Book Loving Kiwis discussion

Use this folder to discuss The Secret Keeper by Julie Thomas.

Congratulations Julie. I look forward to reading your book. I have already downloaded it onto my phone! Feel free to use this folder as you wish.

Thanks very much Angie, I hope you enjoy it.

Smashwords is probably the most helpful because it is in all ebook reading formats and PDF or HMTL there. PDF for all those who don't have an ereader.

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/...

http://www.amazon.com/The-Secret-Keeper-...


For ipads and iphones it is available at itunes:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-secr...


And for Nooks it is available at Barnes and Noble:


http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-secr...

I look forward to answering questions and helping in any way I can.

Cheers

JULIE THOMAS

Julie wrote: "Thanks very much Angie, I hope you enjoy it.

Smashwords is probably the most helpful because it is in all ebook reading formats and PDF or HMTL there. PDF for all those who don't have an ereader..."

Hi Julie.
I tried the smashwords link and it said the book cannot be found.

Oh, I found it :)

Sounds intriguing.
And so cheap!
I can't wait to get reading this one.

Thanks Colleen

I have cut and pasted the link again and hopefully it will work better from now on. Hope you enjoy the book.

Cheers

Julie

Rose

Thank you!
I have put three books up, all have been accepted by Smashwords for the Premiere Catalogue and are now out with all the major ebook retailers.
One is a book of short stories and another is a book of letters written home by my Dad. He was a Spitfire pilot in WWII and a fantastic writer, so I wanted to share his experiences. And my novel.

I felt that, as I was new to the ebook writing scene, and as my purpose is to build my readership rather than make money at this point, I would make sure that price was not a disincentive. It is an interesting story and I hope I do the topic justice, so I want people to read my work and I priced accordingly.

I am currently writing another novel, this one from a concept I have previously written as a film script. It is a black comedy about love and wine and murder amongst the grape vines on Waiheke Island! I suppose they won't always be priced so cheaply. One day, perhaps, people will want to read them because I have written them. But for the moment I am happy. "Our Father's War" has had 235 downloads and "Stirred Not Shaken" has had 81, so I think my decision was a good one.
I do hope you enjoy "Secret", it took seven years of meticulous research and has an interesting back story which I am happy to share.

Cheers
JULIE

Seven years!!!!
Wow.
My novel (still with the editor, hopefully out later this year) is set in the Caribbean in the 18th century. I researched for months on the slave trade, piracy etc and thought I was being thorough ... but researching for seven years? ... wow again. Hats off to you.

I know it sounds a long time, but the novel was written over time fitted in around lots of other stuff (mainly film and TV production) and it is in four sections and covers from around 1930 to the present day.

The section written about pre-war Germany and then Dachau took a huge amount of research, every single statement made can be backed up by research. The liberation chapter alone took about four months of reading. And then the whole section in Soviet Russia also took substantial research. There is much to learn about looted art and musical instruments! And I listened to over 200 pieces of violin music and watched many of them being played so I could describe it accurately. It was a labour of love and much of the reading made me cry.

Well done on your novel, the research is the easy bit. Actually putting it down in story form in your own words, much harder. I have learned about wine making from the inside out for the current one!

Actually, writing comes easily to me. I am blessed with a very active imagination.
I only started writing a few years ago, more for something to do than as a career choice, and found that I loved it and that I could dream up some wonderful stories.
I have written or semi-written four novels in a series over a three year period. The first and last are complete, the second is half-written and the third is still in my head. (I had the ending in my head from the beginning and just HAD to write it. My tutor at a writing course I did once told me that if something needs to be written then you should write it, or otherwise you'll just rush everything to get to that point because you want to write it so much. Well, 90,000 words later I had an ending, and then I knew I had to make the whole thing into a series).
I'm not sure yet, but there may be an extra book between 3 and four.
I took lessons in 18th century style formal dancing for the fourth book, because in one scene the main character (a girl) muddles up the steps in a quadrille and bumps into her brother's nemesis by mistake. You know, that type of dancing is actually quite fun, but they must have had really great memories in those days because some of those dances are very complicated and there is so much etiquette to observe.
Ah, the things we do for our craft.

Julie wrote: "I know it sounds a long time, but the novel was written over time fitted in around lots of other stuff (mainly film and TV production) and it is in four sections and covers from around 1930 to the ..."

I'm happy to do some wine research for you Julie!

Oooohhhh, now there's an idea!!

Rose - I know exactly what you mean, I had the final concert scene worked out when I started 'Secret' so I knew where I was heading. And it actually worked out pretty well as I expected.

Angie and Colleen - excellent, either of you want to be stabbed by a broken bottle of Petrus so I can see how long it takes you to die? Or maybe someone would like to drown in a vat of must for me? I made a friend out of the wonderful winery of Destiny Bay on Waiheke and they were very patient with my strange questions. And their Bordeaux blend was the basis for the wine that Vinnie eventually makes, and it is simply divine!!

Mmmmm, maybe not! Let me know if any taste-testing is required though!

Wow, I love some of the names of your characters:
Itzhak Perlman, Rafael Santamaria Gomez, Francesca du Bouliver - They just sort of roll of your tongue.
Your love of music is evident in your writing. You write with a passion.

I like the imagery you use:
'A liquorice Allsorts of music'
'heads swivelled as she walked in'
'Plump fingers fluttering around a china pot'
I can see these things in my mind as I read.

I agree with Colleen.
You write beautifully.
Oh, and did I mention that the main male character in my upcoming novel is called Daniel too?
He's an 18th century sailor though, so quite different to your character Daniel.
Just a bit of completely useless trivia.

I have a recurring male character that pops up in a minor role in every one of my novels, no matter where they are set. His name is Toby. He's a horse.
He's not in the pixie book due out soon though, of course, because pixies don't ride horses.
Another piece of completely useless trivia.

Thank you both very much, I am delighted that you are enjoying the book.
I can't tell you how many times Daniel has changed over the evolution of the novel, in one version he was briefly 18 and called Rachel! I toyed with the idea of an underlying attraction between Rachel and Gomez, but it muddled the later story too much.

Daniel was based on my nephew who is now 21. My late sister-in-law, his mother, was a wonderful music teacher and pianist. Her last three (of five) kids are all extremely musical. My niece is 23 and in Amsterdamn doing a masters in baroque music/harpsicord. My nephew was a very gifted young violinist, but he also adored playing cricket. When he was about 11 he had to choose and he chose music, cricket was too dangerous for his fingers. He got Grade 8 at the age of 12. I wondered what would have happened if he'd decided to give up the violin. Then I read an article about a missing 1742 del Gesu violin and the theory behind it's disappearance. I won't say any more because it might ruin the ending! But Paul did give up when he was 14 and his Mum died of cancer. He is back playing now, violin, guitar, piano and singing, music is his life. He is a gorgeous looking young man and he was my role model for Daniel. She was Jewish and he considers himself to be so too, so as you can see, the story grew out of things I saw in my own family.

Rafael Gomez is based on Placido Domingo, a younger version. Although he is best known as an opera singer, he is also a very gifted conductor and I have watched him conduct live.

I shall leave any other comments until you are further in and you may have some other questions.
I am presently writing a novel which I think will become a series based around my male character, he is just too wonderful to restrict him to one book!
My characters are the family I would have, if I could choose them myself.

Thanks again, I am so flattered that you are enjoying my work and the story that I felt so moved to tell.
Cheers
JULIE

I'm loving this story, Julie. The others are right when they say you write beautifully. I'm almost a quarter of the way into the book. I'm struggling with the pronunciation of some of the names for the pieces of music and people. But it isn't impacting upon my enjoyment of the story. Back to it!

Thanks Angie, it really does give me a kick to know that people are reading my book! I hope you enjoy the rest of it as much.
Cheers
Julie

How fitting that we also selected 'Night' for the 'Other' Challenge for November. I'm looking forward to reading Elie Weisel's account more than ever now. Has anyone else read both of these books this month? The section set during WWII and in the concentration camp really captured my attention. I know you will understand when I say I didn't enjoy it, Julie, but I plowed through this section because it was so well written. It just shows you how powerful music can be. I knew that the Nazi's confiscated and burnt books, but I had never considered the destiny of other items, such as artworks and valuable instruments. I have read so many holocaust books, but every time I learn new things and authors tell their story in completely different ways. 30% of the book to go. You should be proud of what you have achieved, Julie.

Thanks very much. It was a challenge, as was the Soviet section. There are many real people woven through the fiction. The people that Rachel worked for before the spy ring was busted were all real (and extremely brave, worthy of a novel themselves) and so were the political figures in Russia and Marshall Zukov. If you like novels about holocaust subjects, "THe Black Sun" by James Twining is very good, it deals with looted art and murder.
The objective with the Soviet story is to give you a reason to understand Sergei. It's important that his connection to the instrument has value, an emotional realism about it.

I will be very interested to know what you think of the conclusion and the decisions that everyone comes to.
Cheers
Julie

Finished! The conclusion was very well done. Without giving too much away, the decision re the violin was realistic. Sergei too, as you say above, had a strong emotional attachment to the instrument, and he wasn't likely to part with it easily. Despite how he was perceived by people, he really was a man with very strong morals and ethics. This was also evident in Tatiana's story.
I looked up 'The Black Sun' by James Twining and it sounds fascinating. It is now saved to my to-read list.
I look forward to reading more of your books, especially the wine one!

Thank you so much Angie, I really appreciate your comments and the review you have given the book. It really makes the hard work worthwhile when you know people have appreciated the characters and the story.

I hope this isn't a cheeky ask, but if you could repeat that review on Amazon and Smashwords, I would be eternally grateful. And that goes for anyone else who enjoys it. I have found some sites that will publicise the book but not until it has 10 Amazon reviews. So I am hoping that people who read it and feel moved to review it, will do so on those two sites. It has sold reasonably well in the first two months and when I have more work up, it will drive sales there as well.
I've finished the first draft of the wine book and am going back and fleshing out some parts and tightening others. I am very pleased with it so far.

Cheers and thanks again
Julie

Hey Julie,

I have copied the same review into Amazon under the pen name SerenLucy (the names of my two labradors - Angie Young is too common!)
I had to set up an account with Smashwords in order to write a review, which I did. Then it said I had to purchase the book through them in order to write a review. I thought this was a bit cheeky of them. I had bought the ebook through Amazon, so couldn't write a review on Smashwords sorry.

Glad to hear the wine book is in draft form! I hope it comes with a wine list in the back. Based on the mood of each chapter, you could recommend a wine which compliments it! I'm sure the winery would be more than happy to advise you on this too.

Have a super night,
Angie

Thanks so much for that, Amazon is the one that matters, not Smashwords. I didn't know that about Smashwords, interesting.

And that's a great idea, thank you! I had fun naming all the wines, different Bordeaux blends and different price brackets for different wines, didn't think I should use the same names the winery uses! Although I do use very well known French wines all the way through. Someone gets murdered with a bottle of Petrus which is the most expensive wine in the world. Such a waste!

There is a book of Short stories which is free on Smashwords if you want to read any more of my stuff. If you like James Bond, you'll like the first story and the second is another version of looted art. It has had 93 downloads to date and is only 5 stories, so it doesn't take long. Just a showcase for the writing really.

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/...

Cheers and thanks

Julie

By the way, there is a chocolate lab in the next book, called Merlot. He's a great character!

Angie
Your Amazon review is on the UK site, but not on the USA site. Could you possibly post it on there as well? Many thanks again.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Secret-Keep...

Cheers
Julie

USA review done! I hope!
I'm glad you have a lab as a character in your wine book. I love my labs. I have a golden one and a black one. I did have a chocolate lab but my partner ran her over by accident on Christmas Eve last year. Her name was Mocha and she was a wee sweetie. Merlot is a great name too. Did you know you can get red labs? I only found this out the other day.

Thanks very much for doing that.
No, I didnt know that. I have a friend with a chocolate lab and she is the most beautiful dog, very elegant and sleek and a gorgeous rich colour. Merlot suits the dog in the book, she's a very important factor in the plot.

My novel "The Secret Keeper" is free on Smashwords for the rest of 2011. The book of my Dad's war letters "Our Father's War" has been free on Amazon for about 10 hours and has had 96 downloads in that time! At 99c it sold two copies all month (it is free on Smashwords and has had exactly 300 downloads). So for the rest of the year, free is the way to go!! Hopefully Amazon will follow suit. New novel will be out in the New Year. Spread the word, ta muchly

Very cool! Thanks.

Thanks. This free on Amazon thing is just madness. "Our Father's War" has now been downloaded 1102 times in about thirty hours. It is ranked #1 on the Kindle list for non-fiction, biography, memoire and #2 for biography. Some of the names I am beating are just ridiculous. And I've had about 40 downloads of the novel in the same time period on Smashwords. It is just a readership building exercise so the money doesn't count, but all the works cross-promote each other. It has been fascinating to watch the counter rising all day in the sales report!!

Congratulations! That must be very exciting for you. Great to hear that the new novel will be out in the new year. Will it be in time to be nominated for our January NZ challenge?

I just finished this today (I'm only a day late!) and I'd like to say that I enjoyed it.

Coming from a classical musical background (I've played for Waikato Symphony Orchestra and various concert and brass bands, among others) I understood most of the content, and I can appreciate what Daniel went through. Actually, I gave up music twice, but both times I came back to it. I definitely related to it.

When it came to the Russian part, I found myself enjoying it a little bit less but that went when I learned the significance and where it all fit in. :)

Have you ever seen the movie The Red Violin (1998)? This story remind me a lot of that.

Thanks Mark, I'm glad you enjoyed it. My niece is doing a Masters of Music Performance in Amsterdam on the Harpsicord in Baroque music and she the only other person I know with extensive classical musical knowledge who has read it. She also enjoyed it, although the version she read was several years ago and it's improved and tightened up quite a bit since then. It's hard to describe the sensations of performance of an instrument that you don't play yourself, but I watched DvD of people like Sarah Chang play, the first one was in 1992 when she was about 11.

When I was about three quarters of the way through writing it my research led me to The Red Violin and I have watched it twice since. One of the things I love most about the movie is the reason the varnish is that red, and that you learn that last.
My interest in the subject was first roused by a magazine article about a missing 1742 del Gesu and the theory that although it was believed looted, it may be still in one piece but the date label may have been changed and the owner doesn't know what they have. This is my version of how and what may have happened.
Thank you very much for the rating too, I am humbled when people rate my work well.

Thanks, Angie, probably not because December is so busy! But it should be ready for February, we shall see. Happy days!

Cheers
Julie

"The Secret Keeper' is now free on Amazon, only just, and has had 250 downloads in about three hours.
If anyone else in the group finished it and would like to comment I would be very interested to hear your comments.
Cheers
Julie

http://www.amazon.com/The-Secret-Keep...

Annnnnd now it isn't free anymore but it is climbing up the rankings like wildfire. Very weird. It is into the top 1000 for all Kindle rankings and flying up the Historical Fiction rankings. Was free for a few hours, seems enough to give it a huge push.

Hi guys
Nearly 10,000 downloads now, mostly in the last two months, seven 5 star reviews, #1 Jewish literature and I did this interview about the book

http://katheryn-lane.blogspot.com/

Cheers
Julie

Hi Julie. Just wanted to say how much I am enjoying this book. I've just finished the section about Dachau which I thought was handled really well - awful and heart wrenching without being too much. I like how it is flicking through time and look forward to reading the Russian section later. Your writing is lovely - very professional feeling. Thanks!

Hi Sweetp-1
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. I am delighted that you're enjoying it. I guess you've probably finished by now. Hope you felt satisfied with it. It's had a better reception than I could ever have dreamed, some beautiful reviews on Amazon USA and Barnes and Noble.

Cheers and thanks again
Julie

Yes I did finish already. My review is here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

I really enjoyed it! A great satisfying read and you handled some delicate subjects with class. I'm going to read In Vino sometime soon too :)

Thanks very much for the review, it really does make me happy when I know that people enjoy my work.

"The Secret Keeper" has had 22 reviews on Amazon US and the vast majority have been five star and they say such lovely things, that matters more to me than the rating. Someone emailed me and said she reads it out loud to her husband and then they discuss the characters as if they were real people.

Eight months ago today I put my first two books up and now it is four and very nearly five. It's been such an amazing journey, I feel really blessed.

Hi guys

I am doing the 'rounds' this afternoon telling people that in about 24 hours The Secret Keeper will be coming down off all ebook sites, Amazon, Smashwords and co....so if you know anyone who intends to read it and they don't have it, please tell them to get it now.

Why am I doing this? Because I have signed a contract to publish with HarperCollins USA and they want to publish this novel as a trade paperback under the William Morrow imprint. It will hit book stores, major chains and independents across the USA, and in many foreign countries too, around this time next next.

I am busy doing a rewrite with a line edit done by my new editor. Then, hopefully, it will be a sequel. They have on option on my next book.

I was 'shoulder tapped'. They sent me an email and opened discussions. So there you go! It does happen.

Cheers
Julie

Well deserved Julie. Such an amazing book. I must re-read it sometime this year.

Julie wrote: "Hi guys

I am doing the 'rounds' this afternoon telling people that in about 24 hours The Secret Keeper will be coming down off all ebook sites, Amazon, Smashwords and co....so if you know anyone w..."

That is absolutely fabulous Julie! And SO well deserved. I really enjoyed this book, good luck with your future endeavours.

Fantastic news! How thrilling! Congratulations, Julie.

Thanks guys
It's fun, I have to say. My editor is amazing.
Julie

Just thought I would let you know that my book, now titled The Keeper of Secrets, will be released on June 1st 2013. There is a fan page for me and the book at

http://www.facebook.com/julie.thomas....

There will lots of publicity online, Facebook and Goodreads, giveaways etc. I have advanced reader editions now and I am extremely pleased with it.

Julie