Helen grew up near Charleston, in the heart of the South Carolina Lowcountry. After receiving her undergraduate degree in English from the College of Charleston (where she found inspiration in Southern writers such as Carson McCullers, William Faulkner and Harper Lee), she raised a family, traveled extensively, and enjoyed a successful career in education. While her experiences over the years exposed her to a rich repository of characters and events, it was her childhood memories of family and friends and the hauntingly beautiful landscape of coastal South Carolina that provided Helen with everything she needed to craft her first novel. The Truthful Story, a work of literary fiction with YA appeal, has won multiple awards since its publication and is a tribute to the land and the people that shaped her life.
Helen's love of storytelling has also branched into independent filmmaking. She teamed with her husband and son to form a production company (www.RushawayPictures.com), and together they have produced four award-winning films. Their latest feature, Virginia Minnesota, was released in 2019.
Helen lives with her husband in Villa Rica, Georgia. Contact her at Helen@helenstine.com and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Helen Stine
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When ten-year old Genevieve Donovan's Nannie dies mysteriously in the Lowcountry river she's loved and lived near all her life, Genny and her family are heartbroken. In 1960's South Carolina, new industry is encroaching on old country, and Genny fears her grandmother may have gotten in the way of so-called progress. Even Daduh, Nannie's dearest friend and longtime housekeeper, doesn't know what to make of Nannie's death. Was it an accident, or did a drunkard son of a local businessman play a role? What's more, ever since Nannie passed, Genny has been hearing and seeing things she's not sure she can share with anyone except her mother, whose own grief is making it harder and harder to get through to her. Seeking answers, longing for guidance, and unsure if Mama will ever be the same again, Genny gingerly forges a path out of childhood and into adolescence. As Genny struggles to understand justice, healing, and a world in which Nannie is gone but still present, The Truthful Story traces a family's journey through the pain of loss and the survival of love. Cover design by Rebecca Lown (J.K. Rowling's The Casual Vacancy, My Life as a Rat by Joyce Carol Oates) and cover illustration by Debra Lill (Neil Gaiman's Stardust, David Wroblewski's The Story of Edgar Sawtelle).
