A snippet

Exciting news coming soon... [sorry, I know you all hate it when I do this :) but hey I'm a suspense author, what do you expect???]

In the meantime would you like a little sneak peek at the book I am currently writing?

Here it is:-

I have never seen him without his clothes before. Naked, his body is lean and muscular with a pure beauty that takes my breath away once more. My eyes roam over him and I know beyond any shadow of doubt that he can be the only man for me. The only love I will ever have in my life.

I feel my cheeks redden at my forwardness but I do not shy away from the picture he presents. He strides towards me and I am simultaneously eager and afraid of his embrace.

If he feels the coldness of the water, he gives no indication. But he stops short before he reaches me. I want to speak, want him to speak and yet I don’t want the beauty of the moment shattered. Don’t want either of us to say or do something that will mar the perfection of this time and place.

And then suddenly I am soaked as he brings his hands up and throws a cascading fountain of water at me. Streams of water run down my hair and over my face as I throw back my head and laugh. Far from ruining the moment, he has taken the edge from it and kept it safe, kept me safe.

Despite the part you have read this isn't that sort of book, but the characters  are in love. I hope you enjoyed it.

Happy reading, x

Just me!

Here is an interview I did just before Split Decision was signed to a publisher.


Featured Interview With Carmen Capuano
 
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?



I was born in Glasgow but have lived in England since the age of eighteen. I have a wandering soul and would love to live in lots of different places but having children in school has tied me to one spot.


My ancestry is Italian and Spanish so maybe that’s where the wander-lust comes from.


Although I have many friends my days are rather solitary and I can always be found snuggled hobbit-like on the sofa with my trusty laptop on my knees, bashing away at yet another chapter and having conversations with my characters. It can be lonely being an author but it’s a job I adore.


At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?



I never really thought of myself that way growing up. I think it’s different now because children have more choice over their leisure time but when I was young [oh so long ago ;)] all we could really do was play out or read and I never was much of a fan of the Scottish weather so I spent lots of time indoors reading.


I only began to seriously write a few years ago but now I have so many book ideas that I shall have to live to at least 120 to get them all written!


I write Monday to Friday, term times, when the children are in school. I know other writers write in the evenings but I am whacked by then! To be honest I am a terrible typist but I persevere. I once tried to dictate my books to the computer but because of my Scottish dialect it came out as gobbledy-gook! So now I rely on spell check and proof-readers!


Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?



I like most genres but I love science fiction, especially post-apocalyptic and dystopian novels. I will read space operas too but only if they are very character driven.


As a child I loved Dickens and Shakespeare but nowadays I read Dean Koontz or Stephen King for pleasure. As for inspiration, I think I take a little bit from them all, crazy as that seems.


What’s important for me as an author is that my readers see the characters as I do, that they see their faults and frailties – their humanity and sometimes inhumanities. For me the story is only half the goal – I want the writing to be beautiful for its own sake, so I blend style with content.


Tell us a little about your latest book?



I have just completed a YA/crossover novel which is currently with my agent. I’ll let you know how that goes.


My most recently published book is The Owners, Volume IV: A New Epoch. It was an emotionally hard book to write, as has been the two volumes which follow on from it which are not yet published.


My characters had already been through so much and there I was pushing them into more conflict; even more dangerous situations. My stomach was churning with anxiety as I wrote every word of those books! And yet it was a thrilling ride!


The Owners is an unusual series in that it starts in the very distant future with ‘The Owners, Volume I: Alone’, where humans are kept as pets by creatures called Eyons. The explanation for how this situation arose is never fully given in Volume I, however Volume II starts in our very near future and gives more, tiny little clues which are picked up and elaborated on in Volume III so that the reader gets to play detective so to speak.


Everything is there – all the answers – they just need to be discovered and I think that is partly the appeal of the series. But more than anything else its the fact that it is a really good story which keeps my readers coming back for more.


Happy Reading.

This is a really quick post as I am on my way out - no not to an author talk or book signing but a proper night out with friends! I have almost forgotten what that's like!

Anyway thank you very much to Amazon who are currently sponsoring advertising across the internet of my books - as the Australians would say 'good on you mate!'

In addition to this, I have been invited to the launch party of The Belle Vue in Edgbaston, courtesy of Gem Media. I am really looking forward to this event! I might even dust off a fancy dress :)

Until then, happy reading!

This morning I met with my 'coffee ladies'. We discussed whether it was indeed possible to put your mind to doing something and achieving it even if it was beyond your intelligence level.

For me the jury is still out on the subject, however my character Lucas is finding that school work has a  new relevance for him now that he has a rescue pigeon in his care.

Here is today's snippet.

He had spent the Saturday morning doing his homework with Brighteyes watching him from the window sill. For maths he had work in fractions and decimal points to be done and he flew through the questions with ease, regardless of whether they were purely numerical or worded ones, reshaping them in his mind to have reference to the bird. Two and a half multiplied by 3.8 became two full adults and a baby bird requiring 3.8 mls of medicine each. Five and seven eighths divided by 2.9 became five adults and a teenage bird who had to share almost 3mls of water between them…suddenly everything had a relevance, a purpose that he understood.

Even his English homework had a significance now that it hadn’t had previously. In his freestyle assignment he chose to write an investigative report on how pigeons were maligned by society, vilified because of the erroneous belief that their faeces was harmful to humans. And to his surprise he loved every moment of the work.

 

Happy Reading!

The Boy Who Rescues Pigeons.

Sometimes I wonder what you glean from all these little bits of storyline I post. Do you try to piece the story together? Does it whet your appetite for more? Does it give you an indication of how the characters are progressing? Feel free to write in and share your thoughts.

Here is the bit I have just written ten minutes ago:-

 

Lucas thought for a moment. The scene all around him was so beautiful, the few boats on the water quaintly painted with flowers and names embellished in flowing script. Here and there a few ducks swam serenely on top of the water, or dived momentarily beneath the still, glassy surface, their movements causing little ripples all around; ripples which grew wider and wider before fading to nothing once more.

Across from the towpath were fields of the lushest green grass where cows grazed sedately and gazed at him as if he were the oddest looking thing they had ever seen. Set against a blue sky which held only a hint of the darkness which would later descend, it was a surreal scene and he felt as if he were not witnessing it for real, through his own eyes but instead through the medium of oil on canvas.

It was somehow too perfect to be real.

 

 

Poor, poor Lucas is trapped in a situation that is not of his making. I hope he finds his way out!

 

Happy Reading x

Moving on!

Hip-hip-hooray! Back to writing today! [It even rhymes! :)] Here is a snippet from today's chapter.

“Well Lucas, I am no vet. But I am a scientist first and foremost. Have you ever heard of something called Chaos Theory?”

“No.” Lucas hoped that the conversation wasn’t descending into one of Mr Levy’s lectures about scientific principles.

“Well Chaos Theory is a particular field of study in mathematics which has implications in the scientific world. Perhaps you have heard of The Butterfly Effect?”

Lucas shook his head.

The teacher looked crestfallen. “It’s of no matter. But the Chaos Theory teaches us to always expect the unexpected and that one small, insignificant change can, over time and space lead to a monumental shift in circumstances somewhere else.”

“I’m sorry Mr Levy but I don’t think I’m following you,” Lucas sighed.

“Your racing pigeon…”

Lucas interrupted to stave off further confusion. “It’s not a racing pigeon. It’s a normal one I found in the street. It had been injured by a car I think.”

The teacher clapped his hands delightedly. “How wonderful! How perfectly wonderful Lucas for this serves to explain the theory even better!”

Lucas didn’t see how that was possible but he kept his mouth shut.

“Let’s assume that the bird would have died were it not for your intervention. That after all would have been the most likely outcome. But now you have intervened. The bird may die or it may not but ripples have been formed by your actions – ripples that might have far reaching consequences!”

Lucas still didn’t know how this helped him in any way. “But what do I do?”

That’s the whole point. You do nothing now other than carry on looking after the bird – whatever happens next is down to Chaos Theory – or fate if you would like to call it that!”

Lucas backed out of the room leaving the chortling teacher behind. No-one could help him and no-one but him could help the bird. He really was alone against the world.


It's incredible the things I have to research in order to write...one day if I'm lucky I might just get clever!


Until then - Happy Reading!

AARGH!

I have spent the last two days TRYING to update this blog! I now have a review page and a BUY IT HERE section, although this will not format correctly at the moment due to an internal server problem with BlogSpot. So please bear with me and I will rectify it asap.




In the meantime, if you want to purchase my books you can use the VIEW AND BUY link listed under my pages.


Many thanks!

Hello again folks!
Just a quick post to let you know that The Boy Who Rescues Pigeons is now half-written. [Working Title]


 This is where Lucas is just about to rescue his first bird. I hope you like it.
Carmen x

It was an almost eerie experience, walking home along familiar roads whilst everyone else was still in school. With no reason to rush, he walked at his usual pace.

Had the streets been filled with other children he might not have seen it. Had he walked this particular path just an hour later, it might have been too late.

At first he thought it was a piece of rubbish on the road – a discarded crumpled up newspaper or chip wrapper – but as he approached it moved away, cowering from him, drawing its injured body inwards to shield its already broken and battered wings from further harm. A bright red crescent of blood bloomed around its neck and across the area between its wings where feathers and skin had been ripped away to expose the fine muscles beneath.
  
Terrified, it huddled into the side of the kerb as he towered over it, too terrified to drag itself away, too terrified not too. He saw the indecision flicker under its brightly beaded eye. But more than what he saw, it was what he felt that crushed his heart.

This bird had been beaten and savaged by life – just as he had been. It didn’t much matter who or what the perpetrator had been, a car, a cat or even another, bigger bird…what mattered was that life had dealt this creature such an unkind blow and left it abandoned here to die like a piece of trash, discarded and disposable.

With no awareness of what he was about to do, Lucas carefully scooped the pigeon into his arms, trying to avoid touching it where it was wounded. It tried to flutter away from him, chest heaving in frenzied gasps, beak wide open in a soundless scream. Inside his head Lucas heard its cry. It was a strangely human sound, full of sorrow and misery and desolation.

Only as he brought the bird to his chest, resting it against the beating of his own heart did he recognise the source of the scream. It was his own.