Source: www.heleneyoung.com
If you were at the ARRA convention this year, you may remember Helene Young from her fantastic book reading and launch of Shattered Sky. Her books, set in North Queensland, combine romantic suspense with the increasingly popular rural lit category. Her debut novel, Border Watch (rereleased as Wings of Fear), won the 2010 Australian Romance Readers Award for Favourite Romantic Suspense and is nominated for this year’s R*BY Award in the Romantic Elements category.
BOOK GIVEAWAY: Helene is giving away a copy of her R*BY Award nominated novel, WINGS OF FEAR. For a chance to win, tell us why you love—or would love to try—Australian romantic suspense.
Some rules: Post your answer as a comment to this post. Multiple entries are fine. By entering, you give us permission to quote your entry in future blog posts and articles. You also give us permission to send your email address to the author, who will be organising delivery of the book. Open to international readers. The giveaway ends midnight on Monday, July 25 AEST. Wandergurl, Decadence and I will pick our favourite answer. The winner must provide a delivery address within one week after we announce the result on the blog.
Website: www.heleneyoung.com
Social networks: Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
Genre: Romantic suspense
Latest release: Shattered Sky
Where you do your best writing
At home, sat on my couch with my (aptly named) laptop in my lap! (And lap dog at my feet…)
Favourite thing in your writing space
That laptop again. :) (And maybe the dog?)
Best food and/or beverage to accompany a good read
If it’s a good read I may not need food or drink!
One thing you would never do in the name of research
Kill someone… I’ve ‘crashed’ an aircraft, but can assure you no crew were injured in that particular research mission
How friends and family would describe you two days before a deadline
Manic, gorgeous, painful, talented—depending on whether it’s my turn to cook dinner…
One book you’d save in an emergency and three words to describe it
NOooo, don’t make me choose! My iPad with 4000 titles? (That’s the iPad my husband’s going to buy me after he reads this blog!)
Your life in a book—what would the title be? In which genre or category would it be shelved?
Taller Than She Looks — Chick Lit
One book you loved as a child
The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
Describe yourself as the heroine of a romance novel
She shook the shower of cement dust from her and narrowed her sea-green eyes before taking careful aim again with the sniper-rifle. (This is fiction, right ??)
Best advice for surviving the zombie apocalypse
Ensure you have sufficient books, chocolate and Baileys Irish Cream. :)
Favourite method of procrastination
Surfing the internet for recipes!
Do you kill fairies?
Um, is there a lie detector here? It’s possible I may have tortured a couple, but only in the interest of allocating appropriate time to the best book!
SHATTERED SKY (Border Watch, Book 2)
Hachette | 9780733624919 (P)
On a routine surveillance flight east of the Australian coast, Captain Lauren Bennett’s crew pick up a mayday call. A yacht is under fire. For the international smugglers operating below the radar of the navy and Border Watch, sinking a pleasure craft is just part of their day’s work.
Lauren has other ideas.
As she pursues the men into the isolated country of Cape York, she’ll need all the help she can get. That will mean joining forces with the cynical navy officer Callam Granger, who’s already shown his contempt for her. What will it take to convince him she’s right this time?
Can they put aside their old animosities to outwit, outrun and ultimately out-fly the traffickers? Or will another death shatter Lauren’s life completely?
This post is part of a series of Q&A-type posts featuring authors who write romance fiction or fiction with romantic elements. Each post will feature the same set of questions or prompts. We tried to make them fun and easy for the authors—and we hope you enjoy them, too!
Please don’t enter me in the contest as I already have and have read Helene’s fabulous book BUT this was such a cool interview I had to comment. Good luck getting that iPad Helene and I seriously reckon you should write that chicklit book, Taller Than She Looks! I judge a book by it’s title (and cover) and that title has got it!
Lol, Rachael, I always get a shock when I see a group photograph with me in it! Most of the time I forget I’m that short!!
I would love to try Australian romantic suspense because it’s ours . The very essence of the book would be familiar, and this familiarity of location and turn of phrase would heighten the suspense for me. Romantic suspense I just adore for not being saccharin sweet.
I love American romantic suspense, and have chatted to the lovely Helene online. Reading one of her Aussie romantic suspense novels seems the next logical step. (And if I don’t win, I’ll download one to my Kindle, anyways …)
Please don’t put me in the draw either, as I have a copy and loved it as I loved Shattered Sky.
I’m interested to know all about this ‘I’ve crashed an aircraft in the name of research’ Now this is interesting Helene. Perhpas one day you will share. :)
All the best,
Mary, I love reading books set in Australia and there are a growing number of home grown authors hitting the shelves!
Hi Sue, thanks for dropping by all the way from the UK! Hope Ratty and his mates are still having fun :-) I’m very excited that my books are now available overseas as e-books! If you haven’t tried her books yet, Bronwyn Parry writes wonderful Australia Rom Suspense and she’s available in the UK in paperback.
Suzanne, I’m so glad you enjoyed both my stories!
The ‘crashed aircraft in the name of research’ is quite simple. I work as a simulator instructor as part of my role as a Check Captain with Qlink. The simulators are amazing training tools and you can load undercarriage collapses, engine failures and fires into the system. I set two pilots up with one engine failed, the right hand undercarriage collapsed and then had them land on a beach to see what the aircraft would do. Pretty impressive :-)
Helene,
Do you know where your ebooks are available, please? I can’t find them on Amazon.co.uk for my Kindle.
Ratty is fine, thank you! I’m currently being unfaithful with Dominic, though …
Sue
Hi Sue, my first book, Wings of Fear, is available on Kobobooks but to read a download from there you have to do some liberating to read it on a kindle…
This is a cut and paste from a chat forum ‘Yes. Liberate the DRM and use Calibre to convert to Mobi.’
Both books are available from iBooks but that means they can’t be read on a kindle either…
Nothing seems to be easy in the digital world…
Dominic sounds like fun :-)
Well how could you not want to dive into a story based in a country that has so much to offer and so many wonders to be able to utilize in a imaginary world on paper. I’m an avid reader of romantic suspense novels because it has all the thrill that pushes you to the edge of your seat and you heart’s racing like a humming bird on crack. But then to balance all that out is the story of a building relationship that has to fight all the odds to survive and by the end does. What more could you want on a sunday curled p by the fire- other than a naked, chiseled man to share it with. Grin- sorry DH
Kerri
Lovely answer, Kerri! What’s not to love about a naked chiselled man on a lazy Sunday :-)
A humming bird on crack? Love it! This is why I love working with creative people. Nothing is boring, not even blog comments. Brilliant, Kerri.
Actually I love chiseled men any day. lol
Kerri
Helene
I gotta say I soo loved both of these books so good
Have Fun
Helen