Review: Fee Simple Conditional by H.C. Helfand – A 2022 Indie Author Review Selection
Description • The Review • Author Interview • More About the Author
Description (from Amazon.com)
What lasts in this world? For Abigail Fischer, nothing lasts. Everyone and everything has left her. No family, no lover, no home. Until she found the magic key that lit the spark to make her whole. In the most unlikely place, just when she least expected. A dreary land record, that kept a secret for generations. An obscure phrase in a stolen document leads her to a destination she vows she will save, no matter the cost. It is something that can never be taken away, a paradise that will last forever. So far, everything she has relied on has fallen away or deserted her. Finally, she finds something that can endure. But she can’t do it alone. Can she find the missing heir to fulfill the dream of a dying man? What must she sacrifice to keep that dream alive? How can she make it last?
The Review
Fee Simple Conditional by H.C. Helfand is a captivating read in more ways than one. On the surface, the plot appears straightforward: a woman with a new job, a life falling apart, and a redeeming task that transforms. However, the best novels layer characters and plot in a way that makes them rich and fulfilling. Fee Simple Conditional is one of those novels.
This is a rather quick read, with short chapters that had me turning the pages. I honestly did not expect that what appears to be a rather mundane job–that within a title company–could be so captivating as to make me think it is something I might have wanted to do when I was younger. It was in how Helfand portrayed the main character and the almost fun way the job was portrayed that put me right inside the story in a way that I haven’t in years.
Abigail Fischer, the main character and narrator, has not had the easiest life. Loss and grief have tainted her view of the world, and yet through interactions with unique characters inside a Land Record Office and the discovery of a mystery that leads to purpose, Abigail transforms a tiny corner of the world through persistence and courage.
Fee Simple Conditional is outside my normal reading genre, but I am pleased that I picked it up to read. This is a story that will stay with me, and I’d be hard pressed to find another book in this genre that would do the same. I look forward to more from H.C. Helfand and eager await the second book in the Arcadia series.
Available at Amazon: https://amzn.to/3XK80Yq
Author Interview
The job of abstractor described within Fee Simple Conditional is not one that I would say appears “glorious” on the surface, and yet the way you described it made it feel that way. I see from your bio, you have done this job in the past. How true-to-life is that job compared to what you wrote in Fee Simple Conditional?
I retain much affection for my experience in title abstracting. I left it in 2001, and now it is almost exclusively automated. The abstractors work at home and no one goes to the Court House anymore. The record office environment of the past is gone, and that was one reason I wanted to write the book–to preserve pieces of a culture that so strongly influenced me. A number of scenes in FSC are versions of true events, and many of the characters are based on actual people or composites. The unusual clause in the deed is based on one I found more than 40 years ago. For some reason, it stayed with me and ultimately became the fulcrum of my book.
Fictional locations are typically based on an author’s experience with real life. Towson, where this story is based, is north of Baltimore. How much was real?
Like the story and characters, much of the geography is real. Some of the venues are embellished, but most retain a patina of truth. There really is an Arcadia, and it is next to Boring.
What kind of research did you do for the novel outside of what you already knew?
Since the book was based so much on my experience, I did not do much external research. I may have verified some place names or locations, but most of it was from memory.
Do you have a writing routine?
I would love to have a writing routine, but working full-time in another job has forced me to sneak in writing when time permits. However, I plan to leave my job at the end of the month and hope to devote my time to writing and create a routine.
I’m a fan of easter eggs in movies and novels. Did you have any in this one?
Easter eggs, hmm… I allude to some literary works and obscure individuals, such as Erdos, for my mathematician friends. Some of the other locales contain other references, such as the Jordan Marsh blueberry muffins in Boston, the giant bug by the road in Providence, and the middle-eastern eatery in Princeton. I agree; they are fun to include.
Did you edit out anything you wish you would have kept in?
I don’t think I edited anything out that I regret.
How has this writing journey been for you?
My writing journey has been a joyous ride. I started FSC over 20 years ago, and put it aside with an outline when I started my current job. When the pandemic hit, I decided it was now or never, and I did not want to leave it unfinished. I was able to complete and produce the book, and am so grateful I was able to accomplish it. Publishing it also put me in contact with the writing community and I have developed friendships and learned so much from other writers. Obviously, it inspired me to change careers and continue writing! I look forward to the next phase of the journey.
Fee Simple Conditional is the first of a series. When can we expect the second and how many more do you have planned?
have finished a draft of the next book in the series, Clear and Convincing Evidence, and hope to publish it in a few months. A third book, The Right of Redemption, is about halfway drafted. In my mind, I plan for a total of five. I hope I can fulfill the plan and keep the story interesting. I also have other writing plans, including a stand-alone novel. I have a website, but have not had the time to keep up with blogging and other website-related projects. That is also part of the plan, and I’ll see how far it takes me.
More About the Author
H.C. Helfand has been a lawyer for more than 30 years and a writer longer than she can remember. She has published essays and an acclaimed book for children, “And There Was Evening And There Was Morning.” “Fee Simple Conditional” is her first novel, and the beginning volume of The Arcadia Chronicles, which tell the story of an attachment to land that transcends time. Influenced by her work and studies in the U.S. and Canada, her books weave details of place and the twists and turns of law that intertwine with human frailties and aspirations. Like her characters, she loves land and longs for Arcadia, the place of dreams.
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