About me

Helen Buckley

Hi there! I’m Helen Buckley.

I’m originally from Hounslow in West London. I now live in Bedfordshire.

Writing
I’ve always been an avid reader. I used to walk to school reading a book trying not to bump into lamp posts. I would take out a book in school form class and zone the world out. I was geeky and awkward and ugly and lonely, and books were a beautiful escape.

I always thought I would write horror or thriller novels when I was younger. But I never wrote anything except (substandard) poetry until I was in my early thirties and a life situation led me to turn to novel writing – seeking the escape I once craved when I was younger. 

Some people write because they have a burning idea, or perhaps a burning ambition. For others it may come from a wellspring of joy. For me, it was a mix of desperation and depression arising from my inability to conceive a child that led me to pour my heart into writing a book.

My husband and I had been trying for over 2 years and were awaiting our first cycle of IVF to start. As the months and days ticked away in time with my biological clock, I knew I needed a distraction.

I started getting up at 5am and writing before work. Then I started writing on the train to work, and in my lunch break, and in the evenings whenever I could. Something magical happened when I started to write. Everything else fell away. All the fears and anxieties, and the sense of shame and failure and anger, they all melted away as I focused everything I had on my characters and their lives.

During that hot heady summer of 2018, when England was progressing in the World Cup, I had my IVF embryo transfer – the same day England won against Sweden. I finished my book. I fell pregnant. My book was accepted for publication. Life had suddenly taken a very unexpected turn!

We welcomed our little boy Donovan in March 2019, and my first novel Star in the Shadows was published in October 2019. It was a big year for me, but my writing journey hasn’t stopped there. Whilst pregnant with Donovan I kept on writing, completing my second novel Strictly on Ice. And during our second round of IVF in January 2020, I wrote my third novel, Celebrity SOS.

We welcomed our son Richard in October 2021, shortly after I had signed a contract with Choc Lit publishers to bring my Spotlight Series to publication.

I find myself very fortunate to have discovered my love of writing, and experienced the overwhelming love of becoming a mother to my two miracle boys.

Check out the blog section of this website for more updates, or stay in touch with me by social media or by signing up to my newsletter which will give you two free novellas to download, plus all the latest news and exclusive content.