Get ready for it...

I'm reposting a post from a few years ago because I have just finished editing this book, ready for release. 

The Owners Volume 5 - coming soon. 

I have got to stop crying!

I have just written chapter seventeen, where one of my most beloved characters dies and I am heart broken. I didn't want him to die and I even tried to resuscitate him but his death was central to the plot and unavoidable.

And so I am grieving.

Unfortunately  this is not the only time in the past week I have cried. I watched the film District 9 the other night and it had me in floods of tears as well!

So now I have to add that to the list of film I can't watch without having a blubber. Here are my top ten...and in no particular order.

1. King Kong - I LOVE that hairy beast!
2. Truly, madly, deeply - the actors are so real and it gets me every time,
3. Dirty Dancing - I figure that's a kind of odd one here, but I cry!
4. District 9 - obviously!
5. Ghost - there's a definite Patrick Swayze theme here [ahem!]
6. The Lion King - yes I do know it's animation but when the daddy lion holds the cub up....
7. The notebook - oh my God I cried from start to end
8. I am legend - just because he is so alone [and the dog dies]
9. Schindler's list - they almost had to remove me from the cinema
 and finally,
10. Up - another animation which my children did not entirely understand in all its subtleties but I did.

There are of course many, many others, some of which have yet to be written.

But the hardest of all are the ones you write for yourself...

Have a great weekend and do something fun. I sure hope to.

Hear me talk about my books and other projects.

This Sunday at midday you can hear me talk about my most recent books, films and other projects on the Listen with Lee show on Black Country Radio.

http://www.blackcountryradio.co.uk/.../black-country-xtra/

It's also available on demand at https://www.blackcountryradio.co.uk/.../black.../on-demand/

Thanks to Lee Benson for being an amazing interviewer and for inviting me onto his show.

Are you bored? Need something fresh?

Do something more exciting. Get your tickets now!

https://filmfreeway.com/StratfordonAvonFilmFestival/tickets

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. 

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

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.

 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.

 Adapted from the screenplay of the same name by Paul F. Gorlinsky, Family: Life powerfully examines the desperate need for a child and weighs it up against prevalent contemporary beliefs.

“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.

Jigsaw Girl

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 

   “Do you think we’ll get another dog?” he says. 

    I’m so shocked I stop in my tracks. “After Shadow?” Breath catches painfully in my chest and I have to force myself not to scream. “Is that what you would have done if I’d died, Charlie? Ask Mum and Dad to give you another sister?”

      It’s cruel and unfair, especially as the tone it’s delivered in is acidic. None of this is Charlie’s fault and he’s only nine after all. But he can’t be allowed to think that life – any life – is so easily replaceable. That like changing a lightbulb, the light of one life can ever replace the light of another, extinguished one. It doesn’t work like that.

      Not for me anyway.

      But what if the end, wasn’t the end at all? What if it was really only the beginning?

     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.  

Videos of my books...

The Owners Volume I: Alone

The Owners Volume II: Storm Clouds

The Owners Volume III: Dark Side Of The Sun

And we're off!

Hot on the heels of a stunning new review for Split Decision, I'm pleased to say that I've just finished the first chapter of my newest book, which is unlike any other I have written.

Then again, I say that every time. And every time it's true.

That's because all my books are so different, both in storyline and in the style in which they are written.

Why? Because I'm a great believer in the idea that the story and the characters themselves should dictate how the book will be written, the particular point of view it will take, the direction, the pace, even the tense used to write it in. 

So with my books, you will find some written in the first person; some in the third, some in the past tense, others in the present. 

Try a couple and you'll soon see the advantages of this. Go on, live a little!

Happy Reading!

 

A whole new year to fill up with good fortune and sheer determination!

Being born in Scotland, I have a real 'thing' for New Year that, quite frankly I don't feel for Christmas.

Sure, Christmas has the tinsel, the trees, the presents, the 'goodwill to all mankind', but New Year has the glamour, the excitement, the sheer 'ride the future by the seat of your pants' appeal, that Christmas can never have.

So imagine my excitement to find this newest review on Amazon today:-

"5 Stars : Brilliant and Brutal Coming-Of-Age Story

Split Decision, essentially a coming-of-age novel, is both brilliant and brutal – brilliant in its execution and brutal in the sensitive subject matter it explores. The decision Natalie makes impacts on many and she is not the same person at the end of the story as she is at the beginning… It is the second book that I have read by the author Carmen Capuano, the first being Ascension, a dystopian thriller. Although the subject matter is completely different, I found the story just as engaging and thought- provoking.

The plot begins in a shoe shop where best friends, teenagers Natalie and Stacey are shopping. The new pair of shoes which Natalie purchases – in a style which is way out of character for the sensible teenager, can be viewed as a metaphor for both her step into adulthood and what subsequently occurs. Natalie is soon called upon to make a split second choice and her decision heralds a chain of unexpected and shocking events.

The author does an excellent job of depicting the trials and tribulations of the teenage years and how they effect existing and new relationships: a time of burgeoning sexuality, when we strive to forge our own identity, sometimes putting us in conflict with our families who find it difficult to come to terms with their offspring entering adulthood. The balance between protecting their children whilst allowing them the freedom to grow is often a difficult one and I felt that the author touched on this in a sensitive fashion. I certainly identified with Stacey and Natalie from memories of my own teenage years and recognised how easily events could take the path they did.

The characters, the young people and the adults, were all very believable and the author is to be congratulated on using the events to illustrate their personal growth and changing family dynamics. The plot is cleverly and expertly written and certainly had me guessing and questioning my own preconceptions and prejudices."

Tina Williams - FB A Reader's Review.

Thanks to all my readers who have chosen to buy my books either for themselves or as presents for others - you have made my year. xxx


And for 2018 - Happy Reading!

Review Time

Here's another review. I have to say that I wish she'd put what she liked first and what she didn't, last, but there it is...


**** Split Decision by Carmen Capuano ****
3* review from Nicole @ EBR

Although I read through Split Decision by Carmen Capuano fairly quickly, I still found that it was quite a difficult book to sit down and review, because although there were many interesting points to this story, it was also a complicated and confusing one until everything came together at the end.

I will say that it deals with a very sensitive topic and I felt that not enough was discussed or expounded upon in regards to the aftermath and the emotional ramifications of that traumatic event for the character. Until all these events and moments come together and you have that clarification on what is going on, the story was a little monotonous in the first few chapters as we establish the friendship between the two girls and the "sliding doors" moment when her fate was decided with her decisions.

I was unsure at times of who the book's main demographic would be, what the target audience was. The characters are so young but the incidents and issues are very much of a mature nature, at times it read like a cautionary YA novel for teenagers, but other times it felt more developed and grown up. The other problem I experienced was the setting. I wasn't sure where this story takes place as the dialogue switches between American and British colloquialisms, there are American characters, Greek characters and I'm assuming English? I like to have everything around me fully established, whether it be the geographical setting, or the characters heritage.
Now that the negative is out of the way I will say that once the story gained momentum and we were thrown into the drama and chaos of that one night, I really started to like the story. Happening in real time almost, it became thrilling, dangerous, heartbreaking and gained the depth and entertainment factor that the story sorely lacked in the beginning.

I really enjoyed the male characters in Split Decision, we have two very different people, with two very different outlooks in life, two men completely dissimilar in moral values and I liked how the bad was highlighted and distinguished from the good and sweet. The dialogue too seemed to become something 'more',

'But most of all what I see is the indifference people show to each other." He raised his beer to his lips and took a long swallow. I waited for him to continue but he didn't seem inclined to.
"You can't save the world." It was a lame response and I knew it but there was nothing else I could say.

"No I can't save the world. But I can save those I care about." His eyes blazed with passion. There was a hidden depth to his words that I wasn't ready to probe.'

Over all it was a good read, it's just getting past those first few chapters inside a giggly teenage girls overly dramatic head that might prove difficult for some but trust me when you do read on it will be worth it. The story picks up speed and added drama and the characters seem to develop over the ensuing chapters too.
*********************************************************************************************
How was Natalie to know that the decision she was about to
make between two potential dates, would forever be a pivotal point in her life? That it would mark the time where childhood innocence ended?
How could she even imagine that the wrong decision would send her life spiralling into the stuff of nightmares from where she might not come out alive?
Life takes a cruel twist of fate when Natalie, a completely average [almost] 16 year old, is forced to make a split-second decision... a decision that will change her future and forever alter her perception of trust, love and the realities of life.
Buy link---->
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Split-Decision-Carme…/…/ref=sr_1_2…

Same, but different.

Today I'm working on a book which falls into the category of literary fiction. But with a twist.

It's great to be working on a book again [I finished my second screenplay yesterday] because I can post snippets once more, and also because I can deal with the main character so much more intimately, than can be done in a play. By that I mean that I can show exactly what goes on inside the character's head. With a screenplay, this can only ever be shown by a character's actions and words, and by the portrayal of the character by a good actor/actress.

It's the screen writer's job to make sure that the audience understands the character's feelings and motivations, but to get a 100% understanding of a character, nothing beats getting inside their head in a book.

So keep your eyes on this blog for future snippets.

Happy reading.

Thanks to Michael Bryce for use of the photo.

A new review

Here is the first review for Ascension.

https://echoesinanemptyroom.com/2017/07/24/ascension-by-carmen-capuano/

Editing!

Editing today...

The toilets are empty ,as I knew they would be. I find the cleanest cubicle and lock the door. For a long time I stare at the razor but do nothing with it. I am not afraid. Quite the opposite. I am excited. The anticipation of the calm serenity which I know will overcome me when I make a cut, causes my hands to shake with excitement.

I hold the blade up towards the electric strip lights. The bulbs are covered so the metal doesn’t gleam as much as it does at home, but it sparkles enough to entice me to turn it around and around in my hands.

I want to cut so badly. More than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life. Soon I can’t stand it any longer; the wait, the heady anticipation. I bare my skin and make a cut on my upper thigh, the one I’ve already marked. Blood wells and flows and I mop it up and flush the evidence of bloodied tissue away, watching it swirl around the white porcelain bowl like an unfurling flag.

It’s my flag. My banner. My proclamation that I still exist. Whether I want to or not.

Happy reading!

Here is a link to a new magazine by a good friend of mine, Richard Merli. I hope you enjoy it.

http://files.octoberhillmagazine.com/October%20Hill%20Spring%202017.pdf?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_messaging%3BVEGukgaXS%2Bq2u11x14P0kw%3D%3D


Happy reading!

Latest chapter

Taken from my newest book:-

I neither hold my head up nor down as I walk. Why should I care what anyone thinks of me, when I have no love for myself? But as I reach the school, that huge architectural dream of glass and steel, I hesitate. These gates, this building – all of it – are from another time, another version of me. I force myself to enter the confines of the school. Make my way up the corridor and to my locker. The original key I had is gone, lost in the fire, but someone must have issued me with a new one and given it to Mum, because it was on my bedside table waiting for me.

The key slides easily into the lock as if it was the original but I know it isn’t, and the door springs open. Inside is stuff that was once mine; an old fluffy bear that someone gave me on Valentine’s Day two years ago, a packet of half eaten mints, a hairbrush, pink lip-gloss, an old phone cover and one woollen glove. I stick my bag on the empty shelf, sweep everything else into my hands and take them to the bin. I watch them slide from me to the abandonment of the black plastic receptacle. They are from the time of the old Scarlett and she no longer exists.

I return to the locker, remove my bag and lock it, even though it’s empty. If I leave it open someone might actually put something inside, and then it won’t be the empty vessel it should be. Then it won’t reflect the new me.

I hope you like my little snippets of what I'm currently writing. For a book that I've already brought out with my publishers, see the list to your right. There's also a whole page on reviews.

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!

Bromsgrove Standard article

Thanks to the Bromsgrove Standard.