I'm going on a blog tour with Juniper Grove and Champagne Books. It's a triple play, three of my romantic comedies will be featured on blog stops along the way, with interviews, some reviews of the books, and a few blog posts by yours truly. I'll be posting a schedule on the news page when it's finalized.

As you can see from the banner, the tour is being called "Live, Love, Laugh, with Ute Carbone.  I was perusing the 'fun stuff' aisles of my local Michael's craft store and I came across a vinyl tote that said "Live, Laugh, Love, on it.  Serendipity in action, isn't it? I bought the bag and am currently foraging through local stores for little surprises to fill it with.. Including, maybe --I'm not sayin' for sure--a t-shirt. The goodie bag will be raffled off as part of the tour. Oh yeah, this is going to be fun.  

In a recent interview, I was asked what I would say to my beginning writer self if I could go back and give her advice. It's an interesting question, isn't it? I mulled it over for a bit. 
The usual advice I mete out --only when asked, of course *grins* -- is to write a lot and read a lot and then write some more. It is sound advice, and I'm certainly not the only one who has offered it. But as I look back, I think my beginner already knew to do those things. We all know practice makes you better at what you do. And most writers I've met are avid readers first.
The other thing, though, the thing we don't talk about as often, is the courage it takes to write. Facing down a blank page can be like standing on the high dive. Maybe it's your first time, or maybe you've taken the dive a thousand times before, but each time there's a thrum in your ear, a roiling in your gut. You know you can do it, or you think you can, and the water is mirror smooth and blue and inviting. But it is a long way down.  And if you've done it before, you know it can go wrong,  and the smooth blue water will feel like concrete as you crash into it. 
My advice is  do it anyway. Close your eyes and jump. Pull out the stops and write with your whole heart, your whole being. All good writing comes from this, the thrilling jump forward, the deep dive, the resurfacing. 

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. 

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.”