Q&A with J.P. Pomare

We chat with bestselling crime thriller author J.P. Pomare about his hotly anticipated new novel 17 Years Later.

17 Years Later is releasing on July 31. Tell us about your new book!

Bill Kareama was the private chef for the Primrose family right up until a few days before each member of the family was stabbed in their beds as they slept. Bill was quickly charged and convicted of the murders but there have always been questions about what really happened that infamous night. Sloane Abbott a famous Australian podcaster takes interest in the case and teams up with Bill's prison psychologist TK to investigate this historical crime themselves, and to find out once and for all if Bill Kareama is really guilty.

This will be your seventh published novel with us. Does the creative process grow easier for you with each book?

No not really. People ask this all the time and ask if I have found a rhythm. Every time you write a book, you're learning how to write that book and each book comes with its own set of challenges.

What was the research process like for the book?

The research was fun this time around, I got to speak with several psychologists including a prison psychologist. I tailgated a car into the grounds of Waikeria prison only to be turned back at a checkpoint. I slept a night in New Zealand's worst motel - well, I didn't get a great deal of sleep to be honest, between the trucks rattling by on the main road at all hours, and the hum of a generator in a neighbouring room. I had conversations and correspondence with former and current prisoners including my cousin who is currently in prison in New Zealand, and one of the world's most famous false convictions: Amanda Knox.

What's your daily writing routine like and what are you working on at the moment?

I am currently working on a follow-up novel to The Wrong Woman which is currently called Random Acts. It's the second Reid novel, and I'm really enjoying getting back into his head. My daily writing routine changes day to day as I negotiate life as a father, but I try to work in the early morning and late at night. I guess I don't sleep much these days.

Do you have a favourite character in your new book?

I love the characters in this book, all of them so it's hard to choose just one but I think TK is great. He's a lot like me in many ways, and I found his voice the easiest to write.

If you could give one piece of advice to aspiring writers, what would it be?

I think the most important thing for any writer -- at any stage of their career -- is to continue developing their craft. It should be conscious, and methodical. You should learn to write and continue learning to write the way you would learn any other skill from piano, to martial arts, to skiing or singing. Practice every day. Writing is an endless apprenticeship, and all writers have something to learn from most books. So often people tell me their story ideas, and they're almost always great ideas that I can see as novels. Ideas are the easy part; the hard part is writing.

Last year, your 2019 psychological thriller In the Clearing was adapted for television. How did it feel to have The Clearing streaming as a Disney+ Original Series?

I felt quite unprepared for how strong and overwhelming it would be to see my work transposed to the screen by all these brilliant actors, directors, writers etc. I had many big emotions that I didn't know what to do with but at the core, I felt luck and gratitude. Fortunately, I get to go through it all again when The Last Guests is adapted by Stan later this year.