Helen Sedgwick Books In Order

Publication Order of The Burrowhead Mysteries Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Helen Sedgwick is a contemporary and science fiction author from the Scottish Highlands. She attended Glasgow University from where she got her Masters in Creative Writing in Literature after which she became the winner of the New Writers Award by the Scottish Book Trust for her short fiction. Her debut novel “The Comet Seekers” was the Herald and Glamour’s best book of the year in 2016 while her second novel “The Growing Season” made the shortlist for Fiction Book of the Year by Saltire Society. In 2020, Helen published “When The Dead Come Calling” which is just the first of her new “Burrowhead Mystery” series. She has worked a managing editor at Gutter, managing director at Cargo publishing, literary editor, and founded of the Wildland Literary Editors agency. She has also worked as a reviewer, creative writing tutor, publisher, freelance editor, and mentor. While she is now fully immersed in writing, she did not start as a writer. As a young adult, she went to Bristol University from where she graduated with a degree in physics before she got her doctorate from Edinburgh University. Afterward, she pursued a career as a research physicist at Edinburgh University before she ventured into fiction writing. The London bred author has lived in Glasgow and Edinburgh though she now lives in the Scottish Highlands since she finds the tranquility perfect for a life of writing.

Sedgewick loves to write fiction works themed on the uncanny, science, alternative worlds, biotechnology, history, diversity, feminism, and the juxtaposition of technology and science with the unexplained and our imaginations. As a creative writing tutor, she had taught at Strathclyde, Edinburgh, and Glasgow Universities in addition to several community projects. She also participates in Q&As chairs events, book readings, teaches workshops, and has shared panels with scientists and authors. She has also been lucky enough to be invited to perform at book festivals and events and even hosts her own publishing and editing seminars and workshops in addition to running literary magazines. Her involvement in these aspects is due to her love for discussions on society, writing, and science or anything that combines all three.

Helen Sedgwick first got into writing while she was working as a bioengineer. She felt that she needed a change in her career and decided to take a creative writing class in the evenings. She had also taken classes in life drawing, Indian dancing, French and Thai cookery though she loved creative writing best. At her class, her tutor recommended that she attend the Glasgow University creative writing class and this suited her since she was working at the university as a researcher. It would make things easier when she started, as she could go part-time and still work during the day. Sedgwick loved that year as she got to teach science while writing fiction though her passion for fiction finally edged out her love for science. She decided to quit her job and become a full-time writer, freelance editor, and creative writing tutor though it took ten years before she published her debut novel. As an author, she now spends most of her time writing and taking care of her family. She tries to write something every day since she still has duties as a freelance editor and as such her life often seems like a bit of a juggling act. When she is not writing her novels, she loved to take a walk, look at art, listen to music, garden and also read. As for her inspiration, she has said that most of it come from reading about other people’s lives and from living her life.

Sedgewick’s debut novel “The Comet Seekers” is a spellbinding combination of “The Time Traveler’s Wife” and “One Day.” It is a magical narrative of heartbreak, love, hope, and loss that demonstrates that the world can be as beautiful or as lonely as the comets that light up the sky in the night. Francois and Roisin had a lifechanging moment when they met in the white snowy reaches of Antarctica. Francois was brought up by a young mother who fantasized about new worlds but always struggled to leave the past behind while Roisin grew up in a tiny Irish village where she developed a passion for the skies, science, and all there is to discover about nature. The story goes back in time to look at the lives of the protagonists. It takes a good glimpse into their lives when a comet passes above the skies and the reader gets to see how they come closer to each other and the present once their paths cross. Their stories are full of heartbreak, hope, and love that show how ghosts can be real and the possibility of deep connections between strangers.

“The Growing Season” by Helen Sedgwick is set at a time when anyone can have a baby safely given the affordable and safe healthcare plan from FullLife. Eva the lead protagonist of the story is a product of the revolutionary pouch but now an adult, she has dedicated her life fighting for a ban on the biotech baby pouches pioneered by FullLife. She has not been very successful in her work as most people in her society prefer a world in which women do not have to bear the pain, constraints, and dangers of childbearing. It is argued that the pouch from FullLife had made it possible for women to enjoy the joys of childbearing without the danger and hence they had made life better. But just as she is warming up to the idea, she learns that some bizarre things are happening at FullLife. Piotr had been gone from her life for years after a tragedy had forced them apart. But he is a journalist and had discovered that something sinister was going on at the enigmatic company. The tragedy that had caused their parting of ways may just be what reunites them as they unite to find the truth hidden deep inside the corporate behemoth and face their own reality.

“When the Dead Come Calling” opens to an atmospheric murder investigation. The novel is set in a small historical village that can be brutal. When Alexis Cosse the psychotherapist is found killed on some playground in Burrowhead, a small sleepy northern village, Simon, Trish, Georgie the local police force begin their investigations. They find a few clues that point them to local bullies that had been her most recent clients. They soon unearth a maelstrom of homophobia, racism, abuse, and misogyny they never expected to find in the small village. Georgie is shaken by what they have found and this begins to destroy her relationship with Fred her husband. Georgie believes that deep underneath the soil of Burrowhead is something sinister while a malicious person is hiding in the haunted and strange caves who equally threatens the village.