Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Well, hello there! My name’s Helen J Beal, I write contemporary literary fiction and I have published three novels and a book of short stories. I write engaging, enjoyable books that are often quite quirky and unconventional. My short stories in particular take readers on some exotic flights of the imagination!
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called Riding a Tiger – I was inspired to write it as I found myself inordinately interested in the piracy phenomenon in the Gulf of Aden (Somalia) and wanted to tell a character-driven story that didn’t just paint the Somalis as criminals but tried, through privileged Westerners’ pairs of eyes, to understand a little more about how their country operates and what they are born to. The title was inspired by me stumbling across a corporate story at work, that is, in fact, an old Chinese adage – but you’d have to read the book to find out how it fits with a story based around a continent which has lions, not tigers!
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write underwater. Ok, seriously – I suspect not. I write as and when I can. Sometimes I can assign serious chunks of time to writing and treat it like a job, getting to a desk and knuckling straight down to it. Other times I fit it in where I can – on trains, planes, in hotel rooms. Writers are such an eclectic bunch and many do have foibles. A couple of my favorite stories would be that Dan Brown hangs upside down when he has writer’s block and I think it’s Barbara Taylor Bradford who gets all dolled up and sits down at the start of the day with a chilled glass of champagne to kick her off (I rather like the sound of the last one, but am not so keen on the first). Oh – wait! I do have a pair of (pink and grey knee-length striped) writing socks. When I first started out I didn’t feel ready to hit the keyboard until I had donned them. I’m not so bad now but I’m more likely to be found writing in pajama bottoms or my Pilates kit that anything suitable for twinning with champagne.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I like quirky, funny books. I studied English Literature and Language at the University of London and was taught to read when I was three so have devoured a fair few books in my time, but key authors would be: Douglas Adams, Douglas Coupland, Margaret Atwood, Barbara Kingsolver and Nuruddin Farah. The books that hit the top of my favorites lists are: Life of Pi (Yann Martel), ‘The Extinction Club’ (Jeffrey Moore), ‘Flight Behavior’ (Barbara Kingsolver), The Night Circus (Erin Morgenstern), Amsterdam (Ian McEwan), Bird Brain (Guy Kennaway) and East of Eden (John Steinbeck).
What are you working on now?
I’m working on two novels and a book of short stories at the moment. I am focusing on my concerns around overpopulation, conservation and the current mass extinction event for the novel and short stories and the other novel is inspired by a disturbing recurring dream that I have and so is a thriller – new territory for me, but fun to explore.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m a big fan of Goodreads – the first thing an author needs to do when promoting their books is create social proof, i.e. get some decent reviews online. Friends and family may be able to help, but it’s always going to be more effective and ethical long-term from people who don’t have a vested emotional interest in your success. Goodreads runs an excellent giveaway function which has attracted a good deal of readers to my book and resulted in some very positive, encouraging and helpful reviews.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep writing – you’ll get better with every book, and if readers like your work they’ll want to come back for more material so the more you have, the better. Also, don’t try to do everything on your own. Writing is a job and a career – it may not be your first or primary income stream, but be professional. Hire editors – this is the most important thing an author can do in my mind if they are not being traditionally published and being provided with these services. Second, hire a cover designer.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Just write. One of my favorite authors is the comedy thriller writer Janet Evanovich. She has published an excellent non-fiction book on writing called How I Write. She said: “If you want to be a writer, just write.” – it’s the advice she gave herself and it seems to have worked out pretty well for her!
What are you reading now?
I recently discovered Barbara Kingsolver following an abortive attempt at The Poisonwood Bible several years ago. We chose Flight Behavior as our book club read this month and I was instantly hooked – I suspected I might be as I have long held butterflies in high regard and conservation is top of my agenda at the moment. As a result, I am now steadily working through her back catalog – I loved Prodigal Summer too and now I’m on her non-fiction book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle which is about how she and her family tackled a project to only eat locally grown food for a year. There is so much wisdom in there.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Well, I’m very pleased to be able to refer to myself as a professional writer now so it remains to build on that and keep on writing! I hope to publish my three new books in the spring of 2014 and then will try to decide which of the many other projects I have slated to work on next! I don’t suffer from a deficit of ideas, which is both a good and a bad thing.
What is your favorite book of all time?
That would be Life of Pi.
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