Welcome back to my blog for Part 2 of my interview with Helene Young. 
Helene, you have a very interesting day job. Please tell us a little about it and how it influences your stories.
My day job involves flying twenty-nine tonnes of aircraft with four crew and seventy-four passengers up and down the east coast of Australia. Our network extends from places such as Horn Island, Mt Isa, or Mackay all the way through to Melbourne. I’m also involved in training our new pilots and conducting checks on our crews. I love having a tiny office with a spectacular view and I hope I share that with my readers.
My Border Watch series is based in an aircraft very similar to ones I’ve flown so I do draw on that technical knowledge for accuracy. The series is also set in North Queensland in the areas I’ve come to love so much.
You’re a very busy woman. Who in your life do you rely on for support?
Graham and Zeus keep me sane, fed, in clean and ironed clothes, and ensure I continue to laugh at myself. I’d be lost without them.
What does a typical day in the writing life of Helene Young look like?
Yikes! There is no such thing as a typical day. I write around my roster which changes every month and sometimes daily. I can’t be precious about where I write and my muse is not allowed to be temperamental! If I’m on a day off then I start ‘work’ at 7 am after Graham’s left for his job and Zeus has had a walk. I sort through emails, blogs, twitter and FB until about 9 am and then settle down to write. On a good day without interruptions I’ll manage five thousand words. On a day when life gets in the way it may be as little as a thousand, but every word counts!
You have your third book, Burning Lies, due for release in July. What do you love about this story?
I love Ryan. He is my favourite hero to date. I loved him in Shattered Sky and he grew so much he had to have his own story. Kaitlyn is perfect for him and she’s a wonderful single mum struggling to balance a career and a child. Burning Lies is also my tribute to the amazing volunteers who fight fires in Australia. Without them so many more people would lose everything.
Can you tell us any snippets about your current writing project?
My current WIP looks at international crime syndicates and how far they reach into every day Australia. The research has been fascinating! Ellie and Nick are two wonderful characters with a great deal of depth so it’s been interesting writing their story. It’s set in mid-northern NSW, an area where I spent time as a child during school holidays so it was lots of lovely memories!
Where to from here? Where would you like to be in ten years?
You know that’s a great question! I’ve written a blog post for a guest spot in a couple of weeks about setting goals because so few writers seem to do it.
In ten years I’d like to have another ten books on the shelf. I’ve put that out there in the universe now so I’m bound to honour it!!
I also plan to be on the deck of a yacht by the end of the year, living aboard in Cairns and flying part-time so I can write some more.
Thanks for joining us, Helene, and best of luck with Burning Lies!
You can check out Burning Lies and Helene’s other books here: http://www.heleneyoung.com/books/
