Interview: Helen Smith, Author of The Miracle Inspector

Helen Smith is a member of the Writers Guild of Great Britain and English PEN. When her daughter was small, Ms. Smith traveled the world, doing a variety of strange jobs to support them both–from cleaning motels to working as a magician’s assistant.  She then later returned to live in London where she wrote her first novel which went on to be published by Gollancz (part of the Hachette Group).

She is the author of the bestselling cult novel titled Alison Wonderland. Helen Smith writes novels, poetry, plays and screenplays and is the recipient of an Arts Council of England Award.

Ms. Smith is a long-term supporter of the Medical Foundation for the Victims of Torture and also is a mentor to members of an exiled writers group to help them tell their own stories.

Helen Smith's latest book is the dystopian thriller The Miracle Inspector.

Readers can learn more about Helen Smith and her work by visiting the following links:

Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Goodreads ~ Amazon Author Page

Could you please tell us a bit about your book?  The story?  The characters?

The Miracle Inspector is a dystopian novel set in England in the near future. The country has been partitioned and London is an oppressive place where schools and theatres have been closed down, and women are not allowed to work outside the home. There are rumours that other parts of the country are more liberal, and a young couple, Lucas and Angela, decide to try to escape to Cornwall in the south west. The main characters are Lucas, the eponymous Miracle Inspector; his wife Angela; and Maureen, a woman who has reported a miracle.

How did you come up with the title and how much say did you have on the cover design?

The title for the book is also the job title for one of the main characters, Lucas, who has been given this important job even though he’s only twenty-four. The right to believe in miracles is enshrined in a constitution that has been written by the people for the people to compensate them for the curtailment of their civil liberties. Though Lucas investigates all the reports from the public, a miracle has never been found. The title represents the absurdity of the dystopian society these characters live in. As for the cover, I worked with British artist Ian Dodds on the concept for the design. I really love what he came up with.

Article Author: April Pohren

April lives in Iowa and is the stay-at-home mom of two young children. An avid book lover since she was able to hold a book, she has fallen in love with blogging and book reviewing. Her own little piece of the world is at Cafe of Dreams where she …

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