The Englishman - A Love Story

A few years ago I came across a love story on a blog that had me spell bound. That story is now a novel, and the author and blogger is here to tell you about it. I hope you'll read her. 

Firstly, I’d like to thank Expat Mum for asking me to be a guest on her blog to talk about my new book, The Englishman. I’ve been following Ex-pat Mum’s escapes for over three years now, ever since I started blogging at Helena’s London Life. I love her pragmatic and down-to-earth take on parenthood!

I myself have been a expat here in the UK for nearly thirty years. I was born in Finland and moved to the UK after I met my husband at a British Embassy cocktail party in Helsinki. When I started blogging, many people were curious about my past, so I decided to start a series of blog posts and called them, ‘How I Came to be in England’. This autobiographical story was supposed to be two or three blog posts long, but when I got to about part twenty-five, I realized I was writing a novel. The posts also attracted such a loyal following that I just couldn’t stop writing more and more! Finally when the posts came to en end, I decided to turn the story into a fully-fledged novel.

The Englishman is the result of two years of writing and re-writing. It’s a ‘will they, won’t they’ love story set in Finland in the 1980’s. This is my third novel, but the one which is most closely based on my own life.

Kaisa is a student in Helsinki, while Peter chases Russian submarines in the Royal Navy. In late October 1980, they share passionate kisses in the chilly Esplanade Park under the statue of the Finnish poet Eino Leino, but will their love survive the Cold War and the distance between them? The Englishman can be found on Amazon, Smashwords and Facebook. There is also a The Englishman web page and you can follow Helena on Twitter or read her blog Helena’s London Life.

I hope you will enjoy reading The Englishman and once again thank you Expat Mum, for letting me ‘appear’ on your blog!

Helena xx