Embleton author publishes debut novel inspired by equestrian sports and Northumberland landscape

Helen Newman Wood, who studied accountancy at university and has juggled office work and her equestrian interests throughout her life, has always wanted to write a fiction story in her lifetime.

After growing up in Embleton and living in Chathill for years with her husband, daughter and pets, Helen knew that her surroundings would make the perfect setting for her novel so used the landscape as inspiration.

Silver Spurs and a Twelve Pound Heart takes readers on a journey of a girl who leaves an office job in London to relocate to Northumberland to work with horses. Here, she falls in love with her childhood hero, but the relationship is rocky and uncertain.

The story also takes the girl through an attempt to win as many rosettes and titles as she can doing what she loves most – horse riding.

Helen said: “I have always wanted to write a book and I’m a huge fan of writers who create a world that is so well defined, I almost have to ask if the story is true. I hope that’s what I’ve done with Silver Spurs and a Twelve Pound Heart.

"I want the reader to fall in love with the stunning beaches, the rolling hills of Northumberland and the characters, who are to become the reader’s friends as the story progresses.”

Silver Spurs and a Twelve Pound Heart will be available to buy from February 28 on all major platforms.