Helena Halme Author

Nordic Fiction with a hint of Noir and Romance

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An anniversary!

August 4, 2016 by Helena Halme Leave a Comment

Today is exactly 4 years since my first novel, The Englishman, was published. I remember that day pretty well – I’d pressed the ‘publish now’ button the night before and in the morning as I woke, I saw from Amazon that the book was available to buy. What a feeling that was! To celebrate, the Englishman and I went for breakfast in a local cafe in Crouch End. Here is a picture of me on that day – complete with dark circles around my eyes from several late nights battling with the formatting of the novel.

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Now, four years and another 4 books later, as I think back to the first heady days after publication, when the book sales exceeded all my expectations, I wish I’d had more belief in myself and made the decision to become full-time author/entrepreneur sooner. But, looking back with regret is a mug’s game, so instead, I am proud of myself for having achieved what I have to date. I am now an Indie Author through and through, and as well as having a novel, The Good Officer, about to come out (you can preorder it here  😉 ), in the last twelve months I’ve published two books, The Finnish Girl and The Navy Wife. That’s pretty good for me since all the other novels took a whole two years to write!

On top of that I now act as a mentor for several wonderful, ambitious and talented people, something which I enjoy more than  I could ever have imagined. I’m also Nordic Ambassador and Publications Editor for the Alliance of Independent Authors, an organisation without which I couldn’t have done any of this indie author lark. As aside, my auto-spell frequently corrects it to ‘Alliance of Indecent Authors’ which I think could be a catchier name?

But in all seriousness, if you are an aspiring author, or already published, do check ALLi out. As well as a lively and supportive Facebook group, there is a plethora of invaluable advice on the blog, and as a member you get discounts from companies such as the publishing platform and printing service, Ingramspark, to name but one! There is also a list of approved suppliers, and monthly ‘Ask ALLi’ Q&A sessions online. Click on the banner below for more info!

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But back to my anniversary. You may find some, not so indecent (I hope), but celebratory pictures of me on Instagram later today, because I can feel a glass or two of Prosecco coming on … (somebody alert the Englishman).

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Tagged With: advice for new writers, Alliance of Independent Authors, Books, indie author, mentoring, The Finnish Girl, writing

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