Message from Donna:

Every author has his/her reason for writing. Some crave fame and fortune... a sure to be disappointment. Others have more personal reasons for setting pen to paper. For me, a quote spoken 200 years ago by the British poet Lord Byron says it all -- "A drop of ink may make a million think."

I write in the hope that the millions of drops of ink that become words on the pages of my books will keep people safe in an ever increasingly dangerous world. I know what it is like to be on the receiving end of violence. I know what it is like to have someone you love survive a violent crime.

In 2007, my daughter Jessica was brutally beaten and repeatedly raped in her apartment in North Palm Beach, Florida. Her attacker was the complex maintenance man. He gained entrance to Jessica's unit using his master key. He gained control of Jessica by pressing a machete against her throat. For three and a half hours he tormented, tortured and abused her. And, yet, she survived.

Today Jessica is happily married with two beautiful children. She is stronger and wiser for the experience. But, Jessica's outcome is not the norm. Most people suffer the effects of violent crime for the rest of their lives. I write because I do not want anyone to face such a future.

My books - The Cat Leigh and Marci Welles crime novel series (and Private Hell) - subtly dispense information on how to stay safe... information which I have learned from law enforcement experts in the years since Jessica was attacked. 

Cat Leigh and Marci Welles are homicide detectives with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office. The stories are - to borrow a television term - dramadies. Yes, people are murdered, but people also live, laugh and love. While the books are categorized as crime novels, they are also about friendship, loyalty, dedication and values. The stories feature people like you and me... people who are humanized by their strengths and weaknesses.

The role model for the Cat Leigh character is my daughter. Her partner, Marci Welles, is Mary Bedwell Bain, Jessica's best friend since high school and an actual CSI with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. Mary was instrumental in helping to capture Jessica's attacker. Never have you met two more unlikely people to be such good friends. I hope you will read my books and get to know these amazing ladies. I guarantee you will want to sit down and share a cup of coffee with them.

I am also hoping to meet those of you who live in Palm Beach County (South Florida) at one of my regular "A Novel Approach to Literacy" author meet and greet events. This is your chance to hear directly from local authors about what they write and why they write. Literacy is always at the top of their list! ~ Donna ~

Bio:

Donna M. Carbone is a freelance writer and contributor to numerous news services. Her monthly opinion column, The View from My Pedestal, appeared in The Beacon Magazine for five years. Her guest editorials were published frequently in the Jupiter Courier. Sadly, the Courier ceased publication in April 2019. Donna’s poetry and short stories have been featured in recognized publications.

In December 2015, Donna published the first Cat Leigh and Marci Welles crime novel titled Through Thick and Thin. In December 2016, she published Silk Suit/Stone Heart - the second book in the series. After a long delay necessitated by Donna being contracted to write several plays, in 2020 she published Total Submission, the third Cat and Marci crime novel.

Private Hell, the story of one woman's struggle with years of abuse and her eventual solution and escape, was published in April 2016. Private Hell is semi-autobiographical in that it uses Donna's personal experiences with domestic abuse as its foundation.

In 2009, Donna published Assault on An Angel-A Rape Survivor’s Story. This is the true account of her daughter’s kidnapping and rape in 2007. The story has been featured on both the History Channel's I Survived series and Investigation Discovery' Surviving Evil. Prior to the airing of Surviving Evil, Donna and Jessica were guests on the Katie Couric Show. Assault on An Angel is no longer available as a free-standing book selection. It is included in Through Thick and Thin so that readers can read both the factual and fictional account of Jessica’s assault.

In 2017, Donna and Rosario Liotta, a recently released felon who had been unjustly convicted of manslaughter in a clear case of self-defense, collaborated on Bread and Bullets - The Rosario Liotta Story. Bread and Bullets is a “tell all” book of how a hard-working commercial baker turned his small, one delivery van operation into a multi-million dollar enterprise that served upscale restaurants, hotels and grocery chains all along the East Coast of Florida only to have it crumble in a hail of bullets. The book, which was published in April 2019, is currently being considered for a major motion picture.

Donna has become an outspoken advocate for victims of violent crime and has been interviewed in both hard copy media and on radio. Along with Jessica, she has been in contact with hundreds of women, offering support and resources for those struggling to move forward. She also advocates for better healthcare for our veterans.

Fear Sells is Donna's commentary on fear as a marketing tool. The one-man show was featured as the closing offering at the TEDxJupiter conference in November 2013 and featured the multi-talented Peter Marzilli as a struggling actor faced with auditioning for characters with less than desirable character traits. The story focuses on the type of advertising television viewers are assaulted by every hour of every day.

The stage play Shell of a Man, a five year labor of love for Donna, was presented under the auspices of The Black Academy of Arts and Letters at the Dallas Convention Center in April 2015 and at the Vanilla Box Theatre (2017) and the Burt Reynolds Institute for Film and Theatre (2018). The play is under consideration by theaters across the country.

In February 2021, Donna’s play - The Intersection of Lincoln and Parks - debuted at the Palm Beach Institute for the Entertainment Arts (PBIEA). The play, which asks audience members to consider what could have happened the night Rosa Parks was arrested had the last living relative of Abraham Lincoln also been a passenger on the bus, received rave reviews and was carried over for additional performances. In February 2022, Intersection of Lincoln and Parks was performed at the Kravis Center’s Rinker Playhouse before sold out crowds and, again, received rave reviews.

Donna’s newest plays - Soul Searching (a look at an afterlife in which God and Satan are business partners) and Women, Wisdom and Wine (eight women of a certain age speaking openly about issues of importance), were produced at PBIEA again before sold out crowds in 2022 and 2023.

Donna also teaches writing courses at the Palm Beach Institute for the Entertainment Arts, where she is Executive Director/Director of Finance, Publicist and resident playwright.

Please visit PBIEA’s website to see what plays, concerts, and events are on the schedule.

www.palmbeachinstituteforentertainmentarts.com

Photography courtesy of Jessica Carbone McKinney

Contact Donna at:

Phone: 561 385-1584

Email: write4you@comcast.net