Darling, dearest crowdfunders,

A final thanks from me for crowdfunding BREAKFAST IN BOGOTA all those months back. If you've dived between its pages, I do hope you've found yourself well and truly immersed in 1940s Bogota and have enjoyed the story along the way. If you're yet to visit, bienvenidos!



And remember, do please hop on over to Amazon to leave a review once you have.

It's been an…

Hello dear pledgers!

This invite goes out to each and every one of you. On Thursday 19th September at 7.30pm, myself and a group of five other Unbound authors (Lucy-Anne Holmes, Tot Taylor, Dan Dalton, Tom Ward and Jude Cook) will be reading from our latest works as part of a one off Vanguard Reading event at The Peckham Pelican in London. 

It's totally FREE to attend and there's a pretty decent…

Congratulations, you've done it again! Not only are you responsible for bringing Breakfast in Bogotá to the masses, but now, your efforts have gone and seen it nominated for the Guardian's Not the Booker prize 2019.

Hurrah! 

Considering there are some big names and bigger publishers on that list, this is quite an acchievement. But, let's not stop there. Let's go for glory. Let's get it shortlisted…

Dear friends,

A few of you have been in touch to share your lovely book post news - ta dah!

If your book hasn't come yet, do make sure you've confirmed your address via Unbound.

What I really want to say though is THANK YOU. This book would not exist without you - in heatwave terms, it would be a mirage.

Helen x

P.S. Why not share your book post news? Loop in @unbounders @Unbound_Digital…

Hello beautiful people,

Two pieces of important subscriber news, my friends.

First off, this sublime BOOK JACKET from the design folk at Unbound, showing Plaza de Bolívar in downtown Bogotá looking towards the city's main cathedral. 

Secondly we have a PUBLICATION DATE! Mark 8TH AUGUST in your diaries, or, in fact don't, as Unbound inform me that SUBSCRIBERS get their copies 2/3 weeks…

Dear supporters,

This little update comes to you direct from Santa Fé de Bogotá.

HERE, I've done my best to tramp around the city settings from my book - squeezing in a first-time visit to Jorge Eliécer Gaitán's house (the liberal leader who became a bit of a hero of mine when researching). Gaitán's wife and daughter had to flee Colombia after his assassination in 1948 and so many of his personal…

Dear Readers,

A lot has happened since reaching my crowdfunding target. Other than getting clued-up on the editing process, I have finally let go of my manuscript, handing it over to my editor at Unbound. It felt good. it felt strange. It felt ever-so-slightly Marie Kondo. 

Because there is only so much tidying I can do until the first round of edits come back to me, I have turned to an old…

THANK YOU superstar pledgers!

Thanks to your efforts my novel has reached 100% of its funding target. I'll post more updates when I have them but for now, I wanted to let you know that you actually went and made it happen.

Wowsers.

Helen x

Dearest friends,

They call today Blue Monday. I'm not a fan of collective, pre-prescribed misery and so I invite you instead to give thanks for everything good you have achieved this year instead. Why not throw in everything you are yet to do as well?

With three days to go before my crowdfunding campaign closes, I want to say thank you. As I type, the campaign is 87% funded and I know we'll…

Think of Colombian literature and think of García Márquez, right? Well, he is pretty fantastic but what about the rest? This vast (five times the size of the UK), culturally diverse land has writers running the breadth of it – from the south and Bogotá to Cartegena and the north – here are five standout authors available in translation now.

1. Fish Soup by Margarita García Robayo, translated by…

Hello gorgeous pledge people!

I couldn't not share these stylish little postcards with my favourite people - designed exclusively for the crowdfunding campaign and using imagery taken from the book trailer, they're the perfect antidote to Christmas card-age/carnage.

Anyone pledging for the first time in December (tell a friend!) OR topping up an existing pledge will receive a set of the four…

As a busy-bee graphic designer for a major UK book publisher, my pal, Anna did a fantastic job on the book trailer for Breakfast In Bogotá. I appreciate that not everyone has a designer to call on (cry down the phone to) so, I asked if she’d reveal a few tips for getting the most out of your own video project. Thank gilbert she agreed ...



HELEN You design book assets, this much is true, but what…

Hello dear crowdfunders,

I couldn't let another day pass without saying thank you. Thanks a million for getting involved. I respect that you threw your hat into the ring. It's pretty awesome that you did that.

Your pledge is going to cover the cost of some very important edits, a killer jacket design, type setting the manuscript (aka getting those words in order on the page), all other production…