BIG NEWS AHEAD

Today, with big news on the way, we've been working hard to set up the socials for  Emmeline Productions. You can now catch us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook just by searching for Emmeline Productions. 

We have big news coming, so make sure not to miss out! 

Happy reading!

A kind-of win...

 I'm very proud to say that as well as setting up my own company this year, Emmeline Productions, I'm also a founding member of the Birmingham-based writing collective, Script Sirens.  

Having only been established a little over a year ago, the Sirens have already been nominated for two awards - the Royal Television Society Award as well as the Pod Bible Awards.

As you can see, we didn't win but we came second, which for something in its infancy, is pretty damned good. 

So keep your eyes peeled and your ears pinned back, because I hope to be able to give you a little update on exactly what we've been up to at Emmeline, very soon. 

Until then, happy reading and stay safe. x

Men In Sheds and other news.

Hello everyone!

Well we're still in January... doesn't it go on? Cold, dark drizzly days almost without end.

So we all need a bit of cheering up, right? Luckily I've got lots of news!

As you know, I've always got lots of different projects on at once, so to save me typing a long list, and you trudging your way through it, I'll update you only on the things that are moving more swiftly.

I have an eight part podcast coming shortly with brilliant co-writer Alexandra Taylor. Beneath The Waves is based on a true and current situation and is set in Wales. It's a drama but has humour there too and just the tiniest possibility of a blooming romance... you're gonna love it.

I have also been asked to write a TV/Netflix series set in the 80s so I'm currently researching this (and yes, I was around then, thank you, but not in the location the series is set in).

My BFI Network supported film is currently with the director and I hope things will soon be moving on that, and yesterday I signed a collaborative agreement with the very lovely and visionary Michele Lammas, in order to turn her children's book into a screenplay.

On top of that I have another big project with director Ben Bloore which is coming along really well.

As well as the zillions of other TV/film/animations I have ongoing...

But what I really wanted to mention in this post, is men. Older men. Things have changed a lot since I was a child, and now there are as many men as women who take and collect kids from school, make dinners, load washing machines.

But for the 60 plus generation, this wasn't something that came naturally. Consequently, these men, once their working lives are over, often feel misplaced in society, redundant - useless. Women, the lynchpin of most families, continue generally to do what they always did - care for children, emotionally support the family... but their men folk are being left behind.

That's why The Shed is such a great concept. Providing a place for men to meet, share expertise and help each other over a cuppa, it gives men not just somewhere to go, but a support group to turn to.

As a woman myself, I've seen what happened when my own parents retired from work. My mother found numerous new hobbies (and indeed a new husband along the way, but that's a different story entirely)  while my dad became isolated and lonely.

So take a look at the clip below. And if either yourself or a loved one fancies popping along to see what it's all about, I'm sure they'd be very welcome.

Until then - happy reading! x

Men In Sheds - Bromsgrove

Just a quick hello...

At the moment I am frantically busy finishing off three very different film scripts - I promise I'll tell you all about them, as soon as I can.  

What I can tell you, is that not only are they different genres, but they are vastly different settings, with one set in a large city in China, and another set in Birmingham. 

So, back to work for me after the half term and my strange virus. 

Have a wonderful week, everyone. 

Bromsgrove mourns.

I haven't written a post about the tragic death of a Bromsgrove teenager for a specific reason.

Like much of Bromsgrove, I knew the boy personally. Not as the teenager he eventually became, but as a younger child, when he was friends with my eldest son.

As children sometimes do, they eventually went their own ways - but I still saw him at school assemblies and ceremonies.

Whilst I'm aware that my grief at his passing cannot possibly compare to those who knew him better, nor even touch the mountain of overwhelming loss and devastation felt by his parents and sister, it has been a hard thing to come to terms with.

I have found myself in tears over the past two weeks, in turn hoping and praying that he would be found safe and well, before sinking into despair that he wouldn't.

And even as a writer, I'm aware that my words don't do justice to the grief of this whole community, who rooted for his safe return even, against overwhelming odds.

We are parents too - most of us facing the need to let our own children truly stretch their wings for the first time.

And it's terrifying.

I look at my own 18 year old and I remember with horror the risks I took, when I too thought that I was invincible.

You teens who are reading this, please, please, please look after yourselves. The world is a dangerous place and whilst we want you to have fun and explore, inside we are terrified.

We can't bring this beautiful young man back - but I hope we can prevent future tragedies.

Shine bright Tom Jones. You are a guiding light. x

Do you know what they're saying about Split Decision?

Blakes Restaurant Reception.

Last weekend I attended a champagne reception at the newly refurbished Blakes Restaurant.

The refurbished @Blakes_Bar #restaurant. Who will it suit? #Birmingham #Brumhour #amreading. Photo courtesy of @GezinGastro pic.twitter.com/CNe8kS8uip

— carmen capuano (@carmencapuano) October 3, 2017

Blakes is set within the Westmead Hotel, conveniently situated on the southern fringes of Birmingham, just a short drive from the M42 and M40. I have been to the Westmead many times in the past but, I confess, not for many years.

Always known for its good reputation, I hoped that its current owner who had acquired the hotel several years ago, had continued to maintain its former standards. And I wasn't disappointed.

The restaurant has been tastefully redecorated in neutral tones, with here and there a turquoise accent thrown in for good effect. Nowhere was it over the top.

Because of this, the décor and menu would as easily suit a business dinner or lunch as it would a couple seeking a romantic dinner a deux. And with a menu which abounded with reasonably priced dishes, including a great choice of freshly baked pizzas, I could see families wishing to dine there too.

Having sampled some of these on the night, I would thoroughly recommend them.

Sisters are doing it [okay not entirely) for themselves.

Remember how I bought the house I'm currently living in, almost two years ago? And how filled with enthusiasm I was about renovating it?

Yes. Well... What can I say? Almost two years on and the shine has gone off that idea. Ever-so-slightly. Don't get me wrong, I'm still doing things to it, but at a much slower pace. Partly because there is so little other than decorating [and writing novels] that I can do well.

So it was with much joy that I signed up for the free Ladies Night at my local DIY store. Now from the off I knew this wasn't going to be your average Ladies Night. Here the only stripper on offer would be of the wallpaper or paint variety, and that suited me just fine.

Because Broad Street DIY in Bromsgrove promised to show me how to drill [straight] holes and how to make a neat silicone sealant line. It was the latter that really appealed, because when I tried to do this before, it looked like I was icing the bath. The stuff was everywhere. Literally everywhere. On the bath, the floor, me, the dogs...

On top of all this, Broad Street were making it a social event with beverages, gourmet sandwiches, snacks, scones and cakes that neither my daughter nor I even tried to resist.

I watched a demonstration on tiling, I was tutored on how to silicone [neatly] and I was instructed on the use of all the best tools for the job.

And that wasn't all. I was given a free ticket for a prize draw and a goodie bag at the end of the night.

Like two kids, as soon as we were home, my daughter and I pulled out the contents of the goodie bag, which included a full size tape measure and a variety of trial sized products. So whilst my daughter made off with a lollipop, I set about measuring everything in the kitchen  - just because I could.

So whilst I don't think I'm quite up to retiling the bathroom just yet, I'll certainly be stepping up to the silicone challenge. Besides with my Scottish/Latin temperament it's probably the only gun I'll ever be allowed to get my hands on!

Move over Carole Smilie - here I come.

With special thanks to Broad Street DIY, Broad Street, Bromsgrove. http://www.broadstreetdiy.co.uk/

Matilda - The Owners, Volume VII: Hunter's Moon

A little peek at Matilda...

Careful you don't look too long though, for she is a feisty one!


Excerpt from The Owners, Volume VII: Hunter's Moon.

Matilda awoke before the others. Taylor lay beside her, his face partially obscured by the arm he had thrown over his eyes to block out the rising sun. Part of her longed to move his arm and gaze at the face she had known so long and so well but her resolve would not let her do so. She had taken on the role as leader of this hunting party and if it killed her, she would neither ask for his support nor subordinate herself to him. 

She owed it to their people to be strong and more than that, she owed it to the little child, Verity, who might already be dead.

Did I cling to her because I have no children of my own? It was a fair question and one she wasn’t entirely sure she could answer. Would I have felt differently if I had had a brood of my own children, clinging to my shirttails like all the other women? she wondered. Either way, does it really matter? Things were how they were, after all. She rose quietly, moving with a catlike grace, unwilling to wake the others until she was no longer sharing a space with Taylor.

On her feet, she circled the group. Everyone slept deeply and she was surprised into a revelation as she bent to shake them awake, one at a time.

“We could have been attacked and killed in our sleep, slaughtered without us even knowing we were in danger,” she said, once she had their full attention.

Taylor sat up and rubbed his eyes. “Well we weren’t. And I think that’s a little unlikely…”

Matilda didn’t give him time to finish. “Why not? You think that monster is afraid of us? After he snatched a little child right out from under our noses and left without even a scratch? Oh yes, he must be very afraid!” She heard the sarcasm in her own voice but was unable to reign it in.

She saw Taylor’s eyes widen in surprise and she instinctively knew it was not from either her words or her tone of voice but the way the criticism was directed straight at him.

“He was too high too fast for the arrows to reach,” he said simply.

“I know,” she agreed, hoping that he understood her frustration. They had been speaking as if there were only the two of them in the conversation, only the two of them standing there, with nothing and no-one else around for miles. Now she turned so that her words addressed them all, equally.

“From now on, we post a guard. If we do somehow manage to find him, the battle has to be on our terms, at a time and place of our choosing, not his.”

She was right, and they all knew it. Enough had been said, there was no point in pressing the issue. She bent and began to pack up their meagre camp.

If you would like to find out more, then follow the link on the right to find the first volumes in this epic tale

Happy Reading!

An Exciting New Book

Oh it's a good start to the day...

I have just started to write a story that's been rattling around my brain for about three years. It's going to be a dark one!

Here's the very first paragraph:-

I sit on the hospital bed and wait for them to come for me. The smell of disinfectant is overpowering. It’s too clean, too sterile, as if it intends to wipe out every living thing from the face of the earth. Perhaps it should start with me.

There’s nothing here to look at except the other patients. I try to avoid looking at them, not because it’s rude to stare, but because I don’t want their attention returned to me.

Happy Reading!

Press Release as featured in newspapers.

Worcestershire author Carmen Capuano is about to make a bit of a stir this month, with the release of her latest novel, Ascension, which she describes as a cross between The Hunger Games and The Da Vinci Code.

“Ascension will make a lot of people uncomfortable. It’s certainly not a book for the faint hearted – and that’s exactly why I was so driven to write it,” says Capuano.
And it’s not the author’s first foray into uncomfortable territory. Split Decision which was published previously, caused a small furore when it came out, for its gritty content. Now, under even bigger publishers, Capuano hopes to earn more acclaim for this newest offering.

“I believe that if a story doesn’t make you sit up and think, then the author isn’t doing their job correctly. People tell me my books are riveting and it’s exactly for that reason that I write them.”

And Capuano is no stranger to controversy. “Having been raised as both a Protestant and a Catholic in Glasgow, I was best placed to see how religion can be used as a tool, to control, and to ignite passions.”  

Set in a dystopian world where unmarried mothers are vilified within their Ascension religion, having their children removed and being used as the under-belly of society, the story is fast-paced and gripping.

“Because of the way I write, each new twist and turn of the plot left me breathless, eager for the next page… Ascension’s world is like a dark mirror to our own, an alternative route through our history and the main character is as strong and as bold as I hope I could be in her circumstances.”

Ascension is available through Amazon and all major book retailers.

Bromsgrove Standard article

Thanks to the Bromsgrove Standard.

A little gem of a place.

Being around and about Stourport recently, I have been introduced to the Bay Horse public house, on the Hartlebury Road, much to my delight. 

In a day and age of pubs which sprout false plastic beams from every juncture of ceiling and wall, here is a pub that's the real deal. Quaint and traditional without being either tatty or old-fashioned, it has that warmth of yesteryear with none of the heavy-handedness of deliberate retrogressive interior design. The pub looks cute and quaint because it is exactly that.

Likewise the attitude of the management and bar staff belong to another era, one where customers were warmly welcomed without being intruded upon, where diners and drinkers alike were free to have as much camaraderie and rapport with the staff as they wished, without feeling as if the smiles were fake and the opinions proffered were bland pleasantries. Wish that it were so in all pubs. 

Who hasn't nowadays visited an establishment where the staff are almost indifferent to the needs of their customers, where the queue at the bar comes secondary in importance to finding out what Jim did on his night off? Where walls have been pained an off-white to look older than they are, and where leather sofas have been bought with that 'worn look' to add to the fake ambiance? 

And that's where the Bay Horse has it all going on for real. Add to this a full and varied menu from which there seems to be almost too much choice, and I was captivated. Twice now I have eaten there, and twice I have been more than pleased with my meal - large flavoursome portions which were complimented by crisp salads and tasty chips.

So when I'm back down that way, guess where you will find me... That's right, tucked into a warm corner, knife and fork in hand.

Until then - Happy Reading! x  

ELSA will not be challenged!

ELSA will not be challenged. Taken from Future Perfect.

I don’t give them a chance to answer. The guns are in position and ready.


There are seventeen people directly in the weapons’ lines of sight - eight women, three men and six children.


All guns fire simultaneously. Smoke billows into the air and bodies fall soundlessly to the ground, holes torn in their soft human flesh. One woman twists as she falls, probably dead before she hits the ground. But in perhaps that last moment of life, of awareness, she pulls a young child against her, shields his body with her own. She topples on top of him, saving his life with the sacrifice of her own. It’s to be in vain.

I roll the assignment vehicle over the dead and the dying, unable to hear the crush of bones, the wet squelching of ruptured organs, under its weight, but satisfied of the outcome nonetheless. This sector decided its fate the moment it did not comply with my demands. There will be no mercy. There cannot be.

Danger alert!

Oh! Things are starting to get dangerous for Prudence Smith...

But in both of these scenarios it would be my life and that of my family which would be the most affected. Either Helena’s child would be looked upon with fear and mistrust, reviled and cast out from society, or I would, for my truthfulness. Whatever the outcome, my family would be ostracised. So I continue to keep my mouth shut.

Don't forget to click on the link to see my published books.

Happy reading! x

Cancelled!

I'm afraid I won't be at the Hive tonight, as I've had to cancel due to some frightening events which have taken place in my house.

Rest assured there will be many other things and people there to entertain you, and you will still have a wonderful time without me.

If you were hoping to purchase a signed copy of one of my books tonight, I do apologise. Please email me on Carmen.capuano@ymail.com and I'll see what I can do.

Happy Reading.

Character in distress

As you may know, I have been writing a new book, based on real life. The characters are strong and the storyline is flowing well, however last night something happened that will change my work schedule over the next few months.

A character came to me, so in distress and desperate that I tell her tale, that I am compelled to put aside the current book, to enable me to write this new story. This isn't a new phenomenon to me. Sometimes characters are so desperate to be heard that they will interrupt my sleep or my waking moments until I take heed of them. I could see from the off that Prudence was going to be one of those.

So what's she like? Well she's strong but surprisingly sweet of nature. And she's very much in love. But she's also in grave danger...

I'll keep you posted on her progress!

Happy Reading!

Calling All Black Country Bibliophiles!

On Friday I will be live with the wonderful Fizzogs, on Black Country Radio, 102.5fm. We will be  talking about my published books and my forthcoming release, Ascension, due out early next year.

Acerbically witty and wickedly talented, these ladies have become a world-wide hit and have productions to their credits as diverse as Freezin'  [a comedic take on the animated film Frozen], Fifty Shades of Fizzog, Kippin Beauty [ Black Country  colloquialism for sleeping],  as well as their hilarious routine as the Dancing Grannies.

It was as these alter egos that I first encountered them. Loud cardigans pulled over cavernous, drooping chests, they were a sight to behold. When they danced, the whole room became still and focused. Not a single glance was stolen away from their performance, and the applause was raptutrous.

So what will they make of me and my books? Of all the interviews and talks I have given, they are probably the most likely not to bat an eyelid when I tell them that in my dystopian science fiction series, humans are kept as pets by other, larger, feathered creatures called Eyons.

And I am sure that they will love the premise of Split Decision, where the main characher has a life-changing decision to make, even if she doesn't know it at the time.

But of Ascension, dark and brooding and beautifully dystopian - what might they make of that?

Well if you are keen to find out, join me at 9.10 on Friday, live on the radio. I'm so excited!

Until then, as ever, happy reading!

Showstopper

For the past academic year, my daughter has been perfecting her role as a lioness in a school production of The Lion King, so obviously I bought a ticket for one of the performances of the show this week.

Now it may surprise you to know this, but underneath this hard, Glaswegian exterior, is a heart that's as soft as a marshmallow. I kid you not! In fact I couldn't watch the animation of this film when my children were little, without dissolving into a puddle of tears. Not just the first time, but every time!

Likewise, I don't watch King Kong, because it breaks my heart, and if I ever watch a sentimental movie, I am a blubbering mess for days after. But this was a school production of a tale set in Africa and where all the characters were animals... how were a group of kids going to pull this off in any moderately interesting way?

I imagined lots of pretend animal noises and cardboard masks, coloured-in by the kids themselves.
Not so!

What these middle school children pulled off was such a refined performance, that I was thoroughly entranced. All of the major parts had been given to budding actors and actresses who quite frankly, acted and sang their socks off.

But the one person who made it for me, was the young girl who played 'Scar'. Her performance was so riveting, so filled with elements of light and shade, that she came across both as a dynamic and seasoned performer.

This show had everything it should have had, humour, wit, great costumes and interesting dialogue. And it was put across with real heart and soul. The costumes were well thought out and designed, and the music sung with gusto and just the right amount of poignancy.

So there's nothing more for me to add, other than:- Kids you were fantastic and I loved every minute!

And whenever you have another production, rest assured, I'll be there!

Until then, happy reading!

Firstly, can I please thank the wonderful audience who attended my most recent talk, last week. Not only was I told that my books are captivating and that my writing is beautiful, but I was also given cake afterwards. [I love this job!]

Today I am writing, so here is a little bit of a chapter from the book I'm currently working on, set in a dystopian world where things are beginning to fall apart...

“Where is he?" I am panicked and I expect her to try to calm me down. She doesn’t.

“There were complications,” she says distractedly. She moves as if to walk past me but I grab her arm, harnessing her in place. Her face is so close that I can feel her breath against my skin but only for a second, before she turns away.

“What do you mean complications?” I manage to spit the entire sentence out, even though the words threaten to choke me. Bile coats the inside of my mouth and I can’t seem to entirely swallow it back down. I am more afraid than I have ever been before.

Happy Reading!