HELEN'S NEWS DIARY: UPDATED

1st November 2015: I have a page and blog at Goodreads.

Telos Publishing Ltd has now re-issued 4 of my romantic novels. See the announcement from Telos, and the Telos Facebook page.

The books can be downloaded from Amazon.co.uk (price £2.30) and Amazon.com as well as other outlets like Kobo, Nook etc. They are also in paperback and can be obtained from http://www.telos.co.uk or from any bookseller or library.

LOVE IN HIDING is an historical romance set in Elizabethan times and those of you who know Worcestershire, England may recognise Harvington Hall as my setting for this.

IN SEARCH OF LOVE is set in New York and features an Irish emigrant girl, Mary, whose aunt has not met her as arranged and therefore Mary finds herself trapped on Ellis Island.

THE PRICE OF LOVE is a contemporary story with an English setting.

HOSTAGE TO LOVE is a romantic suspense, which is set in the Yemen. It features an English girl who flies there to find her lost brother, although she is advised to stay at home by the Foreign Office (to be published shortly).

Contemporary romances to follow under the Telos Moonrise imprint are:
• HIGHWAY OF FEAR
• A GARDEN FAIR
• THE HOUSE ON THE MOUNTAIN

Endeavour Press has published two of my books, THE PRICE OF BEAUTY and CHANCE ENCOUNTERS.

THE PRICE OF BEAUTY, a Victorian romance, was a best seller on Amazon in 2014.

CHANCE ENCOUNTERS is a contemporary romantic thriller.

THE PIERCING, the sequel to PIPER, has now been published by Telos. THE PIERCING came second in the prestigious Preditors and Editors global poll for the Best Horror Novel of 2014.

PIPER has now been published in Italian, followed by THE PIERCING (IL RITUALE). Published by Leone Editore, Milan, Italy, (see also the site in English, via Google Translate).

24th August 2014: Apologies for my long absence in this area. As you can see below I have been very busy writing and I have now signed contracts with these English and Italian publishers:

THRILLERS (Telos Publishing Ltd)
Piper (re-issue)
The Piercing (new)
The Codex (new)

THRILLERS (Leone Editore, Milan)
Piper and The Piercing are also being published in the Italian language.

ROMANCE AND HISTORICAL (Telos Publishing Ltd)
These titles will be re-issued under the Moonrise imprint:
Love in Hiding
In Search of Love
When Love Rides Out
Contemporary
Hostage to Love
Highway of Fear
A Garden Fair
The House on the Mountain

ROMANTIC SUSPENSE (Endeavour Press)
Chance Encounters (new, contemporary)
The Price of Beauty (re-issue, historical)

21st October 2012: Several of my Historical & Romantic Novels are now available as e-books. Visit the e-book page to see what is currently available in this format.

29th April 2012: Helen has a new novel recently published called The House on the Mountain, a romantic suspense set in Rhodes, Greece. It is obtainable through Chivers Thorndike and Waterville. And from highstreet, and online, book retailers.

29th April 2012: I have a My Weekly Pocket Novel called Highway of Fear coming out on 17th May 2012 which will be for sale in supermarkets and all good newsagents.

18th August 2011: A well-known Hollywood producer, Phyllis Carlyle has taken an option on my Piper trilogy. The second book of the trilogy, The Piercing, is to be published at a time as yet to be arranged, while the 3rd book, The Codex, is still in preparation. Ms. Carlyle has produced a number of successful films, including Seven. Naturally I am very excited about this.

I have also been taken on as a writer for Eastenders. Watch this space!

4th November 2010: 'The House on the Mountain', a DC Thomson Pocket novel will be published.

Forthcoming books: 'The Piercing' (Horror/Thriller Sequel to Piper) to be published in 2014 (Details to follow).

Forthcoming books: Helen in now working on 'The Codex', which will be the next book in the Piper series.

Forthcoming events: Helen is planning to attend the next congress of the West Country Writers' Association, which takes place 15-17 April 2011 at the Elfordleigh Hotel, Plymouth, Devon.

Forthcoming events: Helen will be lecturing on writing and her work on a P&O cruise in 2011 (dates to be arranged).

Forthcoming events: Helen will be working as a writer for BBC Development in 2010-2011.

August 2010: Rights for Piper sold in Poland to Bullet Books.

August 2010: Rights for Piper sold in Spain to Laocoonte.

16th-18th April 2010: Helen will be attending 'The West Country Writers' Congress', Salisbury, England.

9th-10th April 2010: Helen will be attending 'The Crime Writers Association Conference', Abergavenny, Wales.

December 2009: 'Island of Dreams' (Romance) published by BBC Audiobooks (Chivers).

August 2009: 'Island of Dreams' (Romance) published by the Gale Group, USA.

August 2009: 'In Search of Love' (Historical) published by DC Thomson as a My Weekly Pocket Novel (No.1678) and is available from DC Thomson & Co. Ltd, 88 Kingsway East, Dundee, DD4 8SL.

Autumn/Fall 2009: Helen holidayed on the island of Rhodes and will be visiting her favourite haunts in Devon, Cornwall and Sussex in Summer 2010. She has future romances in mind based on these venues.

8th-10th May 2009: Helen will be attending the West Country Writers' Conference at St. Ives.

7th April 2009: New book announced: The Piercing, a horror thriller and the sequel to Piper is now complete. The Piercing follows the fortunes of Pip, who is now a psychologist and is hot on the Piper's trail. Expect murder and mystery! The date of publication is yet to be arranged. Watch this space!

7th April 2009: New book announced: Island of Dreams, a romantic suspense novel set in Ibiza is to be published by BBC Books, Chivers in the UK, the date of publication to be arranged and will also be available in America published by Thorndike Press, The Gale Group in August 2009. Both novels will be available in libraries and from Amazon.

7th April 2009: New book now available: 'A Garden Fair', a romantic suspense novel about an adventure in a French chateau. Library edition published by BBC Books (Chivers) ISBN 978 1 405 64454 9 UK Hardcover and UK Softcover ISBN 978 1 405 64455 6 is now available in your library or at Amazon. A Garden Fair is also published by Thorndike Press, The Gale Group in the USA ISBN 978 1 4104 1094 8 and is available at Amazon.

Signings and broadcasts in 2008 were:

• Monday 29th September: BBC H&W @ 2.15pm.
• Wednesday 1st October: Play Radio 12-12.30pm.
• Thursday 2nd October: Launch of Piper at Foyles Bookshop Gallery, Charing Cross Road, London.
• Tuesday 7th October: Waterstones, Worcester.
• Wednesday 8th October: Waterstones, Gloucester.
• Thursday 9th October: Waterstones, Hereford.
• Friday 10th October: BBC Radio Shropshire @ 11.30am.
• Saturday 11th October: Waterstones, Birmingham.
• Wednesday 15th October: Waterstones, Tunbridge Wells.
• Thursday 16th October: Waterstones, Maidstone am.
• Friday 17th October: Waterstones, Portsmouth am, Southampton early pm & Southampton pm.
• Saturday 18th October: Waterstones, Chichester am & Brighton pm.
• Wednesday 22nd October: Waterstones, Sheffield.
• Thursday 23rd October: Waterstones, Edinburgh (evening signing, reading and Q&A session).
• Saturday 25th October: Waterstones, Shrewsbury.
• Thursday 30th October: Blackwells, Newcastle-on-Tyne: Hallowe'en Event: signings, reading and Q&A session.
• Friday 31st October: Waterstones, Hull.

7th October 2008: The launch of Piper took place in in my home city of Worcester at the Waterstones Book Store, High Street.

2nd October 2008: The launch of Piper, an historical horror fantasy. Launch venue Foyle's Gallery, Charing Cross Road, London.

July 2008: The Annual Conference of the Romantic Novelists' Association at the University of Chichester.

15th May 2008: The Summer Party of the Romantic Novelists' Association in London.

9-11th May 2008: 57th Annual Congress of the West Country Writers' Association in Bristol.

25th April - 3rd May 2008: Helen will be a guest at the EOTP Film Festival in Bognor Regis, Sussex.

May 2008: Publication of 'A Garden Fair', a romantic suspense novel. Publisher BBC Audiobooks (Chivers). "Award-winning garden design student, Cathy finds her vacation in France is anything but relaxing when she is asked to plan a new garden for the owner of the local chateau."

March 2008: A trip to Belgium is planned for research for her new novel.

February 2008: Feature out on Helen in Limited Edition Magazine.

July 2007: The Romantic Novelists' Association Conference took place at the University of Leicester. Helen enjoyed a fun and work-filled three days with her fellow authors.

May 2007: West Country Writers Association 56th Congress, The Fownes Hotel, Worcester. Helen attended the Congress as a guest speaker. Her subject was 'A Writer's Life'. Fellow guest speaker, actor/writer George Baker (pictured below), better known as TV's Inspector Wexford, delivered the first Christopher Fry Memorial Lecture.

Below is the write-up of Helen's speech by author, Dinah Costeloe from the WCWA Newlsetter, July 2007: Helen McCabe began her fascinating talk with an explanation of how she came to be a writer, before moving on to her favourite subject... Frauds! She admitted she has always been interested in people who lead a duplicitious life, from Daniel Defoe to Robert Maxwell, and explained how she likes to find real characters from history for her books, particularly those who lived lives of deception and fraud. She came across two such, 'Princess Caraboo' and 'Bampfylde Moore Carew' in a book called 'Devonshire Characters', and wondering how they had managed to fool the public with their pretence and trickery, Helen began some in-depth research. These two characters have now found new life in her books, 'Two for a Lie' and 'Mrs Carew and friends'. Probing the mysteries of their lives, Helen began weaving stories about them, working the whole into a rich tapestry of deception and adventure. Indeed, not only her research, she explained, but her dreams about these characters were a source of inspiration, adding yet another dimension to her work. Helen spoke of her struggles with publishers and film companies over the years. describing her writing career as 'fraught with difficulties and disappointments' but undaunted has carried on and is in the process of negotiating to sell 'Mrs Carew and Friends' both as a book and as a film. Thus her latest 'rogue' will soon be practising his deceptions on a wider world.