Dangerous dogs? Dangerous owners?

{Please excuse this departure from my normal topics but this is something I feel strongly about}

In the aftermath of another child being mauled to death by dangerous dogs, I have this to say:-

I'm  very much afraid that animals [and dogs in particular] are EXACTLY like people, there are good ones and there are bad ones. No amount of nurture can make a dog that is essentialy a psychopath into a lapdog [just as no kind treatment could turn a man of the same nature, into a kind loving one] .

It's absolutley impossible! And I speak as a dog owner of two dogs [a collie and a rottweiler] and owner of a multitude of past dogs.

Raised in Glasgow, I was always a keen observer of the nature versus nurture argument and believe me, I saw some rotten apples in otherwise good families and vise versa.

I'm no scientist and I have a creative bent rather than a scientific one anyway, so I guess my penny philosophy counts for nothing in the grand scheme of things but for what it's worth...let's accept that there are some dogs who are downright mad and will chew your leg off with no provocation at all.

Let's not however, turn this into a witch hunt - I am by no means suggesting this is true of ALL dogs, merely a minority - but like the minority of yobs on our streets who turn us against the entire population of youths, there is that chance.

I don't have any answers for you. I don't know if giving wardens better powers under law will make a difference and I certainly don't want to see dogs banned from public places, or any other drastic measure being taken.

But please let us accept that just as there are dangerous human members of our society, there are dangerous dogs. I hope we can find a way to weed both of these out of our environments and create a better, safer world for all.

My thoughts are with the family and friends of Jade Anderson x

I have just finished writing Chapter 20 of Volume IV. I have had no time to write over the past couple of weeks and was desperately missing my characters. It was so lovely to catch up with them again today.

However, it is unlikely that I will get much writing done now until after the Easter holidays due to having children and dogs constantly rampaging through the house. Oh well will have to turn my scheming mind to something else I guess ...

I wonder if Henry Winkler  [aka The Fonz] has read Volume I yet?

   The trouble with being a writer is that it is by necessity a very solitary profession. Yes, ok I can talk to other people at other times of the day but the main part of my day [and the main part of my brain] is caught up in whatever plot is currently unfolding on the pristine screen of my laptop.
   But rather than making me introspective; making me focus on what is important in life and my attitude towards it, it makes me oblivious to most other things. And for that I am deeply sorry.
   Writers have long had a history of weirdness and eccentricity. Not that this excuses anything but there is certainly a correlation between creativity and eccentricity. Perhaps being caught up with one's own characters and their situations is enough to deal with, without the problems of the real world too.
    Or is it that the imagined problems, which litter the pages of any book, are more seductively appealing than real problems, their issues more easily solved, if somewhat more imaginatively? I genuinely do not know.
    And I look at the characters in my books, strong women and strong men who are faced with such challenges in their daily life and I wonder how I would cope if it were me. There is courage and there is bravery in the real world, you only have to open the pages of any newspaper to see that. People who have been so wronged by life, so unjustly treated by others, so badly served by fate and chance and yet they soldier bravely on.
     I have heard it said that very few of us know what we are truely capable of until we are put to the test. Perhaps this is true but I am honest enough to say that quite frankly I would rather not find out! And I suspect I am not alone in holding that sentiment.   
    So, wherever you are reading this, whatever else you may be doing, take a moment out. Take just one moment to stop and look around you and appreciate what you have. Take pleasure in the easy breath which you draw into your lungs, the way the light falls attractively from a lamp or lightshade, the comfort of the seat under you and the safety you feel around you.
    There is so much grace in the world around us and we seldom stop to notice. This Easter holiday I plan to notice.
   

    I watched Celebrity Juice last night, solely because I knew that Henry Winkler was on the show. Having chatted to him yesterday, I was eager to see how he had fared on the show.
    He certainly entered into the spirit of things and had no difficulty in removing a variety of bras from a huge manequin in what must surely be record time!
    Needless to say, I have suffered some ribbing from friends who have seen both the picture of me and Henry together and also his performance on the show. I can only say that he was very interested in my writing and very kindly accepted a signed copy of my book. He was an attentive gentleman throughtout our chat :)
   I hope that he enjoys the rest of his visit to England. It was an absolute pleasure to make his aquaintance.

Just a little update. There are some issues with my contact forms on my website. While these are being investigated, you can contact me directly on carmen.capuano@ymail.com

Goodness me what an exciting day! As I have been very involved in the Children's Reading Festival, I was extended an invitation to meet Mr Henry Winkler at Blackheath Library today. Some of you may remember him as The Fonz in Happy Days. I had a lovely chat with him and can confirm he is a very interesting man.

I hummed the tune to Happy Days all the way home !

Don't forget that you can view my website and email me at carmencapuano.getfreehosting.co.uk

I look forward to hearing from you x

This is the last chapter I will write before the end of the Easter hols. Here is a little bit of Chapter 18, Volume IV

In silence she suffered her hand to be held, even forcing herself to look up romantically into his eyes every so often. If this had been a film she would have expected no less than two Oscars and a Golden Globe nomination for it. As it was, it was more important than any film she had ever made and she reminded herself of that, with every step she took

     There are seven chapters left to write in Volume IV. Seven! And then a few read throughs and edits and it will be ready to go!
     I can't believe that 12 months on from publishing my first novel, I am on the brink of completing my fourth. Just think what I could do in a decade!
    More to the point it makes me wonder what I could have done in the last three decades if I had really put my mind to it. Was I any less dedicated to all the ideas that I pursued then? Was I any less single-minded? Was I more apathetic than I am now? I really don't think so.
    I think I was just a different person in so many ways and perhaps it wasn't my time to do something like this. But it is now.
   Watch out for Volume IV : A New Epoch because it is coming soon.

I have Google analytics on this site apparently. I say apparently, as in no way was I involved in setting them up, they just came with the site. [Sorry technophobe that I am, it takes me all my time to log in in the first place, never mind setting up something so complicated.]

But the analysis is there, for the taking as it were. And so occasionally I look at it and every time I do, it gives me cause to wonder. There are people in Spain, Poland, the Ukraine and even Sweden who read this blog, as well as the more expected citizens of the good ol' US of A and of course, the UK. Now [and just in case you too are a technophobe just like me, I don't know exactly who these people are or even their address] all I know is what area of the world they live in.

But this always gets me thinking. Are they native American or British people, who now reside/work out in these more exotic destinations? Or are they native to the land in which they reside? If they are native, that poses even further questions, such as are they reading this in English?  Or is it being translated into some pigeon version of another language so that if I were to say I was "fed up" it would translate into a phrase which meant over-full?

Assuming therefore that they are reading it in English, brings me to my main point. If people in other countries can read this in English, in a time when there are surveys, test results, reports and a multitude of other data, which constantly inform us that children are leaving our UK schools, in many cases almost unable to write their own names, then that is a strange fact indeed!

It has long been known that there is an underclass in Britain who are almost illiterate, often through no fault of their own. These people straddle the more traditional class system and are found across the board, in every age group and every socio-economic grouping.

In some cases, there was a failing within the school system and in some there were underlying contributory factors such as dyslexia which went unrecognised. Years ago the slightly deaf and slightly myopic also suffered, if their condition went undetected. In my own family, I am aware that those who needed glasses or hearing aids were often incorrectly thought of as 'slow' and stationed at the back of the class, where they would not cause trouble for the 'brighter' pupils. This of course meant that the small amount that they could see/ hear was further diminished!

But things have greatly changed. Those days are gone thankfully. And schools are working hard to encourage children to learn. Lessons are fun and interactive and colours are bright and jaunty within the classrooms.

More importantly, there is an emphasis on reading for pleasure. For me this is the key to everything. If you teach a child to read and more importantly, instil within it, the pleasure that can be gained from that simple act, then you will be on to a winner! Because being able to confidently and eloquently read, opens up a world of possibilities for a child. They can then read and glean facts from the plethora of books that available on every topic possible, from how to water a plant, to how to build a space ship.

But the most important thing, I believe, is that reading allows the imagination to fire up, to gather wind under its sails and take flight...and it is this burgeoning imagination which will turn the next generation into the architects of their own futures and destinies.

Tomorrow and on Friday, I will be in libraries in Sandwell, helping children discover what reading and writing can give them. Not just what to do to keep their teacher happy, but how those two very simple acts can take them on flights of fancy to where ever the elastic of their minds can fabricate.

It's going to be fun! 

Here's another little bit. I do wonder what you think when you read these little bits. Are you piecing together the whole story?

The woman laughed even more hysterically. In a tumbled heap next to her mother, Eve suddenly knew this person was a threat. Without conscious thought, the child reacted instinctively and as the woman brought her face close once more, Eve lifted her strange legs and the wickedly sharp talons that were attached to them.

Another little snippet of the chapter/book I am working on at the moment.

Greta reached deep inside herself and pulled out Gretchen, the little street-smart girl who was so good at interpreting body language. He did not know it was you standing there, Gretchen thought at her. So who then? Greta thought back at herself. Obviously someone else! The doctor? Gretchen supplied. It was logical, especially the comment about cleaning himself up. Greta thought no more about it. But right in the very, very back of her mind Gretchen mulled it over.

Now if you are an American reading this [and I know that some of you are] you may well be wondering why I chose to set Volume II in America.

Well the honest truth is that the story just demanded it. But there is no denying that as a Brit, it is hard to write as if native to America. On the other hand we share so many ideologies between the two nations, as well as a love of certain foods and tv shows, that is is not perhaps as insurmountable a task as it initially seems.

Maybe one day I'll get over there for a visit. If you will have me.

 I have just checked Amazon and Volume III is listed on there now! I am very excited!

Please, please, if you are reading my books, send in a review! I am aware that those of you who bought directly from me at a signing event, are not allowed to post on Amazon but please post onto my website or even here.

Many thanks,

Carmen

Here is another snippet

Jack spoke up. He thought of the young, frightened boy Parm must have been. “And in a way, you felt they had done you a disservice, in showing you there was a better life to be had. Because you couldn’t have that life.” He thought about Dan, how if it had been Dan scrabbling in the dirt …or Katie or even one of her brothers. He thought about the injustice of it all – life in general. It had been unjust before and it would continue to be so – it was nature, the way of the world but it did not make it any less unpalatable.

My website is up and running now but at a temporary address at the moment.

You can view it at http://carmencapuano.getfreehosting.co.uk and I will let you know when it moves!

27/02/13

I am writing today! Fire on [it's very cold] and laptop to hand...here is a little snippet of The Owners Volume IV



Parm didn’t seem in the least offended or taken aback. In fact he looked very much like he had been anticipating the question for a very, very long time.

He smiled broadly at the two men before him. “Money talks, my friends, money talks. And its voice is the same in every language – a sound like sweet rustling leaves on a cool summer’s day.”

There was a universal silence. Parm worked the quietness like a conductor worked an orchestra, timing and pacing it just right to maximum effect. The atmosphere in the room thickened until the air felt gloopy with tension.

Here is the newly designed front cover for The Owners, Volume III: Dark Side Of The Sun.

What do you think? I hope you all like it!

Here is the synopsis :-

After surviving the devastating Superstorms which threatened the extinction of mankind, Dan Ryan and his Uncle Jack know that their old life is forever gone, washed away on the flood waters which claimed so many lives.

Their best hope of continued survival is to build a new life with the strangers they have found along the way. And their best chance of finding Dan’s parents is by conducting a methodical search.

So they have a plan.

But even at the tender age of twelve, Dan is already learning that few things in life go to plan.

With a diverse group of people to look after, which includes a heavily pregnant young woman and several young children and a dog, Seth knows that any plans they make are going to be liable to change. He also knows that it is going to take all of his and Jack’s wits, to pull these naïve people through what is about to become the most testing time in their lives.

A keen observer of human nature, Seth knows that these folks thought they had had it tough when caught up in the eye of the storm…and yet, little do they know that their troubles have only just begun.

 

The Owners, Volume III : Dark Side Of The Sun is the tense follow-up to Volume II : Storm Clouds and continues to rack the tension up another notch in this gripping series.

 

“The author has the reader totally captivated in the stories with her imaginative writing. I felt like I was part of the book when reading both Volumes I and II and I can't wait to read Volume III.

I have already imagined this on the big screen....the next Harry Potter. Nothing keeps me engaged like the books from this author.” 

 - Catherine Phelan.

“The power of imagination. But could it happen to us? Some of it already is...

You won't want to put this book down. You don't want more...you NEED more. Can't wait for Book 4!”

- Mary Hilton.

"I have read both Volume I and ll of The Owners and have thoroughly enjoyed them, I couldn't put them down until I reached the end. Can't wait to get started on Volume lll.”

- Carol Julie Hughes

“Her story-telling has an abundance of fiction, mixed liberally with a dollop of wishful thinking!”

- Karen Lamont