But there is no denying that this is a tough industry to crack. That's why our team at Envisage International Film Festival, Birmingham Horror Film Festival and Stratford-upon-Avon Film Festival are so keen to promote student films and indie filmmakers.
Keep your eyes peeled for our big news coming soon.
Two days ago I pressed a button which set a chain of events into motion. Perhaps you'll remember that I said I had 5 big announcements to make? Well this is the first of them.
Envisage International Film Festival is dedicated to showcasing all independent productions of a science fiction or fantasy nature. If you've never really thought about those genres then let me be more specific. This includes space opera (think Star Wars and Star Trek, A Space Odessy, etc), dystopian works (the likes of The Handmaid's Tale, The Hunger Games) and so on.
As a writer of science fiction it's always fascinated me when people tell me they don't like science fiction or fantasy genres... and then tell me the films and TV shows they do like, such as Avatar, Fantastic Beasts and Stranger Things. Because guess what? Those things exactly fit the genres I love so much.
So back to Envisage. It's brand new and brought to you by the team behind Stratford On Avon Film Festival and Birmingham Horror Film Festival. It's going to debut at the amazing Millennium Point in Birmingham, and its entry fees are super affordable, starting at £5 for a micro short submission.
So what are you waiting for? Get submitting. Click here to read more about the festival.
Just James didn't win an award in its category at The Royal Television Society but I really didn't mind.
To be nominated alongside three other animations from large, established and very professional teams was enough for me. One day Rodders, one day...
There's a new book coming soon. Girl Displaced is a Young Adult romantic mystery and I hope you'll love it.
Here's a little excerpt:
He
looks up sharply. He hadn’t known that I’d seen Caelan then. I immediately
wonder why that is and then almost just as immediately dismiss it. Why should
meeting me be such a big topic of conversation between the cousins?
“I
saw Caelan in the church grounds yesterday,” I say and watch how he tries to
keep the surprise from showing on his face.
“He
didn’t say.”
I
feign nonchalance. “Why would he? I mean you barely know me.” The beauty of the
English language is profoundly satisfying under the circumstances. He can’t
possibly know if I mean ‘you’ as in him, singular, or as a plural covering both
of them. Which is just as well, because I don’t know which way I mean it
either.
“How
much more of you is there to know?” His question is equally simple. Equally
ambiguous.
I
force myself to laugh lightly. “Not a lot really.” But we’re both aware that he
didn’t mean it like that. His eyes travel to my lips and I think that at any
moment he will kiss me…
So while you are waiting for this one, take a look at some of my other books you might have missed.
To read a bit of Cursed for FREE click here.
To read a bit of any of my other books click here. Alternatively you can
put my name into the search bar of Google or Amazon.
AND MANY MORE...
I am absolutely thrilled and delighted to have been invited to be a part of Book Week, Scotland. I hope to see you there!
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.
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.
SHE’S AN ALPHA. AND SHE’S NOT GOING TO LET ANYTHING STAND IN HER WAY.
NEW BOOK, ‘Family: Life’, explores the duality of its themes with passion and rare insight.
With her latest book, author Carmen Capuano takes the reader on a journey both exciting and insightful. Delivering a heart-wrenching story about infertility wrapped inside a wider arc of themes of conservation and animal rights, Capuano has the reader swaying from one viewpoint to another, one heartfelt belief to another.
“It was
important that the reader was able to see all the intricacies of both sides of the story
and also to experience it through the eyes of the main character of Barbara
Lingorsky,” Capuano says. “Barbara’s
desperate need for a child becomes all-encompassing and it’s this which drives
her narrative.”
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, Family: Life promises to be no less engrossing and controversial than her other books.
Family: Life is priced at £2.50 (ebook) and £8.50 (paperback) and available now in print and ebook versions from Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other reputable online book retailers.
One pair of primate conservationists desperate for a child. One perfect solution.
Primatologists Vlas and Barbara Lingorsky are fully aware of the importance of their work as research scientists in the Rwandan jungle. And of the danger it puts them in.
When poachers kill an infant gorilla, Barbara is forced into consideration of her biological clock and the memory of the loss of her own child. With Barbara now unable to bear a child naturally, events seem to take on a momentum of their own. It’s not too long before her longing for a family overflows into her everyday life, and the perfect solution presents itself…
If you enjoyed Planet of The Apes by Pierre Boulle or The Owners by Carmen Capuano then you’ll love Family: Life.
I'm Carmen Capuano. When I was five years old I saw my father smash my mother’s front teeth right out of her mouth. And the saddest part of that statement, is that I’d already seen it all before.
I’m a survivor.
One of life’s hanger-on’s, a refuser of taking the easy-way out; I’m the one who won’t give up. The one who will keep fighting, even when others would admit defeat. Because if I do, if I actually give up, I’m not sure what will be left for me.
Maybe nothing. So that’s why I write.
I write to prove I’m still alive.
Jigsaw Girl is, I believe, one of the finest and most heart-rending books I have written. Every line of dialogue, every situation she finds herself in, every time she has to fight just for survival, these are the hallmarks of her life. And I understand them so well.
I’m neither black nor Asian, but I was raised in poverty, dragged up in the unforgiving streets of Glasgow, daughter of an Italian, wife-beating, gambling father, and an ineffectual mother. You think misery belongs to the ethnic minorities? I’ll tell you now that it doesn’t.
But I don’t tell you this to garner your pity; I tell you to let you see who I am. These are my qualifications for writing this story, my badges of dishonour.
Look at me, look at my pictures – you will only see what I allow you to. But read my stories and you are let into the depths of my soul. It may not be a nice place to be, but God help me, it’s real.
To date I have written 27 books, only six of which I have published. They cover most genres because that’s how real life is – hard and gritty but also bizarre and full of unexpected twists and turns.
So why should you chose me, out of all the writers out there? Maybe because I can tell a good story. Maybe because I’m a workaholic. Or just maybe because I’m a tortured soul.
And if there’s one thing human nature loves, it’s vicariously experiencing someone else’s misery - viewed from a safe distance of course.
But that’s not all of me. I’m deeper than that, at least.
You will find me charming, honest, hard-working and conscientious. The raw terror at life is hidden, the pain subsumed, condensed, spat out onto the pristine page.
You want to know how real life can get?
The
book is open, all you have to do is read…
Welcome to Jigsaw Girl.
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/
Today I'd like to tell you about Jigsaw Girl.
It was a story that came to me via its main character - much the same as Split Decision did. But that's where the similarity ends. Natalie, from Split Decision, was carried along by fate in many ways, whereas Scarlett Clarke (aka Jigsaw Girl) goes as far as to make her own fate.
I've always been fascinated by the idea of consequence. And I think that comes out fully in most of my stories. It is, after all, the thing that's at the heart of every good tale. And it fills our lives, shaping the course of our individual destinies.
Scarlett is a character who is taken to the very brink. She feels responsible for the death of the fireman who died trying to save her and unworthy of the sacrifice he gave - his life for hers. During the time I spent telling her tale I felt a voyeur to her pain. I understood her sense of unworthiness the fragility of her. But I was also proud of her, the way she found her strength, the fact that she dragged herself up in order to help her brother Charlie; that she refused to go down without a fight.
So if you see yourself in her, please take what you can from this story. We are all of us flawed. We just need to find a way to be the best that we can.
BLURB
Because that’s where my beginning started. At the end.
TO VIEW THE FIRST SECTION OF JIGSAW GIRL FOR FREE CLICK here.
Happy reading,
Carmen.
Michael and his wife Andry are both authors and friends of mine. Here I take a look at how Michael first became a writer.
When did you write your first book and how did it come about?
In the Autumn of 2013 Robert, who I have only physically met on about three occasions, suggested we write a book on the operation. ‘Hunting the Hooligans’ describes how a covert police team brought down one of Britain’s most violent gangs. The true story of ‘Operation Red Card’ undertaken in 1987 to tackle Birmingham City’s football hooligan element – the ‘Zulu Warriors’ was published by MILO.
My first, and ultimately most successful book thus far in terms of sales – was taken on by the first traditional publisher that we approached.
How do you find the process of writing? (difficult, invigorating?)
I find writing cathartic and challenging. At my age – nearly 69 years of age, its good to keep the brain cells active. Steve Burrows and I have strongly promoted Birmingham in many of our books as we were both born and worked in the City. We have found this hugely satisfying.
How true to life are your books and characters?
The series of four historical crime fiction books ‘Made in Birmingham’ – written with a former police colleague and friend Stephen Burrows contain characters and incidents that have elements of truth in them based on our policing history – over seventy years collectively.
Do you always write in the same genre or do you mix it up?
The next four books after ‘Hunting the Hooligans’ were written with different co-authors or on my own and related to police history and published by Amberley. The extensive writing partnership with Stephen Burrows that later followed has resulted in books being published – in the main by way of self-publishing on police history, slang and humour, crime fiction and military history. I have also written a book with my wife Andry Christou-Layton about her life in Cyprus – ‘The Night the Owl Cried – A Taste of Cyprus’.
When you write, do you start with an idea and sit down and let it evolve, or do you make notes and collect ideas on paper beforehand?
Every book involves a large element of research (Particularly ‘Top Secret Worcestershire I & II’ with Steve Burrows) but in the main I rely on creating a framework of potential chapters and then working to fill them in no particular order. When working with Steve Burrows on the fictional books in particular we relied on some very complex documents relating to the development of fictional storylines and historical facts which were blended together.
Do you have a favourite character and if so/or not, then why?
Rob Docker – the corrupt police officer in ‘Black Over Bill’s Mothers’ – the character reminds me that the Police Service in the UK is renowned for its professionalism and the fact that corruption is rare. The character also reminds me that ‘one bad apple’ can do a lot of damage. His character also explores ‘Noble Cause Corruption’ in the police service.
For Steve Burrows I believe it would be Patrick Quinn – a character based on his experiences in his youth of being a biker.
Which of your books gave you the most pleasure to write?
‘Black Over Bill’s Mothers – a storm is coming’ – a historical crime fiction book (One of the series) 1943 to 2004. Set in Birmingham and elsewhere the book weaves together factual incidents, including the Birmingham Pub Bombings, as well as music and culture – the story involves serious crime, terrorism, and corruption.
How would you describe yourself?
A sensitive autocrat who becomes ‘thoughtful’ at times.
What's next for you?
‘The Patriot’ – co-written with my wife – the story of her father’s life during a period of conflict and turbulent history in Cyprus.
And another slang book which I would like to somehow link in with people ‘living with dementia’.
Where can readers purchase your books?
All current twenty-two titles can be found on ‘Bostin Books’ Facebook Page or ‘Bostin Books’ website. They are all available on Amazon and via traditional publishers.
‘Birmingham’s Front Line’
By
Michael Layton QPM
(Synopsis re murder of David Harris)
On Monday 26 March 1984 David Harris, aged 36 years, the licensee of the ‘Woodman’ Licensed House in Hockley was stabbed to death in Wells Street by a man described as a West Indian male.
Michael Layton recalls:
“I was at Bridge Street West Police Station at the time, trying to sort out a search warrant, and went straight to the scene to liaise with the detective chief inspector and the detective inspector.
We co-ordinated an immediate search of the area and later that evening I took a statement from a witness who had rendered first aid at the scene. I hated violence and the futility of it all. Murders meant dropping everything else and putting a total focus into what you were doing as the first twenty-four hours were vital – the so-called ‘golden hours’.
A murder incident room was set up at Steelhouse Lane Police Station and this was to become home again for a while.
Next day I was committed to ‘house to house’ enquiries in the area. This was a detailed process that had to be meticulously planned and scrutinised and I worked with a uniform sergeant who I trusted totally to organise it with me. We then started doing the rounds of local pubs looking for any small lead. Leave days were cancelled and we went onto twelve-hour shifts. This was the norm.
Malcolm Halliday was one of the officers involved in completing ‘house to house’ enquiries and recalls a couple of incidents, “Myself and a DC nicknamed ‘Knuckles’ ,due to his arthritis in his hands, visited one particular flat in Newtown and spoke to a black family. One of the occupants was a Rastafarian guy and something just didn’t seem quite right. Whilst we were chatting a little girl aged about two years handed me a pouch. When I looked inside it was full of cannabis. I told her to “give it back to daddy.” We were looking for a murderer not for drugs, so we let it go but we did mark the form up to the effect that we thought that the occupants were not telling the entire truth. At a later stage of the enquiry it transpired that the guy had been repairing his car outside the block of flats on the day of the murder when the person responsible came running up covered in blood, after the attack, and demanded to be taken out of the area.
Not long after the murder a woman was attacked by a black youth in the same area. He was intent on robbing her, but she fought back and a load of CID officers who were making enquiries in one of the nearby pubs all ran out and captured him. He had picked the wrong person and the wrong place.”
After the murder a substantial reward was offered for information leading to the arrest of the offender. We also had a photofit picture of the suspect and with each passing day the potential lines of enquiry were increasing. We spent a lot of time getting around the pubs in the area pushing the issue and looking for that small scrap of information that would lead us to the killer.
On Sunday 1 April 1984 a call was made to the incident room by an individual claiming to know who was responsible for the murder. I met this person later that day with another officer and the suspect was identified as someone called ‘Jakey’ with a possible full name.
I saw the informant several times over the next few days and the information given was reiterated both to me, and a senior officer, as well as other background information being provided on the suspect.
There was no contact by the informant then for some time and despite extensive enquiries being made all these enquiries met with a negative result based on the details given.
On Wednesday 18 April a knife was found in the public toilets at Smethwick magistrates court in the area adjacent to where security officers screened visitors. The knife was subsequently disposed of in accordance with normal procedures. It was later to form part of the evidence chain in the murder of David Harris, although we were not to know it at the time.
On Tuesday 24 April 1984 acting on a lead in respect of the murder I was despatched in the evening with another officer to Canning Circus Police Station in Nottingham to interview a potential informant. We eventually brought the informant back to Birmingham and identified an address in Handsworth where a potential suspect lived. Shortly after 2am the following morning we hit the address and arrested a twenty-three-year-old on suspicion of involvement. By the time we had searched the address and got back to the station I had done a sixteen-hour shift and it was time to leave it with other officers.
I had about five hours sleep and was back in the office in the afternoon ready to go again. This was still very much a live enquiry and lots of officers on ‘outside enquiry’ teams were following up different leads. The criminal fraternity never liked these situations because it meant that they would receive additional attention from the police and their activities would be disrupted.
On Thursday 26 April 1984 a twenty-three-year-old man (Derrick Gordon) was arrested in connection with the murder of Mr Harris. He appeared at Birmingham Magistrates Court the following morning. I was not involved in the arrest but went around to the court with the DI to observe the remand. He was a well-built guy who remained composed and listened intently to the proceedings. He was remanded to police cells for three days and subsequently charged with the murder.
There's a world of difference between being traditionally published and being self-published but it's not what you might think...
People often associate books which are self-published with something that is poorly written, badly thought-out and possibly lacking in merit. And it's not always an incorrect assumption. There are indeed books which are out there and available to buy, which quite frankly, would be better used as fire kindling than entertainment. These are the books which were possibly rejected by every literary agent and publisher alike.
But - and it's a big but - there are a growing army of authors who have chosen to self publish. Not because their work has no merit, but because they want the control over their stories, characters and book covers that self-publishing can give them. I'm one of them.
In fact, I have recently taken the rights for two of my traditionally published books back from the publishers concerned, and plan to self-publish them instead. This might sound like an insane idea, but having spent a long time having to live with a book cover I really hated and being told that the publisher had decided on the image and that was that, I'm very glad to be going it alone.
That's not to say there haven't been obstacles along the way. For there have been many.
Deciding on fonts, on letter sizes and paper thickness...cream or white paper, drop caps at the start of a chapter or not? The decisions I've had to make and the things I've had to learn in order to make those decisions, have been almost endless.
But I've already republished two books...and there's a whole lot more to come. Check here for my most recent books and look out for the others coming soon.
Introducing author Rita Lee Chapman.
Rita is the author of seven books. Here, I have the pleasure of interviewing her.
How long have you been interviewing authors?
I started running interviews on my website
in 2013 and have featured a different author each week ever since.
Why do authors interest you so much?
It’s interesting to learn how other authors
plan their writing, what they do when they are not reading or writing and to
read excerpts of their work.
Have you ever written anything yourself, or do you have any ambitions to do so?
I have self-published seven books since
2012. I have written a four-part series,
the Anna Davies Mystery Series, a book for horse lovers and two crime
mysteries.
Do you have certain expectations of how an author will be, due to the type or genre of writing they do?
To an extent. For example, I think mystery writers are
usually quite different from those who write, say, sci-fi.
Have you ever been disappointed with an interview and why?
A couple of interviews contained very short
answers which tend to come across as a little stilted.
Do you feel that most authors are honest about themselves?
I like to think so!
Have you ever wished that an interview went differently to how it did?
Unfortunately I don’t get to speak to these
authors. I send them a list of questions
and they answer the ones that interest them, so unless they are extremely
abrupt I’m usually pleased with the outcome.
Have you ever discovered someone you thought you could be friends with, or conversely who you instinctively didn't like, from their answers?
Yes, quite often I come across an author I
can relate to. They often find me
through Goodreads or Facebook so sometimes we catch up again.
Having interviewed so many, you must get a sense of which authors will do well and which won't. Have you been proved right?
There are some authors whose path I cross
quite regularly but I don’t make a point of following the careers of so many
authors! Some of course are notable for
their beautiful writing style.
And finally, who would you have loved to interview but can't (Dickens etc)?
I would have to say Colleen McCullough. One of my favourite books is The Thorn Birds,
which had a lasting effect on me.
Can you tell us where we can read your interviews?
Guest Authors are posted on my website at
http://www.ritaleechapman.com
And anything else you want to add.
If any authors are reading this and would
like an interview, please contact me through the website.
The Anna Davies Mystery Series: Missing in Egypt, Missing at Sea, Missing in London, Missing in France.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083RQ2QDG/
Winston – A Horse’s Tale, for horse lovers from teenagers upwards
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G9QOZGE
The Poinciana Tree, a crime mystery
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XGGY2PZ
Dangerous Associations, a crime mystery
Today I'm editing yet another book before I publish it. It's called In The Darkness Between Worlds and I'm enjoying reading through it after having written it about two years ago and not touched it since, as I've been too busy.
Deciding to take my books back from publishers and to republish them myself has been a real roller-coaster. I've learned a lot, mostly how NOT to try to manipulate certain websites and software. But that's a different story.
You may know that I'm compelled to write by the stories that bubble out of me, and that I write books as well as for film and TV. But what you probably don't know is my Grand Plan.
And I have capitalised Grand Plan for a very good reason. It is the thing which has driven me since I was a child - a burning desire to help animals in need. I want to use my sales to be able to fund charities and change the world for the better. It's my deepest desire.
I'm not interested in material possessions. I never have been. And if you've ever seen me driving around in my old battered car, you'll know the truth of that. For me, riches come in the form of a satisfied soul. So I'm using my profits to fund rescues and to alleviate pain and suffering in animals.
So why am I making a song and dance of this? Not for adulation or any reason other than to point something out. I'm not asking anything of you. I'm not asking you to send money or take action.
BUT if you are a reader and you were intending to buy a new book, please consider one of mine.
You'll get a great book and I'll be another step closer to helping another animal in need. So we'll both benefit.
Happy reading! x
Heartfelt thanks to the support teams of Amazon and Goodreads who have been magnificent in sorting out all my self-induced problems - from putting the books in the wrong place, to trying to figure out why the system wouldn't do what I needed it to.
Now just another 23 books to go...
Amazon and Goodreads teams, I'd stock up on headache tablets if I were you - you're going to need them...
Happy reading folks!
Hello readers.
Are you on Goodreads? Have you even heard of the site? That's the problem. Since the world wide web was created, we have been inundated with information from one place and another. And quite frankly, there are times when it's simply baffling.
Back in 2012 I put my first book on Goodreads then promptly ignored the site, until I was launching another book. Now, I think that might have been an epic failure (to borrow my kids' terminology) on my part. Goodreads is HUGE.
It's like a constant stream of Twitter thoughts and ratings on books. And once you get the hang of it, it can be of great help to find your next great read.
So if you're already on it, or want to be, look me up and send me a friend request here.
Happy reading!
