Ute Carbone's Blog, page 32

Coming next summer! Confessions of the Sausage Queen

Pork Queen. Photo thanks to Gastronomica: Queen of All ThingsFirst there was The P-Town Queen. Then came the Sausage Queen! I'm pleased, chuffed, overcome, and goofy happy to announce that my comedy, Confessions of the Sausage Queen, will be coming out with Champagne Books next July.





Mandy Minhouser figures that she’s already had her fifteen minutes of fame and excitement. The hype created by the picture that her husband Randy sent in to Girls! Girls! Girls!,  which featured Mandy wearing nothing but a garden hat, has finally died down. And life in the little town of Kassenburg  goes on as it ever has. Until Big Bill Ludowski, founder and owner of the town’s largest employer - Bill’s Big and Tasty Sausage- dies while he and Mandy’s grandmother Lila Rose were, as Mandy puts it, doing their best Adam and Eve imitation under the hydrangea bushes.  That Gran and Big Bill have had an affair that began around the same time as World War II is a secret that everyone in Kassenburg knows. But a new secret is about to be revealed. Big Bill has, in a DVD that only he, his lawyers and Mandy’s Gran know about,  bequeathed the sausage factory to Lila. And he’s posthumously  offered the job of CEO to Mandy, much to the consternation of his relatives.            Mandy doesn’t know squat about the sausage biz and Bill’s grandson Hughes, the factory’s CFO, does everything in his power to discredit Mandy and close the Big and Tasty. But Mandy has the one thing that Hughes doesn’t-- family and friends willing to put themselves on the line to save the sausage people. With hope, faith and a whole lot of luck, Mandy and company manage to do just that.           

#8Sunday #SundaySnippets: A grief beyond tears

I received the cover art for To the Wind, Anton and Lenora book two this week. I love getting cover art, it's like unwrapping a present! The cover is down below, if you'd like to take a gander.  Meanwhile, I'm still hard at work on the third novella of this series, All Things Returned.  Here's a sample of what I've been scribbling--


I went to the bedroom and shut the door behind me. The bed that Anton and I had so recently occupied was evidence of better times. I wondered if those times should ever come again as I lay down and stared up at the ceiling.I was too far gone to weep. I remembered how, at my father’s funeral, I had not been able to conjure tears. I had wondered, then, how that could be for I had loved my father dearly. I knew it now for what it was—the deepest sort of grief, a grief beyond tears. Now I had lost a child and, if Anton insisted on dueling with Jacob, I would soon lose my love. 

For more great writing snippets, please visit Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday
For more on Anton and Lenora, please visit my Anton and Lenora web page
Book One, Sweet Lenora, is currently available 
And, because it's new and I love showing it off, here's the cover for book two! To the Wind is coming out on October 7.

Sweet Lenora Blog Tour

I'm touring cyberspace with Sweet Lenora, the first novella of my historical romance series, Anton and Lenora. Sweet Lenora is also part of Champagne Books Dark Heroes Series.

The blog tour starts Monday and runs through Sunday September 15: 

 Sept 2: Rose & Beps Blog
Sept 6: Theresa Stillwagon
Sept 7: Book Reviews
Sept 8: Reader's Edyn
Sept 9: Ali's Books
Sept 10: Rambling Reads
Sept 12: JM Stewart--Contemporary Romance Author
Sept 14: Blue Rose Romance
Sept 14: Harlie's Books (Review)
Sept 15: Bunny's Book Reviews (Review)
Sept 15: Jesse Recommends
Sept 15: Regina May Ross's




Lenora Brewer’s family owns the largest shipyard in Salem Massachusetts and Lenora, as her father’s only living child, is given free rein to learn the business. When Lenora’s father is killed in a carriage accident, her relatives arrange a marriage to a wealthy investor who is rumored to have beaten his first wife to death.            Lenora devises a scheme to stowaway on The Sweet Lenora, a ship named for her.  The last thing Anton Boudreaux needs is a naïve young woman stowing away on his ship. The dark and daring captain has secrets of his own to protect.             When Sweet Lenora encounters a dangerous storm off the coast of Brazil, Lenora and Anton find in each other the courage and tenacity to brave the elements. As their love for one another grows it becomes a force to be reckoned with—and it will be sorely tested.
Sweet Lenora Buy Links:AmazonChampagne BooksBookStrandARe

Sweet Lenora Book Tour

I'm touring cyberspace with Sweet Lenora, the first novella of my historical romance series, Anton and Lenora. Sweet Lenora is also part of Champagne Books Dark Heroes Series.

The blog tour starts Monday and runs through Sunday September 15: 

 Sept 2: Rose & Beps Blog
Sept 6: Theresa Stillwagon
Sept 7: Book Reviews
Sept 8: Reader's Edyn
Sept 9: Ali's Books
Sept 10: Rambling Reads
Sept 12: JM Stewart--Contemporary Romance Author
Sept 14: Blue Rose Romance
Sept 14: Harlie's Books (Review)
Sept 15: Bunny's Book Reviews (Review)
Sept 15: Jesse Recommends
Sept 15: Regina May Ross's




Lenora Brewer’s family owns the largest shipyard in Salem Massachusetts and Lenora, as her father’s only living child, is given free rein to learn the business. When Lenora’s father is killed in a carriage accident, her relatives arrange a marriage to a wealthy investor who is rumored to have beaten his first wife to death.            Lenora devises a scheme to stowaway on The Sweet Lenora, a ship named for her.  The last thing Anton Boudreaux needs is a naïve young woman stowing away on his ship. The dark and daring captain has secrets of his own to protect.             When Sweet Lenora encounters a dangerous storm off the coast of Brazil, Lenora and Anton find in each other the courage and tenacity to brave the elements. As their love for one another grows it becomes a force to be reckoned with—and it will be sorely tested.
Sweet Lenora Buy Links:AmazonChampagne BooksBookStrandARe

#8Sunday #SundaySnippets: A world of pain

I'm still working on part 3 of Anton and Lenora, All Things Returned.  In this week's snippet, poor Lenora is in a bad way.



I managed as far as the end of Edward’s street. I could see the Norris house two doors down and I increased my stride, thinking myself close to my goal. A pain ripped through me, so strong it robbed me for a moment of my breath. It was followed by another and another, hard knots of pain coming in waves. I bent double as though to shelter my unborn child from these blows. I feared it more than the pain in my limbs, for I knew it for what it was.
 “No,” I whispered as though the force of my will could stop what happened. My body ignored my pleas and the pains kept on. 

Thanks for stopping by! For more great snippets, please visit Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday

More Anton and Lenora
Book One--Sweet Lenora is currently available
Book Two--To the Wind is slated for release in October.
More about the series HERE 

Cover Reveal: To the Wind

The deliciously romantic cover for To The Wind was designed by the very talented Petra K.  Cover model Jimmy Thomas is picture perfect for the role of Anton.

To The Wind is part two of my historical romance novella series, Anton and Lenora. 

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?   

For more on Sweet Lenora, click HERE

Shared Whispers

Shared Whispers, an anthology of fifteen stories by fifteen writers is going to be re-released on September 2.
While the stories encompass a wide range of genres, from historical, to science fiction, to contemporary, to fantasy, they all have one thing in common--at their core they are stories about the importance of love.




Coming to Champagne Books September 2Beyond Forever, M.W. Davis (contemporary romance)Special Delivery, Linda Rettstatt (contemporary romance)The Journey Home, Linda LaRoque (western romance)The Setup, Victoria Roder (contemporary romance)Going to the Wall for Love, Julie Eberhart Painter (historical romance)Colours, C.J. Fenge (contemporary romance)Solitude, R.J. Hore (romantic sci-fi)Heart of a Rebel, Dani Collins (fantasy)Gods and Zombies, January Bain (fantasy)Life at Full Speed, Ute Carbone (contemporary romance)After the Tears, Angelica Hart and Zi (contemporary romance)Nimue’s Daughter, Rita Bay (fantasy)Cymru Am Byth (Wales Forever), Jude Johnson (historical romance)Frozen Section, Jane Toombs (contemporary romance)Heaven, Elizabeth Fountain (fantasy)

#8Sunday #SundaySnippets: Meifeng's Secret.

I've been working on a novella called "All Things Returned." It's the third part of a series called "Anton and Lenora",  which is the story of a clipper ship captain(Anton) and the woman he loves and marries, the daughter of  a wealthy ship owner (Lenora). It's a historical, set in San Francisco in 1852. This snippet is about the secondary characters--Lenora's sister in law, Meifeng,  has disclosed a secret she's kept from her husband.


“There was a carriage. We were overrun. They killed my maid and the driver. There were three of them. When they finished, I wished they had killed me.” Her voice was even as the tick of a clock, betraying nothing but fact. Edward turned away from her. “Three men,” he repeated, as though he could not trust the meaning of her words.

Book one, Sweet Lenora is currently available:   Lenora Brewer’s family owns the largest shipyard in Salem Massachusetts and Lenora, as her father’s only living child, is given free rein to learn the business. When Lenora’s father is killed in a carriage accident, her relatives arrange a marriage to a wealthy investor who is rumored to have beaten his first wife to death. Lenora devises a scheme to stowaway on The Sweet Lenora, a ship named for her. 
The last thing Anton Boudreaux needs is a naïve young woman stowing away on his ship. The dark and daring captain has secrets of his own to protect.           
When Sweet Lenora encounters a dangerous storm off the coast of Brazil, Lenora and Anton find in each other the courage and tenacity to brave the elements. As their love for one another grows it becomes a force to be reckoned with—and it will be sorely tested.
Book two: To the Wind, is slated for release in October
For more great writing snippets, please visit Weekend Writing Warriors and Sunday Snippets
For more on Sweet Lenora please visit my website's Sweet Lenora page and the To the Wind page. 

Wednesday Poems: Tree

Wednesday, like all days, is a great day for poetry.

People sometimes ask when I began to write. More interesting, I think, is when was the first impulse towards making art? For me, it was an experience I had when I was ten or so. This is the poem I made from that experience:
Lightning behind tree. Image thanks to  Wikimedia commons
Tree

Deep branches the color of silt
against a crescent moon,
darker than the sky,  reflected
in waving silhouette on the bedroom wall.
It towered over the house, swaying
as the wind sang through it,
a lullaby to accompany the owl,
and the distant wail of a catamount--
like a distressed child lost
in the wood beyond the ridge.

I was ten and my limbs ached
toward the window. I pulled them into
the deep pocket of my body, an embryo
ready to be born into the world.

The heavy scent of rain
pulled moisture into the room.
I held it in my lungs
and imagined that the tree held my breath--
a continuing tandem of breath
moving with certainty.

Clouds grew until they covered the moon
and a rumbling began,
like the shake of God's fisted hand
the wind tossed the tops of the tree
the tendrils of my hair.

One drop shattered against the pane,
and another, a caucophony
of drops hitting the window.
Tympani rhythm
melding into a stream of sound
and gathered into the arms
of night and wind and tree.
 

#8Sunday #SundaySnippets: Dueling

I've begun writing the third novella of the Anton and Lenora series. It's still early days, but it seems to be coming along and I thought I might share a little bit of what I'm writing. The working title for this novella is "All Things Returned" and it's the next installment of an ongoing story set in 1852. In this snip, Anton( a ship captain) has sailed away on short journey and another captain named Jacob Lowell has tried to blackmail Lenora in Anton's absence. She's trying to decide whether or not to tell Anton about it:





Would he challenge Jacob to a duel?  Dueling was illegal, but there were plenty of gentlemen who were willing to meet in a deserted field at dawn. Here in California, our own ex-governor had dueled with the editor of Picayune. No one was harmed beyond a slight wound to the hand and the incident was put aside as a trifling matter. If Anton challenged Jacob, the outcome would not be so benign. One of them would end up dead and, either way, I would lose Anton.  I was stricken by the very thought of it. 

For more Writing Snippets, please visit Weekend Writing Warriors and Sunday Snippets.
The first part of this series, Sweet Lenora, is currently available as an e-book.

Lenora Brewer’s family owns the largest shipyard in Salem Massachusetts and Lenora, as her father’s only living child, is given free rein to learn the business. When Lenora’s father is killed in a carriage accident, her relatives arrange a marriage to a wealthy investor who is rumored to have beaten his first wife to death. Lenora devises a scheme to stowaway on The Sweet Lenora, a ship named for her.
The last thing Anton Boudreaux needs is a naïve young woman stowing away on his ship. The dark and daring captain has secrets of his own to protect.
When Sweet Lenora encounters a dangerous storm off the coast of Brazil, Lenora and Anton find in each other the courage and tenacity to brave the elements. As their love for one another grows it becomes a force to be reckoned with—and it will be sorely tested

Look for To The Wind, part two of the Anton and Lenora series, coming in October.