🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where myths intertwine with reality, legends come to life, and fantasy is more than just a story!

In this episode, hosts Bethany Amanda and Sara Santillan sit down with debut author Elise Helliwell, whose dazzling time-travel romance Within the Space of a Second will leave you questioning fate, time, and the meaning of love itself.

Set against a backdrop of mystery and magic, this novel follows an introverted academic and a charismatic time traveler whose destinies collide across years and realities. It’s emotional, intricate, and breathtakingly romantic — the perfect blend of Divine Rivals, The Seven Year Slip, and A Discovery of Witches.

🕰️ What if you could go back in time to uncover the truth about your past?
💫 What if every difference you thought made you strange was the key to your destiny?
🔥 And what if the love of your life had already met you in another timeline?

Elise joins us from Queensland, Australia, to talk about her unconventional path from radiographer to author, the early mornings spent writing before sunrise, and the power of believing in your story even when no one else knows it exists.

✨ IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT…

📚 How Within the Space of a Second was born — finished just one day before Elise gave birth to her first child
⏰ Writing between 4 and 5:30 a.m. (and why discipline beats “free time” every time)
🏆 How Elise landed her publishing deal with Atria (Simon & Schuster) through a live pitch competition
💔 The emotional heart of her story — that our differences make us extraordinary
💋 The “forbidden touch” first kiss scene that placed second in the Romance Writers of Australia’s First Kiss Competition
🕯️ Time travel, hidden identities, found family, and the soul-deep ache of a he falls first love story
📖 What aspiring authors can learn from Elise’s writing process and her top advice on edits, pitching, and perseverance
🪶 Sneak peek: Book two in The Mark of the Time Traveler series — and a contemporary rom-com she describes as Bridget Jones’s Diary meets The Love Hypothesis

💫 CONNECT WITH US

📖 Follow Elise Helliwell – IG: @elisehelliwellauthor
🎙️ Bethany Amanda – IG: @BethanyinFantasyland
🎙️Sara Santillan – IG: @The_Magical_Quill
🎧 Follow The Mythic Mic Podcast – IG: @MythicMicPod (temporarily @MythicMic)

🛒 Within the Space of a Second releases November 25 (Kindle Unlimited) and May (US hardcover) through Atria/Simon & Schuster — add it to your TBR now!

✨ Don’t forget to rate & review! If this episode made you believe in love across time, second chances, or early-morning writing miracles, leave us a review — it helps more listeners find their way to The Mythic Mic.