, a man bound by divine destiny to kill him, Abe is going to have to make a difficult choice. A choice that might redeem the world. A choice that just might destroy it.

A Darker Moon is a dark, psychological fantasy. A mythical tale of light and shadow and the unlit places where it is best not to shine even the dimmest light.
J.S. Watts at  Amazon:



 

#8Sunday #SundaySnippets All Things Returned, take one.

This week I finished the draft of All Things Returned, the third novella in the Anton and Lenora series. It's a call for celebration--I've broken out the good chocolates--thought I know it's only the beginning. Soon I'll start the hard work of revision. But for now, a last taste before I ship it off to my editor for consideration.

This is from near the ending--



At dawn’s first light, we rose and went to the garden and watched as the light began to play on the harbor below.           “We cannot stay,” Anton said.            “Our destiny has always been with the wind.” I  laid my head into the hollow of his shoulder. “I had hoped to build a new ship, like Sweet Lenora risen from the ashes. It seems a distant dream now.”            He threaded his fingers through my hair. “’Tis a fine dream, mon amie."


For more terrific snippets, please visit Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday
For more about Anton and Lenora, please visit my Anton and Lenora page 

#BookTrailer: To The Wind

This is the trailer for "To the Wind", part two of the Anton and Lenora series.

The fire background works really well-- you'll have to read the book to find out why. How's that for a tease? :)


 To the Wind releases on October 7.

#8Sunday #SundaySnippets: Accusations

 Welcome to another snippet Sunday! I'm still hard at work on All Things Returned, part three of the Anton and Lenora series.I'm near to the end of my draft, in the exciting final boom of the story's climax. Lenora has been brought in for questioning by the police. who suspect her (falsely of course) of murder. Rumors of another murder don't help her case.Frederick is her solicitor and Mr. Parker the constable--

My blood ran cold. “She need not answer such a charge,” Frederick said before I had recovered my voice.“We have no policy with Brazil and charges will not be levied. But someone has come forward with the story, about a wealthy investor who was stabbed in the neck.” Mr. Parker raised his eyebrows. “You must admit, the coincidence is remarkable.”Long had the specter of George Settle’s death haunted me and now it had found the perfect revenge.
More snippets for your reading pleasure can be found at Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday

For more about the Anton and Lenora historical novella series, come visit my Anton and Lenora page.