About
Helene Young lives in Cairns, a tiny slice of paradise teetering on the edge of the Great Barrier Reef in North Queensland. Her work as a Check and Training Captain with a major regional airline, takes her all over the east coast of Australia and away from home more than is good for her long suffering husband or their dog, a slightly obsessive Staffordshire Bull Terrier named Zeus.
“With such a changeable work schedule, there is no such thing as a predictable writing day. If my characters are trapped in my head too long, they let me know. I have to take them out for a metaphorical early morning walk – time to hit those keys before heading to the airport for work.”
Helene’s as passionate about aviation as she is about writing. “I’ve been flying for over twenty years which gives me an “office” with the most spectacular views in Australia and I never get tired of looking down at the wonderful Australian landscape. I’ve also had the privilege of meeting some unique characters who fly aircraft and of course there’s a growing number of women in aviation, which is something I’m keen to encourage.”
The idea for Border Watch started one early morning. “I discovered a body washed up on the beach. While there was nothing sinister in that discovery, it planted the seed of an idea for a novel focusing on the terrorist threat to Australia. With my work I fly with crews who have flown for Surveillance Australia – the current Coastwatch contractor. That made it easy to draw on their experiences and weave my characters through a realistic scenario.”
Border Watch is the first of a loosely linked three book series focusing on the coastal surveillance operations round Australia.
Writing Achievements for Helene Young:
Border Watch:
- (Beyond the Borders) Finalist 2008 Golden Heart RWAmerica
- Finalist – Single Title (STALI) RWA Aust 2009
- 2nd Round – Single Title Emerald – RWA 2009
Little Further North
- Highly Cmd Clendon Award RWNZ 2007
- (Honest Lies) Finalist – Single Title (STALI) RWA Aust 2008
- Second Rnd Emerald RWAust 2008
Half Moon Dreaming
- 2nd Single Title RWNZ – Agents choice 2006
- 2nd Single Title Emerald RWAust 2007
Circle of Life
- 2nd Emma Darcy Award RWAust 2004