This week I’m back on the coast with rolling surf, blinding white sand and the good company of Award Winning author Helene Young. The deck of the beach house is cracked by sun and softened by years of weather, and on the rail sit a couple of cawing seagulls, heads down as they eye off the goodies set out for my guest. Helene and I are delving into Half Moon Bay, but keep reading for a taste of her latest release…

 

NEWS FLASH: Safe Harbour to be released on 26th March, 2014

RH: Welcome Helene, thanks for sharing your time with us. I hope you like my re-creation of Ellie’s beach house in Half Moon Bay. Maybe we could go for a surf later – or you could surf and I’ll paddle. Either way, my antics in the water will be good for a laugh. In the meantime, I thought we could take our coffee out to the veranda and chat.

HY: I adore your re-creation of Ellie’s house and I do love a good surf, although it’s more body-surfing these days… And coffee? It’s the best way to start the day. What’s not to love about a caffeine hit!

RH: My thoughts exactly! Your most recent novel, Half Moon Bay, is receiving rave reviews, consistently obtaining 4 and 5 stars. All of your previous books have done well. You’ve won awards from the Australian Romance Readers Association and the Romance Writers of Australia, as well as being shortlisted for the Daphne du Maurier and Davitt Awards. Wow. Congratulations! You are about to release your latest novel, Safe Harbour, (more on that later) and I’m sure that will do equally as well. Tells us a little about winning those awards and whether this success influences your writing journey – for example, has it put pressure on you by raising the bar for your subsequent novels, or do you try not to let them affect you?

HY: Thanks, Rowena, it’s been lovely and very humbling to see Half Moon Bay so well received. I think there’s always pressure to raise the bar and that’s not just reader expectation, but a need to see if I can push the boundaries a little further, dig a little deeper and pour more emotion into my characters. Winning the awards was life changing. I was between publishers and wondering if I’d ever have another book published when I won my first ARRA award and the RuBY for Wings of Fear. Not only did it help secure me another contract with a new publisher, but it gave me the confidence to keep writing. Now, if I am fortunate enough to make a short list for an award, I’m just happy to be there. With so many wonderful writers crafting their stories there are many deserving winners.

RH: Always nice to be included (waves from the sidelines *chuckle*). With Half Moon Bay the story opens in Afghanistan, and what happens there causes much of the tension as the story unfolds, but the major setting is the coastal New South Wales town of Half Moon Bay. Ellie’s beach house, the wide streets and close-knit community on the brink of change are beautifully drawn. It reminded me of places we camped on childhood holidays. How much of your background influenced your choice of this setting? And what comes first for you – the setting, story line or the characters?

HY: I’m so glad you were reminded of childhood holidays. Half Moon Bay owes much to Currumbin Beach where I spent every weekend and school holiday for the first twenty years of my life. It was a small community where kids ran wild, people yarned over the fence and the biggest threat was sunburn. I watched that community change dramatically over time as more and more development crept in. Not all of those changes were welcomed by the residents… It’s the first book for me that really stemmed from a location, but the characters weren’t far behind.

RH: It’s a great location. And sunburn! As a kid, we hadn’t enjoyed summer if we weren’t peeling and piebald. Speaking of characters, let’s talk about your protagonist, Ellie Wilding, a photographic journalist. Why did you decide on this career for her? How much of this is a personal interest of yours?

HY: My sister was a journalist so I’ve always been fascinated by these amazing adrenalin-fuelled people who report the news sometimes under extreme conditions. My dad was a keen amateur photographer and I love capturing moments on camera so putting the two together was a natural fit. I also think cameramen are unsung heroes. You occasionally glimpse them lugging large amounts of equipment over inhospitable terrain while the ‘talent’ carries a notebook and a hair brush! Check out a Bear Grylls show and consider what his cameraman is doing to be able to film him – now that’s extraordinary!!

RH: I’ll say! Hopefully the camera man reaps some of the rewards… In Half Moon Bay we are introduced to Ellie as she flies into Kandahar to rendezvous with her sister, an investigative reporter. Your description of the airfield and the town besieged by heavy artillery gripped me. I felt I was there. Have you ever been to a war zone? If not, what sources did you use to draw such visceral images?

HY: I haven’t been to a war zone, Rowena, so research was the key. I spoke to several young men who’d done multiple tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. One of them showed me all the footage he’d shot in his time in Kandahar and Tarin Khot. He’s responsible for the anecdote in the story about the grass in the Australian base in Kandahar. He also recommended a number of YouTube films that he considered to be of superior quality. Other than that I devoured news stories from respected foreign correspondents that show the real toll of these conflicts.

RH: While on the subject of soldiers let’s discuss your male protagonist, Nick Lawson. We properly meet him when he turns up on Ellie’s doorstep looking for her father, but he is also in that first scene in Kandahar. You’ve given Nick some heavy baggage. He’s a war veteran who’s made sacrifices for a career he’s now questioning. The insights you give into his background made me consider the toll war takes upon those in the field. Was exploring this theme a deliberate choice for you, or did it emerge with Nick’s character?

HY: It was a deliberate choice to explore this issue because I think so many of our returned servicemen come home with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. And that hasn’t changed since the First World War. The only difference is we recognise that it exists. We still have a long way to go with dealing with it. I think the complexity is that the injuries are invisible so we treat them as if they are well and healthy when in fact a great deal of hurt is hiding inside. Nick did surprise me as the story evolved though and I hadn’t anticipated his beautiful home until we got there. *smiles*

RH: I always feel PTSD must be hard to face in the culture of toughness necessary in that field. Nick’s home is lovely – and so tidy! I’m always envious of these characters with such organised living spaces.

RH: Ellie has been drawn home to Half Moon Bay to help old friends fight a corrupt councillor in cahoots with a development company. How much of this idea was drawn from your observations of coastal development? Why did you decided to tie this particular storyline with Nick’s investigation into drug running?

HY: I still remember the battles that went on in Currumbin, Kingscliffe, Byron Bay and Noosa where bribery was more likely to get a development over the line than a stunning design.  That sort of corruption lends itself to criminal organisations having a foot in the door. The thread of drug running from Afghanistan grew from a fascination with the power vacuum left behind by each successive war in that country. All the while the Afghani farmers carried on growing poppies because that was all they knew. The supply lines changed, but the drug was still making its way to our streets.

RH: It’s something that seems so far away but has such an impact locally, so thank you for bringing it into the story. Another aspect of Half Moon Bay that struck me was how much the idea of sisterhood is woven throughout. Ellie loves her sister, but Nina’s actions have serious repercussions for her and she is forced to confront some feelings she hasn’t explored before. Why did you want to explore this feature of family and sisterhood with Half Moon Bay? How important has sisterhood and family been to your own journey?

HY: My sister, Bronwyn, is an extremely important person in my life. After she read the first draft she phoned and asked, ‘Are we good or have I done something wrong?’ I laughed because this is fiction, but of course the depth of the bond between the sisters was definitely something I could relate to. I’ve always been fascinated with the lies people tell – not necessarily in a malicious way, but because we may want to protect someone, or don’t want to admit we’ve made mistakes. Nina had her reasons for doing what she did, but for Ellie accepting her sister may be a lesser mortal after all is a tough journey.

RH: Hero worship rarely ends well. *sips coffee briefly contemplating heroes and clay feet* So far your novels have been predominately stand-alone stories that are loosely related. Why did you choose to have your novels take that form rather than produce a traditional series where we follow one character through several journeys? How difficult was it to sell this idea to a publisher when you first began?

HY: Neither of my publishers has necessarily wanted trilogies or loosely linked series, but the Border Watch books were always linked in my head. I knew whose stories I was going to write by half way through Wings of Fear. I’d love to write another book in that series but that’s for later on.  But for now, a character from Safe Harbour, my upcoming new release, is clamouring to have his story told and he’s made a very compelling case.

RH: Intriguing… Can you tell us a little more about Safe Harbour?

HY: Safe Harbour is set around the Bundaberg region in Queensland and is my tribute to the wonderful people who’ve endured so much in the last twelve to eighteen months. At the heart of it are the issues kids, particularly indigenous kids, face in rural areas. Sport is often the golden ticket out of disadvantage. Those threads led to drugs in sport, something that’s in the news more often these days, and the involvement of international crime syndicates in betting rings.  And the last thread is about Darcy’s choice between the slow burning love of an old friendship or the flash and burn of desire for a stranger.

RH: From where I sit you are living the dream – a writing career that is going from strength to strength, living on a catamaran with the man you love (Kathleen Turner eat your heart out!), but one thing intrigues me about downsizing to a boat – what did you do with your library of books?

HY: Oh Rowena, I cried buckets when I packed my books up. I gave many away. My library in Cairns got a carton of new books, friends had their first pick, the local Red Cross op shop took most of them and the keepers that I couldn’t part with are packed in a shipping container at Ravenshoe. Now I’m slowly accumulating on an e-reader. If I do buy a paper copy then the marina library wins *grin*

RH: I feel your pain. I try to remember I’m giving the book a second life, but it doesn’t make the cull (such a loaded word!) any easier. So when will Safe Harbour be released, and what’s next for Helene Young?

HY: Safe Harbour will be released on 26^th March and I’ve started a novella and next year’s book. Meanwhile my role as Regional Flying Manager at the airline is giving me a whole new take on aviation. I just need to find some more hours in the day!

RH: If you ever find them, tell me how! After all that I hope you have some energy left for our…

RH: What is your all-time favourite book/movie?

HY: Love Actually

RH: What are you reading now?

HY: For One Night Only by Phillipa Fioretti.

RH: What is your favourite word?

HY: Rambunctious – it sounds so much like its meaning!

RH: What is the best bit of advice you ever got (about writing or life in general)?

HY: Rules are for fools and the guidance of wise men!

RH: Oh, I love that! Thanks for joining us today, Helene. Where can we find Half Moon Bay and your other wonderful books?

HY: It’s available at all good booksellers, Rowena! Thanks so much for inviting me to your corner of the Internet for a chat. It’s been wonderful!

 

Buy Half Moon Bay at Booktopia, itunes, Amazon

“Come on my journey with me” Find out more about the multi-talented Helene Young:  Website, Facebook, Twitter