Helen Jones

Live In Hope

The other day I received a rejection letter. It was fine, as they go. It addressed me by name, offered the vague yet slightly hopeful response that my story ‘wasn’t what they were looking for at the moment,’ and reminded me to format future submissions in standard manuscript format (which, to be honest, seems toContinue reading “Live In Hope”

Reading Out Loud

On Tuesday night I participated in my very first author event. I know – exciting, right? It was very exciting – I was invited by a local library to do a reading with their teen reading group, as well as sell signed copies of my book afterwards, so it was a wonderful opportunity. And IContinue reading “Reading Out Loud”

The Biggest Blogging Event of The Year is HERE #BloggersBash

Originally posted on Sacha Black:
The biggest blogging event of the year is here. If you have blogging friends, comrades or just fancy being nosy, then this event is for you. I am organising the first Bloggers Bash. An opportunity for you all to get together and meet the friends you made through blogging, in…

Ghosts of My Grandfather

My grandfather died in his church. For many years he was vicar there, the ancient village surrounding it dating back to the Domesday Book (and possibly beyond). It was the kind of place that had a castle once, but ‘Simon De Montfort and his crew tore it down.’ Where the old manor house had fallenContinue reading “Ghosts of My Grandfather”

Helping Hands

It’s been a busy week. I’m finalising my structural edit on No Quarter before it goes to my editor, plus there’s the usual client work and house work, which hasn’t left me a lot of time to post. So today is a very quick post about the wonderful blog community I’m pleased to be partContinue reading “Helping Hands”

An Observation, Part 5 – A Glimpse of Snow

It was a hot Melbourne day, the kind where the air is heavy and damp before 9am, holding the city hostage until a cool change blows in from the west. I was waiting for a train at one of the red brick rail stations so ubiquitous in the inner city, federation bungalows and Victorian housesContinue reading “An Observation, Part 5 – A Glimpse of Snow”

A Quiet Week

After my good weekend, it seems to have been a quiet week. It’s half term so you would expect I’d be running here there and everywhere, but that hasn’t been the case. The gorgeous girl seems to be feeling the same way, quite happy to be at home working on projects or playing games, plusContinue reading “A Quiet Week”

A Good Weekend

This has been a good weekend for a variety of reasons. First is the result from Ireland, where the population voted overwhelmingly to make marriage available to everyone. When we were married, my husband and I wrote our own vows. However, when we did so we were surprised to discover that we had to includeContinue reading “A Good Weekend”

The Perils Of Being A Pantser

I’ve said this before – I am a Pantser. When I start writing I have an idea, maybe a couple of characters and an end point but not much idea of what happens in between. But off I go anyway, letting the story pull me forward, sometimes finding what the characters choose to do orContinue reading “The Perils Of Being A Pantser”