Liminal Spaces: Helen Edwards

In this month’s blog we hear from Helen Edwards, whose passion for writing and desire to share her wonderful stories comes through strongly. As you will discover, Helen’s persistence in the face of rejection has paid off.

DESCRIBE YOUR WRITING JOURNEY SO FAR

I have been writing since before I started school. Really! I ‘self-published’ a book when I was 6 and won an award in the Children’s Book Week competition. As a child, I also used to send poetry to the Possum Pages in the Adelaide Sunday Mail and Dolly mag and was published a number of times.

In 2001, after suffering PTSD, I quit my job as a social worker and started an online counselling service for people with diabetes and my blogging career began. I was a state finalist in the Australian of the Year awards for this work in 2016.

In 2016 I self-published a picture book for children with diabetes, followed in 2017 by a non-fiction book about sustainable living. In 2018 I decided to pursue my dreams and enrolled in a writing for children course with Australian Writers Centre, with Sue Whiting. I began my first middle-grade novel and started attending literary conferences and workshops and networking online and in-person with the Australian writing community, making many wonderful friends along the way.

In October 2019 I was successful in being signed with Golvan Arts Management for my first middle-grade novel and a planned memoir. Since then, I have written three more middle-grade novels, a YA and a picture book. I am excited that after five years and many rejections from publishers, one of my middle-grade novels, an historical fiction set at Mt Buffalo and inspired by the life of Guide Alice Manfield, has been signed with Riveted Press/Yellow Brick Books, for publication in 2023.

WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY WORKING ON?

I am currently writing a second historical fiction novel for middle-grade, around events during WWII in Australia, following the Darwin bombings, titled Ava and Essie go to War. It features the little-known Australian Corps of Signals Pigeon Service; the Flying Boats and secret Communications bunker at Lake Boga; touches on internment of Japanese Australians; and explores the complexity of life during this difficult time. The story is told from the alternating points of view of thirteen-year-old Ava and her homing pigeon, Essie. Ava is a loner who spends most of her time with her pigeons and best friend Hiro. She feels on the outside and is often bullied. Essie is a young pigeon who's much smaller than the others, but wants to be the best. She and Ava are inseparable, but the bombing of Darwin sets off a series of events that change their lives.

I am also slowly working on my first novel for adults. In this work, two women run away from their lives and help each other deal with grief, as they examine love, motherhood and family. Set in the 1980s, with flashbacks to the 1960s, it begins in Adelaide and moves to Jindabyne, where nature, the people and animals the women meet, and their friendship, provide a backdrop for healing. Proving that coming-of-age stories can happen at any age and blurring the lines of genre, the story weaves a love song to nature and suggests it’s animals who actually rescue us. It challenges ideas about motherhood and loss and celebrates diversity, human kindness and found family.

WHAT HAS HAPPENED WITH YOUR COMPLETED MANUSCRIPTS?

My ‘Mt Buffalo’ story is being published in the second half of 2023!!

I recently had a special mention in the inaugural Deep Creek Fellowship in Adelaide for my adult novel, and in 2018 I was winner of the ZestFest short story competition. That story can be read here: https://www.helenedwardswrites.com/sweet-sixteen/

HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH REJECTION?

Rejection is always tough. When I got an agent, I mistakenly thought that was it. In fact, we did receive news early on that an editor was taking my first novel to the acquisitions team and then covid hit and the publisher stopped taking any new authors. Over the past couple of years, I have received many rejections, for all of my works. There have been times where I felt like I should give up, but I didn’t. The things that helped were: allowing myself to wallow for a time and then moving forward. Stubbornness! Starting a new project, always starting a new manuscript at the end of the last one, always having hope. The writing community, especially #6AmAusWriters and #AusWrites and #LoveOZMG communities. Having a very supportive agent. Listening and learning and always working on my craft; hearing the fact that there are lots of reasons for rejections and you need to keep going. My family, my pets, nature, music, reading, reading, reading.

WHAT MAKES YOU RETURN TO THE PAGE DESPITE THE CHALLENGES IN GETTING PUBLISHED?

Writing is something I have to do. I know it sounds cliched. But it’s true. I have stories swirling inside of me all the time. I can’t see myself doing anything but this until the day I die. I’ve done lots of other things – waitressing, social work, started a charity, fundraising, interior design, had a shop, taught social media, freelance writing – now, there is only writing fiction. I want to see my stories in the hands of readers. I want to see the people and the worlds I have created being read by others. For me, writing novels isn’t just for me. I know that it’s often said, as advice for coping with rejection, to enjoy the writing for the process. And I do. But for me, it’s not enough. I most definitely write for the enjoyment and the headiness of process, but I also write because I want to send stories out into the world, stories that raise quiet and lost voices, stories that allow others to see themselves in books, stories that make people feel, stories that celebrate the joy of nature and the complexity of human beings, stories that make a difference.

WHAT DO YOU SEE AS THE BENEFITS OF GETTING PUBLISHED?

It’s about being published for me. I want to get paid something, even though I know it’s not a lot, especially in Australia. And as above, for other people to read my words. It also opens opportunities to engage more deeply in the industry through school visits and talks at events and bookshops – to connect with readers, and as someone who has a background in social work and a PhD in Psychology, this gives opportunity to make a difference to people’s lives. That’s not a lofty statement – it’s real. Books change my life all the time. Ever since I was a child. They continue to move me, entertain me, make me laugh and cry and make me feel seen. Books are a best friend and a confidant and a message that you are not alone, you are not the only one.

DO YOU HAVE A SENSE OF WHEN TO GIVE UP TRYING TO GET A MANUSCRIPT PUBLISHED?

Yes and no. I have let two of my manuscripts go, for different reasons. I learned so much writing them both, so they were not a waste of time. My publisher is keen to see other works, so I am back editing two of my other middle-grade manuscripts. It’s amazing how much I have developed as a writer and a joy to be able to go back and improve those earlier drafts.

WHAT HAS WRITING (AND TRYING TO GET PUBLISHED) TAUGHT YOU?

Patience. All the patience. Self-belief. Many, many interesting facts about the world and stories about real events and people in history (I love researching for novels). Perseverance. How to receive feedback and not take it personally (although this is still very tough). That writing fiction CAN be a career.

ONE PIECE OF ADVICE YOU WOULD GIVE TO OTHERS TRYING TO GET PUBLISHED?

Read. Not just in the genre or age group you write for. Read often, read widely, try to find even fifteen minutes each day. Don’t read to compare. Read to engage and learn and be moved. Read to appreciate other people’s words and illustrations and stories. Read to remind yourself writing is worth it. Read.

FINALLY, WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?

My to-be-read pile is enormous! I am constantly buying Australian author’s books because the talent is never-ending. I have started reviewing books on my blog. I read widely from picture books to adult fiction. Currently, I am reading Tilda by Sue Whiting and The Boy from the Mish by Gary Lonesborough.

Helen lives in Adelaide with her husband and three sons, her rescue kelpie and two cats. She enjoys walks in nature, reading, music, movies, gardening and road trips. She has a long background in mental health. Since childhood, Helen has had type 1 diabetes and anxiety. Her life finally made sense when she was diagnosed at age 52 with ADHD. She weaves diverse stories of nature, magic and history.