Susie Helme is an American from Nashville, Tennessee, living in London after sojourns in Tokyo, Paris, and Geneva. Once a journalist and editor of mobile communications magazines, she now writes historical fiction novels and works as a freelance editorial consultant proofreading and editing other people’s novels. She has been a judge on the Killer Nashville Silver Falchion and Claymore Awards and also on the Historical Novel Society First Chapters Award.
Her first novel, The Lost Wisdom of the Magi (Dec 2020), was the winner of the 2021 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award for Best Historical. Book 2 in the Academy of Sisters series, The Genizah Codex was a Finalist in the 2022 Killer Nashville Claymore Awards for Best Historical. She is the founder of the Bounds Green Book Writers’ Circle and has a passion for changing the world and bringing great literature to life.
You are an author, but is it your day job? If not, what fills your days? A variety of bookish pursuits. I edit other authors’ novels and judge some writing competitions in the UK and U.S. I write book reviews for Historical Novels Review, Reedsy Discovery, and GetBooksReviewed.
Did you always want to be an author? Yes.
What is your most recent book, and what inspired you to write it? The Genizah Codex. It’s a mystery in three-time frames linked by an ancient document that provides clues to solve the crimes. The ancient document in question is my first novel The Lost Wisdom of 
the Magi, Winner of the 2021 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award for Best Historical.
How do you hope your book uplifts those who read it? I love books that teach me about things I don’t know. My novels are set in a backdrop of the Jewish Revolts against Rome, my specialist subject, along with early Christianity.
What are you most excited about with this book? It tells a story of an alternate history where anti-Semitism never happened and 1st and 2nd century Jews and Christians worked together in a united front against Roman occupation (which historically did happen, to an extent).
How did writing a book help your career take off? In the course of writing my first novel, I read nothing but Judaic Studies for a ten-year period, and as a result, I’m now an expert. I wouldn’t say my career has taken off, but I would say that now I am doing the job I have always wanted to do and am probably happier than ever.
What advice would you give to someone wanting to succeed in your professional industry? Become adept at social media.
How do you handle setbacks and criticism? Badly. Badly. But I tell myself that every criticism just gives me pointers to improve my craft, and hopefully, I’m getting better and better every day.
Being an author today is like running a business. How do you manage all your publicity, social media and keep your engagement up with readers? I’m still at kindergarten level on that front. I have some friends who help.
How do you hold yourself accountable and achieve the goals that you set forth? I always set my goal at just higher than where I am now and just keep plugging away relentlessly until my neck hurts too much and I have to go to bed with Netflix.
How do you structure your day and make time for writing? When I’m awake, I’m working. Unless my neck hurts too much.
What do you find most fulfilling in the career that you’ve chosen? The actual writing of the novel, including doing the research, is tremendously enjoyable. Not so much the self-editing. And absolutely not the promotion.
What book uplifts you? Any book that is well written, especially if it’s a bit different from the usual formula. I tend to be in love with whatever book I’m currently reading.
Anything else you’d like to share with your readers? I would love to swap beta-reading with other novelists.
Learn more about Susie and connect with her via the Bounds Green Book Writers website.
Images Courtesy of Susie Helme
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