Hello, chickens. Today I bring you a Very. Special. Smatterings. It's our anniversary! We've been married for 23 years and together 26. Incredible, really. Over half my life with my awesome guy!

Randy and I met the first night of graduate school at George Washington University. He was quite literally the first person I met. He walked into class, sat down next to me, said hi, and I was lost. Blue eyes, black hair, glasses, a smile to die for… yes, I was smitten immediately. He kissed me the next night and that's all she wrote. We dated through school, study dates interspersed with enjoying all the best D.C. had to offer a couple of youngsters, and when we graduated, he put a ring on it. Smart guy, I think….

Seriously, it was love at first sight. It really does exist. And here we are, over a quarter of a century later, happily celebrating our special love story.

So forgive me for the quick intro! And don't forget, TEAR ME APART comes out TUESDAY!!!!

On to the latest and greatest links!

Here's what happened on the Internets this week: 

14 most anticipated fall romances. I added so many of these to my TBR! Assistant Leigh reports she is especially excited for The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory, A Duke In Disguise by Cat Sebastian, and Their Perfect Melody by Priscilla Oliveras.

Plan A Night In And We'll Tell You Which Literature Lady You Are. Who can resist these quizzes? Not me.

Here's Why Keeping Your Old Journals Can Actually Be Super Useful If You're A Writer. Great ideas!

18 Magical Things From The Harry Potter Universe That Would Be Really Useful In The Muggle World. If only!

17 Books That Combine Food AND Romance With Delicious Results. Such a great list! You can't go wrong with this combination.

13 Reasons Why Libraries are Holding Us All Together. "Libraries are truly holding us all together in ways that we often take for granted." Yes!

And closer to home:

Here’s where I’ll be headed to celebrate TEAR ME APART’s release. Let me know if I’ll see you there! More details here.

The folks at WriterFest Nashville are offering 20% off the tickets to my readers with the code: JTEllisonWF20. Get your tickets!

Don't forget to enter this giveaway! Win all four of these upcoming fall thrillers: WHEN THE LIGHTS GO OUT by Mary Kubica, FOR BETTER AND WORSE by Margot Hunt, UNDER MY SKIN by Lisa Unger, and TEAR ME APART! US and Canada only. 

This review from Chapter 16 choked me up! I'm so grateful.

That's all for now! Hug somebody you love and I'll be back Tuesday to celebrate the release of TEAR ME APART!

peace and hugs,
J.T.