His Guilty Secret – Hélene Fermont / #GuestPost #BlogTour @BOTBSPublicity @helenefermont

 

Secrets & Lies Are Dangerous.

When Jacques’s body is discovered in a hotel room his wife, Patricia, suspects he has been hiding something from her.

Why was he found naked and who is the woman that visited his grave on the day of the funeral? Significantly, who is the unnamed beneficiary Jacques left a large sum of money to in his will and what is the reason her best friend, also Jacques’s sister, Coco, refuses to tell her what he confided to her?

Struggling to find out the truth, Patricia visits Malmö where her twin sister Jasmine lives and is married to her ex boyfriend. But the sisters relationship is toxic and when a family member dies shortly after, an old secret is revealed that shines a light on an event that took place on their tenth birthday.

As one revelation after another is revealed, Patricia is yet to discover her husband’s biggest secret and what ultimately cost him his life.

His Guilty Secret is an unafraid examination of the tangled bonds between siblings, the lengths we go to in protecting our wrongdoings, and the enduring psychological effects this has on the innocent…and the not so innocent.

Hélene Fermont is the author of three books. Because of You and We Never Said Goodbye are also available on Kindle and in print from Amazon.

 

 

Guest Post

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The Importance of Believable Characters in My Novels

I’m m a character driven author.

Ever since I first started writing essays and short stories when I was very young onward, characters are what matter most to me.

I’m intrigued by people’s different background, history and life choices. Behaviour, actions and ability to interact are fundamental to lead a satisfying life. But what happens if someone’s never had the opportunity to feel loved, secure and wanted? If they’ve been abused as a child or lost a parent at an early age? Not everyone’s childhood and adolescence are happy and filled with love, security and a sense of belonging. How will it impact on a person’s future and life? Significantly, is it possible to overcome past events and all kinds of upheaval and start afresh?

My characters’ lives are transformed when I place them in various situations that are out of their control. Their journeys and interaction are fundamental to the storyline. The characters are integral to the story and plot. Unless they come across as genuine and believable, I’ll delete everything and start from scratch.

Dialogue is just as important. If I feel as if I’m there in the scene with them, feeling their pain and happiness chances are readers will as well.

People often ask me if I draw from my experience as psychologist. The answer’s partly yes and no. Naturally, my daily work with clients benefit me to an extent as I get to meet and counsel a variety of people whose personal journey inspire and motivate me. But that’s as far as it goes. My work is confidential, and I would never base a character on a real person.

I’ve travelled extensively and meet a lot of interesting people whose lives and personal history never cease to amaze me. Living in two countries and cities contribute to writing multi-dimensional characters as well. Observing what goes on around me, reading interesting articles and books also inspire me to come up with new novel themes and plots.

My characters are representative of real people and complex situations. When readers tell me they’ve been able to identify with a character and recall scenes and events in my books long after they’ve finished reading the novel, I know all the hard work and effort made a difference to them.

I always create and develop my characters first. I’ve got a premise for a story, but the first draft is just an outline to get me to the ‘finishing line’. I submit a final draft to my editor when I feel satisfied the novel’s the best version it can be prior to the editing process which commences after I’ve set aside my manuscript for a period of time to enable to get a distance and fresh perspective.

We don’t always recall who said what, but we always remember how they made us feel. It’s the reason my characters are an integral part of my novels. If they linger in people’s minds and hearts, I’ve done a good job.

Thank you, Hélene Fermont and Book On The Bright Side Publicity & Promo

 

About the author

Hélene Fermont writes character-driven psychological crime fiction with a Scandi Noir flavour. Known for her explosive, pacy narrative and storylines, she has published three novels – Because of You, We Never Said Goodbye and His GuiltySecret – and two short story collections – The Love of Her Life and Who’s Sorry Now? Her fourth novel is due for release in the summer of 2019. After 20 years in London, Hélene recently returned to her native Sweden where she finds the unspoiled scenery and tranquillity a therapeutic boost for creativity. Enjoying a successful career as a Psychologist, when she’s not working her ‘day job’, Hélene spends her time writing, with friends and family, or playing with her beloved cat, Teddy. All three novels can be purchased via her websitehelenefermont.com/books/

 

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