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. 

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. 

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!

Thank you!

Yesterday I did a talk for Olton Creative Writers at Olton Library. What a wonderfully well-read and creative group of people!

Often those who have an interest in the arts can be a little imperious [stating the phrase with implied inverted commas and capital letters, or fingers held aloft in the air], so it was refreshing to meet such talented and down-to-earth people.

I hope they thoroughly enjoy my books.

Thank you!

Many thanks to the Stroke Association who hosted one of my talks today. Talking about my books never fails to excite me and it is always lovely to have such an appreciative audience.   


Writing stories is both the hardest and the easiest thing I have ever done. It is hard because it requires you to bare your soul and to commit yourself entirely to the story, but it is also the easiest, because for me writing is not a choice, it is a compulsion.


The one question I am always asked at any of these events is how do I find the time to do everything. The truth is that I don't. Like all of us, there are times when I am forced to make a choice between what I want to do and what I have to do. Mostly I am sensible with my time - but not always!


My point here is that I will notice if I haven't written a chapter that day, but the kids will never notice if I failed to vacuum. Life is short. And sometimes it's hard. Live it how your heart dictates.


Carmen x.

A warm welcome from the WI!

Many thanks to Finstall Cross WI. Last night a large crowd turned out for their first meeting of the year and to hear me talk about my books and the way I write. An enthusiastic audience, they listened intently and asked intelligent questions.


Although I do quite a lot of author talks and books signings in various places, I never lose that enthusiasm I have when talking about my books and the characters within them...they are like old friends, even the nasty ones!


This was only my second foray into the world of WI and I found this particular group to be very different from my previous experience. These ladies were lively, feisty and had a very, very active social life...something I must admit to being a little in awe of.


With so many available groups offering a variety of activities to their members, I had to wonder why so many women isolate themselves as they get older.


Many, many years ago, when I was around 22, I dated a young man who had lost his father at an early age. His mother had remarried soon after, to a very kind, gentle bear of a man called John.
 Unfortunately at the age of 46 [if memory serves] John had a fatal heart attack and died, leaving my boyfriend's mother twice widowed by the age of 45.


I remember the shock and the sense of loss I felt that the world had lost such a lovely man. I can't, even now, get fully to grips with how his wife must have felt, having had to bury two men she adored within the short span of her lifetime.


At the time, 45 had seemed moderately old - having now passed that age myself and also watched the world reassign the concept of 'middle-age' to a yet slightly distant decade, as people strive to stay younger for longer - I had thought that her life was effectively over.


With her role as wife effectively swept away in one cruel stroke and her role as mother diminishing with her brood finding life partners and moving out to homes of their own, I feared for what the future held for this indomitable lady. I wish I had known about the WI then, as I would certainly have steered her in their direction.


But it was another age. People in their teens and early twenties now are used to seeing people in their forties, fifties and even sixties wearing the same clothes as them, frequenting the same pubs and even using modern technology such as android phones and IPods.


Back then there was more of a distinction between generations. People in their sixties did not wear jeans; women over a certain age did not wear high heels or any clothing which did not include a high fibre count in polyester and anyone over the age of thirty-something could not properly understand or work a video recorder.


So when did this change take place? I honestly don't know. It must have been gradual I guess but it was certainly sweeping. I wonder too what prompted the change. Did we all as a nation, nay species, decide that we were going to live more until we died? Or was it something about my own generation, some refusal to let time catch them in it's grip without giving it at least a good run for its money? Perhaps you have your own theory.


All I know is this - I'm glad of the change and in particular I was heartened by the vivaciousness of last night's WI group. So watch out ladies - one day I might just join you!


Until then, Happy Reading!

I hope you like the new look to my blog...I have spent ages creating several different pages and loading things onto them. Please take a moment to check them out!


What I haven't yet done is create an EVENTS page to list where you will see me popping up for author talks and book signings, so I guess my work is not yet done!


In the meantime I will tell you this - I have lots of events planned over the next six months but still have room for a couple more, so if you are a book club organiser, school teacher or librarian, feel free to message me on Carmen.capuano@ymail.com for further details.


Until my next post...


Happy Reading!