The Saturday Spotlight with Ute Carbone and Giveaway

Welcome to the Saturday Spotlight, a weekly feature that shines the light on Indie and Debut authors. This week I have the pleasure of introducing:

UTE CARBONE

~Author of Blueberry Truth~

Hi Ute, welcome to the blog, please tell us a little about yourself.

I live in New Hampshire with my husband of thirty three years. We have two grown sons. I love good food, good wine and long walks. I’m a big fan of coffee, chocolate, and great books. I also love the theater.

What inspired you to write Blueberry Truth? 

Blueberry Truth grew out of my experiences as a teacher in a special education school not unlike the one where the main character, Beanie, works. I think Beanie represents the teacher I aspired to be. 

If you could pick a song that fit the mood of your book what would it be and why?

I actually have a playlist for all the books I write. One of the working titles for Blueberry Truth was Blossom for Me which is a line from the Ryan Adam’s song Blossom. The sentiment and music seems just right for the book. Particularly striking is a line that goes: “Without anyone to love you, what will you blossom into?” Which gets right to the heart of what Blueberry truth is about. 

What three Indie books you would recommend to readers?

There are so many wonderful Indie and small press books out there. I recently read Drawing Breath by Laurie Boris, which I highly recommend. Katherine Owen’s wonderful love story When I see you is a must read. And Jude Johnson’s Dragon and Hawk is a western-style historical that kept me reading start to finish.

What would you like readers to walk away with after reading your book?

One reviewer said that the book made her want to go out and do something good in the world. I was touched and a little overwhelmed by that thought. Blueberry is all about struggling to do the right thing, even if it isn’t the easy thing. If it inspires someone, that’s more than I could have asked or hoped for.

Can you share any future plans?

I have a new book out, a romantic comedy called The P-Town Queen. It’s a light, beach read romp, very different from Blueberry Truth! Currently, I’m editing Afterglow, another romantic comedy that will be out in January. I’ve just finished the draft of a historical romance novella, my first foray into that genre. And I’m working on another full-length women’s fiction, which is still in the early stages of development.

**********

Thanks Ute, for being on the blog today, your book sounds terrific. I love the song choice. Wishing you the best of success in your writing career.

GIVEAWAY

Today Ute is giving one copy of her novel to a lucky winner here at Tinasbookreviews. Please leave a comment for an entry and a winner will be picked August 4, 2012.

Beanie MacKenzie and her husband Mac have led perfect lives, with perfect families and perfect jobs they both love, he a leading cardiologist, she a teacher at a school for troubled children. Now they have the perfect home, a big house on a quiet Albany street, just perfect for raising a big family. Only the babies they’ve been trying so hard to conceive just won’t come.

Stressed in her marriage and fearing she may never bear children, Beanie throws herself into her work, surrounded by society’s throwaways. Enter Beanie’s new student, seven-year-old Blueberry Truth Crowley, a fiercely independent child whose life had been anything but perfect. Abused, neglected, and mistrustful of everyone around her, Truth throws a monkey wrench into the perfect order of Beanie’s classroom--and into her very life--challenging Beanie’s notions of motherhood, commitment, and family. But their unlikely bond may be just the thing to teach them both about love.

Find out More about Ute on the WEB.