Author's note

I have just typed THE END, having finished the story Saving Grace.

As an author, every book I write matters to me, every story and every character resonates in some way, to a greater or lesser extent. But this particular story will also strike a chord with many of you, due to the fact that it is about a child's perception of her parent's failing marriage. 

Having been a step-child myself, I know how hard it can be. And also how wonderful. So I included a final word. Here it is :-

 

Author’s note.

 

This story is dedicated to my [step] father who raised me from the age of seven and treated me as if I were his own child.

 

Saving Grace was written for all you boys and girls who find that sometimes real life is hard and hurtful. It has been written with love and with hope. In many ways it has been written for the adults in your lives, as much as it has been for you.

 

The job of a step-parent is a tough one and has been vilified in many stories. But for every evil Queen in Snow-white, there are a hundred good men and women, doing a great job of parenting kids that aren’t their own. Likewise for every ‘wicked’ step-child who deliberately scuppers his/her parent’s new relationship, there are a thousand others who accept and value the new adult in their life.

 

I hope this book goes at least a little way towards helping children and adults find a sure footing in difficult times and situations.

 

Carmen Capuano.

Saving Grace will hopefully be available soon. Until then ...

Happy Reading!

It seems that Antonio Banderas has split with his wife Melanie Griffith and so another Hollywood couple bites the dust! I can't even begin to image how strange life under that kind of spotlight must be, the constant rumours, the inquisitiveness of strangers over the intimate details of the split...and ultimately how much strength of character it must take to get right back up and go out in public once more.


Most of us when we face a break-up in a relationship, are able to do so in  relative anonymity. Our friends are told and our families but the shame of a failed relationship stops there. The cashier at the supermarket doesn't know, the waiter at the pub your girlfriends take you to for a consolation drink doesn't know and the teller at the bank most definitely doesn't know. But imagine for one second that they did. Imagine that everyone knew all of the sordid details - it's enough to make your skin crawl, isn't it?


That's why I found Judy Finnigan's comment in the Daily Express quite strange. Judy composed an article about how only two weeks after filing for divorce, Melanie Griffith had turned up at  an Italian film festival  with her estranged husband's name blanked out of the tattoo on her arm.


Ms Finnigan thought it strange that Griffith had only covered up the name [possibly with make-up] and had left the rest of the heart shape intact. Ms Finnigan went on to surmise that perhaps the stunt was no more than a hint that Griffith is prepared to accept her husband back in her life.


Well maybe, maybe not. My own take on it comes from a very different perspective. Maybe in blanking out his name Melanie hoped to show that there was a hole in her heart [figuratively speaking of course, I do not mean to imply that she needs cardiovascular surgery]; maybe she was even hoping to show that there was a vacancy there.


Perhaps she wanted to show that she was brave enough to just get on with things, that she still had a heart even if Antonio Banderas no longer resided in it, either figuratively or not.


Or maybe...just maybe...and I could be clutching at straws here....maybe she just liked her tattoo even if she no longer liked the man whose name used to reside at the centre of it!


Either way, give the lady a break! Breaking up is hard enough without everyone having an opinion.


Happy reading!