A Warm Welcome to Helena
Hi Megan, lovely to be with you again. Last time we met, I was interviewing you. Now it’s my turn to talk! I’m looking forward to chatting to you - and thank you for having me!
Bio: 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.
HERE'S THE BLURB FOR HELENA'S LATEST RELEASE The Antique Love
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…
BEFORE TREATING US TO AN EXCERPT, HELENA REVEALS:
What do you most enjoy about writing romance? I love the fact that no matter what trials and tribulations my hero and heroine go through, and however much it seems they are destined never to be with one another, I know that ultimately I will take them to the happy ending they deserve. Nothing beats the satisfaction of a happy ending!
What do you like best and least about writing? I love the sense of accomplishment, and the sheer joy in knowing you have written something that others love reading. The worst part is when you read over your work in progress and think it’s all total rubbish. That’s really demoralising :(
Have you ever suffered from writer’s block? What would be your tips to overcome it? Not really writer’s block, more a feeling that everything I’m writing or have ever written is useless, and there is no point to it. I once heard another writer say that writer’s block is just depression in another form, and I wonder if that’s true. I deal with it by getting outside for a walk with my dog on the moors. Out in the vast countryside, all my anxieties seem less important, and I can come back feeling more optimistic.
Anything special you require to keep the creative juices flowing? Lots of cups of tea! :)
What is the best writing advice you have ever received? Just sit down and write, without agonising about it too much. Once you’ve written something, you can always go back and edit it to make it better – but there’s nothing you can do with a blank page.
What can we look forward to from you in the near future? I’m working on my third novel at the moment – working title Revelations. It’s about a young widow and her growing relationship with a family friend. I’m hoping to get it finished and submitted for publication before the end of the year.
How do you like to spend your free time? I start every day with a long walk with my dog on the moors. It’s great to see the changing of the seasons, and all the wildlife. In the evenings, I generally read. I don’t watch much television – but I’m very much looking forward to the new Strictly Come Dancing season!
What would you most like to accomplish this year? I absolutely must, must, must have Revelations finished and submitted by the end of the year!
What was your favourite book as a child/teen/adult? Are you currently reading anything? My absolute favourite book as a child was Miss Happiness and Miss Flower, by Rumer Godden.
And I’m currently reading Longbourn, by Jo Baker. It’s the parallel story of the lives of the servants in Pride and Prejudice, and is wonderfully told. I can highly recommend it.
NOW A TASTE OF HELENA:
The Antique Love excerpt:
The sky was pale blue over Richmond Park, like the wash of a watercolour. Penny stood in Kurt’s freshly painted living room, gazing out through the sweeping windows. She had pulled one of the panes ajar to let some air into the recently painted room, and now the spring breeze, sharp and cold, was drifting inward. A thrush was singing in the branches of a tree, but although Penny’s head was turned to the sound, her mind was far way. She was so wrapped up in thought she failed to hear Kurt enter the room. When a floorboard creaked behind her, she turned with a start. He was standing in the doorway, gravely watching her.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hey.”
They stared at each other. Penny was only too conscious of the abrupt way she had ended their conversation the day before. She had spent a troubled night wondering what Kurt would make of her disclosure. Now she waited for him to speak, but his mouth was closed in a sober line. He drew his hand from behind his back and brought forward a tissue-wrapped cluster of tulips. The red and cream of the flowers brought instant warmth to the chill room.
“I got you these,” he said simply.
“Oh.” Penny stepped forward, a sparkle leaping to her eyes. “You didn’t have to…” She broke off, her eyes meeting his uncertainly.
“I felt bad about upsetting you,” he said. “Going on about your mom and all. If I’d known how much it would upset you, I never would have said anything.”
“Oh, Kurt, it wasn’t your fault.” Penny stepped forward to take the bunch of tulips from his hands and lifted them to breathe in their scent. “If anything, it was my fault. I should have told you before, only…” She looked down at the tulips, at a loss how to carry on. It seemed the normally taciturn Kurt would have to be the one to fill in all the gaps.
“Only you don’t like strangers knowing. You’ve had to grow up in your mom’s shadow, and you think people make comparisons. You think just because you’re not your mom, people are disappointed in you.”
Penny’s cheeks began to fill with heat. In a few sentences, Kurt had expressed everything. She could hardly believe his astuteness or the gentle way he was speaking to her.
“Penny, your mom was beautiful, and she was famous, but what I told you before is true.” He held a hand out in quiet emphasis. “You’re not your mom. You’re a real person, and you’re unique. You’ve got a true heart and a beautiful way of moving and speaking. Hell, I could watch and listen to you all day.”
Penny raised her eyes to his. “That’s a lovely thing to say. The loveliest thing anyone’s ever said.” She gazed down at the tulips. “And thank you so much for the flowers. They’re lovely, too.”
Kurt stepped a little closer and took hold of her chin.
“Don’t mention it,” he said seriously. He bent his head, and for one brilliant, heart-stopping moment, Penny thought he was about to kiss her lips. His head moved to one side, and she felt his warm lips brush her cheek. “I’m glad you like the tulips.” He stepped back. “They’re my sister’s favourite.”
Her heart gave a sickening lurch, and she went still, gazing at the flowers held lightly in her hands. Of course tulips were a sister’s sort of flower. Not roses or anything romantic like that. Of course not. Roses were the sort of flower a man would give to someone like Megan Rose, not her. She kept her head bent over the flowers for a while then lifted her chin to give him a faint smile.
HELENA'S LINKS:
You can BUY The Antique Love in ebook format at all major e-tailers, including:
HELENA'S WEBSITE: www.helenafairfax.com FIND HELENA on Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7082986.Helena_Fairfax
PLEASE DO COMMENT AND GET IN TOUCH - HELENA LOVES TO MEET PEOPLE.
MANY THANKS FOR REGALING US TODAY, HELENA, AND I WISH YOU HUGE SUCCESS WITH THE ANTIQUE LOVE
Thanks again for having me on your blog, Megan. You're a very kind hostess!
DON'T MISS THE 5 STAR REVIEW AT http://museituppublishing.com/bookstore/index.php/new-releases/the-antique-love-detail
'This new author's second novel was only published yesterday. It's such a gripping read that I regret that I have finished it already. It was a great way to spend a Saturday morning and I wish I could do it every week!
I'd grown to love the hero, Kurt, and the heroine, Penny, by the end of the first chapter! It was so obvious they were perfect for one another that there were a few times in the book I just wanted to give them a good slap and tell them to just to tell one another how they really felt. In the end, they shared their feelings in a much more romantic way - the final chapter was magnificent.'
