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SHORT STORIES
Helen Laycock's stories, successful in many competitions, appear in anthologies, magazines and in her own collections. Her first attempt at play-writing secured her a shortlisting in Pint-Sized Plays in 2016.
FLASH FICTION
In 2018, she was commissioned as a lead writer at Visual Verse and her flash has featured in several editions of The Best of CafeLit. Pieces have been showcased in the Cabinet of Heed, Reflex Fiction and Lucent Dreaming – whose inaugural flash competition she won. She was longlisted in Mslexia’s 2019 competition and her work was selected to appear in the 2019 Flash Flood Journal as part of National Flash Fiction Day.
CHILDREN'S FICTION
She has penned nine children's books for 8-12-year-olds and is employed as a writer by an educational publisher.
POETRY
Helen Laycock's poetry has appeared in several publications, most recently Popshot, Poems for Grenfell (Onslaught) and Full Moon and Foxglove (Three Drops Press). Her children's poetry has been twice published in The Caterpillar. She won the David St. John Writing Awards for Novice Poetry in 2006.
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/helenlaycockauthor/
Twitter:
@helen_laycock
Blog:
https://catchingcottonclouds.wordpress.com/
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I was inspired to write 'Song of the Moon' after passing the same house every day when I took my children to school. There was a porch at the front where many pot plants flourished and occasionally I saw the occupant in a wheelchair. As with any story, a nugget is all that is needed to set a writer's imagination alight!
Trailer on YouTube link.
Reviewed by Mamta Madhavan for Readers' Favorite
Song of the Moon by Helen Laycock is a fantastical adventure that revolves around Isadora Wellington who wants to earn her Brownie Merit Badge by helping elderly people. Izzy decides to help Titania Moonsong, an old woman who is wheelchair bound. Mrs. Moonsong lives down the street and she is friendly, but there are rumors that she is a witch. Mrs. Moonsong takes up Izzy’s offer of help, but then Izzy feels that there is something eerie and dangerous. One day Izzy finds a closed door behind a cupboard. Things take a turn when Mrs. Moonsong disappears. Is she really a witch? Is her nephew, Dylan, trying to harm her? Will Izzy be able to help and earn her Community Badge?
The story builds up nicely and the author weaves danger, mystery, suspense, and intrigue into the story, making readers wonder about Mrs. Moonsong. The story also conveys messages of friendship and the importance of helping during times of need through the plot. There is always a sense of urgency and suspense that lurks behind the words as the story progresses, and that makes young readers curious to learn more about what is going to happen next. Helen Laycock is one of my favorite children’s authors. She combines mystery and magic together, along with memorable characters and good messages through her stories, making them a must-read. It is a good story for bedtime storytelling and can be used for read aloud sessions in classrooms and school libraries.
