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| author photo |
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.
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Thank you for accepting my invite on my blog, Helena. I’m so thrilled to have you here!
Please share some of the best memories of your childhood
As a child I loved our family holidays by the seaside in Wales. We would spend all day on the beach – no matter what the weather! – swimming, building sandcastles and eating our sandwiches (which usually had lots of sand in!)
When I had children of my own, I took them to the same beach every year for many years, and still loved it just as much.
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| a photo of me in East Africa as a child with my dad - Mombasa beach |
What career did you plan during your education days?
I loved studying languages, and would have liked to translate novels as a job. Instead, I ended up writing my own :)
What languages you can speak and write?
French and German. I also taught myself some Spanish recently – enough to get by when I went to South America. I love languages, and would love to be able to speak more!
What hurts you most in this world?
My son died three years ago. I don’t think there is a pain in the world that could equal this pain.
What is the biggest challenge you have faced? How did you overcome it?
My biggest challenge has been living with the death of my son. I haven’t overcome it.
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| a photo of the Yorkshire moors, where I now live |
If you had to live a day of your life as one of the living or dead personality, who would it be and why?
I would love to live a day as Emily Brontë. I live very near the family’s Parsonage in Haworth, which I’ve visited often. I would love to know how a Victorian young woman from this bleak place became so passionately creative.
What is your favorite genre and why?
I write romance novels, and read a lot in this genre. I love the emotional journey, and the certainty that all will end with an uplifting happy ending. I also enjoy reading crime novels – but again, only if I know that the bad guys will be caught, and all will end well!
When did you start writing? What is the purpose of your writing?
I loved to write, even as a child, but I only recently had my first two novels published. I write for lots of different reasons. It’s great therapy and keeps my mind occupied – sort of like doing a puzzle. I love the feeling that I can give my characters the happy ending they deserve. Most of all, I love to give pleasure to others through my stories.
What are your forthcoming writings?
I’ve just finished writing a novel about a young widow whose husband dies abroad, leaving her with a two year old son. It’s a romance between the young woman and a family friend, but it also deals with the themes of loss and how we continue to believe in the power of love.
What are your future plans?
I’m plotting out a novel about a woman who comes back to her home town after ten years and meets up with a man who used to be the school rebel, but now owns his own successful business.
What four top most things you take care of while writing a book?
What is the nature of the conflict that keeps the couple apart? What situation will force the couple to have to be together for the course of the novel? What are their individual goals? What will force them to give up the thing they want most in the world?
Your dream destination on Earth?
I’ve travelled a lot in my life, and now I know the only place worth being is with the people you love.
Your origin of birth and other countries you have visited/ stayed. What best things you liked in these countries around the globe?
I was born in Uganda, and when I first came to England I missed the heat and the freedom to explore. Everywhere here seemed very gloomy, and the people unwelcoming. Now I’ve lived in England nearly all my life, and I appreciate all the opportunities this country has to offer a lot more than I did when I was a child!
Some quickies: Sun or Moon Moon
Laughter or Smile Smile
Morning or Evening Evening
Coffee or Tea Definitely tea!
Mountain or Sea Sea
Silence or Conversation Silence
Water or Fire Water
Air or Earth Air
The last line of your autobiography would be…
I hope someone will tell me what that was all about.
Which of your work has been published so far? Would you like to share a synopsis of your work?
My last published work was a novel called The Antique Love. Here is the blurb:
One rainy day in London, Wyoming man Kurt Bold walks into an antique shop off the King’s Road and straight into the dreams of its owner, Penny Rosas. Lively, spirited and imaginative, Penny takes this handsome stranger for a romantic cowboy straight from the pages of a book. Kurt certainly looks every inch the hero…but he soon brings Penny’s dreams to earth with a thump. His job is in the City, in the logical world of finance—and as far as Kurt is concerned, romance is just for dreamers. Events in his childhood have shown him just how destructive love can be. Now he’s looking for a wife, right enough, but what he wants is a marriage based on logic and rational decisions. Kurt treats Penny like he would his kid sister, but when he hires her to help refurbish his beautiful Victorian house near Richmond Park, it’s not long before he starts to realise it’s not just his home she’s breathing life into. The logical heart he has guarded so carefully all these years is opening up to new emotions, in a most disturbing way…
BUY LINKS
The Antique Love is available in e-format from all major e-tailers, including:
MuseItUp Publishing: https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore/index.php/now-available-in-ebook/the-antique-love-detail
Apple iBooks
SOCIAL LINKS
You can find Helena on her blog: www.helenafairfax.com
on Facebook www.facebook.com/HelenaFairfax, or
on Twitter @helenafairfax
And finally a special message from Helena for all her fans and readers!
Please get in touch – I love to hear from people!
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