Author heads back to school; Writer's nostalgic return to teenage stamping ground.

Byline: Dave Black 

APOPULAR author is making a nostalgic return to the North East school which inspired her to write a successful series of novels based on the trials and tribulations of being a teenage girl.

Helen Bailey, 44, is forging a growing reputation as a leading teen novelist thanks to her four books featuring 'shallow but loveable' 14-year-old Electra Brown.

s , Northumberland, where she was a student from 1977 to 1982.

Newcastle-born Helen says it was her experiences of teenage life at the school which inspired her to embark on a career as a novelist.

While living with her parents in Darras Hall and attending Ponteland High, she kept personal diaries which she later used to help create the character of Electra Brown and write the novels.

Next week she will give a reading to Year 9 students at her old school, including extracts from her diaries, as well as getting a guided tour of the buildings.

She will also present the school with a full signed set of her books and publisher Hodder will be on hand to sell copies of all the Electra Brown books at an exclusive launch price.

Yesterday Helen, whose parents Eileen and George still live in Darras Hall, said: This will be the first time I have been back to the school since walking out of the gates after my A-levels in 1982.

"I never thought then that I would be back, so I am really looking forward to the visit and it will be quite emotional for me. Without my school days in Ponteland, the books I have written would not be in the form they are.

"My second book, Out of My Depth, contains a special dedication to Ponteland High and I would like to have come back sooner. As I have got older, I have realised how important my school days were. I have happy memories of the people at Ponteland High." After studying for a degree in science, Helen worked in the media and now runs a successful London-based character licensing agency handling internationally -renowned characters such as Snoopy, Felicity Wishes, Dilbert and Zorro.

She and her husband John divide their time between London, Broadstairs in Kent and their flat in Gateshead. Her previous Electra Brown novels are Life at the Shallow End, Out of My Depth and Swimming Against the Tide..

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