Richard Helms is an American published author of fiction novels, who is perhaps best known for his series featuring Pat Gallegher, set in New Orleans, and the Eamon Gold series, which takes place in San Francisco. In addition to these, he has also written under the pseudonyms Eric Shane and Noah Roarke. Helms has received three nominations for the PWA Shamus Award, winning once for his novel Brittle Karma, and has been nominated for the Short Mystery Fiction Society Derringer Award eight times, winning in two different categories in the same year on two separate occasions.
Helms was born and raised in North Carolina, and after working for over two decades as a forensic psychologist, he retired in 2005 to become a college professor in Charlotte. It was during this time that he began his writing career, and he has since published twenty novels, with his twenty-first, Doctor Hate, published in November 2021. In addition to his novels, Helms has also written numerous short stories, many of which have been published in various webzines and magazines, and have received nominations for several awards.
In addition to his work as a writer, Helms has also served as the editor and publisher of The Back Alley, a webzine featuring hardboiled and noir fiction for a new century. He has also been an active member of several writing organizations, including the Private Eye Writers of America, the Short Mystery Fiction Society, and the Mystery Writers of America, and has served as President of the Southeast Regional Chapter of MWA and a member of the National Board of Directors of MWA. In 2017, he was presented with the prestigious SEMWA Magnolia Award for his service to the chapter.
Helms is a lifelong North Carolinian and a family man, and in addition to writing, he enjoys gourmet cooking, woodworking, traveling, simracing, amateur astronomy, and playing with his grandsons. He is also a fan of the Carolina Tarheels and Carolina Panthers. He and his wife Elaine have two grown children and live in Charlotte, North Carolina.