I don't think I will get tired of this writing analysis thing. A moment ago in order to show my son the link, I typed a random paragraph which I intend to use in another of my books. Here it is :


Heart bleeding, pumping fresh love I looked back at him anxiously. He was gone! No sight nor sound nor breath of him remained. Gone without even a whisper to move the stillest air. My heart bled once more; thick, red viscous drops splattered on the wet, musty earth.


So come on now guys, guess whose writing this is closest to in terms of vocabulary, syntax, grammar and general style...


Are you thinking? Are you guessing? Have you got it yet?


Answers in a postcard to ...




Ok so here it is! This time I write like Stephen King.


Happy reading!

I have been asked to contribute to a publication by The Society for Curious Thought. Since I have a lot of thoughts and most of them are curious [if not downright peculiar], I thought I would give it a go!


I was asked about my opinion on the matter of growing socio-economic inequality across the world and what I thought made a fair society.


Here's my ha'penny worth. [Lovecraft, Joyce and Tolstoy eat your heart out - please see previous blog post.]  


In my opinion a fair society is one where each and every voice carries equal  weight; each opinion is considered as carefully as the next; every consideration is extended impartially to every citizen and where neither creed, colour, affluence, influence or intelligence dictate a divide.


Utopia? Perhaps. Impossibility? I hope not!


Happy reading.


Carmen.

Who am I? You can call me Carmen or James or...

I took a little bit of The Owners Volume I : Alone and input it into this analysing tool and according to this I write like H.P. Lovecraft.


This was the section I used :


The harsh sunlight, which pierced the window in its strong and direct glare, was now mellowed and softened in the burnished reflections of the polished wooden walls. The knots and imperfections of the wood resembling tiny worlds of intricacies, too complex to be fully understood.


In passing, he glanced through the window to find the view as breathtakingly beautiful as ever. An amazing variety of trees stood like proud sentinels around a spectacular natural lake. Trees stretched on into infinity in every direction – luscious light-green foliage appearing to vie with emerald and jade for the eye’s attention. Yet the trees also seemed to be collaborating with one another, joining forces in an attempt to outdo the drama of the brilliant blue sky reflected in the shimmering perfection of the silvery lake.


This scene, with its myriad colours and composition was so intense and so contrastingly stunning, it almost made San’s eyes hurt. Each tree was unique, either in size or shape or shade to its neighbour, just as the houses lodged within the heart of the tree, sitting snug amongst its highest branches were different. There were large tree houses and small ones, round ones and rectangular ones and even some which didn’t fit any one particular shape but instead were a weird blend of curves and angles.


Similarly the colours of the houses were all different. No, actually he thought, that’s not true. The colour was all the same – green – it was the sheer variety of shades of green which made them seem so dramatically different. Yet what struck San at that precise moment, was how each tree house conformed to and in fact complimented, the size and shape of the tree it was lodged in. It was almost as if each house had merged and blended with the branches to become a living part of its tree.  



Here it is http://iwl.me/s/147eabd8




Then I took this except from The Owners Volume III : Dark Side of The Sun and performed the same analysis :


Jack stepped into the darkness. Even in the seconds that his eyes took to adjust to the lack of light, he was aware that he stood next to Seth once more. There was a musty smell in the room. Dank and with the sharp acrid stench of urine, it was all he could do not to heave. Whoever was in the building had clearly given up all pretence of civilisation.


And they were aware of his and Seth’s presence. There was a vague sound of susurration, as if the person was making soft whisperings to themselves or another but it was too indistinct for him to make out its source or what was said.


“Step back slowly. Do not turn around,” Seth told him without moving.


“Why?” He knew he should probably just do as Seth suggested but having come this far, he wanted to know what they had found.


The susurration seemed to increase in response to his words, as if the person or persons were becoming agitated at the thought of them leaving. “This is why,” Seth slowly pulled a torch from his pocket and flicking it on, levelled it at the darkest corner of the room.


Hair tangled and knotted, what was left of the scalp hung down in front of the skeleton’s face. Whilst not strictly a skeleton, it was how Jack had to think of the body which was even now being hungrily devoured by the biggest pack of coyotes Jack had ever seen.  Bigger than the average dog, their normally lean bodies seemed fuller and longer than normal.



And this was the analysis  http://iwl.me/s/147eabd8




So far, so consistent. Now the biggie. What happened when I put in a section from my latest book [not yet published] Split Decision?.


Here is the excerpt I used :


The atmosphere in the car was suddenly thick with sexual tension. I could feel all of them straining to hear my answer, listening with their groins rather than their brains.

A primitive fear coursed through me riding a tidal wave of doom. There was no right answer here, only a series of wrong answers. My heart pounded at the steel cage it was entrapped within, banged itself into the padded walls around it and no-one heard it scream. No-one but me. Whatever I answered, I was damned if I did and damned if I didn’t! It was a circular route to Hell.

And the result? This time I wrote like James Joyce apparently!  http://iwl.me/s/d760c1b4




Then this excerpt from my current work-in progress, The Plan :


Suzie regarded her companion with wide eyes. None of her friends spoke like this, it was not the type of conversation she was used to having but she liked the honesty of it, the cut and dried truthfulness.

And you will never guess who came out this time! Leo Tolstoy!

And the proof is here  http://iwl.me/s/698342ba

Does that mean I am split personality???


[I wonder what would have happened if I had cut and pasted all the different excerpts into one analysis...perhaps I would have blown the software to smithereens!]

Happy reading!

Here is a little bit of my latest novel, currently entitled The Plan.


It is intended for adult consumption so not much of it will be pasted here, as I am aware that children and preteens also view this blog, following other books or series of books that I have written or which are currently underway. So relish the little bits that I can post!


Suzie regarded her companion with wide eyes. None of her friends spoke like this, it was not the type of conversation she was used to having but she liked the honesty of it, the cut and dried truthfulness.


Now to other news. As you are aware, Volume IV of The Owners has been recently released. Volume V and VI will follow shortly as both have been written. Split Decisions is awaiting an agent and The Trouble with Mellillia, Ascension and The Boy Who Saved Pigeons are currently on hold until The Plan is finished.


Early next year I will begin work on The Owners once more and hope to fire off Volumes VII and VIII.
I'll let you know if there are any changes to this plan!


[Oh and in between times I will be trying to fit in a life!]


Happy reading!

Hello!


I am now on Chapter 3 of my newest novel. Its working title is The Plan but that will no doubt change as the story progresses.


It is a little more introspective than I thought it would be but I 'get' the character now and I see where she is coming from. Some of you may identify with her...she is all of us and each and every woman that we pass in the street without really noticing. That woman who once was a person before life and circumstances sucked the joie de vivre from her existence...Let's just say she is about to get it back in a major way.


Anyway, for your delectation here is a little bit from Chapter 3. No doubt by the end it will be elaborated on and changed beyond recognition but here it is in the raw:-

She refilled the dogs’ water bowls and gave them both a treat but when her hands reached automatically for the biscuit barrel she pulled them back as if stung. She had seen him not so long ago. He hadn’t seen her though, he was too wrapped up in the woman by his side. And of course the new woman was everything she was not…slim, youthful, vibrant, childfree and without a care in the world. If Suzie could have placed a bet on it, she would have bet that her knickers were hot bubblegum pink and that her bikini line had follicles which had been beaten into submission.

She had frozen when she had seen them, arm in arm wandering around the shops as if the reality of them had turned her to stone. That thought had brought another, unkinder, one as companion. In Arabic countries they stone women like her, she had thought.

I watched Saving Mr Banks the other night. I wasn't looking forward to the film and it certainly wasn't my choice but even so I enjoyed it immensely.


You see I had erroneously been told that it was about the making of Mary Poppins by Mr Walt Disney but in actual fact it was about so much more than that... Within minutes it became clear that it was about the author's own childhood and how she had striven to find a meaning in her father's death, which she had witnessed at an early age. For her, this was not just a story full of light and jollity but instead had the gravitas of a psychological interpretation of how families can be drawn tighter or fall apart or in very rare instances, perform both feats simultaneously.


The real plot of the film as I understood it, was to show a woman writer who was staunch in her belief of how her characters should be portrayed and her writing integrity upheld. At the very end we heard the real voice of the author, her prim, properly enunciated tones allowing or disallowing changes to the manuscript for its celluloid interpretation. It brought a lump to my throat.


We are all so much more than we seem on first glance. Long live Mary Poppins!


P.S. My new novel Split Decisions is now finished. I hope it will be out soon.

Many thanks to those who turned out to meet me at Droitwich Library on Wednesday morning and at Bromsgrove Library on Wednesday evening. I had a great time talking about writing and my books.


Today I have been giving a talk to Halesowen Reading Group, a lovely, interested and interesting group of ladies. What pleased me most was the comment that one lady made to me after the talk. She confessed that she had not been looking forward to the event at all as she was not the least bit interested in sci-fi but had been so intrigued and interested by my talk she was actually the first of the group to buy a signed copy! Moreover, she asked if she could put my name forward to do a talk with the school she works at!


Another lady told me her grandson is already a fan, having bought the first three volumes with his pocket money and is looking forward to the recently released 4th volume. The same lady then went on to buy signed copies of the volumes for herself.


So you can see why I am all of a glow even if the scene outside my window looks like it is trying to depict the setting of Volume II.


On Monday the kids go back to school and I go back to writing...can't wait!


Happy Reading!


:)

OOPS!

I forgot to mention that The Owners Volume IV :A New Epoch will be free to download over the next few days. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity so don't miss out!

Happy Reading!

If there is one out there he will find me...

Did I ever tell you what an attraction I hold for nutters? No? Well I'll let you in on the secret now shall I? Nutters love me. They simply adore me. I swear that to them I have a neon sign above my head, which proclaims in big glowing capital letters "THIS WOMAN WILL LISTEN POLITELY TO ALL YOUR VERBAL RUBBISH!"

Whenever they see me they head straight for me like a heat-seeking missile and I know I am done for. My latest nutter ambush came yesterday as I was minding my own business in the local park. I had sat down on a bench, dogs at my side and was reading the newspaper whilst my children played on the apparatus.

A man appeared from nowhere in front of me and began to fuss my dogs. Now this is not as rare an occurrence as it might seem since I have a Rottweiler [people either love or loathe them] and his initial conversation  did not ignite my fight or flight response. He did not look insane or like he was homeless and nor did he give off any pungent aroma. But he was a nutter alright and one of the most scary types...the ones who appear normal up until they say something so out-there, so extreme, that they made the hair on the nape of your neck stand up in fright.

Apropos of nothing he asked me if I could see a natural cloud in the sky. As yesterday was a lovely day I agreed there were no clouds to be seen, only to be informed that there have been NO natural clouds for the last 150 years and that what looked like clouds were actual poison gasses put there by the six major banks in the world.

I nodded politely whilst trying to look for a means of escape. It was at that point he went on to drone on about all his conspiracy theories and the "proof" behind them [one was that all of our DNA was stored in little vials in the Vatican] and I kept looking for my way out.

You see that is the main problem with these nutters - you can be in  a crowded place when they approach but somehow they single you from the crowd and they have such an insidious manner that you feel threatened and intimidated without them overtly doing anything other than talk. You can be surrounded by people, as in fact I was and no one would even realise there was anything wrong until it was too late.

In fairness he didn't attack me or say anything to make me think that was likely but I fear it is a question of time before his feeling of paranoia brought on by these extreme theories  cause him to attack someone. And that someone will probably never see it coming.

I am all for care in the community but with that comes  a responsibility for the authorities to ensure that medication and recommendations are adhered to. There is enough random killings in the world without us burying our heads on the sand and leaving such people to their own devices.

But perhaps you think I am making too much of this? Well walk a little way in my shoes and the next time someone comes up and tells you that the world is controlled by three key cities and that most of the people you see around you are drones, set in place by a few ruling families to spy on you and keep you in the dark...see how you feel?

Come to mention it though, sounds like a brilliant idea for a sci-fi book...

Happy reading folks!

This was my horoscope this morning:-




Today is the first day of the rest of your life. And so, of course, is tomorrow. As was yesterday. That's the thing about today. But here's what I can tell you about this particular today. It carries an astrological seal of approval that makes this particular truism exceptionally apt for all who share your sign. The Grand Cross formation of four heavenly bodies including Mars and Pluto in Cardinal signs makes this far more than any old ordinary 'first day of the rest of your life.' You will see what I mean by this soon enough! This week's Lunar Eclipse and 'Grand Cross' together is the most significant astrological influence for some time. Anything and everything positive can happen.


Sounds good doesn't it? Now perhaps I should tell you what I have been up to...


I am well into the first week of the Easter holidays and up until now the weather had been unseasonably warm.


As the weather has changed back to dull and gloomy, today I have been doing a fair bit of spring cleaning [I know- yuk!] and under piles of dirty clothing, bits of torn paper, broken toys and other paraphernalia I found a mouldy half-eaten ham sandwich in my nine year old's bedroom and various empty chocolate bar wrappers in my eleven year old's room. It was at that point I decided not to venture into the fourteen year old's room!


I have also been informed that if I don't get a new aerial within the next few weeks the big 60 inch tv will begin to fail due to lack of power from the aerial and pixilation problems.


I still can't work the new laptop and my guttering is growing a more profuse display of plants and flowers than the garden! The fence between myself and my neighbour is on the verge of a nervous breakdown and I have melted [yes melted] a corner of my kitchen cupboard by stupidly siting the toaster underneath it.


So if this is truly the first day of the rest of my life then God help me! Please, please, please can I turn back the clock to the old life?  ;)


Normal service will be resumed after the Easter hols when I can get back to editing Split Decision and writing my next up-and-coming novel.


Until then - Happy Reading!

And now I present the wonderful Mr Hugh Grant.

Today I had to contact Hugh Grant as I have used his name in my newest book. Here is a little snippet for your delectation:-

 “You know who he is? Your father?” Josh asked stupidly, as if he had not been following the conversation. “So who is he?”

Lucas took a huge breath before he let loose this momentous piece of information. “He’s Hugh Grant!”

“What?” Josh snorted as if the idea was preposterous.


“She went to London for a few weekends before I was born. She’s never talked much about them and when I ask she goes quiet, just like she does when I ask about my dad. She loves movies, especially ones with Huge Grant in them.”


Lucas stopped talking long enough to examine himself in the long mirror attached to the wardrobe door. Did he look like Hugh Grant? He had the same dark hair and general build but his face was rounder than the actor’s and had none of his fine bone structure. Then again everyone said he looked quite like his mum so that was no indication one way or another.


“None of that means anything…” Josh began.


Lucas interrupted. Josh was merely jealous because up until now he had had the upper hand since his father was a famous stunt man in Hollywood. But Hugh Grant had topped that. Hugh Grant could top anything. He was the scissors that cut the paper in Scissors, Paper, Rock and the paper that covered the rock in the same game. Hugh Grant was everything. And he was his father!






If he gets back to me and asks to be removed then I will have to do so...until then...


Happy reading.

I'm surprised to see you in here!

Well a character has popped up in my new book that I didn't expect. Her name is Valerie and she is very like my late grandmother.


I didn't intend to base this character on my grandmother at all - in fact I had her down for a very different personality type altogether but every time she spoke or performed any action, I saw and heard my grandmother in my head.


Sometimes this happens and when it does I always go with the feeling. I think it happens for a reason but whatever that is, it is so deeply buried in my subconscious, I cannot get to it.


So it looks like Valerie will be a larger character than I had originally anticipated. Just like my grandmother, she cannot let a good gossip pass her by.


Lets hope she is just as wise and just as endearing!

Am I normal at all?

Today I should be editing Split Decisions but instead I am writing a chapter from another book. I have workmen digging up my drive as I am having a new one laid and between making tea for them and stopping the dog barking, I can't concentrate enough to edit.


And yet I can write - it seems the noise does not hinder the writing process, only the editing. How weird is that? I guess that does go to prove that my writing comes from so far down inside of me it is not really a conscious thing, whereas the editing is.


One day I am going to investigate this further...but I guess it can wait until the drive is done! :)

HOT GOSSIP!

Lunch with friends and a gossip today...well a girl has to get inspiration for her new books from somewhere!


Ok so that's not strictly true. I don't use the nuggets of gossip or pieces of information that is gathered about friends' lives in such a direct way but I guess I do glean things from them.


Every piece of gossip that is dissected over the pub table is analysed - not just for my own reaction but for the reaction of others to it and it is that which I tend to use in my books.


For me, the greatest turn-off in a book is when a character seems cardboard, when they don't react in a way that is natural to them. And by that I don't mean react to the situation in the same way that I might but rather react in the exact way that he or she should, with his or her own personality traits, background and history.


So listening to friends coo and gasp, interject and explain is a fascinating experience for me and one which cannot fail to provide a deeper understanding into the psychology of human nature.


Or at least that's what I am telling myself as this week, very little editing is being done and a whole lots of socialising is taking place instead.


But hey its research isn't it? And anyway who's round is it now?


:) Happy reading!

This way up ^

Today I am happy and not even the rain which bounces off the sodden earth in my back garden can dampen my mood.


I am currently working on another edit of Split Decisions. As I have stated before, it's a very different book to The Owners and as such, I have kept it mostly under wraps. But the part I have just been working on is neither controversial nor contentious and I thought you just might like a little snippet, so here it is:-

I swallowed the lump which sat uncomfortably in my throat. I was not a bitch, not the sort of girl who sniggered behind another’s back at their stupidity and misfortune. I knew that about myself but it was suddenly not enough – I needed Suzie to know it too.

“It’s not about you, Suzie,” I said quietly, searching for the right words to say and unable to find them. Tongue-tied and embarrassed I realised how the sniggering must have been perceived. I tried to explain. “I was…I mean we were laughing at me, not…anything else.” I had been about to say ‘you’ rather than ‘anything else’ and managed to stop myself just in the nick of time. But even though it was the truth it was a lame excuse.  And we both knew it.

I have loved writing this book every bit as much as I loved writing The Owners but it has been nice to have a departure from sci-fi for a change.

By the middle of April I will be moving on to another book, one which is forming in the back of my mind at the moment, awaiting its chance to leap onto the pristine white screen as I type it out.

In the meantime - happy reading.

Which way is up?

I wrote yesterday about my feelings and I hope you were not troubled in reading them.Because I worried that I might have upset you with my vague uneasiness about the future.


So with that in mind, I discussed it with a group of friends and I made a startling discovery...they all felt pretty similar to how I felt. And yet each and every one of them was in the complete opposite of my own personal situation.


Here was a group of women who also feared what the future held...who also felt that their lives were lacking in some way. And I got to wondering whether this was endemic in our society or whether it was just testament to the old saying of 'misery loves company'.


But the truth has got to be something deeper hasn't it? Religion or lack of it has no bearing on the discussion as some of the women were true believers and others strict atheists.


Finances seemed to have no bearing either as some of the women came from affluent households and others of more modest ones.


Nationality and the idea of culture that is born from this played no part, as I was born in Scotland, one of the women was Irish and the others English.


Finally educational status was no indicator either as levels ranged from University education to local comprehensive to village school. Some of the women went out to work, some did not.


Many years ago I remember reading something about how all of the above both singly and in combination can affect a person's potential to feel happy about life.  I believe the term was coined 'happiness quotient' although it was a long time ago and I may be mis-remembering it.


So what is wrong with us all...why this apathy and worry? Mid-life crisis? I think that is too glib an answer. I also think the truth lies much, much deeper and some of it does indeed stem from childhood.


We are taught from a young age that meeting someone and settling down with them is the ultimate goal. Its the sugar coated ending on the romantic comedy, the finale of many novels and films. But its not the end, in fact it is only the beginning. However it is a beginning that is perhaps more mundane than the lead up to it. It is the start of routines and seeing the same face sitting across from you every morning and having the same conversation time and time again.


I am no psychologist or anthropologist but I think that maybe it doesn't have to be that way. The happiest couples in my social circle have active hobbies which they do together and continue to learn from. They socialise regularly with other couples and they talk about their issues and problems with an honesty and forthrightness that allows them to be fully understood.


Talk might be cheap but it is also invaluable. Just make sure you mean what you say.

Early this morning I read a lot of philosophical sayings. There was a reason that I did this and it had nothing at all to do with one of my books or my writing. I won't bore you with the reason but I did want to share some thoughts with you.




I had thought that I was always an intrepid explorer sort of person. I thought I was the sort of woman who would have pioneered across America in the days of covered wagons and cart horses if I had lived in that age.


I had thought that if I had lived in any other age my metal would have been tested and found to be strong and true. But I have come to the sad conclusion that I have been somewhat delusional over this.


My original assumption was based on the fact that I left home at sixteen for a summer job which required me to live-in. Although I returned home in the autumn, I left home for good a bare eighteen months later at the age of eighteen.


I moved around a lot when I was younger, leaving Glasgow for London, London for Birmingham and Birmingham for Bromsgrove. I got bored of the same old scenery, the same old places, the same old faces and when I stayed in any one place it was not through choice but through necessity because I had ties that bound me there.


More recently I longed to move, to seek new horizons, to embrace what the world had to offer. That said it would have been within the geographical confines of driving distance to the schools my children attend, so granted I was never about to backpack around the world!


But I find now that the future has the distinct shape and pattern of the past, the same hue and colour and holds no more promise for me than my chameleon past.


This is not about my writing or my children...these are things that I hold dearly to my heart and always will...this is about my personal journey through life as a single woman, a wife, a mother, a divorcee and finally back to a single woman again. It is about me alone.


I know exactly why I feel as I do and I know exactly what to do about it. I also know that it is in keeping with the next book I am about to embark on. Perhaps that is the whole point of me feeling this way? Perhaps it is a vehicle in which to enter the mind of my next main character? Perhaps. Or perhaps I should just stop analysing it and get on with things...


So no more procrastination...here goes...wheee...!

I conducted a second book signing and book talk/reading last night at Bleakhouse Library and had a wonderful time yet again.


It's always lovely to speak to a receptive audience and the folk who turned out to see me last night were both welcoming and interesting. I talked about my series of books The Owners and also about my novel Split Decisions, which is just starting on the editing process. In return I was asked lots of questions about the development of the plot within The Owners and my writing in general.


But what struck me most was how enthusiastic the audience were. As a writer it is easy to get caught up with the characters and plots of your own fabrication but it is quite another to see it in a reader.


I hope that the audience enjoyed it as much as I did!


I am returning to Bleakhouse on the 4th of April as I have been invited to deliver a prize to a winner of a school/library literacy competition. Again I will be talking about writing and available for book signings.


How I love my job! :)

Help! I'm in trouble!

Do you remember my blog about helping out in a friend's office whilst the secretary was away on a cruise? If not scroll back a little...


Anyway she is back now and not too happy with me!


The office is situated at the back of a factory. My dad used to work in a factory. My mum used to work in a factory and even ex-boyfriends of mine have worked in factories, so I don't hark from a blinkered existence.


I understand the high jinks that go on there, the banter and camaraderie and I also understand that there is a level of pornography that is acceptable within the confines of the actual factory unit.


However I did not expect to be sitting at a desk with a large calendar of a naked woman at my back, especially since this was a female dominated office!


The said naked female was beautiful and the image was artfully composed, lit in subtle tones of granite and light grey...but hey in my eyes a woman with no kit on is still a woman with no kit on.


Short of being a woman who actually enjoys another naked female [which I'm not] I really didn't want to be confronted with another woman's breasts every time I reached for the phone.


But I didn't want to just remove the calendar as it was not my place to do so. So I typexed a white bra and pants onto the lovely lady. even for me it was a good rendition. That white correction fluid makes a lovey lacey look over photographic paper I discovered.


To my eyes it was a compromise. Lovely lady stayed up on the wall in her artful pose and I didn't have to keep seeing her bits.


Ah but not so when the real secretary arrived back. Turns out that the calendar was given to her by her husband and came from his factory. She is livid!


Ok I get that it wasn't mine to deface but I have to ask myself why a lady would want such a thing up behind her, especially when the lady is almost at retirement age and in no way resembles the image herself.


So I am in the dog house! ;)


But I have only one thing to say. NOT sorry!


Maybe if the country was a bit more modest in general and we were not confronted with semi-pornographic images at every turn our culture would not be deteriorating the way it is...


Think on it a bit, why don't you?


x

Scheduled Book Signing and Talks for the next few weeks.


You will find me in the following places over the next few weeks.


March 25th Bleakhouse Library.
March 26th Dudley Library.
April 4th Bleakhouse Library [school event]
April 23rd daytime Droitwich Library
April 23rd evening Bromsgrove Library
April 25th Halesowen Library event.


I will be talking about my popular series The Owners and selling signed copies.


I will also be revealing insights into my newest book which is still in progress, entitled Split Decision.


Please contact the individual relevant library for times and directions.


I hope to see you there.


Carmen.