Pilot Helene Young has been inspired by real life incidents for her latest book, Border Watch.

A man’s body washes up on a beach in the early morning for ever changing the life of his family and that of the woman who finds him.

Out of this sad discovery comes part of the inspiration for Helene Young’s debut novel, Border Watch.

As much as it may sound like fiction, Helene really did find a body on the beach.

"I found a gentleman who had drowned," she recalls.

"I stumbled over him first thing in the morning when I was walking my dog. I felt terrible for his family."

The Trinity Beach writer and pilot says her inspiration for Border Watch stems from her own flight experiences, as well as those of crews who have flown for Surveillance Australia, the Coastwatch (the real "border watch") contractor.

Hélène had been participating in competitions through the Romance Writers of Australia when a judge told her she should write about what she knows.

"What I know is aviation and North Queensland and this wonderful, wonderful environment we live in here," she says. "Everything about the story is North Queensland."

Border Watch tells the story of a female captain conducting a surveillance mission while aboard a border patrol aircraft.

Capt Morgan Pentland flies surveillance missions over the Australian coastline. Along with Customs agent Rafe Daniels, Morgan uncovers a terrorist plot to destroy the Sydney Opera House. The excitement unfolds as these two deal with their feelings for each other while they try desperately to unravel the terrorist threat.

"Human relationships figure highly in the book," Helene says.

"And romance bubbles along in the background."

A "sucker for a happy ending", Helene has four novels to her credit.

Although she reckons her first attempt will never see the light of day, she says it was a good learning experience and motivated her to keep writing.

She’s thrilled that Border Watch hits shelves this month and already has plans to follow it up with two other loosely linked books focusing on the coastal surveillance operations around Australia.

Helene has been flying for more than 20 years. She always wanted to fly, so when her husband suggested it might be time for them to grow up and pick a career, flying was her obvious choice.

She now regularly flies the north end of Australia down to Melbourne with a major regional airline.

"Somebody pays me to go to work and look down on this beautiful landscape," she says.

"I love the view and being in the air.

"I am still amazed at how graceful these aircraft are. They give us so much freedom."

Helene also loves that she gets to help train new pilots using a flight simulator.

"That job is really rewarding," she says.

"You feel like you’re contributing something worthwhile."

As for Border Watch being published, Hélène is amazed and so excited.

"It’s wonderful," she says.

"I had no idea how many people are involved – it’s an army of people that get involved in publishing a book.

"I’m very excited. I hope readers get a sense of North Queensland, a sense of the place. I hope it takes them somewhere they haven’t been before. I’d love people to know there’s a book championing North Queensland and what a fabulous place this is."

Helene says one of the biggest challenges she faces is finding enough time to write. But she loves it and her "overactive imagination" and she hopes people will connect with the landscape and the characters.

"I hope readers stay engaged and that there is a strong sense of place and something people can identify with."

Helene launches Border Watch on March 5 at Glaskins Gallery, Trinity Beach. Her follow-up novels are published in March 2011 and March 2012. Visit Helene's website for more information.

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