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About Helena Halme
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Blog postAs the last instalment in the Love on the Island Series, my new book, An Island Heatwave, was always going to be a little harder to write, but I think there have been other factors at work too.
End of Lockdowns It’s crazy how quickly you get used to a new way of doing things. During the past two years, and various lockdowns because of the Covid pandemic, I increased my writing speed and productivity in general. At first, it was difficult. The world, it seemed, was becoming unhinged. E -
Blog postAre you interested in books about Finland? You’re in the right place. As well as writing books about Finland, I try to read every translated book that comes out of there. Firstly, because I’m Finnish and secondly because it’s such an interesting country, situated as it is between East and West.
Finland has been in the news a lot lately. The war in Ukraine has such frightening parallels to the history between Finland and Russia. Soviet Russia attacked Finland during WW2, but we m -
Blog postToday I’m delighted to interview Jane Davis, an award-winning author of several literary fiction novels. As well as a friend, Jane is an excellent writer, whose books I eagerly wait to read as soon as they are out. I’m lucky to have received an advance copy of her latest novel, Small Eden, which is out tomorrow. A review of the novel will follow shortly here and on my Instagram feed.
Q: Where do you live and how does that influence your writing? I grew up close to Wimbledon, best know -
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Blog postRecently, with the terrible events in Ukraine, I have begun to wonder if I’m obsessed with Russia.
A Child of the Cold War When I was growing up in Finland during the Cold War, I was taught to be afraid of the Big Russian Bear next door. We had to be careful not to offend the Soviet Union.
Me chilling in our summer cottage in Kangasala, near Tampere wearing my favourite Marimekko shirt All the TV programmes, newspapers, and even comedians were using carefully constructed -
Blog postYou have an idea for a book, or you’ve already completed a whole manuscript. What’s next? Where to start the self-publishing process? This is a question I have been asked so many times, I decided to start a new series here, called A Guide to Self-publishing. This, the first post is all about where to start.
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Blog postIf you’re subscribed to my newsletter, you’ll know that my recent holiday in Cabo Verde turned into a bit of a ‘Nightmare on the Island of Sal’.
An Escape for a Bit of Sun Like many others, the Englishman and I were craving a break in the sun and decided to take a gamble to book a week away in January in Cabo Verde, where sunshine is almost guaranteed year-round. Miraculously, in spite of COVID and issues with family, we managed to get away.
Beware of the Island Surf On Day 1, -
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Blog postI’m having such fun writing An Island Heatwave, Book 6 in the Love on the Island series, that I thought I’d share a sneak peek into the new book with you today.
Frida You may remember Frida from the first book in the series, The Island Affair? In this short clip from the novel, Alicia, who is still reeling from the loss of her 17-year-old son, Stefan, some six months earlier, meets Frida for the first time. Alicia has just begun working for the local paper in Mariehamn, on the Å -
Blog postNew Year means new reads and, for me, 2022 has so far proved to be very productive in that respect.
Those of you who read my newsletter know that I’ve recently returned from quite an eventful holiday in the sun, where in spite of the drama, I had a lot of time to read.
Below are the best reads form my holiday. They are, as usual, in various genres, including Nordic Noir, Thrillers, Historical, Psychological and Women’s Fiction. A mixed bag, you could say!
The Second -
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Blog postIn the New Year, you can hardly miss the many posts on writing blogs about setting new goals for the twelve months ahead.
Why Set Down Your Goals? Setting down your goals for the year is a good reminder of what you want out of life.
Thin
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Blog postThe Island Child is out today, but why do I have publication day blues?
This is my 14th fiction title and you’d think thatI’d be used to the whole publication routine. The writing, editing, deciding on the cover and making plans for the launch. But you’d be wrong.
The publication process is alwys equally demanding. It also seems that even though I think the feelings I’m having are unusual and unique to this title (I’m calling it Publication Day Blues), it has happened before. -
Blog postWould you like a sneak peek into my new novel? Well, you’re in luck!
The Island Child, a story set on the Scandinavian Åland Islands during Christmastime, will be out next week, on December 9th. But I thougth you migth like chance to read not one, but two exclusive chapters from my new novel before other readers.
The Island Child A Christmas baby should give hope and joy to everyone on the starkly beautiful Scandinavian islands …
While Brit awaits the arrival of -
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Blog postMy next novel, The Island Child, a seasonal story set on the stunningly beautiful, but sparsely populated Åland Islands, will be out early next month. Today, I can reveal a little more about the plot, but there are no spoilers, don’t worry.
Love on the Island Series I’ve long wanted to set a story on the Åland Islands, where I spent many years as a ‘summer islander’. However, I couldn’t quite decide what the books would be about. When I found Alicia, the main character, I -
Blog postPlotting is always a hot topic when authors get together. Some like to write off the seat of their pants (often called ‘pantsers’) while others cite plotting as crucial to their writing process.
It’s certainly easier to write every day
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Blog postDuring the Covid lockdowns, the things that I missed most were hugging my children and granddaughter, visiting my home country of Finland, and attending live conferences and seminars.
Authors spend most of their time at a desk be it in a
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Blog postIt may be that after finishing your manuscript the last thing you want to do is start a new writing project. However, I argue that this is the perfect time to start a new book.
Your Craft Is At Its Peak Finishing a manuscript is a tough t
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Blog postJoin me and other indie authors this Wednesday for the Indie Author Twitter Chat.
The Indie Author Twitter Chat is organized by the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) and hosted each week by Tim Lewis. This week, I will be in the hot
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Blog postIn the previous blog posts in this series on how to write every, we talked about scheduling your writing time. Today, I’ll talk about how to set targets.
Word Count One of the most important targets you need to set is a word count for th
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Blog postThe first step in making sure you create a sustainable writing routine is scheduling your writing time. This may sound simple, but setting up a writing schedule is the most important thing you can do.
When can you write? To begin the process of scheduling your writing time, ask yourself the question, ‘When do I really
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Blog postWrite Every Day: Motivate Yourself to Success in 10 Easy Steps is now out in both eBook and paperback.
This is my third nonfiction book on writing and the one I had the most fun with!
A New Career? As this fateful year of 2020 comes to a close, I see many people changing their careers. Many have asked me about my writing, and how I began my author journey.
I found my writing routine through trial and error (more the latter). In Write Every Day, I share my experiences. I -
Blog postDid you know that you can have your book listed in a total of ten categories on Amazon in addition to the two you chose when publishing the title? You have to contact Amazon to add the additional eight categories. It’s not complicated, but there are certain steps you need to take to insure your book is in as many categories as possible on Amazon.
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Blog postAre you planning to increase your ebook sales with a free offer but are afraid it won’t work? I’ve been pricing the first novel in my series for free (on and off) for a while now, so I know that you can increase your book sales with a free offer. But, you need to have a strategy.
First, you need to decide whether to ma
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Blog postIf you want to be a successful writer, you have to write. Nothing else matters. So why, then, aren’t you writing?
Ask Yourself Why Since you are reading this blog post, you must struggle with the process, but have you ever asked yourself the actual question? Why didn’t I write today, yesterday, this week, or month? What
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Blog postIf you’ve heard any famous author talk about their process, nine times out of ten, they say they try to write something every day. But is this the only way to succeed? And why should you write every day?
Do You Want to Be a Writer? If you wish to become a career writer, you need to sell books to sustain your lifestyle.
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Blog postRegister for SelfPubCon 2020 Now Registration for the 2020 Tools and Tech SelfPubCon is now open! The Self-Publishing Advice Conference, #SelfPubCon is running again on the 17th/18th October – and the theme this time is Tools and Tech f
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Blog postA book launch can be an exhausting experience, especially after all the effort that you’ve put into getting the book out in the first place. Although book launches aren’t as important as they once used to be, it’s still preferable for the long term sales, if your title has a good start. With preferably a top ten ranki
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Blog postMany writing gurus and successful authors talk about how important it is to write every day. But why is it so important? Should every writer do it? In this, the first of a series of blog posts, I share with you how my writing career (eventually ) led me to a daily writing routine, and with that to publishing success.
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Blog postIn my previous posts on how to turn your life into fiction, I’ve talked a lot about what you should not do and what you should think about when turning your life story into fiction. Admittedly, when writing fiction, there are a lot of things to consider.
If you haven’t seen the other posts, you
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Blog postFreddie P. Peters is the author of three spy thrillers. Her fourth novel, SPY SHADOWS, is out next month, so I thought I'd interview Freddie and ask her a few pertinent questions about the new release, her writing process, and any advice she has for new writers.
What can you tell us about your new release, SPY SHADOWS? -
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Blog postDialogue is a literary technique where two or more characters are engaged in conversation with one another. In a novel, it’s the oil that lubricates the cogs of the story to turn. When I was younger, I’d sometimes skip whole sections of a book just to jump to the dialogue. I did this especially if the book was grippin
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Blog postGood news! You can now easily sell books directly to your readers. I’ve been wanting to set up a new online shop for some time and, finally, this week, I managed to complete the task. (The things you achieve when you can't get into your usual writing routine...)
Make Your Books Availa
Titles By Helena Halme
The Red King of Helsinki: A Cold War Spy Novel
Mar 29, 2013
by
Helena Halme
$2.99
Other Formats:
Paperback
The Day We Met: Charming story of love at first sight in a cold climate (Love on the Island)
Feb 7, 2020
by
Helena Halme
$0.00
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Paperback
Write Your Story: Turn Life Into Fiction In 10 Easy Steps (Write in 10 Easy Steps Book 1)
Dec 23, 2017
by
Helena Halme
$4.99
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Paperback
An Island Summer: A Moving, Standalone, Story of Newfound Love and Old Passions Rekindled (Love on the Island Book 4)
Jun 17, 2021
by
Helena Halme
$2.99
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The Island Daughter: When past secrets shatter you present, how do you face your future? (Love on the Island Book 3)
Jul 17, 2020
by
Helena Halme
$2.99
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Love on the Island Series Books 1-3: A captivating story of love, family, and deeply buried secrets
Aug 27, 2020
by
Helena Halme
$5.99
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An Island Christmas: A Standalone Wintry Tale of Love, Family, and Impossible Choices (Love on the Island Book 2)
Nov 28, 2019
by
Helena Halme
$2.99
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Paperback
The Island Child: A standalone story of love, drama and second chances (Love on the Island Book 5)
Dec 9, 2021
by
Helena Halme
$4.99
Other Formats:
Paperback
