BIO:

Donna M. Carbone is a crime novelist whose work is rooted in real-life experience, survivor advocacy, and a deep understanding of violent crime and recovery.

A survivor herself, and the mother of a survivor whose story reached national television, Donna brings a rare authenticity to her writing. Her daughter’s kidnapping and assault in 2007 became the subject of the true account Assault on An Angel, later featured on the I Survived and Surviving Evil, as well as an appearance on the Katie Couric Show.

Donna is the author of the Cat Leigh and Marci Welles crime series, including Through Thick and Thin, Silk Suit / Stone Heart, and Total Submission—novels that blend suspense with emotional truth and the realities of survival. Her standalone novel Private Hell is a fictionalized account inspired by her own early life and escape from domestic abuse.

Beyond fiction, Donna has worked as a freelance writer and columnist, with her opinion column The View from My Pedestal appearing for five years in The Beacon Magazine, along with guest editorials in the Jupiter Courier. Her work has also appeared in various literary publications.

Her experience extends beyond the page. Donna has spoken to women’s groups, appeared on podcasts, and worked directly with survivors, offering support and resources to those rebuilding their lives. She later trained with the FBI and FDLE to deepen her understanding of violent crime and victim recovery—insight that informs her fiction.

In addition to her novels, Donna is an accomplished playwright whose work has been produced at venues including the Palm Beach Institute for the Entertainment Arts, the Dallas Convention Center, and the Kravis Center’s Rinker Playhouse, often to sold-out audiences.

She also serves as Executive Director, Director of Finance, and Publicist at the Palm Beach Institute for the Entertainment Arts, where she teaches writing and continues to mentor emerging voices. She writes, produces and directs most of the shows produced at the Institute.

Donna’s work—whether on the page or the stage—is driven by one belief: survival is not the end of the story.

Expanded Bio:

Donna M. Carbone, the owner of Write For You LLC, a public relations and marketing company, is also a published author, produced playwright and teacher. Her monthly opinion column, The View from My Pedestal, appeared in The Beacon Magazine for five years. She wrote numerous editorials for the Jupiter Courier before it ceased publication. She is the creator and moderator of Tongues a’Wagging community storytelling and A Novel Approach to Literacy – new author meet and greet events. As its executive director, Donna has been the face and soul of the non-profit - Palm Beach Institute for the Entertainment Arts -  since 2018.

Donna often refers to herself as a set of Russian stacking dolls. She got her start on Manhattan’s prestigious Park Avenue. Her first job after graduating from business school was in the public relations department of Lever Brothers Corporation. After two years of soap and maple syrup, she decided to expand her horizons by taking on the financial world. Positions at Chase Manhattan Bank and Nikko Securities soon followed. During her time with Nikko, the second largest securities firm on Wall Street, she grew to love the Japanese people and their culture. That love remains strong today with many items in her home reflecting an Asian theme.

Fast forward nearly fifty years! With a hunger to learn and grown, Donna has had careers in manufacturing and construction, law, medicine and, most recently, the entertainment industry. For three years she managed and wrote for a documentary film company in Palm Beach County. Her success as a writer led her to establish Write For You, LLC in 2011. Starting her own company in a downward spiraling economy was frightening, but when she landed her first client – The Burt Reynolds Institute for Film and Theatre (BRIFT) – she knew she had made the correct decision. One of her proudest moments was when Burt Reynolds told her, “Damn, girl, you can write!”

In 2018, following the death of Burt Reynolds, Donna reorganized BRIFT, petitioned the state to allow a name change and the IRS to recognize and allow the continuation of the new organization as a non-profit in good standing, replaced the board of directors and established the Palm Beach Institute for the Entertainment Arts, Inc. PBIEA is a successful small original concept theater and school recognized in the community for supporting literacy and the needs of the people it serves. Donna has created and taught numerous classes and courses which adhere to the Institute’s motto - “Education Through Entertainment.”

Donna’s poetry and short stories have appeared online and in respected magazines. Her monthly column, The View from My Pedestal, appeared for five years in The Beacon magazine. She was a constant contributor to the Jupiter Courier until the newspaper ceased publication. She is the author of seven fictionalized books based on true stories and has written and produced numerous stage plays. Since her daughter's kidnapping and rape in 2007, she has been an outspoken voice for women's rights and also advocates for better health programs for veterans.

Donna’s one-man show – Fear Sells - about negative advertising was commissioned as the closing offering at the TEDxJupiter conference. She was a Scenemaker of the Week in the Palm Beach Post and is an award winner for her children’s writing program, Young Hemingways.