Sunday Smatterings

Hello, dear readers. How's your Sunday? I hope you're getting some well-deserved R&R, or at least reading a good book or two.

This week? Not such a good writing week, y'all. I'm not really sure why, other than feeling very distracted, and all those little things added up to a lack of deep work. I'm still coming off last week's EMMY high, I suppose, and had a few things to take care of in the house. A few technical business issues to address, too (You'll notice a new system for getting this blog through email toward the end of today's Smatterings, for example.)

Que sera, sera, some weeks are just like this. I did get back in the groove Friday, thank heavens. The upcoming week will be calmer, more settled, and I'm looking forward to taking a deep breath and kicking it back into high gear.

Now that I've got that off my chest...
 

Here's what happened on the Internets this week:

Despite the changes happening in our country as of late, I think we book people can agree on a few things: we love our books, and we're passionate about supporting the people who dedicate their lives to their craft. Which is why you may be particularly interested in this piece from Book Riot on why the NEA and NEH should not be defunded. 

I was so sad to hear we lost an icon in Mary Tyler Moore. The New York Times did a particularly poignant piece on her groundbreaking career, a new kind of strong, capable, funny, and complex female character she made normal on the social landscape. She was a pioneer who will most certainly be missed.

Interested in winning a copy of Taylor #7, WHERE ALL THE DEAD LIE, and 40 other paranormal romances? I bet you are.

Trying to find something to write about, but feeling uninspired? These 11 writing prompts from famous authors might get the wheels moving again.

A quiz for serious book nerds only: can you identify the author by just reading one paragraph?

Last but not least, Chapter 16 gathered the details of all the lovely awards and honors for Tennessee book folks last week. And there were quite a few. Nashville represents!

 

And closer to home:

If you've been locked in a closet or hibernating this past week, you may have missed that yours truly won an EMMY last week!!!!! 🎉😭 I'm still speechless about it, but I managed to say a few things about it on the Tao.*

Speaking of the Tao, did you know that you can get it delivered straight into your inbox? It's true! If you never want to miss a blog post from me, sign up to receive them via email, now in beautiful mobile form!

A few years ago, I co-wrote two novellas with my friends Erica Spindler and Alex Kava. They're three-part stories, each one featuring our landmark characters (i.e. mine have Taylor in them—BLOOD SUGAR BABY and WHITEOUT). I'm so pleased to announce that for the first time these novellas are available in PRINT! Click each cover to learn more (and don't worry, Kindle lovers: they're still available via ebook, too). 

That's it from me, chickens! Enjoy your week, watch some football (who are you pulling for, Patriots or Falcons? Or are you only watching for the commercials?) and we'll talk again soon.

xo,
J.T.

*PS: We had a wee snafu sending the blog by email on Thursday. Apologies! The email gremlins have been summarily punished and vow not to screw things up again. 

10.11.16 - SURPRISE! I have a new book out today!

My anniversary as a published author is just around the corner. My very first novel, ALL THE PRETTY GIRLS, released into the world for the first time October 23, 2007. 

But 2006 was when everything started really happening for me. It was a huge year, very exciting, very scary. My awesome agent (the brilliant Scott Miller) was shopping my novel to New York publishers. I placed a couple of short stories. I was part of a stellar line-up on an award-winning blog called Murderati. 

It’s amazing to look back on that year. I’m so glad I was a regular blogger, because I’m not much of a journaler, and the blog gives me a week-by-week snapshot of all the exciting things that happened those first couple of years. 

Now, I have 18 novels under my belt, and a wad of short stories. I co-write with Catherine Coulter, and co-host a literary television show. I’m writing standalones on my own—my ultimate goal—and I’ve started a publishing house for my fiction that doesn’t fit in with my traditionally published work.

Which is why I’m writing this post. 

Over the years, many people have asked if they could have a print version of my shorts. I’m so thrilled to be able to offer this option at last.

Today, my very first print novel through Two Tales Press is available. It’s aptly named THE FIRST DECADE, and represents my most popular and personal favorite short stories written over the past ten years.

It also has two brand-new, never-before-seen stories that I wrote expressly for this collection. Plus, it’s a delight to have my best work over the past ten years in one place, in a tangible, physical book. Because we all love that new book smell, right?

THE FIRST DECADE is available through all your favorite retailers, and with any luck, your local independent bookstore as well.

(though you will have to ask them to order it for you) We are partnering with several stores where you’ll be able to get copies (more on that later). 

I hope you’ll grab this one today, and spread the news to your friends as well.

Buy the Print Book

Download the ebook

Thank you for always supporting me and my writing. You mean the world to me!

7.26.16 - It's Time to devour the next Taylor Jackson novel

I’m so excited to share more Taylor and Baldwin with you!  

How often do you get the chance to marry your love of murder and mayhem with the great poets? I’ve done just that in ALL THE PRETTY GIRLS, the story of a reluctant killer who grows to love his chosen profession and terrorizes the Southeastern United States with Nashville Homicide Lieutenant Taylor Jackson and FBI profiler Dr. John Baldwin hot on his trail. The Southern Strangler leaves presents at his crime scenes, love poems by the greats—Wordsworth, Blake, Coleridge, Yeats—and the previous victim’s severed hand. When he passes through Nashville, leaving behind a body, hand and poem, Taylor Jackson catches the case, and the chase is on.

With a spiffy new cover and a super-low price, I know you'll enjoy visiting (or revisiting!) this book. 

With a spiffy new cover and a super-low price, I know you'll enjoy visiting (or revisiting!) this book.

Enjoy, chickens. And look for more Taylor news soon!

xoxo,
J.T.

12.15.15 - A holiday surprise awaits you . . .

Surprise! I wrote you a Christmas story!

Inspired by one of my favorite songs, THE OMEN DAYS is a Christmas ghost story about one broken heart, the vagaries of the season, one creepy killer, and of course, a ghost, set in Nashville against the backdrop of Twelvetide, the twelve days of Christmas.

This is a brand new story that has never been published before, written expressly for Two Tales – and you! It's available in these ebook stores:

I hope you love it, and if you do, you’ll take a moment to leave a review and spread the word. 

Also, there is an exclusive sneak peek inside of my upcoming standalone thriller, NO ONE KNOWS (3.22.16), plus other treats. I've even got a playlist that inspired the story on the product page. Let me know what you think!

Stay warm, and Merry Everything!
J.T.

10.15.15 - I have a new book coming out! And here's the cover reveal . . .

Friends, Romans, Chickens, lend me your eyes.

Because I'm ridiculously excited to show you the cover of my first standalone novel, NO ONE KNOWS, coming your way March 22, 2016!

Isn't it gorgeous??

I can't wait until you guys read this one. It's been in the making for about six years now, and it's unlike anything I've ever written—but in a good way (according to my editor!). If you liked Gone Girl and Girl on the Train, I think this one will be up your alley.

Here's where you can pre-order NO ONE KNOWS and get it in your hot little hands on March 22!

Print

ebook

And here's a bit about what happens in NO ONE KNOWS!

In an obsessive mystery as thrilling as The Girl on the Train and The Husband’s Secret, New York Times bestselling author J.T. Ellison will make you question every twist in her page-turning novel—and wonder which of her vividly drawn characters you should trust.

The day Aubrey Hamilton’s husband is declared dead by the state of Tennessee should bring closure so she can move on with her life. But Aubrey doesn’t want to move on; she wants Josh back. It’s been five years since he disappeared, since their blissfully happy marriage—they were happy, weren’t they?—screeched to a halt and Aubrey became the prime suspect in his disappearance. Five years of emptiness, solitude, loneliness, questions. Why didn’t Josh show up at his friend’s bachelor party? Was he murdered? Did he run away? And now, all this time later, who is the mysterious yet strangely familiar figure suddenly haunting her new life?

In NO ONE KNOWS, the New York Times bestselling coauthor of the Nicholas Drummond series expertly peels back the layers of a complex woman who is hiding dark secrets beneath her unassuming exterior. This masterful thriller for fans of Gillian Flynn, Liane Moriarty, and Paula Hawkins will pull readers into a you’ll-never-guess merry-go-round of danger and deception. Round and round and round it goes, where it stops . . . no one knows.

You'll hear more about this book in the coming days. But you should probably pre-order it. Because let's just say, hypothetically, you forget that you ordered this (I know this is impossible, but just run with me here). And then it shows up unexpectedly on your doorstop or tablet. And then you've just basically thrown yourself your own mini-surprise party. I mean, at the end of March, I can guarantee we're all going to need a mini-surprise party of sorts. Just saying.

I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for helping me continue the greatest job on the planet! 

xoxo