In her debut novel, The Rebels of Mount Buffalo, Helen Edwards breathes life into a forgotten historical heroine, Guide Alice, delivering a compelling message of empowerment for young women.

What do you love about historical fiction? Did you ever expect to write one yourself?

I have always been fascinated by history and whenever I read a book or watch a movie or show and discover parts of the story are true, I end up going down trails, researching the people and places and events. I enjoy learning about our past and how it has impacted our present and how we might learn for our future. I particularly enjoy finding stories about women and girls that are not well known. I don't think I ever set out to write historical fiction. My first manuscripts after deciding to try and become a traditionally published author were contemporary and fantasy novels. I fell into writing The Rebels of Mount Buffalo after hearing about Alice and Mount Buffalo and falling in love with the stories.

You’ve mentioned on your website that your new book, Rebels on Mount Buffalo, was inspired by the life of Alice Manfield, commonly known as Guide Alice. What about her inspired you to write this book? How did you come to know about her?

I was in my car and heard a man on the radio talking about how he used to travel to Mount Buffalo with his parents on the train from Melbourne, to the Chalet. He began to talk about how sad it was that The Chalet was closed, the romance of the past there, the incredible beauty of Mount Buffalo, and Guide Alice. I set off to learn more immediately when I got back to our beach shack where we were at the time. As soon as I read about all of the things Alice had done in her life, how she was a non-conformist and a rebel, an amateur naturalist, writer, photographer and sought after guide, I was hooked! I then discovered the rich First Nations Peoples history and how important Mount Buffalo is to many different groups. And the fact that it is a very unique place and one of Australia's first national parks.

Alice Manfield, commonly known as Guide Alice

You’ve also set the story in Mt Buffalo National Park and The Chalet — what do you love about these places? What was it like trying to capture them in writing?

Place is incredibly important to me and Nature features in all of my stories. I am happiest when on a mountain, in a forest, or beside the sea. I wanted young readers to be fully immersed in the environment. Mount Buffalo is often called an Island in the Sky because when you are up there, it is as if you are on an island, disconnected from the rest of the world. There are plants and animals there that don't exist anywhere else in the world. The colours and smells are wonderful and it feels as if you are held still by the mountain. During the writing of the first draft, I was supposed to visit, but there were border closures, so I had to rely on interviews with people who had been there, books, online resources, etc to build the setting. When I was able to get there in 2022, I was then able to properly create the sensory experience and things like directions and location.

Were there any other creative influences that had an impact on this story?

Probably other time-slip novels I have read. Also, the movies and music that I immerse myself in when writing a novel.

Who or what inspired Clara’s character?

Clara 'arrived' when I had been through my initial stages of research. It is usual for me to research ideas first and then have a character turn up and begin to whisper parts of their story to me. In this case, Clara told me she lived at the base of Mount Buffalo, that she was grieving as her twin brother had died, and was struggling with her self-belief and courage. Alice was destined to be her guide.

The story contains themes of grief, insecurity and anxiety. How did you find the process of writing about these heavy topics and was any of this shaped by personal experience?

All of my stories have these types of themes, both from personal and professional experience. I worked as a social worker for many years and have a PhD in Psychology. I have experienced grief on many occasions and believe that children and young people are often left out of conversations about grief and loss, and yet, they face these difficult emotions all the time, as we all do. I also live with anxiety and have ADHD. I love to create characters who are living with these kinds of issues.

What do you hope your readers will take away from Rebels on Mount Buffalo?

I hope that children who read The Rebels of Mount Buffalo will enjoy the read to start with and be entertained! I hope that they draw courage and self-belief from Clara's adventure in time, and that they are left with hope for their future.

As your debut novel, how did you find the writing process for this story? Did anything surprise you?

I had written a number of manuscripts before I was contracted, so I had a writing process in place. However, working with a publisher was a very different experience, as I had no idea how everything worked. The editing process once the book was contracted was a surprise, as there was a lot of close work with the publisher to craft the best story possible and opportunity to work on changes as needed, which I was very glad about!

Do you have any other projects in the works?

I do! I have another historical fiction set in Australia during WWII, which is currently with my publisher and likely to come out in 2024. It starts with the bombing of Darwin and moves to Lake Boga, where there was a secret Catalina Flying Boat Base and communications bunker. I discovered it about 20 years ago and have visited a few times since. There is now an amazing museum there. There are 2 main characters - a girl called Ava and her homing pigeon, Essie, who goes into the pigeon corp. Two Aust pigeons won Dickin Medals for bravery for their work in WWII. Through the eyes of Essie we see some events in PNG and other parts of Australia where the pigeons were stationed. And in Ava's chapters we see her grappling with war (her father is in Europe and her 16 yr old brother lied about his age and is in PNG), her mother who joins the WAAAF and works at the bunker, and all of the impacts on Ava following the bombing. Her best friend is Japanese and he is interned in a camp with his family in Victoria, near Tatura, so we also see some aspects of that experience.

I also have an eco-fantasy with an Australian twist on subs, 2 picture books on subs, and I am working on a magical historical fiction that is set on Kangaroo Island in 1970 in a lighthouse. The main character has type 1 diabetes and her parents have both died. She lives with her grandparents at Cape Willoughby lighthouse, the first lighthouse in SA. There is a twist on the selkie tales with the sea lions on Kangaroo Island, and many magical elements in the story. I am also co-writing a magical circus story at the moment with a brilliant author, who I admire very much - stay tuned!