Hi! I’m Helen Buckley. I live in Bedfordshire with my husband and son. I always dreamed of being a writer when I was little, but I never truly thought I could write a novel. It seemed impossible.
It was only when my husband and I were experiencing infertility and I was feeling really low that I turned to writing as an escape. I completed my first novel, Star in the Shadows just as we completed our first IVF – and I got pregnant with my son. That’s why Star in the Shadows is dedicated to my son Donovan.
Since then, I can’t stop writing! I have completed my second novel and I am working on my third.
If you had to give an elevator pitch for Star in the Shadows, what would it be?
About a teen runaway turned popstar, and the family she loves and leaves behind, Star in the Shadows is a gritty, dramatic and romantic read about fame, shame, family, and love.
The world thinks that pop superstar Kiara Anderson has it all, but she spends her nights drinking away memories of her childhood and life as a teen runaway. The Jacobs family are desperate to see the girl next door again and discover why she ran away, especially their son, Shane, who blames himself for her disappearance.
When Kiara's manager forces her into a reveal-all TV interview, she knows the family she loved more than her own will finally discover the truth.
Can she overcome her demons or will the shadows of the past rob her of fame, fortune, and a chance to finally fall in love?
Which came first, the character or the plot?
I had the story in my head for a long time, but the plot developed over the course of writing the novel – so I would say the character, Kiara, came first. I was fascinated with the idea of writing about someone in the public eye who had come from a challenging background and was still carrying the shadows of their past with them.
