Monday, August 27, 2012

Ute Carbone


















I’d like to welcome Author Ute Carbone to 'In the Spotlight' this morning. Ute’s an aspiring Romance Novelist who had many dreams of what she wanted to be when she grew up from, fanciful- ballerina, trapeze artist, world class ski racer, doctor, oceanographer to bookstore owner. So now we’re going to find out what brought her to write.

Welcome Ute, thank you for joining us this fine day. Please tell us what life is like in your corner of the world.


Hi Duaine and Cathy. Thanks for having me on your blog. And for the chocolate. There is chocolate, right?

The weather has been wonderful in my little corner of New England, sunny and warm with temperatures in the seventies (that’s degrees Fahrenheit!) The garden tomatoes are ripe. Yum!


Sorry, maybe next time I’ll have to offer the chocolate the most I can do at present is a stupid diet bar. . . Okay, no on the diet bar, so let’s get started, Tell us about you, who is Ute Carbone.

I'm a novelist and sometimes poet who lives in Southern New Hampshire. I’ve been married to the same great guy for a lot of years. We have two grown sons. I love hiking, skiing, and generally communing with nature. I'm a big fan of chocolate, theater, and really good stories.

I write women’s literary fiction, romantic comedy, and just a bit of romance. I have two books currently available: a women’s literary novel, Blueberry Truth, and a romantic comedy, The P-town Queen, My time travel romance novella, The Whisper of Time, is due to be released in later in 2012. Two more romantic comedies are due for release in 2013: Afterglow, in January and Searching for Superman in June. And my short story trilogy, I’ll be Seeing You, will be released in summer 2013.

Sometimes the hardest part about being a writer is getting support from the family, what does your family think about your writing? Have they read your books?

They’ve always been very supportive. They do read my stuff! Well, sometimes anyway.

If you were a superhero, what would be your name and superpower?

Stiletto. She has six inch heels and knows how to use them. She’s my alter ego. I stagger about if I have to wear heels, which is (luckily) not very often.

What interview question have you never been asked that you’re dying to answer? Answer it now.

Hmm, I love music, so maybe a question about that? I listen to a lot of music as I write and have playlists for my books. I have pretty eclectic tastes, but my favorites are rockers like Springsteen, Petty, and Billy Joel. I love singer-songwriters.

It's always interesting to know what authors read. Who is you favorite author?

It’s hard to pick one favorite. My faves often change over time. Right now, I’d have to say Alice Hoffman and Elizabeth Berg are high on my list.

 
With so many other directions you wanted to go in, at what point in your life did the little light go on that told you, you wanted to be an author?

I was a biology major in school, then sweitched to education. I taught Special Education for about eight years. Then I was a stay-at-home mom. When my kids got to be school age, I started writing poetry and over time got more and more serious about writing.

Can you have it all as an author?

I hope so! I like that writing (and reading) can take you just about anywhere.

What aspect of the writing process do you enjoy the most? What part of the process do you dread?

I love creating characters. I like, too, when the writing surprises me—after a while the story takes on a life of its own and I love that aspect of discovery. I’m not too fond of promo. I’m not the world’s greatest salesperson, so selling myself and my work is hard for me.

Tell us a little about your books? Please give us a little preview. Tempt us.

How much time do you have? LOL.

I have two novels currently available. Blueberry Truth is literary women’s fiction. It’s the story of a teacher who fosters a troubled little girl. The P-Town Queen is romantic comedy. It’s about a guy who’s running from the mob and pretends to be gay as a cover-up. The heroine in the story is a shark researcher who hires him. And of course, they’re attracted to each other but she thinks he’s gay and he’s pretending to be gay and there in lies the rub.
  I also have a few things in the works. A Time-Travel novella, called The Whisper of Time, will be out later this year. It’s about a young veterinarian who buys a farm sight unseen and ends up going back in time forty years to find the hero she’s destined for. My next romantic comedy, Afterglow, is coming out in January. The heroine is a fifty-something woman who’s getting divorced and gets her life back on track with a little help from her friend, her kids and the handsome young doctor she falls for. Another romantic comedy, Searching for Superman, is out next June. The heroine works in theater that’s in danger of being torn down. The hero, of course, helps save the theater and proves he’s the guy she’s been looking for all along. Then I also have a short story trilogy coming out next July—three stories of three generations of women and the men they love.

And that’s just what’s getting published! I also have…no, I fear I’ve lost you. So I’ll stop. For now!

If you could change anything about yourself to match a secondary character in one of your books, who would it be and why?

Interesting guestion! Maybe because I was recently working on edits, I’m thinking about Eva, the heroine’s best friend in Afterglow. She’s one of those slightly brash, take charge kind of people. She’s bold and outspoken. I could use a touch more Evaness in myself!

What can readers expect in the coming months? What are you working on now?

Right now, I’m doing a short story for an anthology about weddings. And I’m working on another romantic comedy. The Champagne Authors are also working up a short story anthology, so I’ve begun thinking about a story for them.

Where can we find you on the web?

You can find me and my books at UteCarbone.com. I also have a blog at ute-carbone.blogspot.com

My books are available as e-books from a lot of e-book stores including Amazon.

The P-Town Queen was published by Champagne Books and is available at their site as well.

 

Thank you Ute, it’s been a pleasure.





Monday, August 13, 2012

January Bain


















I’d like to welcome January Bain to our In the Spotlight this morning. January brings her own unique version of Vampire’s in her Forever Series. Her first book Forever Man has jumped right up charts from the get go. So before we begin let’s find out a wee bit about her.


Biography:

January Bain, Storyteller, hails from Ashern, Manitoba, Canada. Married to the love of her life, her husband Don, she has combined her love of romance with her interest in vampires to create the FOREVER SERIES of books. She teaches high school Computer and Business courses during the day and writes in every spare moment she possibly can.

If she could be a super character, she has said it would be “super-teach” endowed with the gift of healing like the heroine in her first novel, Forever Man, to help heal broken spirits. She hopes her characters will touch your heart. She loves to be approached about the journey of writing and can be reached at www.januarybain.ca

She also has a keen interest in hard sci-fi and writes a blog a few times a week about writing time travel novels and future world fiction at http://january-bain-science-fiction-musings.blogspot.ca/

January is also a monthly contributor at The Writers Vineyard.


Welcome January, thank you for joining us this fine day. Please tell us what life is like at this very minute on your spot of earth.

Oh, it’s awesome! Summer time is when I get to write full bore. I’m allergic to sunshine so it’s easy to hunch over my computer and dream away!

Before we get on to the serious stuff, let’s start right out with the fun stuff.

I’ve seen other interviews of you each saying you married to the love of your life tell us a little about how that came to be.

I am blessed! I’m married to the perfect man for me. He’s romantic, hard-working (at this exact moment staining the deck he built), trustworthy, protective and he says he looking forward to my going grey someday! We even get to go to work together as we both teach in the same small town high school. He’s also my dream guy!

Sometimes the hardest part about being a writer is getting support from the family, what does your family think about your writing? Have they read your book?

My sister-in-law is always asking to read my next book. (I’ve finished four from the Forever Series alone, not to mention two science fiction books, one on time travel and one set well into the future), one fun zombie short story and one longer one that is a work-in-progress and two erotic novellas that were written under a different name, one still in progress this summer.) I find her input very helpful. Also, one of my half-sisters loves vampires so she’s very supportive and all my family is darn nice about handing out bookmarks to promote my work. My parents are also supportive.

If you were a superhero, what would be your name and superpower?

Well, in the past I have said “super-teach”, but now I’m thinking “Healer” would work better as the moniker for the superhero that could help heal those in need. The best part of writing Forever Man was experiencing Ellie’s (the heroine) healing power through living her experience in my mind. Of course, there was a small down side of it exhausting her for a few days.

What interview question have you never been asked that you’re dying to answer? Answer it now.

Can you have it all as an author?

The answer is no (for me anyway) at this time of my life what with full time teaching most of the year, a family to support, and three furry children that love attention. I’ve invested hundreds, if not thousands of hours, in writing novels, something has had to give. For me, it’s been social time, though I am still working on that and am truly trying to achieve a better balance in my life. Maybe when I can retire from teaching it will be more possible, but that’s quite a ways away yet!

It's always interesting to know what authors read. Who is you favorite author?

So many wonderful authors… I can say it was Stephen King who first introduced me to modern vampires, followed by Anne Rice. Of course, Bram Stoker’s Dracula has had a big influence on me. I’m also reading a lot of the work by fellow author’s at Champagne Books because the writing is truly stellular!

What point in your life did the little light go on that told you, you wanted to be an author?

Well, not long after I taught myself to read before I went into grade one. I literally found a primer on the street and took it home and taught myself. Then, with a ridiculously overactive imagination, the rest has been history. My fingers literally will not keep up with the output…

What aspect of the writing process do you enjoy the most? What part of the process do you dread?

I actually love all of it. Though, to be honest, if I’m going full bore on an idea I don’t like to stop and go back to work on another book that requires editing so much. I’m trying my hardest to write better first time round to avoid too many rewrites. And yet, as soon as I do get to this very necessary work, I always re-fall in love with the work. To date the timing of things has been pretty darned good. Sometimes it’s almost like the universe is helping!


Now the important stuff, tell us a little about your books? Please give us a little preview. Tempt us.
 
I think I’ll talk about the next book in the Forever Series, Forever Woman. The heroine, Winter Kennedy, is a nurse dying of ALS and goes to Nome, Alaska to try to find the vampire that has been plaguing the town. She wants to trade the vampire for the gift of immortality. But she unexpectedly falls in love with a wonderful man, Aiden. Unfortunately, the vampire she has already contacted will not take “NO!” for an answer now and kidnaps her. Will Aiden be able to save his love? You’ll have to wait till October 1, 2012 to find out!!!



What can readers expect in the coming months? What are you working on now?

I have entered the most imaginative outpouring of words and ideas of my life. I’ve got a lot of proverbial irons in the fire. I made a list a couple of days ago of my creative journey and output since I wrote Forever Man and it literally stunned me. And it was very gratifying as well to know that I have so much to do yet. I keep an idea file so that nothing is lost, because that would be so easy when so many characters are clamoring for attention!

If you could change anything about yourself to match a secondary character in one of your books, who would it be and why?

  Lighten up! I’m way too serious about my work. I need to laugh more, work at being a better human being like Arc (the former Joan of Arc) in Forever Woman.


Why should readers read your books, what is it you January Bain have to offer them?

  I think I’ve seen a lot in my lifetime, lived many places, been a big observer of people and I still have a great deal of hope that this world can be a better place. I think that’s an underlying message to all my work. Julie Eberhart Painter, a wonderful author, picked up on this thread for me as she said I wanted to save everyone. I just wish I could…

Now that you’ve tempted us where can we buy your book?

Champagne Books has done a brilliant job of getting my work out all over the place. Thanks guys!

Thank you for joining us today January, now before we leave tell us where can you be found on the web? (Website, blogs, social network links)

 


Oh, lots of places! And I love to hear from people!


January Bain

STORYTELLER

Forever Man

Forever Woman

Forever Clan

WWW.JANUARYBAIN.CA

jbain@xplornet.com

http://thewritersvineyard.com/

http://january-bain-science-fiction-musings.blogspot.ca/

http://www.humanmade.net/january-bain

http://www.linkedin.com/profile/JanuaryBain

https://www.facebook.com/january.bain

https://www.twitter.com/#?/JanuaryBain

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6437282.January_Bain