Helen Phifer
Author Interview - Helen Phifer
Author of The Vanishing Bookstore
1692. On the outskirts of Salem, a bookstore stands covered in overgrown vines. Inside, a young woman hides a linen-wrapped journal under a loose floorboard and runs away, panicked by the sound of hounds barking in the distance. The bookstore vanishes into thin air…
Present day. Stepping inside a pale-pink house on one of the oldest streets in Salem, Dora can’t believe she’s about to finally meet the mother she thought died tragically when she was just a child. But the excitement is short-lived. Dora’s mother has fear in her eyes, and with a trembling voice she whispers: ‘my life is in danger, and now so is yours…’
Desperate not to lose her mother all over again, Dora digs into her family’s mysterious past, and stumbles upon a seemingly impossible secret: the key to their survival is hidden in a bookstore that no one has seen for generations.
Losing herself amongst thorny brackens and twisted ferns, Dora eventually finds the path that leads to the bookstore. But someone is watching her. They’ve been waiting for her.
As she pushes open the beautiful blue door hidden amongst the sharp brambles, and stands in front of rows of crumbling leatherbound books with faded pages, she has no idea of the secrets she is about to uncover. Or that her life is in more danger than ever before…
Author Interview - Helen Phifer
Author I draw inspiration from:
Alice Hoffman - The Rules of Magic, I loved the whole series but this one was my favourite. I also loved The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson.
Author Interview - Helen Phifer | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book:
Curled up on the sofa, with a roaring fire, cosy candles burning and a latte in hand. Listening to the rain on the window.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
I would love to be stuck in an elevator with Aunt Frances from Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman. I would want to know all her magic secrets, I would ask her to teach me what she could whilst we had no place else to be.
Author Interview - Helen Phifer | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
Since I was a little child, I loved reading so much and knew that one day I wanted to be the one writing the stories that could transport readers into different worlds. I also read a really awful book years ago that left me thinking how did that get published. It inspired me to have a go at writing my own book and I'm so grateful that I did.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
I love every single one of them, I read my ebooks in bed, I listen to audiobooks when I'm driving or pottering around. I always have a paperback to hand in case my phone's going to die because I read my ebooks on my phone. Hardbacks are probably my least favourite because they are so big and heavy, I collect signed hardbacks but never read them, I just like to admire them on my book shelf.
The last book I read:
Wildewood by Jessica Thorne - I loved it, a spooky haunted mansion in the woods in Ireland it was perfect. I love a good atmospheric setting and this had plenty of it.
Author Interview - Helen Phifer | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer:
I love to write with pen and paper when I first start to plot my next book, it really helps to open my mind. I love the way the ideas flow from my brain to the paper and honestly if you ask me there is some kind of magic involved because quite often when I'm reading the work back at a later day I ask myself did I write that? After I've plotted and my made notes I then have to switch to the computer because I can't write fast enough by hand. I prefer to work on my desktop computer, I use my laptop at home but in my office I have a big, old desktop and that is my favourite.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
Again it would be Aunt Frances from Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman. I really think we would be the best of friends, I'd be up for drinking midnight margaritas any time of the day or night. I'd also be there to help remove curses and sit in the garden chatting with the aunts about their lives. It would be so much fun.
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a:
I would have loved to have been a Forensic Pathologist, I blame Quincy and Kay Scarpetta for this or maybe a singer in a band. I have no idea if I could sing good enough but I'm always singing away to myself.
Favorite decade in fashion history:
Probaby the eighties, I loved the big hair, bright neon clothes, music, big plastic earrings, necklaces and bracelets. I used to love Madonna's style and try to copy that the best that I could. Where I lived there were no good clothes shops so I'd have to go to London or Manchester to try and find cool stuff. I remember by Hoover Washing Machine rubber rings to wear as bracelets and I loved a big, floppy bow in my hair. Those were the days!
Place I’d most like to travel:
Salem MA. I had wanted to visit Salem for a very long time and when I finally did to research The Vanishing Bookstore I fell in love, now I can't stop thinking about it and I visit as much as I can but it's a very long trip from the UK where I live.
My signature drink:
I love a Porn Star Martini cocktail or a glass of champagne. Two glasses are enough though for me, I can't drink like I used to. My favourite non alcoholic drink is a latte, I can't write without a latte to get my brain working.
Favorite artist:
There are so many but I'm totally loving Yungblud at the moment, his music and collabs are just amazing. I currently have Wild Women on repeat I love it so much and I'm very excited to have got tickets to go see him live in Liverpool this year.
Number one on my bucket list:
Salem, it's always Salem.
Anything else you'd like to add:
Thank you so much for having me, I've loved answering your questions they were so much fun.
Find more from the author:
https://www.instagram.com/helenphifer/
www.helenphifer.com
https://www.facebook.com/Helenphifer1/
About Helen Phifer:
Helen Phifer
Helen Phifer is the bestselling writer of the hugely popular Detective Morgan Brookes series. As well as the Lucy Harwin, Beth Adams and Maria Miller series of books.
Her debut novel The Ghost House featuring Annie Graham went on to be a global bestseller.
She lives in the busy town of Barrow-in-Furness surrounded by miles of coastline and a short drive from the glorious English Lake District. Her favourite hobbies include reading, chasing the Aurora Borealis when it puts in an appearance, visiting Salem, watching the sunset, the moon rise and drinking coffee.
Helen loves reading books that scare the heck out of her and is eternally grateful to Stephen King, Dean Koontz, James Herbert and Graham Masterton for scaring her senseless in her teenage years, and to Alice Hoffman’s beautiful stories for inspiring her love of all things witchy and to write fantasy novels alongside her crime thrillers.
