Interview with Author Helz Farrugia
29 years old, Author Helen Farrugia is a mother to an incredible little boy called James who is six and a wife to an amazing husband called John. She was born in a town called Harlow in Essex and grew up with six other siblings.
Herself and James are both autistic, but they don;t let it hold them back. English was her favourite subject in school and collage. Writing has always played a big part in her life even as a young girl. She would express her feelings through writing poetry and short stories. She has been told throughout her life that “I just have a way with words”. Her life hasn’t always been easy. It was very lonely at times and having autism has it’s daily struggles, but instead of wishing she didn’t have it, she now embrace it and use it to her advantage to turn her bad life experiences into good positive ones for her son and to bring joy to others through her stories. She went to the Essex training centre in Waltham abbey and completed a hair and beauty course and through doing people’s hair and make-up, it made her realise she wasn’t doing what she loved anymore, so she stopped and went back to writing. She had quite a few jobs, but always felt like she wasn’t doing what she was meant to do and has always ended up going back to writing. So she finally decided to follow not only her dreams, but also her heart and become a children’s author. It’s been an amazing journey with a lot of initial rejection, but then she found Leaf Publishing House and they have helped turn her dream into a reality and for that she will always be grateful to them.
Tell me more about your latest book
My first children’s book is called ‘James in space’. In this book James travels to space and has tea with an alien and it’s book one in the spectacular James series. The series was written about my son James and the adventures he goes on using his imagination. I am currently working on series two.
What was the most challenging aspect of writing this book?
For me the most challenging aspect of writing this book was making sure that the child reading this book felt apart of the story. This was a very important aspect for me that the child felt included.
What is your normal procedure to get your books published?
When I first started out, I sent the James in space manuscript to a lot of publishing houses and all came back with rejection, but then I found Leaf Publishing House and the publisher loved it and said he had never read a children’s story told from the angle. That made you feel apart of it like mine does and he was very excited to publish them. It was also Adil who found the perfect illustrator who did an amazing job bringing James in space to life.
What motivated you to become an author?
The thing that motivated me to become an author was the fact I loved writing and have always had a passion for it. I have done it all my life and people have always told me I’m good at it and like I said previously writing has always been a huge part of my life and every time I try to do something different it always leads me back to writing, so I knew that becoming a children’s author and bringing joy to children all over the world was what I was born to do and I couldn’t be more happy.
How many books have you written so far?
All together I have written six books, but that will increase in the future. The titles I have already written are
James in space
James and the octopus
James and mister monkey’s race
James in the jungle
James and the pumpkin and James’s magical Christmas gift.
As an author, do you prefer the traditional book or online version? Why?
I prefer a traditional book to an online version, as I like to be able to hold the book especially with children’s books. I like to be able to show my son the pictures and he likes to see them lined up on his bookshelf.
How hard or easy is it to establish and maintain a career in writing?
Ffor me writing wasn’t the hard part. It was finding someone who was willing to give me a chance as a brand new author and I thank Adil for giving me that chance, but as for is it hard to maintain a career in writing I’ll let you know as right now my book has only been available since June 5th, 2020.
What is your advice for aspiring writers?
My advice for aspiring writers is just be yourself. Don’t be afraid of rejection and criticism. Tell your story the way you want it to be told and never give up on your dreams. You’ve got this and you’r gonna be amazing, never lose your passion.
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Love this interview Helz. Fantastic achievement.