Helen Starbuck started writing in her teens and even submitted a manuscript to Harlequin!
After a career as a developmental editor in academic nursing, Helen found the time to work on her own stories when she retired.

She rediscovered the beginnings of a manuscript and decided to work on it and see where it led. She liked the premise so much that she finished draft then hired an editor to help her revise and finesse it.
After six months of editing, Helen Starbuck published the book through a hybrid publisher and was delighted when the book, The Mad Hatter’s Son, won a National Indie Excellence Award.

I asked Helen what the most challenging aspect of writing is for her and she told me it’s writing the middle of her first draft. I think we can all relate to that!

She’s not big on outlining and as such has to work hard on keeping her characters from taking a turn she didn’t expect, or her storyline diverging down a new route.

Helen writes mysteries and romantic suspense, and I ask her about the differences and similarities between the structure of the two genres.

When I asked how she decides which genre or series to work in next, Helen told me it is very much based upon her creative energy at the time.

If she is struggling to write the next in series for her romantic suspense, she will move onto a mystery story. This gives her the opportunity to move past any writer's block.  Writing, she says, should be joyful, not a slog.

Helen’s stories are set in Colorado because it's where she grew up and the place she knows best. The towns in her novels may be fictional, but they are based on places that she knows, and she feels that this gives her books an extra element of authenticity.
Towards the end of our conversation, we discuss Helen's decision to become an independent author rather than pursue the traditional space and we also talk about the research she does for her mystery novels.

She cites Writer’s Police Academy as being a mine of information and community, and Sisters In Crime, who recently hosted a talk called Burned, Drowned, and Eaten.
I think you can guess the substance of that talk!

We finish our conversation with Helen telling me about her current work in progress and where you can find her books.

Links:
https://www.helenstarbuck.com/
Amazon Book Store
Tana French
Craig Johnson
Michael Connelly
Tami Hoag
Sandra Brown
Welcome to a new era in self publishing! | My Word Publishing
Writers' Police Academy
Sisters in Crime
BBC One - Expert Witness

Connect with Helen:
Helen Starbuck—author | Facebook
Helen S

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