Ute Carbone
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Inside the Writer's Garret

On writing and life, with a little chocolate thrown in from time to time.

Sweet Lenora Series All In One!

7/10/2016

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I’m really excited about this new bundle.
Sweet Lenora was my first dip into historical fiction. I carried the idea around with me for a long time, a vague story line about a young woman who grew up the daughter of a ship builder and then stows away on a ship. A call for submission by my publisher at Champagne Books put the idea front and center. The call was for a novella featuring a ‘dark hero’.  A sea captain with a shady past came to mind—and with him the young heiress I’d been thinking of for a time began to take shape.
A novella is short—about a third or quarter the length of a full novel- and this seemed a great opportunity to dip into something new. I wrote Sweet Lenora. These characters had a lot more to tell me, so I wrote another novella, To the Wind, which picks up where Sweet Lenora leaves off. Then I wrote a third novella, All Things Returned.  The characters still weren’t done with me, but the publisher didn’t want any more novellas.  So I wrote Sweet Auralie, a full length novel that completed the story. 
What I loved best about this series was the development of the characters over time. Lenora Brewer goes from being a willful young woman, with lots of spirit but also a big dose of naiveté. Over the course of the series, she grows into a capable and wise woman. Anton Boudreaux begins as a daring and fearless young man with an equally big dose of bravado. He grows into a true leader and a man who can open his heart to his wife and family.  The two together grow as a couple, too, from first infatuation to deep and abiding love and devotion. 
What I didn’t like about the series, though, was that the books seemed scattered. Because they were written without a roadmap they weren’t marketed together. And, sales wise, they stood as individual entities without a lot of cohesion. Putting them together into a single package solved this problem.  Now you can read the journey beginning to end as a single read.

To celebrate the Sweet Lenora bundle, I’m giving away three copies of the new e-book.  Click the button below and enter for a chance to win!
Sweet Lenora Series Giveaway
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Stepping Back

7/1/2016

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There is beauty in the world outside my door
There is so much going on in the world, most of it terrible news.  Here in the US, we snipe at each other about which candidate for president would destroy the country faster. And for every step forward, there seems to be a painful step back. Across the Atlantic, in Britain, they’ve decided to draw up the bridge and put up a metaphorical fence, an action that has sent world markets into a tailspin.. In Turkey, a group that hates with such ferocity that they are willing to destroy all that is around them before destroying themselves has blown up yet another group of innocent bystanders. The polar ice caps are melting at an alarming rate. There is a floating atoll of garbage in the Pacific. Clean water is becoming a commodity that might soon be too dear for poor people to afford.
Some days, it seems to me that the entire human race has gone insane. Mama warned us about staring at the sun for too long and we did it anyway.  Some days, I want to turn away, turn it off, tune out. It hurts to see this wonderful bright planet in such a painful state.
I can’t tune out. I am a part of this world, for better or worse, I live here and this is the only home I have. For better or worse. On days like these, in times like these, it is good to step back for a while. To remind myself of all that is right and good and gracious on this planet of ours.
My own life has been blessed with family that I love. With friends I care about.  A garden blooms outside my window, the trees are full and leafy and green. The weather is genial and warm. I have good food (too much good food), and a place to call home.
And maybe the world has been always thus, a mix of blessings and curses. Great good and evil all wrapped into a single package. Small blocks of laughter sewn with small clusters of tears to make a glorious quilt. 
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    This writing journey, this life,  is a long road full of pitfalls and wrong turns. Also, incredible beauty, kindness and friendship with those I've met along the way.I'm so glad you're here to share the road..


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