ABOUT HELEN LAYCOCK
Helen Laycock’s short stories have been successful in many writing competitions, and her first attempt at play-writing secured her a shortlisting in Pint-Sized Plays in 2016. Her writing has been published in a variety of anthologies and magazines, as well as online. Some of her shorter pieces feature on her website Helen Laycock | Fiction in a Flash.
She has compiled three short story collections and is currently working on three more; her style encompasses the humorous and the dark… with very little in between.
Helen also writes flash fiction, and has been featured in several editions of The Best of CafeLit.
Her poetry has most recently appeared in Popshot Magazine, The Caterpillar and Full Moon and Foxglove (Three Drops Press). Her poems appear in several further anthologies, and, since winning the David St. John Writing Awards for Novice Poetry in 2006, her work has been acknowledged in many other competitions. She also writes humorous poetry.
She blogs sporadically at CatchingCottonClouds, and on a monthly basis in Writing News (which appears on her website).
In addition, she has penned nine children's books for 8-12-year-olds, details of which are on her website for children Helen Laycock |Children’s Author.
HER PUBLICATIONS
Light Bites
Take a pinch of humour, a touch of light-heartedness and a drop of whimsy and you have the perfect recipe to be savoured any time, anywhere.
Light Bites - a collection of satisfying and uplifting tales.
Available here.
Peace and Disquiet
A collection of twelve slightly disturbing tales which encompass mortality, mentality, brutality... and reality.
Sleep tight…
Available here.
Minor Discord
Dare to visit the dark places at the edges of the map, places where you will feel unsettled and from where characters will follow you, whether you want them to, or not.
This collection of stories and flash fiction will take you into the shadows.
Don’t get left behind...
Avaialble here
Children’s Books (a selection):
Glass Dreams
Runaway Jake has no idea what adventures are in store when he finds young circus performer Khala hiding in a ramshackle caravan.
Jake sees things – dreams, visions… but should he reveal the contents of the mysterious box he has been warned never to open? Khala has secrets of her own, secrets which could threaten her friendship with Jake.
And she is not the only one of the performers with something to hide.
Jake soon discovers that Fantazi’s Circus is a place of danger, and together, he and Khala begin to uncover the layers of deceit which have an impact on them both.
However, neither one is prepared for the biggest discovery of all.
For readers of 8-12
Available here
The Secret of Pooks Wood
When twins Lily and Ollie are stranded at Great Hawkesden Manor over Christmas with their mother Stella, they have no idea what will happen when they find an old glass snow globe.
Inside it not only is there a miniature model of the manor house, but there is magic.
A time-shift adventure for readers of 9-12
Available here.
Mandrake’s Plot
Evie and Mia meet on a train on their way to St. Agatha's Boarding School for Girls. Dropped at a deserted station, with no one to meet them, they trek through the pelting rain and darkness for miles until they find a sign to St. Agatha's which points to an unlikely overgrown track leading up a mountain path.
A foreboding place, St. Agatha's School is surrounded by a sea of mist, and overlooks a loch. Coming face to face with the grotesque caretaker, Mandrake, is not the only thing to unsettle them.
What is the significance of the strange rings worn by Miss Blackthorn, the head teacher - and why does everyone behave so oddly?
The girls stumble across a forgotten burial chamber. Inside, lies the crumbling skeleton of Sister Beatrice, clutching a note which tells of a curse. Locked in the chamber as a punishment, the friends discover an old book within which is the antidote to the curse... but it is hidden in code.
Availabe here.
AWARDS AND PRIZES
Poetry
- 1st prize in the David St John Thomas Writing Awards for Novice Poetry (Under 55), May 2006
- Shortlisted for Shadows Poetry Competition, Writers’ News, August 2013
- Shortlisted, plus Honourable Mention for Humour Verse Competition, Flash 500, July 2013
Short Stories
- Shortlisted for Adult Fairy Story Competition, Writing Magazine, November 2011.
- Shortlisted for Fiction Competition, Writers’ Forum, Issue #134, 2012.
- Runner up in the Words With Jam Bigger Short Story Competition,2013
ONLINE
Fiction in a Flash
http://helenlaycock.wixsite.com/fiction-in-a-flash
Read Helen's work here.
Helen Laycock | Children’s Author
http://helenlaycock.wixsite.com/helen-laycock
Facebook Author Page
https://www.facebook.com/helenlaycockauthor/
Blog: Writing News
http://helenlaycock.wixsite.com/fiction-in-a-flash/writing-news
Blog: Catching Cotton Clouds
https://catchingcottonclouds.wordpress.com/
https://twitter.com/helen_laycock
Read Helen's work here.