Worry Time - and our updated book about beating the blues

A few years ago, I got together with Brighton friend and fellow author Sarah Rayner to work on Making Peace with Depression – a short, comforting book full of tips and ideas for dealing with the blues. It had a great reception from readers – and now we’ve updated it, and it’s just been published with a lovely new cover (featuring the cutest ‘black dog’ ever) by Thread. It includes tips on crafty stuff and kitchen self-care.

A super-quick strategy for scary times

Right now, many of us are struggling with worries about the future, and I wanted to share one of the most useful strategies I’ve found, which I write about in the book.

 I am a champion worrier, and I can even multiworry, letting them build and build! But one very useful technique I use if I find I’m going through a period of ruminating too much is to set aside Worry Time.

Worry time… the simple strategy I use all the time

• I pick a time of day when I can devote myself to worrying, and if something niggles or stresses me out, I add it to my Worry List.

• Then at the designated time – say 8pm – I let myself worry in a concentrated way for 20 minutes. That might be constructive – trying to think of ways to tackle the worry or reduce the probability of something going wrong. Often it becomes so tedious that I go off and do something better – or the postponement means when I go through the list, I realise how trivial most of it was!

 This can be a good way to reduce the time spent ruminating, to try out gaining control over your own thoughts and, of course, to find solutions to the things that genuinely merit concern. It also helps you identify the worries that are entirely proportionate but out of your control. In many ways, those are the hardest ones to deal with.

When the first cases of Covid-19 were being reported, I was hugely anxious because I felt no one else was seeing the signs. It meant that once the world did begin to take action, even as other people become more worried, I felt better, because at least I no longer felt ‘responsible’ for warning everyone.

And now that we’re concerned about the conflict in Ukraine and energy supply and the climate, I’m trying Worry Time all over again…

My book just 99p - & my dog on the radio!

Owner of a Lonely Heart, my book about leaving loneliness behind and taking a risk – with the help of a therapy dog – is on special offer at just 99p in the UK till Thursday 14 September.

And if you want to hear all about how our dog inspired the book I took her into our local radio station. You can listen here: and also see the little video I made here.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by aka Eva Carter & Kate Helm (@katewritesbooks)

Owner of a Lonely Heart out now!

I’m celebrating the publication of Owner of a Lonely Heart on a writing retreat in France - which has given me the chance to pose with my ‘book baby’ in truly beautiful surroundings. You can buy the book as an audiobook, e-book and hardback from today in the UK from Amazon!

I’ve also been lucky enough to have some fantastic authors read the book in advance and share their thoughts.

You can buy the hardback for delivery anywhere in the world on The Book Depository, or in the UK, at Bookshop.org or via Waterstones.com

I’m very proud of this book, which I wrote during lockdowns and caring for family members under pretty tough circumstances. It is an emotional rollercoaster of a story, set in the city of Bristol. The characters are brave but isolated, until fate - and a stubborn terrier - bring them together in the middle of a July heatwave.

And while I’m celebrating, I’m also working on my next book as Eva Carter. I can’t think of anywhere I’d rather do it!

Cocktails & mocktails for celebrations

I’m celebrating my latest novel, Owner of a Lonely Heart, which is published this week in hardback, e-book and audiobook formats.

So it seemed like a great time to share these ideas for celebrations, taken from my Ultimate 5:2 Recipe Book.

People were surprised when I included cocktail recipes in a diet cookbook, but I have always believed that fasting - and in fact all successful lifestyle changes - only work long-term if they make room for enjoyment!

The Fast Day versions are also ideal if you’re taking a break from alcohol, or don’t drink it at all.

Cocktails for everybody

I am a cocktail lover, partly from watching too much Mad Men and partly after discovering so many great cocktail bars when we lived in Barcelona – Brighton, where we now live, doesn’t disappoint on the mixology front either.

To celebrate the 5:2 red-and-green theme (they also happen to be my favourite colours), I focused on red and green cocktails.  The alcohol-free versions mean you can still enjoy a colourful and tempting drink on Fast Days – and the stronger cocktails are perfect for when you’re celebrating reaching a weight loss milestone. Cheers!

Red Drinks

At home, our favourite martini is a Cosmopolitan, made famous by the Sex and the City girls. It’s the drink my partner, Richard, makes when we’re celebrating, or before going out for a big night! Yes, it’s boozy and but there’s a Fast Day version, too.

All measures are 25ml unless otherwise stated.

Richard’s Cosmo

Calories per cocktail: 224

2 measures vodka 112 cals

1 measure triple sec (e.g. Cointreau) 85 cals

squeeze fresh lime juice 2 cals

2 measures cranberry juice 25 cals

(Adjust up for more than one person – or down for less alcohol, but the proportions stay the same!)

orange peel, to garnish

 1.       Put all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with lots of ice. Shake well (Richard says the sound changes when you’ve shaken thoroughly to more of a ‘thump’).

2.       Strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a strip of orange peel that you’ve ‘flamed’ by holding next to a lit match until the oils spit a little and release their aroma.

 Fast Day: Kate’s Cosmopo-light-an
Calories per mocktail: 23

2 measures light cranberry juice 4 cals

squeeze of fresh lime juice 2 cals

2 measures fresh orange juice or 1 measure fresh orange and 1 measure grapefruit 18 cals or 17 cals

orange peel, to garnish

 1.       Prepare in exactly the same way as a normal Cosmo including the garnish! If you want a little alcohol, 1 measure of vodka is 56 calories.  

 Green Drinks

Our favourite bar when we lived in Barcelona was called Gimlet. It really did make you feel like Don Draper or Joan Harris from Mad Men, with the polished wood bar, the even more polished bar staff and the dreadful silence if you so much as whispered the word Cosmopolitan – any drink invented post-1960 was cocktail-non-grata.

Gimlet: Calories per cocktail: 87

A knockout, although too many will also knock you out.

25ml measure gin (I like Hendrick’s –nothing to do with Christina Hendricks who plays Joan as far as I know) approx. 56 cals
25ml measure lime cordial 31 cals
cocktail cherry, to serve

1.       Shake together with ice. Strain. Serve with a cocktail cherry (green and almost red!).

 Fast Day: Noijito
Calories per mocktail: 30 (or 88 with a 25ml measure of white rum)

Just like a Mojito. But without the sugar, or the alcohol (well, you can have some if you insist). I don’t often use sweetener but this is a tiny quantity. Or use half a teaspoon of sugar, dissolved in a tablespoon of hot water, then cooled and added to the soda water.

½ teaspoon sweetener 5 cals
1 lime, quartered, plus extra to garnish 20 cals
8 mint leaves, plus extra to garnish 5 cals
crushed ice 
25ml white rum e.g. Bacardi (optional) 58 cals
300ml soda water

1.       Pound the sweetener, lime quarters and half the mint in a pestle and mortar to release some of the flavours.

2.       Place crushed ice in a tall glass, to a quarter of the height. Add the muddled fruits and whole mint leaves and the rum, if using. Top with more ice, then fill to the top with soda water.  Garnish with slice of lime and a mint leaf.

Other lower-Calorie Alcohol Choices

• Dry sparkling wines like Champagne and cava are among the lowest (90–100 cals per 125ml) – or choose a spirit with a low-calorie mixer.

• A small glass (125ml) of red wine is 85 calories and of white wine 83.

Sweet drinks, like liqueurs (and especially the cream-based ones) contain extra sugar on top of the sugar in the alcohol, and alco-pops are often ultra-sweet to suit people who aren’t that keen on the taste of alcohol. You can wean yourself off the sweeter drinks if you want to; our taste buds are very adaptable. Remember when you first tasted alcohol? Chances are you hated the taste, but it grew on you . . .

My top Summer Reads 2022

I’ve got the bug again - not the dreaded virus, but the reading bug. I went to Rhodes for a week at the start of June and enjoyed some wonderful novels I’d love to share - you can read more about all of them, and read ebook previews, in my Amazon shop here.
The newspapers mostly pick quite heavyweight books for their summer reads lists but mine is unashamedly all about page-turning, intelligent stories.

A double dose of my all-time favourite writer, Lisa Jewell!

Lisa’s books inspired me to write - she never puts a foot wrong, as far as I’m concerned, with sparkling writing, fascinating characters, and stories that stay with you a long time after you’ve closed the book. I had a preview of The Family Remains, the sequel to her brilliant The Family Upstairs, and had to ration myself as I enjoyed it so much.

And right after I’d finished, I read The Truth about Lisa Jewell, a non-fiction book detailing how author Will Brooker followed Lisa for a year as she wrote The Family Remains. I am endlessly intrigued by how other writers work, and though I do know Lisa socially, I had no idea that she goes into a book without knowing what’s really going to happen! As someone who plots carefully, that was scary for me to read, but it’s made me want to try! It was a really interesting book, and definitely one for big LJ fans, or people who want to know more about how she creates her novels!

Brighton Breezy - stories set in my favourite city!

Sue Teddern’s The Pre-Loved Club is only her second novel, but her years of experience as a TV and radio writer shine through in her witty dialogue and warm, recognisable characters. This book makes the most of our beloved Brighton setting. I raced through it!
And another novel with this irresistible coastal setting is Josie Lloyd’s Lifesaving for Beginners, which follows a group of brave and brilliant women sea-swimmers as they try to stay afloat through emotional drama and the difficulties of lockdown. I loved this - Josie really puts her characters through the mill, but it’s an incredibly uplifting story about friendship and love.

Trips through time - a memorable woman & a super-smart story

You might have heard about both these books, but in case you haven’t, I loved Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus, for the vibrant writing style and the stand-out central character, a courageous and uncompromising scientist trying to tackle the sexism of the 1960s with humour and determination. And I was astounded by the cleverness of Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister, a thriller with a Groundhog Day structure. It’s brain-scramblingly smart but also manages to have a real emotional hit. Brilliant.

One last summer read… by me!

Obviously I can’t say nice things about my own book, Owner of a Lonely Heart, but lots of authors have read it and said nice things instead! Out in the UK July 7.

Buy on Kindle

Buy the gorgeous hardback

Now over to you - what books are you reading this summer?

Unboxing my new book - with the dog's help!

It’s always a big treat to get the first finished copies of my latest book - and this time, I decided to get our little dog involved involved. She inspired one of the storylines, as the book features a border terrier who visits hospital patients - just as our fantastic little ‘canine therapist’ does! I buried some of her treats inside before I took a look at the books, so we were both very happy, as you can see in this video. It’s such a pretty cover, isn’t it?

The book is out on July 7 in the UK!

You can buy the hardback for delivery anywhere in the world on The Book Depository, or in the UK, at Bookshop.org or via Waterstones.com

Buy on Kindle or audiobook and check out my Amazon Bookshop link with all my top summer reads

PEACH & TOMATO PANZANELLA, 185 Calories

Simple but irresistible, the flavours of summer on a plate (I made it with our first tomatoes from the garden and it was perfection). Tomato and peach are a classic combination, and I’ve just added a little extra crunch with the bread to create a version of the traditional Italian panzanella salad.

Serves 1

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 3 minutes

• 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, 41 calories

• 1 x 30g slice stale country/sourdough bread, 66

• 100g mixed ripe tomatoes, sliced or halved into bite-sized pieces, 20

• 1 ripe peach, cut into bite-sized pieces, 51

• 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar, 2

• Small handful of basil leaves, 5

• Freshly ground sea salt and black pepper, to taste

1. Heat a griddle and brush with a few drops of the oil (keep the rest for the dressing). Toast the bread on both sides, then tear into bite-sized chunks.

2. Arrange the tomatoes and peach pieces on a plate with the bread.

3. Mix together the remaining olive oil and vinegar in a bowl and drizzle over the salad, then scatter the basil leaves on top. Season well and serve at room temperature (ideally, wait for a few minutes to let the dressing soften the bread).

P. S. For a gluten-free version, substitute 10g of pistachio nuts (59 calories), lightly crushed, for the bread.

Add half a ball of ‘light’ mozzarella (100–109 calories) for a more substantial meal – it’s not quite as creamy as the full fat version, but it works on a Fast Day if seasoned well and accompanied by a tasty dressing. Or try salty, savoury crumbled feta instead.

Recipe from 5:2 Veggie & Vegan

5:2 books