About

About Helene Young

For multi-award winning author, Helene Young, the idea for her ‘Border Watch’ series 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. Working as a captain with Australia’s largest regional airline 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.”

WINGS OF FEAR(Border Watch), voted Romantic Book of the Year in 2011, is the first of her loosely linked trilogy focusing on the coastal surveillance operations round Australia.

SHATTERED SKY, the second book, which recently won the Romantic Book of the Year 2012, is set in the world of the Outlawed Motorcycle gangs and organised crime. These first two books were also awarded the Favourite Romantic Suspense novels by the Australian Romance Readers Association in 2010 and 2011 respectively.

BURNING LIES, the final Border Watch book, was released in July 2012 by Penguin Australia. A passionate love story, it’s set on the Atherton Tablelands at the height of bushfire season.

Helene’s latest novel, HALF MOON BAY, will be released on 22nd May, 2103.

Helene continues to work as a senior Check and Training Pilot with Qantaslink flying throughout regional Australia. When she’s not flying you’ll find her in North Queensland with her husband and manic Staffordshire Bullterrier, Zeus. She’s also custodian of several million bees, a lover of tropical gardens and an avid reader.

In what other spare time she has left she conducts writing workshops for QWC and schools and other writing organisations.

Helene is available for motivation speaking engagements, school visits or library chats. Contact her via the “Contact’ tab on this website.

Author Appearances – 2013

Logan North Library, 15th Feb, 2013

ARRC2013, 1st -3rd March 2013

AWPA – Guest presenter at Conference – 9th-12th May, 2013

Gold Coast Literati, 17th & 18th May, 2013

Cairns Aeroclub, HALF MOON BAY book launch 24th May, 2013

Brisbane HALF MOON BAY, breakfast 31st May, 2013 -TBA

RWA conference – 16th-18th August 2013 – Fremantle.

Wangi Library 26th July 2013.

Author Appearances – 2011-2012

RWA Conference, Gold Coast, 16th-19th August 2012

Coffs Harbour Library, 7th August, 2012

Bellingen Library, 8th August, 2012,

Mareeba Library, 9th August 2012

Speers Point Library, 14th August 2012

Cheltenham Library, 1st August, 2012

Mossman Library, 21st July, 2012

Trinity Bay State High School, 25th & 26th July 2012

Black Cat Books, Paddington, 27th July, 2012

Smithfield Library, 19th May, 2012

Gordonvale Library, 2nd June, 2012

International Women’s Day 2012 – Taree Library – 6pm 8th March

National Year of Reading 2012 :- Atherton Library 6 pm 14th February 2012

ARRA Awards Dinner : Sydney, 11th February, 2o12

National Year of Reading 2012 :- Cairns Library 4th Feb, 2012

RWA NQ Roadshow, Cairns, May 28th, 2011

Gloucester Writers Festival, April 30th 2011

Australian Romance Readers Conference – Panel Discussions 26th, 27th March 2011.

Camden Library, 18th Feb 2011

Tamworth Library, 19th Feb 2011

Sisters in Crime March 2010

Brisbane Writers Festival – Panel Discussion 2010 and Conducted Writing Course 2010

RWA Conference – Panel Discussion 2010 Conference

Yungaburra Book Fair – Chair of Panel 2010

Tropical Writers Festival - Panel Discussion. 2010

Media Articles

Photo by Charlotte Rose

Plane Crazy Downunder Podcast – Aug 2012

Australian Romance Reader Association - Google Hang Out, July 2012

Romance Writers of Australia Rural Romance Google Hang Out, August 2012

The Age, Sept 2012

Profile Magazine, July 2012

Cairns Post, June 2012

Cairn Post, August 2012

Cairns City Life, May 2011

AOPA, May 2011, Kathy Mexted

The Age – Story written by Helene for the Melbourne Age 5/02/2011

Cairns Post 2011- Story by Rob Mellett.

Cairns Post 2010 – Story by Julianna Kerr

Courier Mail March 2010 – Fiona Purdon

Herald Sun March 2010 -Fiona Purdon

Brisbane News Feb 2010 – Phil Brown

Cairns City Life, Feb 2010

Take Five – Helen Chryssides 2010

Radio Interviews

612 ABC Radio Podcast, 2012

ABC Far North, Fiona Sewell 2011

4CA, ‘Locco’ Breakfast Show, 2011

BBC World News 2011- Birmingham, Conventry and London. Live crosses during Cyclone Yasi

ABC Central West 2011 - Angela Owens – 2 live interviews during Cylcone Yasi

ABC Far North – 2010 Fiona Sewell

Curtin Radio – 2010 Jenny Seaton

Community Radio Cairns 2010 and 2011 - Bev Blaauw

Writing Courses by Helene

GenreCon – Popular Fiction, November 2012

Tropical Writers Festival – Fast Fiction, September 2012

RWA Conference – Relentless Conflict, August 2012

AWMonline – Kim Wilkins The Year of the Novel January 2012- a Year long on-line course mentoring writers on the way to completing a novel.

Queensland Writers Centre – Regional Programme – ‘The Bones of Your Book’ – a one day intensive course to be held at Mission Beach, Cooktown and Brisbane. Further details to come.

Brisbane Writers Festival 2010 – 3 hour workshop. ‘Sharpening the Edge of Romantic Suspense.’

Queensland Writers Centre – Regional Programme – ‘Writing Popular Fiction’

- One day intensive course Townsville 19th March 2011

- One day intensive course Cairns, 20th March 2011

Romance Writers of Australia – NQ Roadshow- May 2011

- Workshop on Conflict. ‘Avatar – Layer Upon Layer’

Writing Awards for her Novels

BURNING LIES

Short listed - Daphne du Maurier Awards for Mainstream Crime and Suspense, America, 2013 (announced 20th July.)

Short listed -Short listed – Favourite Romantic Suspense, ARRA 2012

SHATTERED SKY

Winner of Romantic Book of the Year (R*BY) 2012, Romance Writers of Australia