• Home
  • Illustration Prize for Children's Picture Book Publishing
  • Thunderbolt Prize for Crime Writing
  • Varuna-NEWC Fellowship
  • About
    • Our Board
    • Our Sponsors
  • Membership
  • Contact Us
  • 2022 Archive
    • 2022 Summer Micro Grants >
      • 2022 Summer micro grants_Mary McMillan >
        • 2022 Summer micro grants_Kerry Moran
    • 2022 Illustration Prize for children's picture book illustration
    • 2022 Thunderbolt winners >
      • 2022 Thunderbolt Prize winning submissions
      • 2022 Thunderbolt Prize Judges Reports
    • 2022 Varuna-NEWC Fellowship
  • 2021 Archive
    • 2021 Illustration Prize Winners
    • Varuna Fellowship 2021
    • Thunderbolt Prize 2021 >
      • Thunderbolt Prize 2021 Judges Reports
    • 2021 Summer Micro Grants >
      • 2021 Summer micro grants_Trish >
        • Beetle Hunt Stories
      • 2021 Summer micro grants_James
      • 2021 Summer Micro Grants_Fiona
  • 2020 Archive
    • Thunderbolt Prize 2020 >
      • Thunderbolt Prize 2020 Judges Reports
      • Thunderbolt Prize 2020_Winning submissions
    • Illustration Prize 2020 Winners
    • Varuna Fellowship 2020
    • 2020 Historical Novel Prize
  • Blog
  • Resources
    • Inside Story Book
    • By The Book video series
    • Stories Connect
  New England Writers' Centre

Big question leads to crime novel

7/11/2022

 
By Lydia Roberts
What's the worst that could happen?
It's a common enough question that led to award winning author JP (Josh) Pomare writing a "twisty thriller".

Josh and his partner, from Melbourne, were mulling the idea of letting their home to Airbnb guests.

They wondered what was the worst that could happen if they did so and decided it was worth the risk.

​The business has been a success, but the question, of what could possibly go wrong, led to Josh's latest novel, The Last Guests.
Picture
Crime writer, JP Pomare "what's the worst that could happen?"
Picture
The fictional tale is based on characters Lina and Cain renting out an inherited lake house and what transpires with various guests.

"The novel is about someone installing cameras in Airbnbs and streaming the footage to a global network of voyeurs," Josh says.

"I also wanted to write about special service soldiers and what it's like to return from war."

Josh, from Rotorua in New Zealand, has made crime his genre, with many of his stories set in small towns.
​
"I think growing up in rural New Zealand gives you a perspective of life in small towns," he says.
"I think it's harder for a city born, city based writer to write about small town life in an authentic way.

"I also think in NZ we are so spoiled by the beautiful landscapes, and in a way that's likely informed how I approach setting. I want to write about the quiet beauty of places like Maketu, or Tarawera."
Although Josh wrote articles in high school and initially set his sights on becoming a journalist, he eventually fell into writing fiction in his early 20s.

His other works include Call me Evie (for which he won Best First Novel at the Ngaio Marsh Awards), In the Clearing and Tell me Lies.
​
The NEWC was thrilled to have Josh present the How to write quick crime (and get away with it) workshop in 2022.
Picture
In between writing, Josh hosts a podcast interviewing prominent authors such as Joyce Carol Oates and Dorthe Nors.

"I started [the podcast] because I wanted to ask authors my own questions, and figure out how they did it," Josh says. "It was as simple as that, then after a couple of years and when my debut novel was published I suppose my questions changed, and became more about the authors themselves and their work, as opposed to talking about breaking into the industry.

"I would select interviewees based on whether or not I enjoyed their books."

Josh's advice to aspiring authors is to write what you love to read.

​"You can't go wrong with that," he says. "It's possible to write for a genre without actually enjoying it but it would make it all a great deal harder."

The 2022 Thunderbolt Prize for Crime Writing is open for submissions between Friday 17 June and Friday 30 September, 2022.

​The competition gains a national recognition and has major prizes in Fiction, Non-Fiction and Poetry categories.

The Prize also has prizes in the Youth, Emerging Author, and Regional  categories.   
Picture

Comments are closed.

    Author

    The NEWC Board

    Archives

    August 2022
    July 2022
    April 2022
    November 2021
    September 2021
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018

    Categories

    All
    2018
    2021
    2022
    Competitions
    Festival
    Illustration
    Inspiration
    Poetry
    Symposium
    Thunderbolt
    Varuna
    Workshop
    Writing

​SITE MAP

Home
​Workshop Program
Thunderbolt Prize
Illustration Prize
Varuna-NEWC Fellowship
About
Membership
​Contact Us
Blog
Archive

Resources
Board
Sponsors
Picture
We gratefully acknowledge the support of Create NSW and our other generous sponsors
We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which the New England Writers' Centre is situated and pay our respects to Aboriginal Elders past, present and emerging.
  • Home
  • Illustration Prize for Children's Picture Book Publishing
  • Thunderbolt Prize for Crime Writing
  • Varuna-NEWC Fellowship
  • About
    • Our Board
    • Our Sponsors
  • Membership
  • Contact Us
  • 2022 Archive
    • 2022 Summer Micro Grants >
      • 2022 Summer micro grants_Mary McMillan >
        • 2022 Summer micro grants_Kerry Moran
    • 2022 Illustration Prize for children's picture book illustration
    • 2022 Thunderbolt winners >
      • 2022 Thunderbolt Prize winning submissions
      • 2022 Thunderbolt Prize Judges Reports
    • 2022 Varuna-NEWC Fellowship
  • 2021 Archive
    • 2021 Illustration Prize Winners
    • Varuna Fellowship 2021
    • Thunderbolt Prize 2021 >
      • Thunderbolt Prize 2021 Judges Reports
    • 2021 Summer Micro Grants >
      • 2021 Summer micro grants_Trish >
        • Beetle Hunt Stories
      • 2021 Summer micro grants_James
      • 2021 Summer Micro Grants_Fiona
  • 2020 Archive
    • Thunderbolt Prize 2020 >
      • Thunderbolt Prize 2020 Judges Reports
      • Thunderbolt Prize 2020_Winning submissions
    • Illustration Prize 2020 Winners
    • Varuna Fellowship 2020
    • 2020 Historical Novel Prize
  • Blog
  • Resources
    • Inside Story Book
    • By The Book video series
    • Stories Connect