I don't usually put external links on here but this is something I just had to share.
I don't think there is a single phrase here I don't use on a daily basis.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nem0bkErGVY
Thursday, 23 January 2014
I am working now on my teen novel. It's very dark and reflects the world we live in today. There are times when it is funny and times when it is romantic but mostly its real. This is a book for the over 15's for a reason...
I also have a lot of exciting irons in the fire at the moment! Right now my lips are sealed but keep your eyes on this blog for when I am able to tell you what I hope will come through for me!
Until then - happy reading!
Carmen.
I also have a lot of exciting irons in the fire at the moment! Right now my lips are sealed but keep your eyes on this blog for when I am able to tell you what I hope will come through for me!
Until then - happy reading!
Carmen.
Tuesday, 21 January 2014
This will hopefully be the cover for The Owners, Volume IV: A New Epoch. Isn't is beautiful? It was specially created for me by the wonderfully talented Martin Darcy. Visit his Facebook page here https://www.facebook.com/martin.darcy2?fref=ts.
Thursday, 16 January 2014
All Change.
You may already be aware that The Owners Volume IV : A New Epoch will soon be published and appearing on Amazon and all the usual places. Volumes V and VI are also written and currently being prepared for publication, however I am now taking a short break from the Owners series.
There are a few reasons for this. One is that writing a ten part series without a break is very draining, another is that there are a few other stories and characters who are clamouring for my attention and the final reason is that demand for me to write other genres is very high.
So in order to acquiesce, I am now working on a number of other projects, one of which is now almost a quarter done. This particular story is a departure for me as it is more thriller than anything else and is aimed at 15+ because of both content and language.
As an author it's hard not to feel for your characters. You want them to have an easier time in life than the story allows and it is no different for the main character of this book. Natalie is just a young girl who makes one stupid mistake...
But as we all know, one mistake can be one mistake too many!
Anyway as this was only a quick blog catch up, I'll leave you with a snippet from today's writing.
Taken from The Decision.
The kiss when it came was the sweetest thing I could ever have imagined. A light feathery touch of lips upon lips, it was a promise of strawberries and sunshine and a guy at my side to share it all with.
There are a few reasons for this. One is that writing a ten part series without a break is very draining, another is that there are a few other stories and characters who are clamouring for my attention and the final reason is that demand for me to write other genres is very high.
So in order to acquiesce, I am now working on a number of other projects, one of which is now almost a quarter done. This particular story is a departure for me as it is more thriller than anything else and is aimed at 15+ because of both content and language.
As an author it's hard not to feel for your characters. You want them to have an easier time in life than the story allows and it is no different for the main character of this book. Natalie is just a young girl who makes one stupid mistake...
But as we all know, one mistake can be one mistake too many!
Anyway as this was only a quick blog catch up, I'll leave you with a snippet from today's writing.
Taken from The Decision.
The kiss when it came was the sweetest thing I could ever have imagined. A light feathery touch of lips upon lips, it was a promise of strawberries and sunshine and a guy at my side to share it all with.
Monday, 13 January 2014
Friday, 3 January 2014
Welcome back! I hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year. Mine unfortunately was a mixed bag and I suspect it will continue to be so for some considerable time :(
Anyway as they say in Scotland, "out with the auld and in wi' the new!"
Now I would like to tell you a little tale of what happened to me just before Christmas.
'Twas the night afore Christmas [actually it was the 23rd but what the heck] and all was still and quiet all around. I had a friend staying over and the house was festive and Christmas looking. Tinsel adorned picture frames, cards littered the mantelpiece and hearth and there was a large glowing fibre-optic tree in the lounge window and another two scattered around the house.
As usual I had several items which had just sold on Ebay, one of which was my old dining room table set and I was awaiting its collection. My friend and I had just returned from walking the dogs and both humans and canines were dishevelled and muddy.
The children were excited and all around us there was much high pitched talk and laughter, children racing each other up and down the stairs and causing the biggest dog to whirl around and around, trying to catch her own tail in anticipation of some extraordinary event. The very air was charged with adrenaline and the scent of some long awaited pleasures and surprises.
It was at that precise moment that the doorbell rang and I ushered in a very dapper looking Asian man who turned out to be my Ebay buyer. Having returned late from the walk, I had not had time to dismantle the table as I had assured him I would do, so I did as any insane Scottish five-foot-two author would have done - I lied!
"I was thinking that to save you the bother of having to assemble it with all its various parts," were there various parts, I had no idea but I was into the bluff now and damned if I was going to fall at the first hurdle I encountered, "and as I knew you were bringing a big van for the collection," I had known no such thing but luckily he had turned up in a big white van, "you might want to take it out assembled and save yourself some bother." I actually managed to nod sagely at myself as if it was the best idea ever spoken aloud.
The dapper Asian gentleman agreed. So we began, the Asian man at one end of the table and my friend at the other. We tried to manoeuvre it through the lounge door into the hall ...no way was that happening! The legs of the table almost jammed in the door frame and we had to beat a hasty retreat.
But of course there was the piece de resistance - the patio doors which led from the conservatory to the back garden. We got the table back through the double doors from lounge to dining room and then dining room to conservatory and finally the outside with no ill effects. But the brick walls of the side passage which leads from back garden to front were a daunting obstacle. Unbending and unyielding they stood steadfast in their foundations and taunted me with their narrow confined space.
There was nothing for it but to dismantle the table - there would be no other way of removing it from the home. My mind searched through the old memories of the ex-boyfriend who had assembled the table originally. I remembered there had been a lot of cursing and many tools and instruments used in the process. But for goodness sake, it was a table...not a build-your-own-house-kit, how complicated could it be? Then I remembered that half-way through the job he had left to buy some bolts...there were bolts holding the table together! My blood ran cold. How on earth was I going to get the table dismantled with the new owner looking on? In absolute panic I turned to my friend.
Like a horse fed on a diet too rich in oats I must have resembled nothing more than a panicked little pony [I would have liked to say horse but that's stretching the truth a little too thin.]
Lips pulled back in a tight grimace and eyes rolling wildly, I assured the buyer that my friend would have the table dismantled in a jiffy. The Asian man went back outside to tell the van driver that there was a delay. It was at this point that it started to rain.
Huge sheets of glacier drops shattered to the ground, soaking everything in their path within seconds. Like rapiers, the raindrops sliced through clothing and footwear; mini heat-seeking missiles which leached the warmth from bones and the humour from hearts.
I could tell that by now the Asian gentleman was no longer impressed. I went back inside to see how my friend was faring.
Like an old beloved relative who is past his prime but wishes to be shackled to the home he has known and loved for so long, the table seemed to be resisting all his efforts to dismantle it. And even more unfortunately the house appeared to be colluding with it! I watched transfixed as the first screws were removed and promptly fell into the cracks between the dining room floor boards. I lunged across the room and using a butter knife, began to frantically gouge the minuscule gap in order to retrieve the screw. Hair plastered to my scalp by rain and the thin sweat of fear and embarrassment I grappled with it until I managed to clasp it in my damp palm.
Meanwhile my friend had moved on to the bolts. The table fought bravely, seeming to withdraw the bolt heads deeper into their holes and securing them there with a determination I had not known an inanimate object could possess. My friend persevered. The table resisted. My friend grunted and groaned. The table remained quietly victorious. Until with a quickness of wrist and keenness of eye my friend held the table a certain way, twisted the bolt whilst simultaneously pushing away from it and in one fell swoop, the table was finally undone, mastered, defeated.
And somewhere inside the very pit of my stomach it felt like a hollow victory...perhaps it was the presentiment of things yet to come...
We carried the table remains outside. By now the unrelenting rain had turned to hailstones of the most frightening kind. Huge balls of ice struck us as we hurried the wooden parts to the two men waiting in the white van.
It was on the first return journey that my friend turned a peculiar shade of white. "Get a bit of paper and take down their registration," he hissed at me theatrically.
"Why," I hissed back, just as theatrically [I hate to be outdone and have a terrible competitive streak.]
"Just bloody do it!" he sniped back, seemingly in a mood not to be outdone. But something about the thin set of his lips and anger in his eyes made me bite back any words which came immediately to my mind.
So it was that I stood outside of my house, in slippers and drenched clothing, in front of the van and tried to look as if I were inconspicuously eyeing up my neighbours property when in fact I was memorising the licence plate of the van for God knew what reason.
But being me, I could not bear the suspense and begged my friend to let me know what all the cloak and dagger stuff was about.
"You know when we went out with the first lot of wood from the table?" he said slowly, as if talking to a demented five year old.
"Yes?" I said, trying and failing to hide my annoyance.
"Well I noticed my car door was slightly open and the glove compartment lid was down... and my satnav is gone! Those men have stolen it."
"Well, I will go and confront them!" I said, feeling like I could now take on the world even though my knees were knocking. I told myself it was temper and sheer anger but in the calmer light of day as I write this I am less afraid to admit that yes, there was a little bit of fear in there too.
"No!" he said. "They will deny it and you have no right to search them. "We will have to phone the police."
I watched the two men battle the elements and lock up their van, all the while willing myself to go shove a banana up their exhaust pipe or a nail in their tyres, anything, everything that would prevent their leaving and prompt them into full disclosure and repentance, culminating in them returning our stolen property.
But of course, none of that happened. instead I snatched the money for the table from the man from behind a half-closed door and then slammed it shut in his face, hating myself for being so inadequate.
Then I reached for the phone.
The police, I have to say were very understanding. They were also very quick. Unusually so. I guess that should have started alarm bells ringing in my head...
"We have a rapid response team on the way and there is a helicopter in the area," the 999 controller informed me.
"Oh, um, ok," I responded. "But you will probably not be able to catch them, they left a few minutes ago," I explained.
"Do you know where they were headed caller?" she asked.
"They are on their way back to London," I related what they had told me.
"London, eh?"
Ok so at this point I should have known that things had become more than a little farcical I guess. But you know what? When wrapped up in the situation as it is actually unfolding, you cannot always see the wood for the trees. In my defence, Your Honour!
"So will you let me know what happens?" I asked.
"We have stopped them and are doing a full search on them as we speak," she stated triumphantly.
Now whilst we had been on the phone I had heard several police sirens but could not bring myself to believe it was in response to my call. But yes, it appeared that indeed it had!
Then the police controller said something which made it all fall into place. "We were in your area anyway as there have been a number of thefts within the past twelve hours, many involving satnavs and we think it is a gang targeting your area. With your help we might just have caught them. Hang up now caller as a constable is on his way to your house with more information."
I thanked her and duly hung up.
No more than ten minutes later, two very soaked PCs arrived at my house with a satnav.
"Is this it?" they asked brandishing the said article in my face.
"No," I stuttered dejectedly. "Did you find any others?"
"Well here's the thing..." he said slowly, strangely using that same tone of voice my friend had used on me earlier, the one that made me feel about knee high to a grasshopper and only half as intelligent.
"We searched the men extensively. We made them empty everything out of their van." He didn't say 'in the torrential rain and hail' but I felt the words anyway. "We made them unlock every box and empty out every holdall and bag in the van..." And oh dear God the feeling in my stomach was telling my head and heart things it did not want to know.
"We looked everywhere and there were none of the stolen goods from any of the houses." He looked me in the eye and we both knew he knew I was an idiot. "Is it possible that the theft had occurred before these men arrived and that their arrival was just a coincidence?"
It was of course the only logical answer and I was doubly humiliated. Not only had I caused innocent men to be pulled over and virtually strip searched but I had not even been aware of the burglary in the very first place!
I bowed my head in shame and felt the weight of life upon my shoulders as the policemen trudged away, back to the innocent men who waited still bent over their van in the rain and hail, searched and grappled with to within an inch of their lives. Treated like ghetto drug dealers - because of me!
So now every time I go to my Ebay account and view the feedback, I cringe. Nothing has been posted there - yet - but I imagine it nonetheless. It will read something like this:-
"Avoid like the plague. This woman will lure you to her home with promises of Ebay bargains but whilst you are there she will waste your time, snatch your money from your hand and then have you strip searched by the police on departure. AVIOD AT ALL COSTS!!!"
So dear readers, this blog post is my way of an open apology to those poor innocent men.
Now can I interest anyone in an only slightly used dishwasher?
Anyone?
[N.B. The above is a true story - unfortunately for all participants.]
Anyway as they say in Scotland, "out with the auld and in wi' the new!"
Now I would like to tell you a little tale of what happened to me just before Christmas.
'Twas the night afore Christmas [actually it was the 23rd but what the heck] and all was still and quiet all around. I had a friend staying over and the house was festive and Christmas looking. Tinsel adorned picture frames, cards littered the mantelpiece and hearth and there was a large glowing fibre-optic tree in the lounge window and another two scattered around the house.
As usual I had several items which had just sold on Ebay, one of which was my old dining room table set and I was awaiting its collection. My friend and I had just returned from walking the dogs and both humans and canines were dishevelled and muddy.
The children were excited and all around us there was much high pitched talk and laughter, children racing each other up and down the stairs and causing the biggest dog to whirl around and around, trying to catch her own tail in anticipation of some extraordinary event. The very air was charged with adrenaline and the scent of some long awaited pleasures and surprises.
It was at that precise moment that the doorbell rang and I ushered in a very dapper looking Asian man who turned out to be my Ebay buyer. Having returned late from the walk, I had not had time to dismantle the table as I had assured him I would do, so I did as any insane Scottish five-foot-two author would have done - I lied!
"I was thinking that to save you the bother of having to assemble it with all its various parts," were there various parts, I had no idea but I was into the bluff now and damned if I was going to fall at the first hurdle I encountered, "and as I knew you were bringing a big van for the collection," I had known no such thing but luckily he had turned up in a big white van, "you might want to take it out assembled and save yourself some bother." I actually managed to nod sagely at myself as if it was the best idea ever spoken aloud.
The dapper Asian gentleman agreed. So we began, the Asian man at one end of the table and my friend at the other. We tried to manoeuvre it through the lounge door into the hall ...no way was that happening! The legs of the table almost jammed in the door frame and we had to beat a hasty retreat.
But of course there was the piece de resistance - the patio doors which led from the conservatory to the back garden. We got the table back through the double doors from lounge to dining room and then dining room to conservatory and finally the outside with no ill effects. But the brick walls of the side passage which leads from back garden to front were a daunting obstacle. Unbending and unyielding they stood steadfast in their foundations and taunted me with their narrow confined space.
There was nothing for it but to dismantle the table - there would be no other way of removing it from the home. My mind searched through the old memories of the ex-boyfriend who had assembled the table originally. I remembered there had been a lot of cursing and many tools and instruments used in the process. But for goodness sake, it was a table...not a build-your-own-house-kit, how complicated could it be? Then I remembered that half-way through the job he had left to buy some bolts...there were bolts holding the table together! My blood ran cold. How on earth was I going to get the table dismantled with the new owner looking on? In absolute panic I turned to my friend.
Like a horse fed on a diet too rich in oats I must have resembled nothing more than a panicked little pony [I would have liked to say horse but that's stretching the truth a little too thin.]
Lips pulled back in a tight grimace and eyes rolling wildly, I assured the buyer that my friend would have the table dismantled in a jiffy. The Asian man went back outside to tell the van driver that there was a delay. It was at this point that it started to rain.
Huge sheets of glacier drops shattered to the ground, soaking everything in their path within seconds. Like rapiers, the raindrops sliced through clothing and footwear; mini heat-seeking missiles which leached the warmth from bones and the humour from hearts.
I could tell that by now the Asian gentleman was no longer impressed. I went back inside to see how my friend was faring.
Like an old beloved relative who is past his prime but wishes to be shackled to the home he has known and loved for so long, the table seemed to be resisting all his efforts to dismantle it. And even more unfortunately the house appeared to be colluding with it! I watched transfixed as the first screws were removed and promptly fell into the cracks between the dining room floor boards. I lunged across the room and using a butter knife, began to frantically gouge the minuscule gap in order to retrieve the screw. Hair plastered to my scalp by rain and the thin sweat of fear and embarrassment I grappled with it until I managed to clasp it in my damp palm.
Meanwhile my friend had moved on to the bolts. The table fought bravely, seeming to withdraw the bolt heads deeper into their holes and securing them there with a determination I had not known an inanimate object could possess. My friend persevered. The table resisted. My friend grunted and groaned. The table remained quietly victorious. Until with a quickness of wrist and keenness of eye my friend held the table a certain way, twisted the bolt whilst simultaneously pushing away from it and in one fell swoop, the table was finally undone, mastered, defeated.
And somewhere inside the very pit of my stomach it felt like a hollow victory...perhaps it was the presentiment of things yet to come...
We carried the table remains outside. By now the unrelenting rain had turned to hailstones of the most frightening kind. Huge balls of ice struck us as we hurried the wooden parts to the two men waiting in the white van.
It was on the first return journey that my friend turned a peculiar shade of white. "Get a bit of paper and take down their registration," he hissed at me theatrically.
"Why," I hissed back, just as theatrically [I hate to be outdone and have a terrible competitive streak.]
"Just bloody do it!" he sniped back, seemingly in a mood not to be outdone. But something about the thin set of his lips and anger in his eyes made me bite back any words which came immediately to my mind.
So it was that I stood outside of my house, in slippers and drenched clothing, in front of the van and tried to look as if I were inconspicuously eyeing up my neighbours property when in fact I was memorising the licence plate of the van for God knew what reason.
But being me, I could not bear the suspense and begged my friend to let me know what all the cloak and dagger stuff was about.
"You know when we went out with the first lot of wood from the table?" he said slowly, as if talking to a demented five year old.
"Yes?" I said, trying and failing to hide my annoyance.
"Well I noticed my car door was slightly open and the glove compartment lid was down... and my satnav is gone! Those men have stolen it."
"Well, I will go and confront them!" I said, feeling like I could now take on the world even though my knees were knocking. I told myself it was temper and sheer anger but in the calmer light of day as I write this I am less afraid to admit that yes, there was a little bit of fear in there too.
"No!" he said. "They will deny it and you have no right to search them. "We will have to phone the police."
I watched the two men battle the elements and lock up their van, all the while willing myself to go shove a banana up their exhaust pipe or a nail in their tyres, anything, everything that would prevent their leaving and prompt them into full disclosure and repentance, culminating in them returning our stolen property.
But of course, none of that happened. instead I snatched the money for the table from the man from behind a half-closed door and then slammed it shut in his face, hating myself for being so inadequate.
Then I reached for the phone.
The police, I have to say were very understanding. They were also very quick. Unusually so. I guess that should have started alarm bells ringing in my head...
"We have a rapid response team on the way and there is a helicopter in the area," the 999 controller informed me.
"Oh, um, ok," I responded. "But you will probably not be able to catch them, they left a few minutes ago," I explained.
"Do you know where they were headed caller?" she asked.
"They are on their way back to London," I related what they had told me.
"London, eh?"
Ok so at this point I should have known that things had become more than a little farcical I guess. But you know what? When wrapped up in the situation as it is actually unfolding, you cannot always see the wood for the trees. In my defence, Your Honour!
"So will you let me know what happens?" I asked.
"We have stopped them and are doing a full search on them as we speak," she stated triumphantly.
Now whilst we had been on the phone I had heard several police sirens but could not bring myself to believe it was in response to my call. But yes, it appeared that indeed it had!
Then the police controller said something which made it all fall into place. "We were in your area anyway as there have been a number of thefts within the past twelve hours, many involving satnavs and we think it is a gang targeting your area. With your help we might just have caught them. Hang up now caller as a constable is on his way to your house with more information."
I thanked her and duly hung up.
No more than ten minutes later, two very soaked PCs arrived at my house with a satnav.
"Is this it?" they asked brandishing the said article in my face.
"No," I stuttered dejectedly. "Did you find any others?"
"Well here's the thing..." he said slowly, strangely using that same tone of voice my friend had used on me earlier, the one that made me feel about knee high to a grasshopper and only half as intelligent.
"We searched the men extensively. We made them empty everything out of their van." He didn't say 'in the torrential rain and hail' but I felt the words anyway. "We made them unlock every box and empty out every holdall and bag in the van..." And oh dear God the feeling in my stomach was telling my head and heart things it did not want to know.
"We looked everywhere and there were none of the stolen goods from any of the houses." He looked me in the eye and we both knew he knew I was an idiot. "Is it possible that the theft had occurred before these men arrived and that their arrival was just a coincidence?"
It was of course the only logical answer and I was doubly humiliated. Not only had I caused innocent men to be pulled over and virtually strip searched but I had not even been aware of the burglary in the very first place!
I bowed my head in shame and felt the weight of life upon my shoulders as the policemen trudged away, back to the innocent men who waited still bent over their van in the rain and hail, searched and grappled with to within an inch of their lives. Treated like ghetto drug dealers - because of me!
So now every time I go to my Ebay account and view the feedback, I cringe. Nothing has been posted there - yet - but I imagine it nonetheless. It will read something like this:-
"Avoid like the plague. This woman will lure you to her home with promises of Ebay bargains but whilst you are there she will waste your time, snatch your money from your hand and then have you strip searched by the police on departure. AVIOD AT ALL COSTS!!!"
So dear readers, this blog post is my way of an open apology to those poor innocent men.
Now can I interest anyone in an only slightly used dishwasher?
Anyone?
[N.B. The above is a true story - unfortunately for all participants.]
Monday, 23 December 2013
Wednesday, 18 December 2013
And you think my name is weird?
Take a look here - some of these are so funny I actually howled with laughter!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7909561.stm
In particular I LOVED Anna Sasin.
Merry Christmas all! x
Take a look here - some of these are so funny I actually howled with laughter!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7909561.stm
In particular I LOVED Anna Sasin.
Merry Christmas all! x
Thursday, 12 December 2013
Before I tell you about my adventures in Redditch last Saturday, when I was doing a book signing event, let me show you this.
It is an open letter to the readers and comes at the end of Volume VI. I think it adequately conveys how I feel.
But I wonder if you are left uneasy that you do not know how things will ultimately work out for them?
So just in case you do, I would like to reassure you that they continue to face their tribulations in life, as indeed we all do but from the end of this volume, their road becomes a little smoother, a little less fraught and climactic!
Now to tell you about Saturday!
The shopping centre was busy and there was a lot of interest in my books. Sales were high and it was lovely to speak to readers of all ages.
But that's not what I wanted to tell you about. What I want to tell you is far, far stranger...
First of all I was approached by some old friends whom I haven't seen properly in a few years as they were originally friends of an old ex-partner from twenty years ago. We exchanged pleasantries and then promised to meet up at Christmas.
Some time later, I had a further revelation.
Stationed as I was by the side of a broken elevator, I was addressed by a stunning woman who initially turned to me to enquire how she could get to the upper floor.
But on turning around to answer her question, I triggered a recognition on her part.
"Carmen!" she exclaimed. "Don't you recognise me?"
Now the truth is that I speak to so many people and in so many different places that although I often remember a face, I cannot always put a name to it.
But there was something about her which was incredible familiar!
It turned out that she was my ex-sister-in-law from over twenty years ago, when that same ex as mentioned above, had been my current partner.
We had both been young women at the time and although once she revealed her identity to me, it seemed ridiculous that I should not immediately identify her, as we had been in each others' lives for eight years, it also seemed a ridiculously long time ago.
We talked and caught up on how life had been for us in the intervening years and there was a warmth between us that I don't ever remember feeling away back then.
It seemed that life had mellowed us both and the former rivalry that I remember so well, had crumbled into the dust of time.
And it made me wonder why we had ever been rivals in the first place!
With a melancholy sadness in my heart I watched her depart. She was a part of my old life and had no place in my here-and-now but it was strange to hear about the family I had once been a part of and no longer was. [There's a book in there - just wait!]
But the day was to get even stranger.
Some time after she left, a very ordinary but well presented gentleman approached me.
"You have some clairvoyance in you," he declared, eyeing me with his head cocked to one side as if peering into my very soul.
I didn't know at first whether he was referring to the plots within my books and how they could so easily come to pass, or whether it was something deeper.
"Well..." I responded unsure what to say.
"I know you do, because I have some too!" he said.
And you know what I thought? I thought ok, crackpot alert!
But then he said some things about me and my life which really made me wonder, because they referred to things which had actually come to pass.
So between seeing long lost in-laws and this man, I had a rather strange day.
I made great sales and had a good time but there was also that sense of the Ghost Of Christmas Past, courtesy of all my visitors and I began to feel the whole thing was more than a little spooky...
So this Saturday, when I am doing signings in WHSmith in Birmingham, if you once brought a cat to the vet's I used to work in, or bought one of my old houses, perhaps it might be best NOT to tell me...I might just freak out entirely and run away screaming.
Because if the Ghost of Christmas past keeps turning up, I dread to think what the Ghost of Christmas Future is going to show me!
Merry Christmas folks and Happy New Year!
It is an open letter to the readers and comes at the end of Volume VI. I think it adequately conveys how I feel.
A word from the author.
I
am very sad to say that this volume sees an end to the story of Jack, Georgia,
Seth, Laurie and all the others.
I
have tried to give each and every one of them their time in the sun, a little
space to tell their own stories and I think it has been the making of them…
More
than a few tears have been shed by me in writing these books and I will miss
the characters dearly – they have become a part of my everyday life. Their
voices sound in my head, their images flit before my eyes and I’m sure that
they will remain in my heart forever.But I wonder if you are left uneasy that you do not know how things will ultimately work out for them?
So just in case you do, I would like to reassure you that they continue to face their tribulations in life, as indeed we all do but from the end of this volume, their road becomes a little smoother, a little less fraught and climactic!
Volume
VII will see some new characters arrive, so I hope you will join me in
welcoming them and wishing Bon Voyage to the old ones we loved so well…
Goodbye
Jack, Georgia, Laurie, Seth, Parm, Delilah, Eden and all you others. X
Carmen
Capuano.
Friday, 6 December 2013
So sorry, I seem to have almost abandoned you dear readers but there has just been so much happening!
Tomorrow I am at The Kingfisher Shopping Centre in Redditch, signing copies of my books and chatting with readers.
It would be great to see you there but in the meantime here is a little bit I have just edited, taken from The Owners Volume 6.
“Little babies grow up Eve. It’s wrong and it’s immoral but it’s not the first time the human race has considered genocide and infanticide as a solution to what they perceive to be a problem,” Jack said sadly.
I will catch up with you next week and tell you all my news!
Until then - have a great weekend.
Carmen.
Tomorrow I am at The Kingfisher Shopping Centre in Redditch, signing copies of my books and chatting with readers.
It would be great to see you there but in the meantime here is a little bit I have just edited, taken from The Owners Volume 6.
“Little babies grow up Eve. It’s wrong and it’s immoral but it’s not the first time the human race has considered genocide and infanticide as a solution to what they perceive to be a problem,” Jack said sadly.
I will catch up with you next week and tell you all my news!
Until then - have a great weekend.
Carmen.
Thursday, 28 November 2013
Aeons and Eyons!
Just had a funny moment...was checking my emails with "Four in a Bed" on in the background on my enormous new tv, when one of the contestants on it said, "it will take aeons for her to..."
And you KNOW what I thought...! I thought MY EYONS are on the tv lol!!!
A moment of madness or presentiment? I know which one I believe it was!
I'm so sorry that I have somewhat abandoned you these last couple of weeks but I have been so incredibly busy editing volumes IV-VI.
But should you wish to get a signed copy of my books you will find me in the Kingfisher Centre on 7th Dec.
Then on the 14th I will be in WHSmith in Birmingham, doing it all over again.
I will also be making appearances in Thimblemill Library and Bleakhouse Library very soon, as well as some local schools.
So if you miss me in one place, you can be sure to catch up with me in another...
Have a great weekend folks and remember that the Eyons are coming to a bookstore near you...
;)
And you KNOW what I thought...! I thought MY EYONS are on the tv lol!!!
A moment of madness or presentiment? I know which one I believe it was!
I'm so sorry that I have somewhat abandoned you these last couple of weeks but I have been so incredibly busy editing volumes IV-VI.
But should you wish to get a signed copy of my books you will find me in the Kingfisher Centre on 7th Dec.
Then on the 14th I will be in WHSmith in Birmingham, doing it all over again.
I will also be making appearances in Thimblemill Library and Bleakhouse Library very soon, as well as some local schools.
So if you miss me in one place, you can be sure to catch up with me in another...
Have a great weekend folks and remember that the Eyons are coming to a bookstore near you...
;)
Monday, 25 November 2013
An Australian Fan!
Well blow my socks off!
A few days ago I received a Facebook friend request which I confirmed after looking at the person's profile and seeing that it was respectable and decent.
As usual, a little 'hello' went backwards and forwards between the two of us. But then I got a big surprise when I read this :-
"Thank you Carmen for your add and pleasure to meet you as well. Would like to say that I have actually read your first book of The Owners here in Australia after my partner read it and it was quiet enjoyable and I like the way you bring all the characters into their own form and existence...Sorry haven't had much time on my hands to go and read the other 2 as yet but I'm sure I'll find time."
The reason I was so surprised was because it was a response from Australia, that land so far away, which my great-great-grandmother emigrated to on the £10 assisted passage way back in the 60s.
Australia is a land I have always dreamed of visiting, with it's warm climate and white clean beaches, vast outdoor spaces and almost daily barbeques. And maybe...just maybe...if my book can reach those warm Antipodean shores, maybe I will manage it someday too!
Keep that surf going Australia....I'll get there yet!
A few days ago I received a Facebook friend request which I confirmed after looking at the person's profile and seeing that it was respectable and decent.
As usual, a little 'hello' went backwards and forwards between the two of us. But then I got a big surprise when I read this :-
"Thank you Carmen for your add and pleasure to meet you as well. Would like to say that I have actually read your first book of The Owners here in Australia after my partner read it and it was quiet enjoyable and I like the way you bring all the characters into their own form and existence...Sorry haven't had much time on my hands to go and read the other 2 as yet but I'm sure I'll find time."
The reason I was so surprised was because it was a response from Australia, that land so far away, which my great-great-grandmother emigrated to on the £10 assisted passage way back in the 60s.
Australia is a land I have always dreamed of visiting, with it's warm climate and white clean beaches, vast outdoor spaces and almost daily barbeques. And maybe...just maybe...if my book can reach those warm Antipodean shores, maybe I will manage it someday too!
Keep that surf going Australia....I'll get there yet!
Wednesday, 20 November 2013
Did I actually tell you what my books were like? Somehow in all the madness, I'm not sure I ever really did. So here it is:-
The Owners series is a blend of Avatar and 2012 ... where dystopia meets utopia, with a tiny fraction of The Waking Dead thrown in for good measure.
Of course it's not really like any of the above in their entirety but it does have elements of them all. It is set in a world where the relationships between the characters are similar to those in Avatar - there is a mutual bond of love and respect, there is a life/world changing event which creates mayhem and upheaval as in 2012 and then there is the struggle for life after this event, hence The Walking Dead.
If you can't picture the blend of these three things, read The Owners...it will set your imagination on fire!
You are in for a real treat.
The Owners series is a blend of Avatar and 2012 ... where dystopia meets utopia, with a tiny fraction of The Waking Dead thrown in for good measure.
Of course it's not really like any of the above in their entirety but it does have elements of them all. It is set in a world where the relationships between the characters are similar to those in Avatar - there is a mutual bond of love and respect, there is a life/world changing event which creates mayhem and upheaval as in 2012 and then there is the struggle for life after this event, hence The Walking Dead.
If you can't picture the blend of these three things, read The Owners...it will set your imagination on fire!
You are in for a real treat.
Friday, 15 November 2013
We're of to see the Wizard
the wonderful Wizard of Oz,
because, because, because, because,
because of the wonderful things he does!
Getting ready for my day of book signings at Avoncroft Museum. If you haven't already got my books [REALLY??? AND WHY NOT???] you have no idea what you are missing...
Scroll down and take a look at some of my reviews or even better yet, visit Amazon and read the reviews there.
Next week is a busy one again...is it ever any different I wonder? But I hope to be able to post a little just to keep you all in the loop.
There are also a variety of events planned but I don't have all the dates lined up yet. As soon as I do, I will post them here.
Have a great weekend folks! :)
the wonderful Wizard of Oz,
because, because, because, because,
because of the wonderful things he does!
Getting ready for my day of book signings at Avoncroft Museum. If you haven't already got my books [REALLY??? AND WHY NOT???] you have no idea what you are missing...
Scroll down and take a look at some of my reviews or even better yet, visit Amazon and read the reviews there.
Next week is a busy one again...is it ever any different I wonder? But I hope to be able to post a little just to keep you all in the loop.
There are also a variety of events planned but I don't have all the dates lined up yet. As soon as I do, I will post them here.
Have a great weekend folks! :)
Wednesday, 13 November 2013
Another review:-
"Just wanted to follow up our conversation from yesterday and tell you how much I enjoyed the 1st book in The Owners series. It surprised me and kept me interested throughout. I enjoyed getting to know the characters. You are left desperately wanting to know how this bizarre owner/pet situation came to be... what the heck are the adult Eyons up to ....and how can the situation be resolved if at all!! Can't wait to read the next and find out more."
So what more can I say? If you haven't yet read The Owners series how are you going to be able to discuss it with friends?
Don't be left in the dark - get your copy today!
"Just wanted to follow up our conversation from yesterday and tell you how much I enjoyed the 1st book in The Owners series. It surprised me and kept me interested throughout. I enjoyed getting to know the characters. You are left desperately wanting to know how this bizarre owner/pet situation came to be... what the heck are the adult Eyons up to ....and how can the situation be resolved if at all!! Can't wait to read the next and find out more."
So what more can I say? If you haven't yet read The Owners series how are you going to be able to discuss it with friends?
Don't be left in the dark - get your copy today!
Monday, 11 November 2013
Today I heard back from another of my readers. She raved about The Owners and openly admitted that when she had first heard about it, she had thought that it would not be her "sort of thing".
But upon reading Volume I, she had become fully captivated by the story, the characters and the situations they found themselves in, so much so that she was desperate to get her hands on a copy of Volume II.
Wonderful as this story was to my ears it was also rather familiar. So many people have said the more or less exact same thing to me. Indeed the appeal of the story has been likened to that of the Harry Potter books where people of all walks of life and ages have become entranced by the story.
And the question that arises from this is : why if the book is so good, am I not seeing the meteoric rise of the novels that the esteemed Ms Rowling did? Is it luck? Am I missing some vital link in the chain? Have I not yet encountered the right people in my journey? I have no idea.
So dear reader if you have any words of wisdom on how to get more publicity for this clearly great series...pass 'em on to me.
I remain ready and waiting for all your sage advice.
Carmen.
But upon reading Volume I, she had become fully captivated by the story, the characters and the situations they found themselves in, so much so that she was desperate to get her hands on a copy of Volume II.
Wonderful as this story was to my ears it was also rather familiar. So many people have said the more or less exact same thing to me. Indeed the appeal of the story has been likened to that of the Harry Potter books where people of all walks of life and ages have become entranced by the story.
And the question that arises from this is : why if the book is so good, am I not seeing the meteoric rise of the novels that the esteemed Ms Rowling did? Is it luck? Am I missing some vital link in the chain? Have I not yet encountered the right people in my journey? I have no idea.
So dear reader if you have any words of wisdom on how to get more publicity for this clearly great series...pass 'em on to me.
I remain ready and waiting for all your sage advice.
Carmen.
Monday, 4 November 2013
Last night I watched The Green Mile. It is a film I saw only once before and that was around twenty years ago but my reaction to the fantastic action and the storyline was exactly the same as I remembered it. What was different this time was that I watched it with my children.
Now I know that it is rated 18 and many of you will be squirming in your chairs as your read this but I believed there were many valuable lessons to be learned from the film and as a very level-headed mother, who better than me to judge what my children can and cannot see?
I let them watch all but the electrocution and death scenes, where I ushered them into the kitchen until the film had moved on. What they got from the film was exactly what I had hoped they would get. They picked up on the dignity of both the character Tom Hanks plays and that of the very special prisoner in his care.
And do you know what? I learned something too. I have always been a believer in an eye for an eye, a staunch supporter of harsh treatment for perpetrators but I saw a different aspect of that last night, conveyed to me by the very understated acting. I saw that justice can be done in a quiet dignified manner and that the job of the executioner is one of grace, dignity and compassion. I have to say I had never looked at it like that before.
As for the more obvious themes within the film - that all the characters got their just desserts in the end, that good triumphed on the whole over evil and that extraordinary longevity is a curse more than a blessing...these were all mulled over by the teenager and preteen who sat red eyed and weeping with me by the end of the film.
A really beautiful film and so movingly portrayed.
If you missed it first time round, catch it on DVD. If you don't you will never know what you are missing.
Now I know that it is rated 18 and many of you will be squirming in your chairs as your read this but I believed there were many valuable lessons to be learned from the film and as a very level-headed mother, who better than me to judge what my children can and cannot see?
I let them watch all but the electrocution and death scenes, where I ushered them into the kitchen until the film had moved on. What they got from the film was exactly what I had hoped they would get. They picked up on the dignity of both the character Tom Hanks plays and that of the very special prisoner in his care.
And do you know what? I learned something too. I have always been a believer in an eye for an eye, a staunch supporter of harsh treatment for perpetrators but I saw a different aspect of that last night, conveyed to me by the very understated acting. I saw that justice can be done in a quiet dignified manner and that the job of the executioner is one of grace, dignity and compassion. I have to say I had never looked at it like that before.
As for the more obvious themes within the film - that all the characters got their just desserts in the end, that good triumphed on the whole over evil and that extraordinary longevity is a curse more than a blessing...these were all mulled over by the teenager and preteen who sat red eyed and weeping with me by the end of the film.
A really beautiful film and so movingly portrayed.
If you missed it first time round, catch it on DVD. If you don't you will never know what you are missing.
Friday, 25 October 2013
As you know I have been incredibly busy writing Volume VI of the Owners series. But now that I'm more than half-way through, I think it's time to finish editing my series for children aged 8-10 and finally get them out on the shelves.
The Mellillia books are funny and quirky and are very different to The Owners books. But that is only part of the appeal. Writing books for children requires a certain mind-set - a way of looking at things differently from how we normally view them. It's a refreshing take on our lives as adults and I find myself smiling even as I write.
With The Owners, the writing is more intense, more frenetic and I barely have time to breathe as the words hurtle themselves out of me and onto the screen.
And then there is my adult book which still requires me to sit down and get on with it. This is very different again from either of the two series I have previously mentioned but is just as intense as The Owners but in a very different way.
Finally, there are the other eighty odd stories I still have to write. By my calculation that means I will have to live to about 120 just to get them all out there...
Now where did I put those multi-vitamins again? And why did I just make coffee with cold water...guess the brain won't hold up to 120 after all ;)
The Mellillia books are funny and quirky and are very different to The Owners books. But that is only part of the appeal. Writing books for children requires a certain mind-set - a way of looking at things differently from how we normally view them. It's a refreshing take on our lives as adults and I find myself smiling even as I write.
With The Owners, the writing is more intense, more frenetic and I barely have time to breathe as the words hurtle themselves out of me and onto the screen.
And then there is my adult book which still requires me to sit down and get on with it. This is very different again from either of the two series I have previously mentioned but is just as intense as The Owners but in a very different way.
Finally, there are the other eighty odd stories I still have to write. By my calculation that means I will have to live to about 120 just to get them all out there...
Now where did I put those multi-vitamins again? And why did I just make coffee with cold water...guess the brain won't hold up to 120 after all ;)
Monday, 21 October 2013
I'm coming to the close of Volume VI : Blood Sky and am feeling a little uneasy. Perhaps I should explain.
As you already know, Volumes I-III have already been released but Volumes IV -VI have been deliberately held back. This is because they were all so closely linked, so tied-in together, that I wanted to release them all at once...to give the reader the fullest experience of the journey the characters must undertake.
But that journey has now reached its final destination and this part of the epic tale that is The Owners, is done.
I have birthed these characters, given life to them through my own blood, sweat and tears and now it is almost time to say goodbye to them and my heart quivers with fear and grief. I will miss them dearly - the sounds of their voices in my head, their easy way with one another and their solidarity in times of trouble. But most of all I will miss their willingness to share their story with me, the eagerness with which they jumped into every plot and how they filled every line with their vitality.
But it is time to bring forth the new blood...the characters who will strut their stuff in Volume VII and inhabit my thoughts and dreams as much as Jack, Georgia and all the others always have.
And of course, there, right at the end of the path, Little, Loni and San are waiting for me, waiting eagerly to come back and finish their part of the saga...and how can I deny them?
The Owners Volumes I-X
Nothing will ever be quite the same again!
As you already know, Volumes I-III have already been released but Volumes IV -VI have been deliberately held back. This is because they were all so closely linked, so tied-in together, that I wanted to release them all at once...to give the reader the fullest experience of the journey the characters must undertake.
But that journey has now reached its final destination and this part of the epic tale that is The Owners, is done.
I have birthed these characters, given life to them through my own blood, sweat and tears and now it is almost time to say goodbye to them and my heart quivers with fear and grief. I will miss them dearly - the sounds of their voices in my head, their easy way with one another and their solidarity in times of trouble. But most of all I will miss their willingness to share their story with me, the eagerness with which they jumped into every plot and how they filled every line with their vitality.
But it is time to bring forth the new blood...the characters who will strut their stuff in Volume VII and inhabit my thoughts and dreams as much as Jack, Georgia and all the others always have.
And of course, there, right at the end of the path, Little, Loni and San are waiting for me, waiting eagerly to come back and finish their part of the saga...and how can I deny them?
The Owners Volumes I-X
Nothing will ever be quite the same again!
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