- Born in Chingford, north east London, UK, author Helen has lived in the same area all her life. Her father Frederick Turner M.M. was a Town Councillor for many years and her one claim to fame as a girl was being invited to the Lord Mayor of London's annual children's fancy dress party at the Mansion House. She went as Alice in Wonderland and because she was so shy hated every minute of it. Helen's passion has always been reading; one of her earliest memories is choosing a book at the local children's library - she was about four. Wanting a pony, but not being able to afford one, she began writing pony stories at the age of 13, often adding a new chapter during school lessons, and even during a G.C.S.E. exam when she had finished the questions and had time to spare. Her school careers advisor turned down her desire to be a journalist, however, on the grounds that she could not touch-type (several 3-800 page novels later the inability to type does not seem to be much of a hindrance) Instead, Helen worked at South Chingford Library for thirteen years. During this time she progressed from stories about ponies to science fiction, and on discovering that there was more to King Arthur than the Medieval stories of Knights and quests for the Holy Grail, began writing the "what might have really happened" tale of Arthur, placing him firmly as a war lord, between the going of the Romans and the coming of the Anglo Saxons. The research and writing took ten years. When married to Ron, and after having her only daughter, Katharine in 1982,, Helen wrote a children's personal safety story (Come and Tell Me) - what used to incorrectly be called 'stranger danger'. Returning to her novel about Arthur, Helen met with historical fiction author Sharon Penman, and was encouraged to approach an agent. She accepted for publication a week after her 40th birthday by William Heinemann (Random House UK) For several years Helen was secretary then the Chairperson for the Waltham Forest Dyslexia association, both her husband and daughter being severely dyslexic. After completing what turned out to be a Trilogy, (The Kingmaking, Pendragon's Banner, Shadow of the King) Helen turned to writing a novel of the Battle of Hastings (Harold the King) - firmly placing it from the Saxon point of view. Becoming intrigued by one of the characters - Edward the Confessor's mother, Queen Emma - her next novel (A Hollow Crown) was devoted to this fascinating woman. From there Helen turned to the Golden Age of pirates, and a slight re-tracing of steps to write the first two in a series of historical fantasy adventures about her own pirate captain, Jesamiah Acorne. (Sea Witch and Pirate Code) Contacted by UK producer Robin Jacob, Helen has co-written the script for the movie 1066.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Anonymous
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