Helen was born and still lives in South Yorkshire. She lives with her husband on a busy arable farm, where she combines writing with keeping a chaotic farmhouse. She is a born optimist and a realist, with an incurable romantic streak thrown in—which was just one of the reasons why she began writing romance fiction. Another reason was for personal satisfaction.

She has been happily married to her farm manager husband for more than 30 years, and has brought up two sons. On leaving school she entered the nursing profession, which she left to bring up a young family. She began writing shortly after her second son was born, and was absolutely delighted when she had her first book, Honour Bound, accepted by Mills & Boon.

She enjoys being outdoors, reading, going to the movies and listening to music—classical mainly, though she also has a passion for opera. It was a love of history that drove her to writing—her favorite period being the Civil War "because there was so much happening then and it was such a remarkable time." But she does admit to making a conscious effort to choose different eras for her novels.

She spends hours in reference libraries researching her subject, which she thoroughly enjoys, but she realizes that it is a balance of imagination and the accuracy of research that makes a good story. The countryside in which she lives is particularly conducive to writing, but for most of the year life is hectic on the farm, so she does not have a set pattern for writing.

With her mind constantly ticking away on material for more novels, her ambition is to continue writing, and whatever the future holds she hopes it will be both exciting and challenging—with many surprises.