Sunday, 10 March 2024

Yvonne Walus tells us about her latest book



Tell me about your book.

A: Hello Gill, thank you so much  for featuring me on my blog. My name is Yvonne Walus (www.yvonnewalus.com), and my latest book is a domestic suspense thriller, The Wrong Girl, published by Sands Press in March 2024.

Q: Tell us about your research for this book.
A: Hmm, let's see. The book is set in a fictional boarding school north of Auckland, New Zealand, not too far away from where I live, so that part was easy. One of the protagonists is a teenager, and I spent quite a bit of time convincing my two children and their friends to talk to me about their issues - that was the tricky part. I have a small subplot about growing cannabis, and research, dear readers, I performed using the omniscient Google. Fun fact: did you know that while some cannabis leaves have more fingers than others, it's actually the flower part of the plant that people smoke? Finally, a huge shout out to the New Zealand Police who were kind enough to talk to me about hierarchies, uniforms and police vehicles - Andrew Fabish, you're a star!

Q: What inspired you to write this?
A: I had a few goals when writing this book. First of all, I was intrigued by the idea of a school that does things the old-fashioned way in today's world: no Chat GPT, no Internet, no smart phones. Also, with so much discussion around gender identity, it felt important to explore what it meant for a teenager trying to make sense of all the labels and the pressure to adopt a label. Finally, as with all my books, I wanted to write about strong women in a world that is still shaped by masculine values.

Q: What's next?
A: I'm busy writing the next book in the series, also featuring police detective Zero Zimmerman, and also set in beautiful Aotearoa New Zealand. My readers tell me that reading my books is the next best thing to flying over and experiencing the country in person. 

Q: How can we get a copy of the book?

Q: Do you have any early book reviews that you can share with us?
A: 
  • “Set at an exclusive New Zealand boarding school, THE WRONG GIRL by Yvonne Eve Walus takes readers deep into a world where nothing is as it seems, and everyone has something to hide. Walus’s fascinating setting, twisty plot, and complicated characters make this book a must-read.” – Karen Dionne, author of the #1 international bestseller THE MARSH KING’S DAUGHTER and THE WICKED SISTER
  • "Yvonne Walus’s latest thriller is a clever, fast-paced story about identity, temptation, and deceit. The Wrong Girl has everything: a great plot, a colourful cast of characters, an intriguing setting. A real page-turner." ~ Rose Carlyle, author of international bestseller "The girl in the mirror"
  • "Intricately plotted and well-written, THE WRONG GIRL is a fascinating take on a world where appearances can be deceiving, everyone is up to something, and only Constable Zero Zimmerman, in the middle of a messy mix of her own personal problems, can sort out what's true." ~ Ellen Baker, author of "Keeping the house", "I gave my heart to know this" and "The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson"
Find on you local Amazon 
Note, this is an affiliate link and a small portion of what you pay may go to Bridge House publishing.  

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