News, News and More News

2026 has been busy. So busy in fact that we are halfway through the year and I haven't even updated this blog with all the news of what's been going on in  the last few months!

So are you ready for it? Here goes... The follow-up book to Cursed will be coming out soon. This was a book I was never sure I was going to write. I mean all books have their natural endings, but sometimes... and only sometimes, there is a further story to be told, another adventure to be had. 

That's how it was with Cursed. Constance had found and lost the love of her life several times over and the ending quelled the fire in my heart. Somewhat. But there was always the bigger picture waiting. 

I won't spoil it for those of you who haven't yet read Cursed, but suffice it to say you won't be disappointed in the follow-up, TRINITY, which will be out soon. To view Cursed. click here.  

I have also been busy writing new films and producing AutoAngels. If you haven't caught up with this great new show on YouTube yet, you are seriously missing out. 

In each episode we have a brand new story, a great human-interest narrative that drives our female mechanics to take on the car and fix it for free. Along the way there are some great hints and tips and a truckful of great viewing. Take a look at an episode here.

We were delighted to announce a few week ago that we have the full support of Shell behind us and we have some lofty ambitions to roll out across the UK within the next 12 months. This is us at Shell HQ in London.

As if that wasn't enough, I have been working quietly away behind the scenes to arrange the next Envisage International Film Festival as well as Birmingham Horror Film Festival and its associated Fear and Future Convention. I'm proud as punch to announce that this will now be held in partnership with Evolve Theatre and Dudley College of Technology, in July 2027. More news on that is to follow. 

Finally... I have been getting organised for our Stratford on Avon Film Festival which will be held on the 15th and 16th August at the Bear Pit Theatre. It promises to be as sparkling an event as last year's festival and we have some great films to show. 

So by now you can probably see why I have been so absent from here and I hope I have your forgiveness. I promise not to leave it so long next time!

Carmen x

Just Charlie

Last night I went to a special showing of the film, Just Charlie. 

I had read that the film had received awards and was aware that the story was about a transgender teen and his/her struggle to be the person he/she felt inside. 

But not for one second was I prepared for how beautiful and powerful the film was. 

We live in a world very changed from previous decades. Inter-racial marriages no longer raise an eyebrow, there are just as many single parents as there are married ones, being gay is considered a third gender and we all cheer on the Paralympic athletes. 

Yet transgender kids seems to strike a different note somehow. It is, I believe, the last taboo. And that's very strange. 

We have personalised sex dolls now flooding the market, quite recently I heard that a man had professed to being in an active sexual relationship with his car, and if lots of reality shows are to be believed, it seems that everyone under the age of 25 has slept with everyone else under the age of 25. 

Yet we have difficulty accepting that someone who looks on the outside like a boy or girl, may feel that on the inside, they are the opposite gender. 

I guess the best way of explaining it is that when we cut open an apple, we don't expect there to be an orange inside. 

But that's exactly what these kids are. They effectively have the wrong wrapper on them. 

And if you raised your eyebrows at my explanation, think on this. We all have wrappers. 

We all are different on the inside to how the world perceives us. It's one of the reasons, I believe, that we have depression and suicide within society. 

Wouldn't the world be a happier place if we could all just be how we truly want to be, as long as no harm was caused to others?

Ah but therein lies the crux of the problem. 

As Rebekah Fortune, the director of Just Charlie explained after the showing, the situation with transgender kids is not just about them, it's about their families and friends, even the ripples which lead out - diminished, but still there - to the wider community. 

A transgender person makes us question how we really feel about the situation. And that's exactly what this brave and wonderful film does. 

Showing not only Charlie's psychological pain, it shows his parents' pain and fears. Fears not only that Charlie is mistaken about how 'he' feels, but that he is choosing a path in life that will lead only to pain and humiliation. 

And let's be honest, most of us as parents would baulk at the idea of our child changing sex. Not just because we'd feel that perhaps we never really knew them if we hadn't noticed something different... but that because as parents, we are hard-wired by nature to protect our offspring. 

So whatever you have to do, to get to see this film which is available on Sky Cinema, whether it's to drop in unexpectedly on friends who have Sky, or to stand in the TV section of your local electrical retailer, I strongly advise you to do it. 

You won't regret it. 

Carmen. x

My name is Carmen, and I'm a workaholic...

A couple of days ago I made a list of everything I've written in the past 6 years. I was surprised by the outcome, as it was much more than even I thought it would be.

Here it is:

19 books,  [various genres]                                                      
5 original full-length feature films
4 original short screenplays
1 original cartoon series
and 1original theatre play.

In addition to this, I am currently working on a variety of projects [films and books] and I'm enjoying every moment. So keep your eyes peeled on this list, because it's growing...

For collaborations, novel to screenplay commissions, or screenplays written to order, email :

carmen.capuano@ymail.com 07757559091

Smashing!

Did you know that you can now get Split Decision on Smashwords?  

Yup, that's right, we've made it even easier for you to get your dose of good reading. 

So what're you waiting for? :)

In other news, I am still working on my newest play for theatre and also my latest screenplay for film, so I'm pretty busy. 

On top of that, there are several other projects awaiting my attention. 

So for now, work calls and I must bid you 'Adios' [yes I'm still learning Spanish and can even say "I'm hot," [as in sexy]. So what if it isn't factually true? A girl can dream, can't she? 

Happy reading. x

Do you want to see one of the things I'm working on?

Here is part of the theatre monologue I'm working on.

Taken in isolation it's a bit weird, but hopefully you'll see how it will all eventually come together.

                        He stands there in front of me and tells me that I’m not alone. That I’ll never be alone now. That I have no need to be alone, anymore.

                         And I actually don’t know what he’s telling me. Is it that he wants to be beside me? Or that he feels he ought to be?

                         Or perhaps that my aloneness is a subconscious desire on my own part to endure how things are without having to rely on others? That I chose it? Willingly. 

                        I’m confused. But I don’t blame him. Confusion is a part of me now. Like rain on a winter’s morning, it washes over me leaving no lasting effect, because it’s only what I’ve come to expect, after all.

                        But him? He’s new into this – raw and brave like a new recruit on the battlefield.

                        Not a war zone of bloodshed and righteousness – where one side believes in its cause unto death - but the battlefield of life, where there are no rights or wrongs; no surrenders; no victories. No banners held aloft on a crimson field. Just survival. 

                        Or not.  

Dark? Yup - unapologetically so, but it is mitigated somewhat by the comedy film I'm writing. 

So until my next post - happy reading!

I'm back!

I've written the first part of this blog three times, and erased it three times, so this is my fourth attempt. 

You'd be forgiven for thinking that because of the sort of novels and screenplays that I've written, emotions would be easy for me to deal with. But they're not. In fact, I am an exceptionally emotional person; even if I don't reflect it on the outside, I'm often screaming on the inside. 

Maybe it's not a bad thing then, that after my recent bereavement, I am returning to two very different projects. One is a comedy screenplay that I am writing and which would suit Simon Pegg and Nick Frost down to the ground; the other is a sharp and introspective monologue. 

The beauty of writing these in tandem, is that the comedy elevates me from the depths of despair, whilst the monologue allows me to voice and externalise that primal inner scream. 

My father's funeral was a strange affair. Filled with funny moments and memories, heart-breaking ones, and many which were both unique and special. I wish he could have been there to experience it. I think he would have approved. 

And as for my current projects? Well he would have loved the screenplay, and he would have understood the dark monologue, but he wouldn't have been comfortable with it. 

The monologue though is intended for quite a different audience. It will be a stand-alone piece of theatre, something that will be delivered to a live audience and will take their breath away with its power and its truth. 

But working on both together works for me. Isn't that the very nature of life after all? That sometimes we cry and then we laugh or vice versa? 

Life isn't simple. Why should my work be?

Until next time - happy reading!

Goodbye to Tia

I have been avoiding this blog. Dreading the writing of it, for I know what it will be about.

I can only hope that it will be cathartic.

A couple of weeks ago, I had my beloved old dog put to sleep. Tia was 15 and a half, and had become increasingly frail over the preceding months, and the inevitable could no longer be delayed.

I'm writing this post with tears streaming down my face, such is the weight of my loss. And yet, the pain is almost nothing compared to how my soul would bleed on the times I saw her standing in the middle of the room, lost in some canine dementia, unaware of who I was, or how much she was loved. It broke my heart and still does.  

For more than two years, since her first stroke, I had told myself that the day of her demise was coming, that perhaps she wouldn't just pass away in her sleep, but that I'd be forced to make the terrible decision that all animal-lovers dread.


But still, every morning she would greet me with tail wagging, even though her cataracts must have made me look fuzzy to her. She had also grown progressively deaf during the last couple of years, and it pained me to think that she couldn't even take comfort in the familiarity of my voice in those last weeks and months.


And the parallels with her decline and that of my aged father have been most cruel. To see someone you love recoil from you in terror when you try to hold their hand... well the particular agony of that is almost indescribable.

So it was that I came to be saying goodbye to my faithful dog and packing up my father's house all in the space of two days. Honestly, I was broken. Utterly and completely bereft.

I shunned my friends - they didn't and still don't know what to say to me, how to help me. And in truth I'm not that sure I want to be helped.

Mine is a particularly strange scenario. Always more in tune with animals than with people, I have a natural affinity with them that isn't matched in my interactions with humans. Not that I don't like people, but to say they worry me, is probably the best description I could give to explain how I feel.

Animals don't worry me. They approach me with unsubtle abandon. Unknown cats in the street will sidle up to me, allow themselves to be picked up and petted and once put back down, will often walk some way with me on my path, before we part company. I have been called a witch in the past for this affinity, and maybe the name-callers weren't far wrong, for there is a certain other-worldliness to this easy familiarity. I'm aware that I give myself to animals, and that they reciprocate this affection in a way most people cannot comprehend.

And bizarre as this may sound to you, this is similar to the bond I share with my father. For he is not my natural father, but rather the man who chose to take me on as his own when he married my mother. Now, alone and divorced from her, he has continued to be my dad these long years. So the dementia which is slowly robbing him of the essence of who he is, is an exceptionally cruel cut. Sometimes he doesn't know that we chose each other to be family, just like me and Tia did.

If you are one of those people who will recoil at my putting my love for my dog and my love for my dad together in one sentence, as if the love for one should be so much greater than the love for the other, feel free to discontinue reading. There is space in my heart for both...

But there were feelings other than my own to consider too. My children had grown up with Tia in their lives and my other dog, Roxie had been adopted when Tia was already firmly established in the household. But they coped. Better than I did, actually.

I don't think I will ever forget the lightness of her in my arms in those final moments; of the limpness of her body as I carried her from the vets and back to the car, the poor, tired, emaciated feel of her...

But I will hold forever in my heart the joy of watching her as a young dog running across lush fields, of patting her and kissing her little velvety head;  the unique comfort she provided

me on those nights I had to bury my face in her fur and cry - for there have been many; of how she would lick my tears and somehow make me hold on until the morning.

For all those times and more - Tia Capuano, I salute you.  RIP until we meet again. xxx

StageWright's production of TWO

Taking on an intense play such as Jim Cartwright's TWO, was never going to be an easy option.

This play, which requires two actors to craft fourteen very different characters between them, is enormously demanding both emotionally and physically on the performers, not to mention necessitating great skill to pull it off.

Add to this the fact that actress Hannah Kilroy hadn't performed in a play before, and that this was also the debut production by a brand new, young and innovative director and theatre company - and what you're really asking for seems beyond the realms of possibility.

Yet that is exactly what StageWright Theatre Company did when I went to watch their production in The Victoria in Birmingham last night. In fact I would go as far as to say that their first ever staged production was nothing short of a run-away success.

Beautifully portrayed throughout, both Kilroy and her male counterpart, Chris Cooper, played each new character with startling insight and a fair dose of sensitivity. They were by turns, endearing, over-bearing, nauseating and funny. But above all they were credible - every word they uttered rang true.

As I writer myself, I understand the value of  realistic dialogue, but during a performance such as this, one can only hope that a good director will ensure that every last drop of meaning is wrung from every line. Tellwright delivered this in buckets, keeping her audience fully immersed and experiencing the full gamut of emotions.

Every ounce of comedy, every shred of stripped dignity, every fortuneless twist of fate suffered by these characters was laid bare before the audience's eyes. I didn't see a single person move their gaze from the riveting performance in front of them, so rapt was their attention.

But I must make a special mention about Kilroy. Her final portrayal of the 'Landlady' was nothing short of outstanding. Poignant and heart-rendingly real, I unashamedly cried, not only for how she had been emotionally abandoned since losing her child, but for all the unrealised what-ifs in her life.

From beginning to end this was a production that enthralled, captivated and entranced. And I have no doubt at all as to the professionalism and exceptional talent of all of those involved.

If you can, get tickets for the final night of this production. If you're lucky there may be some left. But I seriously doubt it.

And if you're wise, you'll note Laura Tellwright's name, and that of her company StageWright, because I think this young director is going places fast.

But don't just take my word for it. Go and see for yourself.

A Truly Unique Venue

What do you think of when you consider an event space? A large bland room? Perhaps an area with a stage? Certainly somewhere that can comfortably hold the amount of people you intend to invite.

I had these ideas and more in mind, when I attended a showcase evening last week. Set within the building which now houses The Birmingham Repertory Theatre, as well as Birmingham Library, the variety of rooms and areas for hire were more than I had anticipated.

And not one for hiding their light under a bushel, Unique Venues Birmingham had gone all out to show the rooms off at their very best.

After cocktails served in glass baubles upon our arrival, we were ushered from one room to another, each one decorated in a different theme. There was Mr. and Mrs. Jack Frost, Dorothy and the Lion from The Wizard Of Oz, [a personal favourite of mine] and The Queen of Hearts, each in their own unique setting. And I actually began to wonder how it would end. What could they have planned for the ultimate room, the final showstopper?



The Shakespeare Room.

It was everything I could have expected and more - stunning architecture, walls lined with wooden bookshelves which seemed to groan under the weight of hefty tomes and a table laid out for a king.



I for one would be more than happy to hold an event in such an illustrious place.









So maybe one day, when those shelves are filled with books bearing my name, you will find me holding court in that gorgeous room...



Until then, happy reading.

Today's the day!

You know how there are some things which just take you back... to another place, another time, perhaps even another love? Well one of those songs for me, is Me &Mrs Jones.

Now I know that's a strange choice for a woman, as it's basically about a man who is in love with another man's wife, but it's more about the slow, smooth tempo of the song, and how the melody seems to get right into my heart, than about the lyrics.

That's why I was so excited to discover that the legendary Roy G. Hemmings, [formerly of The Drifters] is performing at the Birmingham REP theatre on the 14th July.

He's running a fabulous line-up of songs, including Love Train, My Girl and loads of others you will instantly recognise. I know I'll be there in the audience, toe-tapping and singing along, will you?

The other reason I'm excited today, is that today's the day that my newest novel, Ascension, comes out. Like an anxious mother waving goodbye to her child on his or her first day of school, I am anxious that Ascension is loved by everyone; that everyone likes and respects it...

Honestly, it's the strangest feeling. People often ask if I am proud when I release a new book. Well for the parents amongst you, do you remember the first time you took your child out in public? How you wanted to show him or her to the whole world, yet also protect them from any harm the big bad world might represent? You do? Well that's exactly how I feel today.

So if you see me out and about today - please be gentle!

And, as ever, happy reading! x

Lord of the Flies at the Birmingham REP

A couple of nights ago I was invited by the Birmingham REP to attend the production of the stage adaptation of the William Golding classic, "Lord of the Flies."

I remember this story from my schooldays... I think I was around twelve when I studied the book and  had loved it in its entirety. Thirty-seven years on, I wondered if it would affect me as strongly as it had back then, and whether it would translate well to a theatre performance. I now know I needn't have been concerned at all.

The performance was electrifying! I was completely gripped by the high octane, high energy performances from a group of young men who riveted my attention from their very first moment on stage, until the thunderous applause at the end.

The adaptation was totally compelling, the acting superb and the attention to detail magnificent. I won't spoil it for you here by telling how they managed certain of the trickier elements of the storyline, suffice it to say that the audience were left in no doubt as to what was going on, why it was being perpetrated and exactly by whom.

I had a prime seat close to the stage but even at the back, the REP is such a beautifully designed theatre that it has an almost intimate feel.

So thank you to the Birmingham REP and also to the cast of the production who turned out not only to be fine actors but very pleasant, modest young men into the bargain. As for the young Glaswegian who played 'Piggy', I must say that his regional dialect was fantastic!

I had a great time and rest assured that I will be back.

Full Steam Ahead!

I am a little behind [that made me laugh, writing that for some reason] but I am doing my very best. I promise as soon as I can, I will fill you in on what I thought of the Women of the Year Awards, the play Anita and Me and any other events I haven't yet written up.

After all, I only have a whole house to clean, another to decorate, the contents of one house to pack up, the remaining half of the newest book to write, five more to edit...oh and an entire magazine to sort...what could possibly be taking up all of my time?

Happy Reading!