*** COMPETITION TIME!!! ***

With so much going on, I thought it would be nice to host a competition to win a signed copy of one of my books and to include a personalised  message. 

To enter, head over to my facebook page and simply tag a friend, it's that simple. Good luck!

First Review In

I'm thrilled by the first review for Invisible. And it has two lots of 5 STARS as well!!!

To read the first chapter, click above. 

OUT NOW!

I am delighted to say that Volume 4 of the Owners series is out now and available as an ebook and in paperback.

Dreaming Big

Several years ago I bought a house which was in a really bad state of repair. I knew it would be a tonne of work. But I had no idea of the nightmares that would arise in what appeared to be an idyllic spot. 

Follow the journey with me in posts coming soon. 

 

             

Happy World Book Day!

 

I had intended to publish another book, Volume 4 of this series in fact, for World Book Day - in other words, today. 

But if you've scrolled through these blog posts, you'll have seen how busy I've been. And the truth is that what you are seeing here, is only a fraction of the projects I have underway. 

So hold onto your hats as there's more to come. And I promise Volumes 4 and 5 of this series will be out soon. 

Come talk to me about my latest book releases.

Tickets can be purchased here or via Facebook.

 

College and school talks

In the coming months I will be popping up here, there and everywhere, as I give talks at a number of schools and colleges about writing, publishing books, writing for film and TV, and running film festivals. I'm absolutely thrilled to be encouraging and ushering a new generation of  creatives into the industry. 

People have a skewed idea of what working in this industry is like. Some think it's a never-ending barrel of laughs, like the blooper reels from films and TV series we see so often on social media. Some think it's a hard, hostile, dog-eat-dog environment, and others think it's all champagne, red carpet events and glamour. The truth is of course, a lot more complex. 

I personally have gone full circle, more or less. When I was at school I wanted to be an actress and so at eighteen I left for London and the glamour that supposedly waited there. I never imagined that all these years later I'd be working on the other side of the camera, and that in 2025 I'd be busier than ever. 

Merry Christmas and may 2025 be as interesting as 2024 but in a nicer way...

 Merry Christmas one and all. 

I'm not going to lie, 2024 has been a challenging year but then, haven't they all? There have been some real highs and some spectacular lows. 

I set up Filmmakers United CIC and Envisage International Film Festival which is already receiving lots of film submissions, and I have realised a tonne of things, both metaphorical and actual. I've watched some amazing films whilst hosting the Stratford on Avon Film Festival and the Birmingham Horror Film Festival and I've been nothing but impressed by the standard of the films and documentaries. 

Now that I'm watching and rating the submissions that are pouring in for Envisage International Film Festival, I'm humbled by the talent I see around me, so much so that recently whilst watching a much acclaimed film on TV by a globally-known director, I ended up comparing the new films to that older one. 

The acting in the old film is still phenomenal but everything else has suffered the curse of the passage of time. The dialogue was dated, the camera skills clunky and it was too heavy in close-up "dramatic shots". But more damning was the attitude and concept of the film which centred around the fact that a man had been imprisoned for rape but - and get this -  it was most likely wrongful imprisonment because the prosecuting lawyer "had buried" the fact that the "girl was promiscuous". Sorry, what? 

I'm not going to delve into societal changes which are now reflected on our screens - that's a whole different conversation. My point is that line would never have been written in a modern film - and the world is a better place for that shift. And yet I am jarred by the realisation that I have found myself emotionally back where I was in my twenties, striving forward, desperate to change the world for the better, but this time filled with less hope and more acknowledgement that I am but a minute speck in the universe. 

Recently having had Covid for the umpteenth time I missed a social event I was due to attend and afterwards I was told I was missed. I think the surprise on my face showed. I can't imagine anyone missed me at all. And yet this year has brought great validation for my work from both my peers and from those much more established and higher up the industry ladder than I. 

My little animation got five film festival nominations, one of which was from the Royal Television Society no less, and I have genuinely lost count of the amount of people who told me they were touched by it. TV commissioners have gone out of their way to tell me how much they love my scripts and people I have worked with have given genuine praise and  congratulations. I've been told over and over that I'm a joy to work with and that my work deserves success and yet I feel like a coiled spring inside. 

All my life I've aimed to make the world a better, kinder place. I've rescued animals, I've volunteered for charities, I've done a tonne of stuff that might have impacted one or two lives for the better, but never really made a huge difference anywhere. My plan remains to use the profits from my various companies to do the job better. But there is still so much cruelty everywhere. I turn on the news and am bombarded with sickening images and stories. Instagram and social media in general is a scroll through cruelty interspersed with vacuous people sharing pointless posts. 

I spent two days this week trying to find the owners of a very ill cat I'd found before it got put to sleep; I rescued lots of pigeons and birds which didn't make it and my soul aches with the seeming futility of it all. And then yesterday I saw the most beautiful, lush fox in my garden, and I was reminded that there is still so much beauty in the world. So much to still keep fighting for. 

Next year I shall be launching several new books and have a lot of exciting news to announce so until then I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and New Year. But if you are like me and not currently filled with the joys of the season, just remember you're not alone in feeling more than a little blue. 

Until 2025... x 

 

ASCENSION

I'm excited to announce that I am about to re-release Ascension.

I originally wrote this book around 2010 and it was published by a traditional publisher but now I'm releasing it under my own publishing brand. It's a very dark novel and a very important one to me, as it was one of the first books I ever wrote.

I hope you enjoy it. x

Recipes...

Are you someone who tries to eat healthily? If so I have the answer to your prayers: let me introduce Recipes for Performance Sports.

Devised and edited with nutrition in mind, this little book is packed with great recipes, and at £2.55 it's a steal. 

Book Week, Scotland

I am absolutely thrilled and delighted to have been invited to be a part of Book Week, Scotland. I hope to see you there! 

CURSED - out now!

 I'm delighted to tell you that Cursed is now available to buy. You can find it on Amazon or contact me to request a signed copy. 

SALE!

Recently I was asked to write a few lines about what libraries meant to me as a child, for a publication. This is what I wrote: 

I was a voracious reader as a child, and tackled books that were far beyond expectations for my age. 

Libraries were my salvation. There, amongst the scent of wood and polish, the librarians with their hair held tightly back in a bun and stacks of books that never judged me for the poverty that prevented me from buying fresh, crisp books, I lost, and found myself.  

But writing those few lines made me think. I've spent a lot of time writing books over the past decade and a half, and I've watched prices creep up on everything from petrol to bread. Has it had a knock on effect on my sales? Well yes. But I'm no longer chasing the dream. I don't have to. So instead of raising my prices in line with inflation, I'm going to do the opposite...

On the 15th September the price of Split Decision (ebook) will lower on Amazon.co.uk to 99p and on Amazon.com to $0.99, for a short period of time. Likewise you can now pre-order the 2nd Edition of  The Owners, Volume 2: Storm Clouds for 99p. Cheaper than a 2 for 1 deal!

Happy reading. 

Why I do what I do

Two weeks ago I released the family drama The Boy Who Rescues Pigeons. It was to be my third book release of 2023. (I wrote about my inspiration and reason for this book which you can find if you scroll down a few posts.)

Somewhere between releasing the dystopian science fiction novel Future Imperfect and The Boy Who Rescues Pigeons I realised I needed help. If you've been following my books, you'll already know that all my profits go to animal charities, animal rescues and children's charities, so paying for advertising has always been contra-intuitive for me. I wanted to be able to give money to the various global charities and rescues, and I couldn't do that if I was spending the money on advertising... But sales were less than great. And little money coming in meant that little money could go to good causes. 

And then a strange thing happened. The interest in The Boy Who Rescues Pigeons was obvious, even before I released the book. This interest has far outweighed any of my other books and the love that I have felt from readers and other authors has taken my breath away. Two in particular have been a great source of information on marketing and advertising, things I'd never really done before. Between them they have advised me on a variety of marketing approaches, all of which I'm trying out. Hopefully the money spent on advertising will generate more money that I can use to help save and improve animal and children's lives. 

So why do I give my profits away? Well I'm naturally frugal (some would go so far as to say tight), but I prefer the term careful. I'm not a shopper, I don't eat meat and I don't like fine wines. I'm generally happy with a Greek salad and a shandy. I don't often go on holiday as I have a low boredom threshold and I miss my pets too much and I have no expensive hobbies. Sounds boring, right? Well it probably is to most folks. 

But it serves my purpose. Back when I published my first few books, I stood in the middle of the Bromsgrove branch of WHSmith and sold signed copies and every penny of profit went to a charity to support a young, disabled local girl. Being able to help her and her family in this small way made me feel a hundred times better than any material possession could ever have done. So it's not an entirely altruistic one-way transaction. I get something from it too. If I can save one cat/dog/squirrel/pigeon or help a child, then my time on this earth will have had a greater purpose. And that's what drives me. 

Since I began writing, I've used my profits to help a number of other charities globally. I've never given more than £50 at a time to any cause, so we're not talking life changing sums of money for them, although I hope one day to be able to do that, but it's enough to help ease their struggle just a little. And sometimes that's the difference between an animal being rescued or not. A life being saved or not. 

Many of my books deal with social issues. Jigsaw Girl (currently reduced to 99p) deals with teenage peer pressure, guilt, self-esteem issues and cutting, Split Decision deals with coming of age insecurities, pressures and dangers, and The Boy Who Rescues Pigeons deals with isolation, lack of understanding, loneliness and a social inability to fit in. They are things that most of us will encounter in one way or another during our lifetime. Life can be tough. My books are not self-help manuals, they are compelling stories that I hope help people make sense of the world around them; that let readers see that they are not alone; and that have the power to make people really stop and think. 

So now that you know all about why and what I write, I do hope you'll take a look at some of my books. Your purchase will help change the world just a little. Doesn't that sound like a good enough reason to buy?

x

SALE! SALE! Grab a bargain...

Sale Sale Sale... 

Jigsaw Girl is currently 99p, for a limited time only. 

Get your copy now!

About the release of The Boy Who Rescues Pigeons

 A lot of people have asked me why it's taken me so long to release The Boy Who Rescues Pigeons. The answer is simple and yet exceptionally emotionally complex. 

I wrote the book back in 2009 or thereabouts and edited it ready for publication. But I didn't publish it. I couldn't. I wasn't emotionally ready. But I am now. 

The story centres around Lucas Reverential Pertwee - an unusual boy in an unusual situation. Lucas finds and takes in an injured pigeon and in caring for and helping to heal the bird, he manages to emotionally heal himself. The character of Lucas is based upon me and my eldest child, Ryan. We are both raw, bleeding hearts when it comes to animals. 

But the core of the story is actually about my dad. Or rather my step-dad, Gerald McCammick. He took me in as his daughter when I was six and strove to provide a physically safe environment for me. I make the distinction here because ours was not always an easy relationship. Both of us were emotionally scarred by life and there are things that regardless of how hard you try, you never fully recover from. So we trundled along with the occasional drunken rage on his part and teenage truculent slamming of doors on mine. 

I'm not seeking to trivialise these moments. They were part of our lives. A big part. But they also never really shook the bedrock that our made-family was founded upon. We both knew we loved each other. 

Of course there is much more to this story than I've put down upon this page. But that is for another time. Or perhaps never. 

When I wrote the book I told my dad that I was dedicating it to him. He just smiled and said, "Oh aye, very good Carmen." But I know how much it meant to him. It didn't matter that I couldn't bring myself to publish it for so long. We both knew the dedication was forged in each line of text I'd written. Publishing the book wouldn't give it any more validation than it existing in the first place. And when my dad died a few years ago, it didn't matter that I still hadn't brought out the book. The time wasn't yet right. 

So what made the time right now? I don't honestly know, except that deep inside I recognised the change. I'm 56... and six. I'm still that little girl. I still rescue pigeons. 

The Boy Who Rescues Pigeons is available from June 1st, in time for ordering for Father's Day. Take a look at all my books here.

x

Coming very soon...

I'm thrilled to announce that The Boy Who Rescues Pigeons will be coming soon. Keep your eyes peeled!

New release. Future Imperfect

SHE’S AN ALPHA. AND SHE’S NOT GOING TO LET ANYTHING STAND IN HER WAY.

When a young Alpha’s fiancé is injured and declassified to a Delta by ELSA, the dome’s Enhanced Living System Autonomy, she has to set out across the ravaged world to bring him safely back. Luckily Fortitude Smith isn’t just any ordinary Alpha. Unfortunately ELSA isn’t what it appears to be either.

From the author of Split Decision and Ascension, comes a brand new sci-fi novel, Future Imperfect, that will captivate and enthral science fiction readers worldwide.

In this dystopian future, people live according to their birth classes. Beta and lower live in the outside world, whilst Alphas are protected in the dome, watched over by ELSA – the dome’s AI. But ELSA has more than one secret.

Part of a new duology, Future Imperfect is an insight not just into the fruitful imagination of its
author, but highlights a very realistic and plausible future world.

“Technology has moved on in leaps and bounds in my lifetime and the development of artificial intelligence has been simply astounding. I actually wrote this book about 10 years ago and back then AI was almost in its infancy compared to where it’s at now. And so my vision as well as other truly visionary authors is on the cusp of being realised.

There is so much tech in the world that sometimes I fear losing our humanity is inevitable. I can only hope that the world envisaged in Future Imperfect and Future Perfect do not come to pass,” Capuano says.

Capuano is no stranger to conflict within her books and indeed the lives of her characters. Known for her perception and sensitivity to her characters and their situations, Future Imperfect promises to be as perceptive and engrossing as her other books.

Future Imperfect is out now and available now in print and ebook versions from Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other reputable online book retailers.

If you enjoyed Split Decision or The Owners by Carmen Capuano then you’ll love Future Imperfect.

An audio reading of Split Decision...

With thanks to Wine & Words and the amazing Sarah Jane Rose. 

Listen to the interview and hear the book here. 

Note: the reading follows the interview. 

Happy listening. x

 Another review for The Owners is just in: -

The Owners: Alone

Carmen Capuano

Carmen Capuano brings us a different kind of sci fi dystopian adventure with The Owners: Alone!  In an effort to save her young hatchling friend’s freewill, fourteen year old Loni sets out on a dangerous journey.  Little do they know, there is someone across the world that shares their reservations about their society, someone that will change their fate forever.  Capuano’s sci fi dystopian drama instantly felt fresh with its interesting world lore and loveable characters!  I especially connected with Loni and Little’s bond and the overall exploration of the value of humanity.  If you love dystopian fiction with depth and a more upbeat message, definitely come check out The Owners: Alone!

https://diabolicshrimp.com/reviews-10/