Cronulla's Helen Scheuerer was an emerging, unknown author until her epic fantasy novels became bestsellers.
Scheuerer's first instalments of the Oremere Chronicles trilogy achieved Amazon bestseller status twice and she is now hoping for a hat trick with her latest release War of Mist.
Her first indie novel Heart of Mist became a number one bestseller on Amazon within 24 hours of its release on August 31, 2017.
The second installment of the Oremere Chronicles trilogy - Reign of Mist - also hit the big time last year allowing the author to live and work in Cronulla as a full-time indie author.
She wrote the majority of War of Mist in her little flat by Elouera Beach and she says having that little extra distance from the city gave her newfound energy.
"That space offered me the sanctuary I needed to write and rewrite hundreds of thousands of words," Scheuerer said.
"It gave me the freedom to establish myself not only as an author, but as an entrepreneur. Virginia Woolf was spot on about needing a room of one's own.
"Going full-time and immersing myself in the slower, beach lifestyle led to the best year of my career so far, both in terms of book sales and creativity."
Scheuerer will release the third and final instalment in her series, War of Mist online internationally on July 25, with the official launch party to take place at Better Read Than Dead in Newtown on July 27.
"Even though my books are what I call epic fantasy, I've been told that there's a strong ocean motif throughout my series, and I think that must be down to running along the beaches during my lunch break every day."
The bad news is after last year's success in launching Reign of Mist Scheuerer has jumped ship and moved to New Zealand, trading her surfboard for a snowboard and instead of sweating at the desk - she now needs fingerless gloves to type her tales of epic adventures.
Details: HelenScheuerer.com, TalemPress.com
