Xlibris Author| Helen Walters, Imaginary

Xlibris Publishing introduces Helen Walters, author of Imaginary.

Imaginary is about a serial killer who stalks his victims and becomes a part of their lives.  Once they let him in, he tortures and kills them.  He slips in and out of the shadows leaving no trace of himself until one witness survives.  Now it is up to Det. Alice Forbes to use the information provided by the witness to catch him before he slips away forever.

I started writing a couple of years ago working on my first book ‘The Darkest Place’ but never took it too seriously as I was working full time and a single mum to 3 kids, but after a personal development session with a colleague I identified that finishing my book was really important to me and that I shouldn’t always put my needs last.  So with a renewed passion for writing I finished ‘The Darkest Place’ in eight months and was so thrilled to have it published in October 2017.  From the moment I knew it was going to be published I wanted to keep writing and now Imaginary is available for people to read.  Imaginary took me only 5 months to write.

I am currently writing a sequel to Imaginary and I hope that people who have read The Darkest Place enjoy Imaginary just as much.  I wanted to write my second book in a different style and genre to the first, to explore my story telling abilities and I really appreciate all the feedback I have received so far with an amazing review done by The US review of books for The Darkest Place.

For those who have not yet read The Darkest Place it’s about a woman trying to escape the overbearing control of her abusive husband.  She gets herself a job and does her best to keep it a secret from her husband.  This new world she enters opens her eyes to a way of life she had only dreamed about and her one secret turns into many and she must deal with the consequences of her choices.

I don’t have any one author that influences me as I enjoy reading books from many authors but if I was to list a couple that I enjoy the most it would be Harlan Coben, Nicholas Sparks and Liane Moriarty.  I believe it is important to read a variety of authors and genres as there are so many wonderful stories out there that have the ability to transport us from our own lives and into the lives of the characters in the book.

Publishing with Xlibris has been an intriguing experience.  There are so many different aspects to having a book published that I didn’t know about and having the professional team at Xlibris behind me has made the experience such an enjoyable process.  They are in constant contact with me, updating me on progress or telling me about avenues for marketing I didn’t think it would ever be a possibility for an independently published author.  I now have an educated path of where I want my work to go and how I want the world to see me.

My advice to aspiring authors is to write what you feel, write from your gut.  Don’t try and force it out, rather close your eyes and visualize the story you want to tell; the words will come.  Some days the words flow out like a tap you can’t turn off and sometimes it will be weeks before anything comes, just don’t get discouraged if you have a block.  Walk away, distract yourself and then it will come back to you.

As I sit here in my study thinking about my experience as an author, I look at my 2 books standing proudly on the coffee table in front of the window and I feel such a deep pride knowing that I am accomplishing something that I though was a pipe dream meant for someone else.  So no matter what it is you want, stop making excuses as to why you can’t and find ways to get it done as the rewards of seeing your dreams turn into reality is a feeling no-one can take from you and is worth every minute of effort you have put into it.

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