Still editing!

I am still editing Invisible.

Here is the part I am currently on:-

In the hallway, the front door opened and then after a moment, closed again. Fran and Gary sat without speaking as if the moment was so sacred it required the silence of the sacristy. It took another few minutes for Alison to reappear and when she did, her eyes were red and puffy. “He’s gone,” she said, her voice breaking on the very first syllable.

 

How strange that it is me, comforting her, Fran thought as she rose from the chair with her arms wide, wrapping them tight around Jim’s twin. “At least his suffering is over,” she told herself and Ally. Whereas mine has only just begun. As painful and terrible as before, his death hasn’t brought an end to my anguish, just pushed it in a different direction, she realised.

Poor Fran... Happy Reading!

Life versus Fiction

At the moment I am editing the book about the woman whose life falls apart when she hears some revelations. It was a hard book to write and it's equally hard to edit. The emotions which pour forth from the pages are raw and gripping. And each turn of the page takes me back to my past. For after all, who of us hasn't stood chalk faced and shaking when we are told about something so fundamentally wrong in our relationship that it rocks us to the core?

The other day I became embroiled in such a situation. For the sake of those similarly enmeshed, I shall keep the identities private, as indeed the minute details of the situation... but to see such a thing first-hand and in real life was heart-breaking. Trying to mediate as I was and failing dismally, it was all I could do in the end to offer support and a shoulder to cry on.

But it made me think. My own life [until this very moment in time] has been filled with emotional drama, heights of delirium and depths of despair that I guess in one shape or form, I must have invited in. Had my friend also invited it into her life? As an outsider in the private inner realms of her world, I could only surmise that it was a possibility that she had. We lead the lives we do because of the choices we make within them. That, after all, was how I came to write Split Decision, about the consequences of a choice.

My friend has recovered but will she ever be exactly the same person that she was before she found out the horrible truth? Probably not. Because I think that day, a little piece of her died. And I know exactly how that feels.

And me? Well as ever I will channel that raw emotion into my books as I always do. You see when people ask me if I write fiction, I nod. But I know it isn't really fiction - it is a written depiction of life, a tome which has recorded the vagaries of life, love and of humans themselves.

Am I a writer? Yes. Am I an imaginer of things? Perhaps. But mostly what I am is a chronicler. Like it or not, that's what I really am.

Happy Reading.

I write like...

During Monday's talk, I mentioned a programme which uses some sort of algorithm to decide which famous writer or writers you write like.

If you scroll down this blog and click on the tag which states 'analysis' you can read the excerpts I used and what the outcomes were, but should you wish to take the text yourself, then here is the link.

 http://iwl.me/

Thank you!

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

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

I hope they thoroughly enjoy my books.

Ramada tomorrow!

Looking forward to my talk at the Ramada Solihull tomorrow. Hope to see you there!

Freaky!

Whatever your beliefs, whether you class yourself as religious, atheist, agnostic, spiritualist, humanist, to name but a few, they are still a system of beliefs by which you lead your life.

Whilst not a great believer in all things astrological, I have found that Mr Johnathon Cainer very often reflects either how I am feeling or what is happening in my life with spooky accuracy.

So this is my horoscope for today : Are you going round in circles? Are you almost, but not quite, back where you started from with little to show for it? It is easy to jump to such a conclusion when events appear to take a repetitive turn and we happen to be feeling disconsolate. But we may be painting a far too pessimistic picture when we do that. Everything in life has a cycle, and a cycle often brings up familiar experiences. There is a big difference between where you were once and where you are now. You will yet gain greatly from that.

Ok so far so good...or perhaps bad, depending how you read the above.

But when I came to the first chapter I am editing today [remember this book was written 18 months ago] and read the following paragraph I had written back then, I had to assume that the Universe IS trying to tell me something.

Here it is : -

“All those years ago I made choices and so did Martin. Those choices can’t be undone. All we can ever do is learn to move on from them. And hope for the best. And if one day, a situation arises that puts you back almost exactly in that same place then perhaps you take the other choice, the one you didn’t take the last time, the one that your heart wants.” A tear slowly slid down her cheek. And he understood that her words were her challenge to the universe, just as his has been.

 

Freaky, isn't it?

So what do you make of it? Am I going round in circles? Answers on a postcard, please! x

I love how sensible my characters are - I wish I could emulate them. Here is the latest on The Letter.

“Look at me,” she said softly.

He shook his head and even from the side she could see the watery glint which welled there. “What are you hiding Tod?”

“I’m not hiding anything. I’m hiding me…”

Fran felt herself getting angry. “Today isn’t the day for being enigmatic… God knows there is enough I haven’t understood or noticed in my life up until now. Which is why I’m about to say this:- if you won’t tell me what the Hell is going on, I will walk away right now and never see you again!”

Coming Soon

My latest book  [almost completed] is about a woman whose life falls apart after she hears some revelations. Is she like me? No, not at all, but even so, getting into her head space is draining and emotional. That is of course part of the joy and sorrow of writing - you personally bear the pain of every misfortune your character suffers. And then at the end of the book there is no real sense of release... the characters linger for a while. It's like that old saying they used to have in offices which read, "You don't have to be mad to work here... but it helps." You don't have to be insane to write your characters well but... :)

 

I'm not sure when this one will be published, as you know I have a bit of a backlog going on, but I'll keep you posted.

 

Happy Reading!

Back to the grindstone...

Oh I am so pleased to be getting back into my normal routine.

I have just written this little bit after about a seven week absence. I am so happy!

Behind her Tod sat at the kitchen table. “Are you sure you still want me to stay?” he asked. She nodded without turning around. “I’ll make up a bed for you in a minute but there’s something I have to do first. I have to make a phone call.”

She heard the scrape of the chair. “I’ll go in the other room. Give you some privacy.”

Her voice was sharper than she intended. “Giving people privacy is how this all came about.” She didn’t need to look at him to know that he had stopped in his tracks. “I gave Jim his privacy and he turned to another woman. I let Danni hide things from me… and look how that turned out." She risked a glance over her shoulder. He was looking straight at her and she thought she saw pain in his eyes, but perhaps that was just a reflection of her own. She tried to soften her voice. “Stay. Please.”

OOH things are a-changing!

Happy Reading!

Happy New You.

How has 2016 been treating you so far? Hmm, I thought so!

We expect so much of a new year, a sweeping away of old anxieties and problems, a laying-out of destiny's store, allowing us to cherry-pick the brightest moments to hook our hope onto, as if with the coming of a new calendar, we can instantly become different people living different lives. Or is that just me?

I love New Year and really do see it as a chance for change. I admit that this is lunacy. After all if I haven't managed a change for a duration of the entire previous year, how do I expect to do it in the course of one evening, from one split-second to another, as the clock strikes midnight? And yet I do.

So this year I did something completely different to what I would normally do at midnight. Did it affect a change - well it's a little early to tell, but the initial signs aren't bad, although they are somewhat far from actually being good... Suffice it to say that I'm still working on that!

If you are a reader of this blog, you will know that I purposely moved house just before Christmas so that I could be here for New Year. I also bought myself a new bed and new things to go with it. Psychologically it was a great thing to do as well as being so much better than the old bed.

I am still clearing things out of my old house and into my new one but soon even that too will be ended and a new era will have fully begun. Change happens whether we want it to or not in life and for so long I have been desperate for change, even whilst I was the very one preventing it. So some deep self-analysis has been required. If this sounds maudlin, be reassured, it is the very opposite!

Tomorrow I will pick up with my latest book which is only about eight chapters from completion. I can't wait to get stuck back into my writing.

So in the meantime, whilst you are waiting for news of the latest book,  you can always check out my Owners series or Split Decision by clicking on the links to the right of here.

Happy Reading! x

Here's to 2016!

I hope you are all enjoying the holidays. I am busy packing up my old house and transferring stuff to the new one, as we moved home about a week ago. It is dusty, hard work but I have to admit to loving every minute of it. Like a snake, I feel as if I am shedding a skin and renewing myself as I go along.
 
This past year has been hard but not necessarily bad and there have been many, many high points. It has been a time of challenge, of discovery, an awakening, if you like... a...nd now I know that is set to continue into the coming year.

 
So here is the sales pitch - what you didn't see it coming? If you haven't yet bought one of my books, you are severly missing out!
If you need convincing check out my reviews.
 
And because recently I was asked what I have coming in the near future and for what audience, here is a small list of just some of the books in line to be published:-
 
The Boy Who Rescues Pigeons - young adult/crossover drama
Dancing Feat -chick lit
Ascension -dark, dystopian, paranormal sci-fi
Saving Grace - children's book
The Trouble With Mellillia - children's
The Letter - chick lit
plus the next three volumes in The Owners

There are others coming too. not yet finished but getting along on their way.

So until then - Happy Reading!

Happy New Year!

The main reason for my recent visit to Glasgow was to see my elderly father but I also set time aside to catch up with friends. As we only meet once a year, it is fairly easy to keep up the pretence that I am always well-groomed and presentable and that I never, ever answer the door to the postman in my pjs.

But I knew the day was going to go badly when, sitting perched on her side of the bed in the Travelodge room that I was sharing with her, my two sons and two large dogs, my daughter asked through mouthfuls of cornflakes why I had chosen to dye my hair ginger.

Ginger? Really? I shot up and examined myself to find that she was at least a little right. What I had thought to be a pleasing shade of mid-blonde was indeed rather gingery… which proved that not only was my hair turning white, but my eyesight was failing!

The rest of the day turned out to be different to my expectations too. I had carefully researched where I could meet my friend in the centre of Glasgow to have a drink, as I had not only three children in tow but also two dogs. Finally the internet provided an answer and I arranged the meeting after confirming that they did allow dogs in.

So the appointed day and time came and we made our way to the pub, only to be greeted by two men carrying large bundles of wood into the place.

Horrified, I asked if they had suddenly closed for refurbishment. But they hadn’t. Phew relief! They eyed up the dogs. Equally nervously, I stated that I had already phoned them to check that they allowed dogs in. They assured me they did. We were halfway down the steps into the basement bar before they called me back.

“What?” I asked rather tersely by now. “Aren’t you open yet?”

“Naw hen we’re open,” he said in a broad Glaswegian dialect. “An we’re no doin’ any renovations. An aye yer dugs are welcome in. But ye cannae take yer kids in here.” [Translation: “My dear we are open. There are no renovations being currently carried out and your dogs are most welcome here. But not your children, unfortunately.”]

Would you believe it?

Equally as strange, was the pub we ate at that night which turned out to be a deconsecrated church. The pulpit and area for the choir was still preserved, as was the vaulted ceiling and the stained glass windows. The place was incredibly beautiful and somehow very wrong.

So one pub which was licenced to allow dogs but not kids through the door, and another that had once been the site of religious worship and was now favouring a worship of an entirely different kind altogether? Absolutely! Only in Scotland folks, only in Scotland.

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

A few weeks ago I made my annual pilgrimage to Scotland. I drove for over six hours in a car that was packed fuller than a sardine tin, with me, two teenagers, one pre-teen, two largish dogs, and a mound of luggage which included a mini-fridge [so that we could have cold milk for our cereal, at the Travelodge where we were staying].

And this year, as indeed it had the year before, and the year before that, the Glasgow Motorway [as I like to call it in my technical way] snared me, savaged me and spat me back out in a whimpering heap.

Every single year I get to a point just outside of Glasgow where the motorway signs seem to indicate that I should travel in two opposing directions at once, in order to arrive at my chosen destination. At this point, ever cool headed, I resort to my usual asking of the kids, “Which way, left or right?” and when no answer is forthcoming, I resort to yelling, eyes wide and wild, little veins of red showing through the whites, “WHICH WAY DO I GO? OH DEAR GOD I’VE GONE THE WRONG WAY!”

And this year was no different. Except for one notable exception. I took the wrong exit as usual, knowing that I always did but unable to actually remember which one was the right one… But partway through trying to rectify it and get back onto the motorway, I actually recognised the landmarks due to the fact that I had gone wrong at exactly the same spot the previous occasion and the one before that and the…

This, if nothing else proved a point - I am not beyond learning. Perhaps not enough to stop myself from making the mistake in the first place, but at least enough not to compound the issue when I do.

This was particularly obvious when I had to drive into the centre of Glasgow and found that there was a strange one-way system going on which meant that at all times you could see where you wanted to get to, but couldn’t physically get there unless you suddenly and inexplicably acquired the strength of Atlas and lifting the car aloft on one shoulder, were able to hoist it through pedestrian areas and the wrong way up one way-streets.

So why don’t I use a map or a sat-nav? Well the answer to the satellite navigation conundrum lies buried in a previous column and as for the map… The truth is that I am a Glaswegian by birth, so I kind of have this belief that I can find my way around, if not by memory, then by osmosis, where I basically absorb the knowledge unconsciously from strangers passing by. Hey why not? – They are Glaswegian, I am Glaswegian – can’t you catch knowledge like you do the common cold?

Apparently not! Maybe this Christmas I will treat myself to a map… then again perhaps that would just ruin the annual adventure.

Merry Christmas!

Moving!

Ok so here's where it's at... my back is all healed thank goodness and now in fact I think it was a strange virus as others are telling me they have had the same thing.

The house is getting packed up relatively easily.... and I have been moving some stuff to the new house every day for about a week as I am having to be there for various workmen anyway.

Tomorrow I am moving my high heels in - that's a feat [pun intended] in itself. And on Sunday and Monday we will do the actual move with the movers.

I have the laminate for the lounge and hallway arriving on Tuesday so no Zumba that day unless I can shimmy whilst unpacking [there's a thought!]

There's a workman coming on Wednesday to fit the laminate, decorate the lounge and do lots of other things. Since he isn't Superman he will be there for a few days I guess but the house will be completely done before Christmas.

As you know it had been my intention to do it myself but to be perfectly honest he will do a better job and I will live longer without the stress. I will be bagging up and getting rid of lots of things during this process and actually can't wait.

For the rest of my plans, well you will just have to keep reading this blog, won't you?

 

In  the meantime, treat yourself and buy one of my books.

Here's a review just in from a gentleman called Peter Gagen.

"Recently, at a local village gala in Droitwich Spa, I had the good fortune to meet Carmen Capuano. Carmen is a self publishing new author who was selling her books from her stall. Intrigued, I purchased a book - The Owner Volume one.
I was so taken. I have already read book two on my Kindle and could not resist contacting Carmen to get book three.
The Owner Volume one is the first in a Si-Fi series that starts an adventure that will keep you turning the pages. It's short chapters make for an easy enthralling read. You will want to know about what happens next. Believe me you won't want to put it down.
The story is set in a strange future and follows San and Loni as they move away from their comfortable lives in a 'kept' future. Lives that are very different from ours. It's alive with the discoveries they make, along the journey they take. The story will end with you wanting to know more and get the next in the series. It has me!
(you will have to read the book to understand what 'kept' means - no spoilers here!)"

Thank you so much Peter!

More information!

As I am trying to move house as well as finish the current book, please excuse my brevity here.

 

I got this comment on my blog : "Hi read book one - no review yet - book two read on kindle now need books 3 & 4. Just missed your Fairfield event when is the next one? ☺"

In answer to your question, Peter Gagen, the next one will be on the 11th of this month, details to follow.

I have also been asked yesterday by the Major of Solihull to attend an event she is organising, again details to follow.

 

In the meantime - Happy Reading!

Review time!

I've put my back out, so currently I am walking around like an eighty-five year old and getting more and more annoyed with myself.

However this came through on LinkedIn yesterday: "Carmen, have begun The Owners, Vol.1. You certainly can write! Best. John." Ok it's rather straight to the point but it's still a great message to receive. And since the gentleman in question is a professor and Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of English Studies, it's rather a pat on the back!

So my question is this: how long is it going to take you to discover my books? Eyeballs to the right, quick march! Now click on the link! Be brave - you only live once.

Happy Reading!

A little bit of The Letter

I am so far behind it's unbelievable and with Christmas now breathing down my neck, I'm struggling to catch up. So today I have ignored everything else and fed my heart, working on The Letter, which is almost completed.

Here is the latest paragraph:-

He sounded seriously perturbed but not for the reason he ought to have been, she suspected. “You joshing me lady?” he enquired.

“No, Sonny, I’m not ‘joshing’ you,” she reiterated his vernacular back at him. Those words, the sentiment they conveyed, everything was so alien. Here in the middle of a hospital car park, relaying this sort of information over a phone whilst a former boyfriend and the love-child of her dead husband looked on…what could possibly be surreal about that?

Poor Fran. But there's a light at the end of the tunnel...she just has to get there.

Happy Reading.

Don't forget I am attending several fayres in the lead up to Christmas. Come get your signed copy of Split Decision or The Owners series.

Coming Event

On the 26th November I will be selling signed copies of Split Decision at the Christmas Fayre at Lordswood Girls' School in Birmingham. 3.30-5.30

There will be the usual variety of stalls and I will be happy to talk about my writing and characters to all passers-by. Hope to see you there.

 

Happy Reading!

Here's another review

Another Split Decision review just in :-

"Loved 'Split Decision' by Carmen Capuano. Started it before I went to bed and did not stop till I had finished it!" Mrs Doreen Stoneham.

This came via my email from a lady who had bought my book for her mum and now wants to read it herself... clearly the whole family has good taste.

Many thanks Mrs Stoneham.