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Meet Helen Iles
Fiction Author
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Western Australian born Helen Iles has been writing fiction since primary school, her Grade Seven teacher encouraging her to take it seriously, which she finally did in the ‘80s. As a mother of three, and in between running and training a stable full of horses, and teaching Equine Management courses at TAFE, she penned the first drafts of her much-later-to-be-released novels - Bitter Comes the Storm, Dark Secrets, Whistling Gums and the Horse Keepers.
Then Life encroached on her dream of being a full-time writer as, from her role of managing and training mounted search teams for the State Emergency Service (SES), she was approached by the Training Academy to write training materials for the SES. This role lasted fifteen years, and now, happily retired, she has returned to her life as a writer, often weaving her life experience in the emergency services into her stories.
Bitter Comes the Storm was released in 2017.
Fire in the Heartland was released in 2018
The Horse Keepers was released in 2019.
Dark Secrets was released in 2020.
Whistling Gums, now retitled A Call to Sarah, was placed third in an international mystery writers’ competition and is now being re-edited.
She has won many awards for her short stories, articles and poetry, which have been compiled into a collection of works titled Indelible Ink, released in 2018.
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Bitter Comes the Storm
The tranquillity of a Western Australian wheatbelt town is shattered when an out-of-State shearing team secure local contracts by thuggery and scare tactics. Nick Manetti, a returned Vietnam veteran who the whole town fears, reluctantly becomes involved when the trouble escalates and threatens his livelihood.When Becky Cooper, the new girl in town, witnesses the horrific murder of Nick's best friend, she flees for her life, Nick rescuing her from the clutches of trained killers in the nick of time. But were they seen escaping? And if so, where will they be safe?At the height of a bitter storm they race across country in a bid to reach safety as a personal war unfolds for them both. As the town wades into a battle it is totally unprepared for, Becky’s and Nick’s lives hang in the balance. Who will survive the ruthless violence that plays out on Devlin Street?
Fire in the Heartland
While an out of control wildfire devours the high country plains of Victoria, recently orphaned Clarrise and Chris Darcy flee with their horses down a steep and rugged gully called The Overflow.
Rescuing a herd of wild horses and their Nanna's Hereford cattle along the way, they battle the ravages of the fire and sharp shooters who try to eradicate their Nanna's prized bull, Bawldy.
The future of their farm and family hinges on saving the horses and the Herefords but first they must survive the all-consuming, unstoppable flames?
The Horse Keepers
When Rachael Summerfield flees a brutal marriage and agrees to impersonate the heir of an isolated castle in the Scottish highlands, she inherits more than she bargained for. Thrust into a centuries old clan feud, she battles against the treacherous countryside and a clan that will stop at nothing to reclaim their land. If she does not remain as heir-apparent,the existence of the glorious, almost extinct Destrier horses will be jeopardised.
Guided by the resident Horse Keeper, Brody Lachlan, Rachael must choose between her life in New York and her life in the Highlands, all the while wondering why her mother had betrayed her all her life and why Brody cannot give her his heart.
Indelible Ink
Indelible Ink is a collection of prose and poetry by the author of Bitter Comes the Storm.
Varied in style and subject matter the sixteen stories, fifteen poems and three articles have all gained major awards or commendations in competitions or been published in magazines or anthologies.
Dark Secrets
When Police Lieutenant BJ Strafer returns to Benjamin, his old home town, many things are rekindled – his thoughts of returning home for good; his fears for old Sam Carstairs; the long-running feud with that man’s son who’d once idolised him, and the hopes of reclaiming the love of the Police Chief’s daughter.
While investigating the deaths of many young girls, Strafer uncovers the townsfolk’s many dark secrets. What he hadn’t expected was the return of his old bad reputation, implicating him as the prime suspect.
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