Although I was born and brought up in England, I grew up in a household that did things somewhat differently to other English households, because my mother was German (she met my father in Hamburg at the end of WWII, when as a British soldier he was stationed there). This mixed background has had a profound influence on me and my understanding of so-called national divisions and whom we call an 'enemy' and whom we call a 'friend'.


From an early age I loved to read and write, particularly fantasy stories, and later I enjoyed studying foreign languages. At the University of Surrey I studied German, Russian and International Relations and spent considerable periods of time in Germany, Austria and Russia as part of my course. After university I went into banking, but I soon realised that was a big mistake - I felt like I was being suffocated there, as there was no outlet for creativity!


I then spent a year teaching languages at a private school in London, and I enjoyed it so much that I decided to get properly trained. I did a Postgraduate Certificate in Education at Exeter University and then started my career as a modern languages teacher, a career which has lasted twenty years. 


During that time I've continued to write, concentrating primarily on fantasy stories for young children. However, in the past few years I've also discovered the joys of writing poetry for adults, and my first two books are poetry collections: It's a Teacher's Life...! and Family and More – Enemies or Friends?, which have been inspired by my professional and personal life. 


I now tutor privately, whilst continuing to write poems and children's stories, and the illustrations for my first children's picture book are now being done. The story is set in space and involves a sun and three spaceships. I've always been fascinated by space and having the opportunity to combine that fascination with my writing is wonderful. I'm really looking forward to seeing the final illustrations! Many people ask me why I like to write. I feel that I can best express it like this:


THE WRITER
The blank page calls,
the heart responds,
imagination spreads wide its wings
and launches into infinity...
Fingers dance,
words flow,
the page fills,
the soul takes flight
and the spirit sings.

Copyright © Helena Harper


I hope you enjoy looking round my website and reading extracts from my books. Please feel free to contact me or to leave a comment on the visitors' page.



 
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