Milkshakes and Heartbreaks at the Starlight Diner – Alumni Stories, Helen Cox
York St John graduate, Helen Cox is due to have her first novel published through HarperCollins on the 4th of July as part of a two-book deal. Helen, who was raised in Thirsk and now lives in York, studied for her Master of Arts in Creative Writing in York St John in 2006. After a decade of writing for magazines, websites, TV and radio, Helen has achieved the life-long dream of writing her first novel and attracting the interest of a major publisher.
“I’m overwhelmed by the offer from HarperCollins,” she explained. “When I was writing the book I had no idea it would get picked up by a publisher. I hoped it would, very much, but never in my wildest dreams did I imagine a two book deal with a major publisher. Not only are they publishing my work but they’ve also helped me find a literary agent.”
The novel: Milkshakes and Heartbreaks at the Starlight Diner, is set in New York but the inspiration for her central character came from the author’s experiences waitressing in Yorkshire during her teenage years.
Helen explains: “My protagonist is a waitress called Esther and she’s surrounded by a gang of endearing regulars who frequent the diner. Many of the ideas incorporated into the diner setting came from my experiences waitressing in Thirsk and York. I waitressed all the way through school, college and university. I always thought an eatery or restaurant would be an interesting place to set stories because you never could tell who was going to walk through the door next.”
Before writing her first novel, Helen founded and edited her own film magazine for five years and wrote three previous non-fiction volumes. One about film, a second about vintage adverts in London and a third about local landmark, The Tees Transporter Bridge.
Helen credits much of her writing success to the qualification she studied for at York St John: “I’ve always loved to write, but my Master of Arts in Creative Writing completely changed my perspective on the craft. It gave me the confidence to pursue my dreams and to keep writing no matter how many rejections I received. And I’ve had my fair share over the years.”
Helen’s first novel is now available to order in all ebook formats. More information about Helen can be found at helencoxauthor.wordpress.com
