Newsletter

18th October 2020.

Find me on Wattpad! https://www.wattpad.com/user/hahillbooks

27 July 2020.

It's only when I come to sit down and write these updates that I realise how much I have been doing in the past week, so let me fill you in! 

It's been a pretty busy one to say the least. Firstly I revealed the cover and title of my new YA romantic novella "Spilling The Tea" which was beyond exciting! I think this is my favourite part of the writing process, when I begin to see everything coming together and get to see my vision come to life. You can read all about the book here: http://www.authorhahill.com/2020/07/new-ya-romance-novella-title-and-cover.html

I also took part in a live podcast which was amazing!

I went on the chart topping Rich In Success show to talk about mindset, personal development, goals and being an author. It was an absolute honor to be asked by the hosts (and my good friends) Dan and Matt but was made even more special by the fact that the hosts were attempting to break not one but two world records with the broadcast I was a part of!

I'm pleased to say that they succeeded in both, and I am thrilled I was a part of it. They now hold the world record for "longest podcast episode" and also smashed the Guinness world record for longest audio broadcast which stood at a whopping 52 hours! I'm incredibly proud of them both and in total awe of what they achieved! I really enjoyed being on the podcast and actually didn't feel nervous at all even though it was something that is totally out of my comfort zone. It was nice to get to share my thoughts through a medium other than writing for a change.

I also managed to read an entire YA novel called Going The Distance by Beth Reekles.

I don't know if it's just me but I always like to read novels first before watching the movie adaptations, so when I realised that the movie was due to come out on Netflix last week I made it my mission to read the book quickly before seeing it. I like to imagine the characters for myself from the author's description and visualise the scenes before being shown them on screen. I think if you see the movie first it influences your visualisations in the novel when you come to read it and you can't help but see the actors in your minds eye which detracts from the reading experience.

Writing wise, I've been editing my Romance novel and writing my YA novella so it's been incredibly busy but I've still made sure that I've had some quality downtime including; 

• Attending a garden party / BBQ in the rain. (Oh British summer time!)
• Going for a pub lunch. (Amen for Covid 19 lock down finally easing.)
• Going for afternoon tea. (I will work off the huge scone in the gym, I swear.)
• A day out at a gorgeous quaint village in the sun. (Sun, hurrah!)

There are plenty of pictures of all of my adventures on my Instagram, you can follow me at: https://instagram.com/instahelenh and you can be first to hear about all of my adventures on Twitter: https://twitter.com/authorhahill where I love to other chat to readers and authors!

Now, off to do some more writing! xx

14th July 2020.

It's been a busy and eventful week, with so much going on that I feel like it has flown by! Lock down lifted in England on Saturday which meant that we could finally get some normality back! It's been surreal 4 months and something that I could have never even imagined that I would have experienced in my lifetime but it was very enlightening and I learned a lot about myself and life! At first lockdown was a novelty, being off work and spending my days in the garden writing my novel in the Spring sunshine and better still, I didn't even have to to go to they gym because it was closed!

However, the cons soon started to outweigh the pros. I began to realise just how much of my "daily grind" I had been taking for granted and that actually, I missed going to work and to the gym because at least doing those things got me out of the damn house! I missed my friends and family, I missed going shopping, going to the beauty salon, going out to dinner, I even missed having a daily routine and something to get dressed for after spending one too many weeks in pyjamas!  

With all of this in mind I decided that in true writer style I should document this once a lifetime experience before it ended as a reminder to my future self not to be so complacent about basic things ever again. I wrote and published a poem about the lessons I'd learned in lock down. You can read the poem here: http://www.authorhahill.com/p/poems.html

Fortunately, after the government announcement of our freedom being restored I had a few days to make the most of it before I was due to return to work so I grabbed the chance with both hands and went for a long overdue day out to the seaside! It rained all day but it didn't matter, it was just nice to go somewhere different, have a bit of fun in the arcades and eat a load of unhealthy food! 

Getting out of the house set my creative juices flowing again too, seeing new places and observing people's actions and mannerisms always gives me tonnes of inspiration so I made notes of things that I can include during the editing process to improve the depth of my story which is a bonus. I also managed to get to the pub (hurrah!) for a socially distanced drink with my Mum which was incredible and long overdue! On a slightly less meaningful and more superficial (but still really important) note I could also finally get my hair cut and coloured which made me feel a million times better after months of neglect. I decided to have a change and go blonder and I love the result. (Pics to follow on my social media.)

Online wise I've been absolutely loving Twitter this week, it is fast becoming my favourite networking platform as an author. The writing community on there are really interactive and supportive which means that I have made some amazing connections with other authors and readers and my audience is growing fast! The only downside is that sometimes I go on to have a quick scroll and before I know it I've been on there for 2 hours replying to tweets and DM's when I should be editing my novel. Oops! Speaking of editing, I've had some real breakthroughs with some of the weaker sections of the story that I wasn't very happy with in the first draft and after tweaking those parts I feel so much better about how the scenes unfold now.

And finally, I wrote and published a new blog post yesterday! I think a lot of fellow authors will find value in this particular post because it talks about Impostor Syndrome and how I addressed this common but frustrating issue that had been holding me back for more than a decade! 

You can check out the blog post here: http://www.authorhahill.com/2020/07/impostor-syndrome-in-writers.html

See, I told you it had been a busy week! Let me know how you are getting on with your writing and what you've been up to this week in the comments! xx

You can follow me on:

INSTAGRAM:https://www.instagram.com/instahelenh

TWITTER: https://www.twitter.com/authorhahill

7th July 2020.

Aside from beginning to edit the first draft of Where White Feathers Fall (my new romance novel) I have spent a lot of time this week building this site and interacting on my author social media accounts. I guess that's the part I had never considered before, just how much of an authors time and effort goes into their career away from the actual writing! 

I must admit though, I very much enjoy this side of it too. Connecting with other authors and readers is incredible and the banter is hilarious! The reading / writing community is such a witty group with innuendos and fun galore alongside endless support, advice, inspiration and encouragement.

In other news it's back to work (the day job) for me this week after nearly 4 months of lock-down courtesy of the pandemic currently sweeping the globe! I'm excited to get a bit of normality back and to actually have reason to leave the house again but I can't deny the months of staying at home have led to a simpler, more peaceful and calmer way of life that I intend to try and somewhat maintain when normality resumes. I think the one positive I can take from my time in lock-down is that I have become more appreciative and grateful for the little things in life that I used to take for granted and it has made me realise that life doesn't always have to be 10,000 miles per hour! I've learned that sitting in the garden with a cup of tea and watching the night sky can be just as lovely as going out living my best life and I've developed a keen interest in Space and The Universe now as a result!

I hope everyone has an amazing week and I'll update again next week!

Stay safe,

Helen. xx

You can follow me on:

INSTAGRAM:https://www.instagram.com/instahelenh

TWITTER: https://www.twitter.com/authorhahill