Jarad Henry's "Blood Sunset"

Jarad Henry is an Australian crime writer. His first murder mystery, Head Shot, which was inspired by Melbourne’s gangland killings, was short listed in the 2006 Ned Kelly Awards for Best First Crime Novel. As a manuscript, it was also short listed in the 2004 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards. Blood Sunset, his second novel, was short listed in the 2006 Australian Vogel Awards and in the same year won the Fellowship of Australian Writers Jim Hamilton Award.

Here Henry shares some ideas about the star and creative team should his latest novel be adapted for the big screen:

My second crime novel is Blood Sunset, a hard boiled police procedural about a murdered street kid who was involved in recruiting other street kids for a child porn racket. The central character is Detective Sergent Rubens McCauley, attached to the Criminal Investigation Unit in St Kilda, Melbourne's bay side red light district and an area with one of the highest crime rates in Australia. The title refers to the sunsets that occur during the summer months, when crime and violence is especially high.

In July 2008 Blood Sunset was pitched to film producers at the annual Melbourne International Film Festival. My publisher, Allen & Unwin, chose only my book to pitch this year, something I was very flattered by, given they publish over 100 titles each year. Like most writers, I'd love to see my novel made into a film and my characters on the big screen. Of course, there is no guarantee of success even if the book does somehow find its way through the labyrinth of creative steps required before a film is even made, let alone hits cinemas. Having said that, I deliberately write with a strong sense of imagery and cinematic prose, a symptom in part reflective of my age (I'm 30) and the era we live in. With that in mind, I'd love to see the big-bad Russell Crowe play the lead role. He's tough, reliable and carries a lot of depth, very much like McCauley. And they're both Australian!

Behind the cameras and directing the action would have to be modern legends Shawn Ryan and Tony Stark from the hit television series The Shield. The series is raw, edgy and totally convincing. If my story could be blessed with such talent, there is no doubt that Blood Sunset (the movie) would be a winner.

View the trailer for Blood Sunset.

Read an excerpt from Blood Sunset, and learn more about the author and his work at Jarad Henry's website.

--Marshal Zeringue