Welcome to the Main Stage - The Divine Allison Brennan!

Allison Brennan, 1 hour after we met the first time. Yes, it's immortalized!I can't tell you how happy I am to host my friend and fellow scribe Allison Brennan at the Tao today. Allison is the writer, and woman, I want to be when I grow up. She's embarrassed me a bit below, but you'll get a real sense of what kind of woman she is - a good friend, a consummate professional, and an inspiration to all of us who haved watched her mighty ascent.

Be sure to leave a note for Allison in the comments, because I'm giving away her books today - 5 lucky winners will go home with a Brennan novel of their choice (everything but STALKED, which goes on sale October 30, you've gotta buy that one.) 

So without further ado... I give you the one and only Allison Brennan!

How I Met J.T. Ellison 

Whenever I blog on someone’s personal blog space, I feel like they’ve invited me into their home. Because this is J.T.’s home, I’m sipping a balanced cabernet, paired with the perfect cheese. She and Randy are so thoughtful, really the perfect hosts.

Because you’re all J.T.’s friends, I thought I’d share the story of how I met J.T. It was on paper, of course. Most of my closest writing buddies I never met in person until years after we started emailing. I can’t remember who hooked us up on-line, or if J.T. simply emailed me out of the blue; I don’t remember why I agreed to read her debut novel – I do remember feeling both flattered and sorely out of my element.

This was 2006. My first book had just come out in January, followed by two more. Because the back-to-back trilogy for a debut author was a new thing (only established authors seemed to be publishing back-to-back books prior to 2006) and because my first book hit the New York Times extended list, there was a bit of buzz. People started asking me to read their manuscripts for blurbs. I thought, “Me? Why me? I’m nobody.” Why would anyone even look twice at a book with my endorsement?

J.T. was one of the first to ask, and I almost said no. I mean, I was not worthy to blurb her book. But, I’m a book addict. I’m hardly going to say no to reading a thriller, especially for free, especially in advance of everyone else on the planet (except her husband, her agent, her editor … ) So I asked her to send it to me. She did, printed and bound. I wish I still had that copy.

I distinctly remember starting All the Pretty Girls while sitting at the Sacramento Airport waiting for a plane. I think I was flying to the RT conference in Daytona Beach. It might have been the RWA conference in Atlanta. Whatever it was, I started chapter one in the airport bar (drinking a beer, not wine) and would have missed my plane if my husband hadn’t called me to ask a question.

I finished All the Pretty Girls on that flight, and was so thrilled to write a blurb for J.T. If you’ve all read this book, you know why I was so excited. It’s a damn good book. (Hmm—maybe that’s what I should have said in my quote? “Read this book. It’s damn good.” LOL.)

Still, I couldn’t help but think, why me? It took me about three years to get over being surprised every time someone asked me to blurb a book. Now, I have more books than I can read, and I don’t get to blurb everything I want. I’m the type of person who has to read books I endorse – because of J.T.

My quote didn’t make it on the cover of J.T.’s first book (replaced by Lee Child, I’m certainly not complaining!) But it did make it on her second book, and I was thrilled. Shortly after 14 came out, a reader emailed me and said that she’d bought J.T.’s book because I’d recommended it, and she loved it.

Wow. That gave me all kinds of thrills – and fears. I’m so glad they loved J.T. as much as I did … and I was relieved that I’d read the book. I had no idea people would buy a book because I’d recommended it, and that humbled and scared me. It’s why I read every book I blurb – if a reader doesn’t like it, I want to be able to say that I honestly enjoyed it. More, I stand by every endorsement. I want my readers to know that when I say, “This is a great crime thriller,” that I really believe that.

When I thought about this, I realized that I, too, had bought new authors based on endorsements. I read books primarily for two reasons: 1) it’s an author I know and love or 2) a friend or my mom recommended it to me. But there have been a couple books I bought because of the endorsements … MONKEEWRENCH by P.J. Tracy for one, which had a whole bunch of blurbs from authors I love, and THE INFORMATIONIST by Taylor Stevens because Tess Gerritsen’s blurb made me pick it up. I wouldn’t have bought either solely on the blurbs, but the blurbs definitely made me check them out. I loved both books.

 Have you ever bought a book because of an author endorsement?

 ___________________

New York Times and USA Today bestseller Allison Brennan is the author of eighteen novels and several short stories. A former consultant in the California State Legislature, she lives in Northern California with her husband Dan and their five children.

Allison is currently writing the Lucy Kincaid series about an FBI recruit. The third book, IF I SHOULD DIE, is on sale now. SILENCED will be out on April 24, 2012, followed by STALKED on 10.30.12 and STOLEN in spring 2013. Also look for THRILLER 3: LOVE IS MURDER, an anthology of romantic suspense edited by Sandra Brown.

Allison can be reached through her website. Read her books. They're damn good!

On Ebooks and Smatterings

The digital version of A DEEPER DARKNESS is on sale today! 

Please consider ordering through your local independent, who can get you both a good deal and a version for just about every ereader out there.

And if you prefer books of the more tactile variety, there are signed copies of A DEEPER DARKNESS at both Reading Rock Books and Parnassus Books. 

Audio, as always, read by Joyce Bean, available as well.

We've had a bit of a perfect storm of publicity in the past couple of days, so instead of inundating you with link after link, I thought I'd pull them all together in one place for you to peruse at your leisure, should you be so inclined.

If you're in Nashville, I'm appearing on WSMV More at Midday today at 11am 

From LitStack - a featured author interview 

From Bookreporter - a hella good review and contest

From the Harlequin Blog - How I took Samantha Owens from supporting character to protagonist 

Reading a poem for the 5-2

AuthorLink Interview with Paige Crutcher

From ITW, a Between the Lines interview with Brett King

On what I'm currently reading

The Page 69 Test

Q&A on The Reading Frenzy with Debbie Haupt

And my favorite -  My Book, The Movie is now showing

Phew! Let the games begin. 

On Solitude

This essay appeared April 21, 2012 on Meanderings and Musings

We writers have voices in our heads. It’s just a fact of life. The voices speak to us, we write their words on the page, and people read the stories and are captivated, drawn into a land of make believe.

All right. Let’s be honest and call this what it really is. Controlled psychosis.

You laugh, but think about it. Where else in the world are you allowed to let the little voices in your head control your thoughts, your words, and your deeds? Hmmm?

Most writers are loners, happily spinning yarns with their imaginary friends day in and day out. Some of us are extroverts, getting a rush from interaction, gratified by teaching, or simply refilling the well on a night out with friends.

I’m one of those bizarre introverts who can unveil my personality at will, as necessary, for groups. The public me is a version of myself, the me I want to be. It’s like actors on the stage, playing a role. Or, for those of us who are terribly shy, it’s a bit like going to war.

You embellish yourself a bit. So you can make it through the night. You put on pretty clothes – armor. You do your makeup and your hair – helmet. You take a pill or have a glass – shield. And then, head to toe in metal and mail, you swan about, hoping you aren’t putting your foot into it too badly.

But that’s life, isn’t it? We all feel that momentary cringe when we think we’ve said something off, or insulting, or embarrassing. 99% of the time, no one takes your words the way you think they came out. As a matter of fact, everyone is so busy cringing that no one really hears what’s being said.

I hope.

Many of you know that Randy and I recently lost our beloved kitten, Jade, aka Thrillercat. Things have been very, very quiet around here. I’ve always seen myself as a quiet writer – I like the silence of being alone with my thoughts and my laptop – but it wasn’t until Jade passed away that I realized just how much I talked to her during the day. I ran bits of dialogue past her, or ideas, or questions. And she sat there, quiet as a mouse, and accepted all my thoughts. It is so bizarre not to have that sounding board anymore. And it’s been lonely.

I’m starting the tour for my newest novel, A DEEPER DARKNESS, April 17. I will be strapping on my armor and sallying forth into the world to talk about the book, and hopefully not put my foot in my mouth too many times. But this novel is about loss, and since I’ve been experiencing so much of my own lately, I’m girding myself to speak in public about that very issue.

It’s the commonalities that make each of us connect with a book. Even quiet, solitude-loving writers need to come out of their shells every once in a while and connect with people. I hope to see you on the road. And maybe we can make each other feel a little less alone. 

If you're in Nashville, join me tomorrow at Parnassus Books in Green Hills at 1pm for a reading and signing of A DEEPER DARKNESS!