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!

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

I am always itching to get back to writing after any holiday and this half term is no exception.


I have never been one of those writers who sit staring at a wall for long stretches of time. But sometimes I wonder if the sense of achievement they feel at the conclusion of a book is greater than mine. Is it all the more satisfying to metaphorically lay their pen down after a hard and ferocious struggle to compose their thoughts into words? Or do they feel exactly the same as I do?


The reason that this is on my mind is twofold. Firstly, the fourth Volume of The Owners will be released imminently. And secondly - when the kids do go back to school I have to write the ending to The Decision and then begin the long editing process [and this one requires an extensive edit] but it is the final home stretch.


The finessing of a work is not as difficult as visualising the concept in the first place or transposing those thoughts and ideas into words that other people can relate to...it is merely the gloss put on afterwards.


And when it is finished? What will I feel?


There is a strange sadness that accompanies the ending of any book. The author has to say goodbye and good luck to the characters and like a mother, stand back and watch them rise to the surface or fall flat on their face.


And there is a heartbreak in there too.


But most of all, like a fickle lover, there is a desire to move on to the next book, the next concept, the next set of new characters...


I'll keep you informed of my progress.  :)

A snippet from my latest book The decision.


This book is very different to The Owners series both in content and in writing style. In particular it will appeal to fans of Stephenie Meyer, as it has a strong love interest theme which blends and interacts with the plotline. Here is a little taster:-


“Oh!” I was unaccountably sad, as though he was leaving me already. I had no hold over him, no right to ask him to stay and yet I felt crushed at the thought that he was prepared to leave me at some future date.  


Funnily enough, I started this book years ago but had to abandon it to pursue something else. Only now that I have come back to it can I see so much more clearly where the story is going. It is hard hitting and reflects the world we live in today...not an easy thing to do in many ways.


I will keep you posted as to how it's getting on.


In the meantime I hope that The Owners Volume IV will be out in less than two weeks! Exciting times!

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.

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.

"Let your spirit roam free and do what you heart knows is right - ignore those who oppose you and try to restrict you, for they are devoid of imagination." Carmen Capuano.

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.

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.

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!

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

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