Books
“From Victorian London to distant centuries, Helen Pilz’s stories blend history, mystery, adventure, and the timeless bonds of friendship and love.”
– Early Reviewer
Dark Night of the Ripper
Book One in The Costume Shop Time Travel Series
– coming fall 2026A mysterious costume shop. A doorway through time. A night in Victorian London that history will never forget.
When an ordinary visitor steps into an unusual costume shop, the past is suddenly closer than imagined. Drawn into the gaslit streets of London in 1888, they find themselves in the shadow of one of history’s most infamous mysteries – the crimes of Jack the Ripper.
But history is never as simple as the stories we’ve been told.
As danger grows and secrets emerge, survival may depend on courage, quick thinking, and the unlikely allies found along the way. And in a world where time itself can shift, every choice could change the future.
The Costume Shop Time Travel Series blends historical adventure, mystery, and immersive research, transporting readers into pivotal moments in history – where outsiders must navigate unfamiliar worlds and discover the strength found in friendship, teamwork, and love.
Coming Fall 2026
The Costume Shop
Time Travel Series
coming nextTime in the Great Potato Famine – Ireland, 1740s
The Battle of Hastings – England, 1066
Each novel sends new characters through the doors of the costume shop – and into moments where history, danger, and destiny collide.
With Love, King Henry VIII
“Two 21st-century Americans unwittingly time-travel to King Henry VIII's England. Plot twists, danger, historical accuracy and romance grace this captivating story.”
What Henry VIII wants, Henry gets. And he wants her ...
Thrown back in time to 1531, mousy accountant, Beth C' de Baca Bouvier treads a razor's edge. King Henry VIII's romantic advances are not welcome, but she can't insult the king of England, who is sending her love letters. Equally as deadly, the amorous advances make her a target of Anne Boleyn's ruthless jealousy. Nor can she escape the constant presence of the Lord Rochford plotting behind her back and watching her every move.
Beth would much rather spend her days and nights in the arms of fellow reluctant time traveler Philip Radcliffe. Her dashing companion tries to protect her, but when Lord Rochford accuses Beth of treason, both she and Philip are sent to the Tower of London to face the executioner's chopping block.
Can they find their way back to the twenty-first century? Or will their love die with them somewhere in time?
Second edition coming in 2027
Additional Stories
standalone novels and middle-grade fiction
New York Snow and Turquoise
A Sweet Christmas Romance
Spend Christmas Eve alone or with the man she’s had a crush on for months? The choice is tougher than she thinks.
Recently relocated from New Mexico to New York City, Rose Avila has been too busy (and too shy) to reveal her attraction to coworker, Brian Garner. Brian invites Rose to share a taxicab after work on a snowy Christmas Eve. Icy streets and a traffic accident strand Rose and Brian at his apartment.
How can a reserved, small-town, broken-hearted woman ever hope to win the heart of a sophisticated, big city man? She’s going to need a Christmas miracle.
middle grade fiction byHelen Howells
Only Evan and Rachel can save the world: find the thief, reclaim the Key, and lock the Door… before it’s too late.
Fleeing the wrath of an angry rancher, Evan and Rachel discover an unlocked Door to a parallel world – a world inhabited by endangered animals.
Evan and Rachel's curiosity lures them beyond the unlocked Door into danger, and finally on a quest to save this rare world. In exchange for their lives, Rachel and Evan agree to help a select team of animals find the ferret thief who stole the Key that can lock the Door.
The team has only two days, or the animals will lose their memories and be forbidden to return home.
– Helen Howells