Alumni Profile: Helen FitzGerald

Degree: Arts (Honours) 1990 Current Position: Full-time writer, Glasgow, Scotland Helen FitzGerald was a prison social worker, struggling to write romantic comedies on the side, until she realised that her real talent lay in crime fiction. Now an internationally published novelist, Helen recently returned to Australia to appear at two major writers’ festivals and launch her book Dead Lovely. Helen lives in Glasgow with her husband and two children. In addition to her Arts degree, Helen has a Diploma and Masters in Social Work from the University of Glasgow.

What was your most difficult work decision?

Leaving a proper job to write full time – I was working as a social worker in Glasgow’s notorious Barlinnie Prison until a few months ago, and finally got the guts to leave because I had sold four novels. The first, Dead Lovely, has just come out in Australia. It’s been described as ‘CSI meets Sex and the City’, which I think is a fair summation. The main character is a 30-something woman who falls for her best friend’s husband while the three of them are on a walking holiday in the highlands of Scotland. But unfortunately, he winds up with tent pegs in his eyes.

What does a standard day involve?

My husband’s a screenwriter. We drop the kids off at school and head to the attic, where we have two offices. We write all day, and only communicate to yell things like: ‘What’s the best way to dissolve a body?’ or ‘Is floral wallpaper in fashion?’ If either of us has written something we think is worth reading, we get the other to go over it at night.

What is the most enjoyable thing about your work?

Everything! I thought chocolate was good, but writing’s the business. It’s strange, though, because you spend six months of the year alone in an attic room, and the rest you’re talking in front of hundreds of people and doing radio interviews. I’ve just been a guest at the Melbourne and Brisbane Writers’ Festivals. It was terrifying.

What memories do you have of Melbourne Uni?

I loved my women’s literature lectures with Pat Grimshaw, riding my bike from Ascot Vale to Parkville, and eating falafels in Lygon Street.

What advice would you give to fellow students?

Don’t get into a serious relationship till you’ve graduated. It’s a waste of lots of talent! (I met my husband after uni, so I’m not referring to him). Oh, and work hard.

Helen's first novel, Dead Lovely, is published in Australia by Allen & Unwin.