Helen Kirkman has always written stories - at home, at school, during the lunch break at her local government job, on the back of an envelope in a queue at the bank...

Her sister was the first audience for adventure stories inspired by "Ivanhoe" (knights in armour) "Robin Hood" (rogues) and Star Trek (where no man has gone before). Through each step in Helen's life - travelling, a university degree in languages, marriage, various administration jobs - the stories kept coming.

When her two sons got a little older, she decided the moment for a career change had arrived at last. The "breakthrough" came when Helen won the Clendon Award for best unpublished romance manuscript. Harlequin bought her story and she now writes colourful historical stories for their mainstream romance imprint HQN Books.