Donna M. Carbone, a former Wellington resident now living in Palm Beach Gardens, published the first in a series of crime novels in January 2016 featuring two female homicide detectives with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office titled Through Thick and Thin.
The main characters, Cat Leigh and Marci Welles, are based on real people: her daughter, Jessica Carbone McKinney, a survivor of kidnapping and rape, and Mary Bedwell Bain, an actual CSI with the PBSO. McKinney lives in Loxahatchee and Bedwell Bain lives in Royal Palm Beach. The two women have been best friends since their days at Wellington High School, and Bedwell Bain was instrumental in the capture and conviction of Carbone McKinney’s attacker in 2007.
After her daughter’s assailant was behind bars for life, Carbone wrote a short story titled Assault on an Angel in an attempt to make women more aware of the dangers all around them. The story was picked up by the History Channel’s “I Survived” series and Investigation Discoveries’ “Surviving Evil” series. Both shows created episodes based on the facts of the case. Mother and daughter were guests on the Katie Couric Show and were interviewed in numerous publications.
The second Cat Leigh and Marci Welles crime novel, Silk Suit/Stone Heart, was published in late December 2016.
In 2016, Carbone also published Private Hell, a semi-autobiographical crime novel based on her early life in an abusive relationship. “The story within the story is true,” Carbone said. “Forty-five years ago, there were few resources for women in abusive relationships. Even now, with more help available, women are afraid to leave their abusers. I want them to know they are not alone and that they are strong enough to break away and move on with their lives.”
Also on the horizon is a big change in Carbone’s normal writing style. In the next few months, she expects to publish Lambie and Me, a children’s book in the style of Calvin and Hobbes. “My grandson is such a clever little boy. The things he says inspired me to write the first book in what I hope will become a beloved series for parents, grandparents and all adults who love kids,” Carbone said.
Carbone’s illustrator for the book is Kevin Mayle. “Kevin’s drawings are so lifelike that my grandson immediately recognized his image and that of his best friend, Lambie.”
All of Carbone’s books are available on www.amazon.com in paperback and for Kindle.
ABOVE: Donna M. Carbone
