The International Bureau for Matters of Day and Night receives inquiries. These are the most common. Further questions may be directed through official channels.
Responses have been reviewed for accuracy by the Bureau's Public Communications Office. Certain details remain withheld at senior council discretion. The Bureau considers this sufficient. It usually is.
The Helena Flinn Chronicles is a middle-grade fantasy trilogy set in contemporary Vienna. Beneath the city, a hidden goblin civilization engineers human dreams using bioluminescent plants, steampunk machinery, and a natural force called Nocturnal Energy.
When eleven-year-old Helena Flinn discovers this world, she learns that her chronic sleep problems are connected to abilities very few humans have ever had. The series follows her across three books as the dream system begins to fail and both worlds face collapse.
The series is written for readers aged 8 to 12 (middle grade). Themes include friendship, belonging, courage, and finding your place between two worlds. There are nightmares and moments of genuine tension, but nothing graphic or gratuitously frightening.
While written for middle grade, the series is designed to appeal to readers of any age from 8 upward. Adult readers have responded particularly well.
Book 1: Helena Flinn and the Secrets of the Night (November 2024)
Book 2: Helena Flinn and the Flickering Realms (Autumn 2025)
Book 3: Helena Flinn and the Song of the Ancients (in development, expected 2026)
The books should be read in order. Each builds directly on the previous one. Starting with Book 2 is not recommended and has historically produced confusion and, in at least one documented case, mild distress.
Readers who enjoyed the hidden magical world of Harry Potter and the mythology-driven adventure of Percy Jackson have responded positively to the Helena Flinn Chronicles. The series shares their emphasis on worldbuilding, friendship, and a young protagonist discovering extraordinary abilities.
It distinguishes itself through its Vienna setting, a magic system grounded in science rather than prophecy, and a storyworld where goblins are engineers, not villains. Goodreads reviewers have described it as giving "warm Harry Potter vibes" while being "a wholly original work."
Also recommended for fans of Fablehaven, Nevermoor, The Spiderwick Chronicles, and City of Ember.
Vinaborg is a goblin city hidden beneath the streets of Vienna. It is the industrial and cultural centre of the nocturnal world, home to the Vinaborg Dreamcraft Manufactory where human dreams are designed and produced. The city contains districts for commerce, education, engineering, and leisure. It has been operational for centuries.
Dreams in the Helena Flinn universe are engineered products. Goblin dream engineers harvest bioluminescent plants and fungi from the nocturnal wilderness, process them into chemical solutions called Dream Essences, and combine these on a Dream Deck (a steampunk valve mixing board) with variables specific to each dreamer: species, age, emotional state, and intention.
There are countless Dream Essences, each producing a specific emotional quality: Starblossom Nectar for wonder, Moonshade Dust for calm, Bellshade Powder for surprise, Murmurcap Essence for discovery, among many others. The resulting dream is delivered to the sleeper via Nocturnal Energy.
The Nocturne Codex is a classified field archive maintained by the IBMDN, containing entries on nocturnal creatures, flora, locations, technology, lore, and dream essences. It is compiled from expedition reports, laboratory records, and field journals spanning several centuries.
A public subset is available on helenaflinn.com. Several entries remain sealed by order of the Bureau's senior council. The reasons for classification are not themselves classified, but they are not especially interesting, either.
Michael Sokolar is an Austrian author and filmmaker based near Vienna. He is the CEO and Creative Director of Little Lights Studio GmbH, a brand film studio he founded in 2014. The Helena Flinn Chronicles is his debut novel series. He writes under his own name and publishes through Little Lights Studio.
Yes. Michael is available for school and library visits to talk about the storyworld, the writing process, and creative storytelling. Sessions can be tailored for different age groups and class sizes.
Inquiries can be made through the contact form on helenaflinn.com.
The series is designed for ages 8-12. The core themes are friendship, self-discovery, and courage. There is no violence, no romantic content, and no language concerns.
The series explores what nightmares are, why they happen, and how to face them. It helps young readers understand and deal with difficult dreams rather than fear them. Several parents have noted that the books helped their children think about sleep and dreams more positively.
Resources for teachers and librarians are in development. In the meantime, the Nocturne Codex on helenaflinn.com provides rich worldbuilding material suitable for classroom discussion about creative writing, world design, and scientific thinking within fiction.
If you would like to be notified when classroom materials are available, get in touch.
The Bureau's Public Communications Office trusts this has been helpful. If not, the Bureau is prepared to answer further questions with equal confidence.
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