A Way from Heart to Heart
by Helena Fairfax

WHEN Helena Fairfax came home from work one day, moaning about another awful day at the office, her husband gave her the spur she needed to change her life.

"He asked a simple question: 'What would you actually like to be doing with your life?' My answer was: 'Writing romance novels'. Next question: 'Well, what do you need to do to get there?'" recalls Helena.

She knew what she needed to do - write a novel and try to get it published.

Today Helena is an author of contemporary women's fiction. A member of Saltaire Writers Group, her real name is Eileen Hogg but she writes as Helena Fairax.

Her latest novel, A Way from Heart to Heart, is about a young woman whose world collapses after the death of her husband in Afghanistan. Kate Hemmingway works with a charity helping teenage girls mend their broken lives - ironic, since her own life is so fractured. Reserved journalist Paul Farrell is everything Kate and her young charges aren’t, but when he agrees to help take them on a trip to the Yorkshire moors, he has a revelation that changes everything. Can Kate take a risk with her son’s happiness as well as her own?

Local landscapes inspired Helena, who walks moorland daily with her rescue dog. "My first two novels were published by a Canadian publisher, and I've built up a following of readers in north America," she says. "I noticed that whenever I posted photos of the moors on my Facebook page or blog, they'd attract a lot of interest."

"A bird called out in the heather close by, breaking the silence that followed. It was a lost, mournful sound, somehow discordant in the warm summer air. Kate shivered,

‘What did it mean, then?’ Her voice was low, the question intended more for herself than for Paul.

‘I know what that day meant to me.’ The lines of his face shifted and broke. 'It was the day my heart was ripped into two.’

Kate felt the pain of his words strike right through her. Paul stood unmoving, as though he were one of the boulders on the moors...It was as though everything about him were swept away, leaving only the core, raw and exposed.

"The bird called again, and rustled deeper into the heather. Paul took Kate’s face in his hands and bent to kiss her. This time it was no gentle meeting of lips, but a mouth filled with tender, urgent passion."

Born in Uganda, Helena came to England as a child and now lives near Saltaire. Her first novel, The Silk Romance, was a contender for the Romantic Noveilists Association (RNA) New Writers’ Scheme Award.

It was joining the RNA’s New Writers’ Scheme that set Helena off sent off on writing her first novel. "I wasn’t sure if I was on the right lines, and it turned out my gut feeling was right. I received a four-page letter explaining why the story wasn’t quite right, and some suggestions on how to polish it up," she recalls.

By the end of the year, Helena had a finished novel which she re-sent to the RNA, "waiting with bitten fingernails" for a response. It was positive - but the publisher's response wasn't quite so good.

When Helena later resumed her writing, writers such as EL James were enjoying huge success with e-books. Helena revisited her first novel, which was snapped up by Canadian e-publisher, MuseItUp Publishing, along with second novel, The Antique Love, in 2013.

Last year, attending the RNA conference, she pitched A Way from Heart to Heart to UK publisher Accent Press and was offered a contract within a week.

Now Helena is finishing her fourth novel. "I’ve never forgotten the excitement I felt reading my first review," she says. "The path to publication has had ups and downs, but I’ve always been so glad of my husband’s encouragement to set foot on this road."

A Way from Heart to Heart is published by Accent Press, £7.52 for the paperback and £2.29 for the ebook, available from Amazon until February 9, and will then be available from other online retailers.