Helena Fairfax

Helena Fairfax Races to the UK

 

Helena Fairfax was born in Uganda and came to England as a child.  She’s grown used to the cold now and that’s just as well, because nowadays she lives in an old Victorian mill town in Yorkshire, right next door to windswept Brontë country.  She has an affectionate, if half-crazed, rescue dog and together they tramp the moors every day—one of them wishing she were Emily Brontë, the other vainly chasing pheasants.   When she’s not out on the moors you’ll find Helena either creating romantic heroes and heroines of her own or else with her nose firmly buried in a book, enjoying someone else’s stories.  Her patient husband and her brilliant children support her in her daydreams and are the loves of her life. 

Could you please start by telling us a little about yourself?

My name’s Helena Fairfax.  I’m a British author, and I live in Yorkshire, in the north of England, near the moors which are the setting for Wuthering Heights.  I go walking on the moors every day with my dog.  I love to watch the changing seasons and the wildlife – although my dog is more interested in chasing wildlife than watching it!

Please tell us your latest news!

My first novel, The Silk Romance, was published in May as an e-book, and my second novel, The Antique Love, was released on 4th September.  I’m still really excited!

Please describe your writing environment.

Wherever I write, my dog goes with me.  Right now, my dog is asleep on the settee next to me.  If I work upstairs on the computer, she comes there, too, and if I sit outside in my yard, she lies at my feet.  She’s a really affectionate dog, and I love her to bits.

How much research do you do for your books? Have you found any cool tidbits in your research?

I do quite a bit of research, even though my novels are contemporary, not historical.  For The Silk Romance, I researched the history of silk in Lyon, France, because the hero is French and he owns a silk mill.  For The Antique Love, I researched London’s Richmond Park.  This is the largest park in London, and it plays a big part in the novel.  Richmond Park became a Royal Park in the 17thc, when King Charles went there to escape the plague.  He turned it into a hunting park, and there are still many deer there today.

What main genre do you write in?

I write sweet contemporary romances – although one reviewer said they were sweet romances with a tang!

What are your hobbies? 

My mother was a needlework teacher, and she taught me how to knit and embroider.  I especially love knitting.  Besides the usual jumpers and baby clothes, I also knit little figures.  Last year I knitted the Royal Wedding :)  You can see the photos here on my friend’s blog: http://www.jqrose.com/2013/06/hobby-hoedown-knitting-with-author.html

Do you write full time? What did you do before you became a writer? Or Still do?

I’m lucky to be able to write full time now..  Before this, I worked in manufacturing for many years, in the textile and printing industries. My experience in textile weaving helped me when I wrote The Silk Romance.

Do you have a website recommendation for other writers?

I really love Romance University  http://romanceuniversity.org/  They have a weekly “lecture schedule” of posts on all aspects of romance writing, from technique to finding the right publisher.  Even if you don’t write in the romance genre, I can still highly recommend them for writing tips.

Is there a genre of book you would like to write but haven't yet?

My romances are short contemporary romances.  I would really love to have a go at writing a saga.  Something in the style of Penny Vincenzi, or Barbara Taylor Bradford. 

What would be the best way for readers to contact you? Do you have a website? Email address? MySpace site? Blog? Message Board? Group?

I have a Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/HelenaFairfax .  You can also follow me on Twitter @helenafairfax , friend me on Goodreads, or email me at helena.fairfax@gmail.com .  My blog is at www.helenafairfax.com. Feel free to get in touch.  I love to meet people!

 

Jean-Luc Olivier is a devastatingly handsome racing-driver with the world before him. Sophie Challoner is a penniless student, whose face is unknown beyond her own rundown estate in London. The night they spend together in Paris seems to Sophie like a fairytale—a Cinderella story without the happy ending. She knows she has no part in Jean-Luc’s future. She made her dying mother a promise to take care of her father and brother in London.   One night of happiness is all Sophie allows herself. She runs away from Jean-Luc and returns to England to keep her promise.

 

MuseItUp Publishing

Also available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple iBooks and other major e-tailers

Lorna Peel, An English Born Genealogist Turned Author

 

Lorna Peel was born in England and lived in North Wales until her late father decided to become a farmer and moved the family to Ireland. Lorna now lives in Ireland where she writes and researches her family history. She also grows fruit and vegetables and keeps chickens. Lorna has had some pretty varied jobs, including Tour Guide, Professional Genealogist, Bookseller, and Census Enumerator, but thinks she’s going to enjoy being an author best of all! 

What main genre do you write in?

At the moment it is contemporary romance but my current writing project is a historical romance set during World War II, which I think is thought of as being historical. Well, it is for me, anyway! 

What are your hobbies?

I’m a genealogist so I’ve done a lot of research into my ancestry. I’m lucky, as it is pretty varied.  

Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?

I’ve always had quite an active imagination. When I was little I made up stories in my head for my dolls to act out. My poor dolls were always falling in love and/or off on adventures! I’ve been writing those stories down since I was nineteen, around the same time I started to become interested in genealogy. 

What is your writing process? Do you outline, fly by the seat of your pants or a combination of both?

Both! With some of my WIPs I’ve known exactly where I was going but with others I didn’t have a clue! With Into the Unknown, the Second World War was the backbone and I fleshed out the story of Charlie and Kate around it. I’m a bit afraid that if I don’t know where I’m going then readers won’t either. 

Current Release Details

It is a contemporary romance called Only You and was published by Entranced Publishing on April 1, 2013.  

Can you please give us a sneak peek at any of your upcoming books?

My current writing project is called Into The Unknown and is set in England and Ireland during World War II. Kate Sheridan is an Irish emigrant facing up to the hostility towards the neutral Irish during World War II. Charlie Butler is a newly-promoted Royal Air Force pilot, struggling to come to terms with his growing love for Kate and the horrors the war will bring to them both.

I’m also jotting down ideas in a notebook for a novel set here in post Celtic-Tiger Ireland – its working title is The Sergeant. I have the setting and I have the characters but it’s definitely a ‘pantser’ as I’ve no idea where the story is going! Following the death of her father, Ellen Sutton returns to the small town where she grew up. After ten years away, coming home is harder than Ellen could ever have imagined. As it is in the very early note-writing stage it might yet all drop into place!  

Is there a genre of book you would like to write but haven't yet?

Into the Unknown is a historical novel from a pretty recent period in history. I’m a huge fan of Sharon Kay Penman’s novels and I’d love to write a historical novel set in the medieval period. Into the Unknown needed a lot of research but the research required for a medieval novel would be phenomenal! I hope it will happen one day all the same! 

What would be the best way for readers contact you? Do you have a website? Email address? MySpace site? Blog? Message Board? Group?

I have a website, blog, and contact details at www.lornapeel.com. I am also on Twitter @Peellorna and I have a Facebook Page – www.facebook.com/lornapeelauthor 

What was your first published work and when was it published?

I had a contemporary short story published in Woman’s Way (an Irish women’s magazine) back in 1996. A scan of it is now up on my Facebook Page and blog. I was doing a writing course at the time and had to submit a number of short stories to magazines and I was lucky enough to get one published. The course was interesting but it made me realize that I prefer to write longer prose and I decided to try and see if I could get a novel published.

 

Jane Hollinger is single, divorced, and the wrong side of thirty – as she puts it. Her friends are pressuring her to dive back into London’s dating pool, but she’s content with her quiet life as a genealogy teacher.

Robert Armstrong is every woman’s fantasy: handsome, charming, rich and famous. When he asks her to meet him, she convinces herself it’s because he needs her help with a mystery in his family tree. Soon she realizes he’s interested in more than her genealogical expertise. Now the paparazzi want a piece of Jane too.

Can Jane handle living — and loving — in the spotlight?

 Excerpt/Buy