The Stories Behind Our Stories

This Thursday the second book in my Story Behind My Stories series comes out. Connecting Trains: How a Career in IT Turned into a Major Investigation Team is a full memoir of my thirty seven years in IT. It covers the life threads that connect my career to the characters in the novel Connecting Trains. It has CV extracts, anecdotes from the City of London and Financial Services, and the moments that shaped the way I think, lead and solve problems. It is the story behind the story.

The Story Behind My Stories series began because readers wanted to know how my life experiences fed into the DI Matthew Goodwin crime fiction series. Thai Die was the first. It expanded on the podcast season and went deeper into the year I lived in Thailand. The diary excerpts, the people I met, the things I learned, the business I tried to set up, the impact of SARS, the moments that changed me. All of it fed the novel. All of it fed the series.

Connecting Trains continues that. It is the second book in the series and it comes out on Thursday.

Today has been a full day of recording for the podcast. Thursday’s episode is the story behind Die Trying and it is the penultimate episode of the season. Once that is out I move into a new run of relaxed chats with authors from all over the world. I have been recording those today.

I have spoken with UK and US authors. One book began in real life and ended in fiction. Some are survivor memoirs. Kirsty Judd’s episode was about surviving domestic abuse. Today I recorded with authors who survived breast cancer, a parent dying, childhood neglect and abuse. I also spoke with another crime fiction author who writes dark psychological thrillers and shared her process of twisting everyday encounters and seeing them from another perspective.

These are all great stories. They are honest, human, emotional and powerful. They show the breadth of what authors bring to readers. They show the courage behind the books we read. They show the lived experiences that become fiction, memoir, inspiration and connection.

I am proud to be part of the author community that brings these stories into our lives. Stories that uplift. Stories that endure. Stories that help people feel seen. Stories that entertain. Stories that challenge. Stories that remind us that writing is not just craft. It is life.

The Author Season of the podcast has become a space for these conversations. A space where authors can talk about the story behind their books. A space where readers can hear the real experiences that shaped the work. A space where we can connect across genres, countries and backgrounds.

The Story Behind My Stories series sits alongside it. The books go deeper. They expand on the podcast. They show the threads behind my own novels. They show the places, people and moments that shaped the DI Matthew Goodwin series. They show the truth behind the fiction.

Connecting Trains is out on Thursday. It is the next step in that journey.

Have a great week,

Helen