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Helen Chapman

Australian Children's Author

Hello! I am Helen.

Helen Chapman is a widely experienced and bestselling Australian children’s book author with over 100 books published locally and internationally. She writes in all genres across a broad range of topics both fiction and non-fiction and specialises in educational books for children. Helen’s light touch and use of humour engages her readers and makes her books highly effective,enjoyable and fun to read.

Historical Fiction · Now Available

Deadly Waters

Deadly Waters follows a young man’s journey before and during WWII in the Pacific — inspired by the real-life experiences of Cliff Hopping, a story told to the author by her own father.

As a teenager, Cliff dreams of playing cricket for Australia. Instead, he trades whites for a navy uniform, facing exploding mines, submarine attacks and kamikaze pilots — never knowing if he’ll see his sweetheart Marie again.

Historical Fiction · Now Available

Praise for Deadly Waters

‘Deadly Waters’ by Helen Chapman, is a great insight into the role of the Australian Royal Navy during various WWII encounters with enemy vessels and aircraft along the east coast of Australia.

Seen through the eyes of young seaman, Cliff Hopping, this semi-biographical account recalls his experiences on the high seas. A young man’s dreams of adventures to support King and country are contrasted with the harsh realities of war and active combat. Jeanette Lever

This book is part of Scholastic’s ‘Australia’s 2nd World War’ series and as someone who knew little about Australia’s involvement in the war close to home, this book was quite an eye opener. The story is a true one, based on the author’s father’s wartime experiences as a signalman in the navy, and as such the voice is authentic and believable. There are some exciting battle scenes but these are paired realistically with the horror resulting from being attacked at sea by kamikaze pilots. Highly recommended to anyone interested in WW2, particularly Australia’s role in defending local waters. Kesta Fleming

This book literally made me burst into tears it was so good I couldn’t put it down the whole night and I’m still thinking about it!

Ezel Kucukbas. , Deadly Waters

An excellent read, you can feel the sun on your back and smell the grass during the childhood cricket games, hear the engines scream as the planes drop from the sky in attack and smell the cordite as the guns fire in response.

The bravery of Cliff as he stands at his signalling post with hell erupting all around is truly inspiring.

As well as the true nature of war, there beautiful moments of laconic Aussie humour, heart-rending loss and enduring love showing the resilience and humanity of people in times of adversity.

Helen has captured a time in our history so well you feel as if you were there, and lest we forget.

Peter Graham , Deadly Waters

Deadly Waters is loosely based around events the author’s father experienced during his time in the Navy during WW2. Well written and convincing, this action-packed historical fiction story takes readers on a realistic voyage that gives many inside glimpses of life at war on the high seas. Adventure, white-knuckle fear and friendship sit side-by-side with horror and love. While written for readers of 10+, it is also an appealing read for young adults.