Second time into crime for author
New Zealand author Julie Thomas, known for her best selling novel The Keeper of Secrets, is releasing another book.
Entitled ‘‘ Blood, Wine and Chocolate,’’ her new book will be released on March 1, with an official launch function set to take place at Paper Plus Cambridge on March 9.
Thomas used to live in Cambridge but moved to Putaruru in 2013.
She said Blood, Wine and Chocolate was completely different to her first novel, The Keeper of Secrets, and was aimed at the adult crime readership.
‘‘There are more aspects to it than just the plot. I wanted to do something that was kind of black comedy, because that’s my sense of humour,’’ she said.
Thomas made a name for herself when The Keeper of Secrets attracted the attention of international publisher HarperCollins in the United States, after selling more than 40,000 in selfpublished format on ebooks.
Thomas said Blood, Wine and Chocolate was originally a film script that she wrote in 2009 after talking with friends in London.
She did a lot of research for her new novel, including time spent with chocolatiers and wine makers, and said that although it was a crime novel, there was no violence without reason.
‘‘When there’s violence, it’s for a reason. If Marcus and Tom are torturing someone, it’s because they are trying to get information out of them,’’ she said.
Like most authors, Thomas has become attached to her characters, especially the ‘‘ main man’’, Vinnie Whitney-Ross.
‘‘I absolutely love Vinnie. He embodies what I love. He’s a rascal . . . he has a sense of humour and a heart of gold.’’
There was also a lot of herself in the character of Anna, she said.
‘‘When my mum died, I decided I wanted a house to decorate in my own style,’’ she said, adding that the house she subsequently bought in Putaruru was a ‘‘brilliant environment for a writer’’.
Thomas wrote throughout high school and then worked in media for 25 years. Her advice to new authors was to practise.
‘‘You should write 100,000 words before you try sell anything. Nothing teaches you like writing. Just write. It doesn’t mean that it will get read, but it is good practise.’’
She said she was working on a sequel to The Keeper of Secrets, which will be released next year.
The March 9 book launch runs from 5.30 to 8pm, and Thomas said there would be ‘‘kilos of chocolate and litres of wine’’ . . . but ‘‘bring your own blood’’.