Helen Kirkman has always written stories - at home, at school, during the lunch break at her local government job, on the back of an envelope in a queue at the bank...

Her sister was the first audience for adventure stories inspired by Ivanhoe (knights in armour) Robin Hood (rogues) and Star Trek (where no man has gone before). Through each step in Helens life - travelling, a university degree in languages, marriage, various administration jobs - the stories kept coming.

When her two sons got a little older, she decided the moment for a career change had arrived at last. The breakthrough came when Helen won the Clendon Award for best unpublished romance manuscript. Harlequin bought her story and she now writes colourful historical stories for their mainstream romance imprint HQN Books.

Helen’s passion for colorful history provides the perfect backdrop for the powerful emotion in her writing. All About Romance nominated her as a Desert Isle Keeper and she recently finalled in the Australian Romantic Book of the Year Award. The Historical Romance Writers website called her work both emotional and memorable, “with attention to historical detail that brings the past to life in a way only Helen Kirkman can”.

Helen’s early life was spent in England near the ancient walled city of Chester. She now lives in New Zealand and still travels (writing provides the perfect excuse!). She recently spent some time back in Britain, where she visited a Viking battle site, spent fascinated hours at the British Museum and ate too many pub lunches. She fell in love with the vibrancy of New York on the way home.