10.4.11

My eyes are crossing and my mind has turned to mush. Why? A six hour marathon session of copyedits on the May '12 book. Done, and turned in, and hopefully I won't have to see it again anytime soon. (You do stop seeing the forest for the trees after a while, and this one feels like I've edited it to death. Of course, they all do at this point...)

OK. I've been holding out on you. I've talked around this for weeks now, but it's time to share. Brace yourselves.

WHERE ALL THE DEAD LIE is the last Taylor book for a little while.

Don't panic. It is NOT the end of the series. I fully intend to return to Taylor's world very soon. I can't imagine my life without Taylor in it for very long. And we have so many unanswered questions....

As a writer, you always want to try new things. I've never written anything more than a short story that didn't feature Taylor. It was time to spread my wings. My agent and my house kindly agreed, and we decided that it might be fun to spin off the series with Dr. Samantha Owens as the main character.

Let me tell you - writing from a new perspective has been at once liberating and terrifying. Sam is Taylor's conscience in the Taylor books. I didn't know who she was outside of that.

I do now. And boy, how, is she an amazing character.

The May '12 book is called A DEEPER DARKNESS. I PROMISE I will share the back cover copy very soon. With all the transitions - my editor leaving - my new editor catching up, I want to be absolutely sure we are all good with everything before I do. But soon, chickens. Soon.

So. I'm off to read BREAKING DAWN because I need something fun and engaging and different. Tomorrow I'll be back at it with the sandwich book.

Who's buying the iPhone 4S?

9.19.11

So here we are - one day before launch. Though truth be told, many of you have received your books already because Amazon started shipping last Friday. I hope you enjoy them, the story, the style, and all that jazz.

I've also just returned from Bouchercon. I will tell you, St. Louis has some seriously kick ass food. We ate at Herbie's (fresh greens with goat cheese, strawberries and blueberry poppyseed dressing followed by steak frites in a red wine mushroom sauce), Charlie Gitto's On The Hill (toasted ravioli, calamari, Caesar salad and a lemon shrimp pasta that was actually quite spicy, plus tiramisu and an incredible bottle or two of 2007 Paitin "Ca Veja Nebbiolo D'Alba"), Anthony's two nights in a row (Tony's salad, a delicate appetizer of lobster and nectarine, angel hair pasta with lobster and shrimp accompanied by a great wine called La Massa.) Yes, I waddled home. But I'm full of lobster, so that's always a good thing. Mucho protein, don'tcha know.

The beautiful thing about Bouchercon, and all conferences, really, is the chance to see friends, and make new ones. I got to spend time with all my peeps, and it was amazing. My panels were great, resulting in what I know will be long and happy friendships with some fascinating people, the con itself was smooth and well-organized, and the bar - well, it didn't disappoint. If you ever want to see writers in their natural state, set a group of 300 loose in a hotel bar for a few hours. Some watch, some preen, some get drunk and fall down. And some swan about, trying desperately to catch up with everyone they know, and failing miserably. That last would be me.

I also had a lovely time at the Middendorf-Kredell Branch Library in O'Fallon. Met one of my online buddies, Debbie Haupt, who moderated Hank Phillipi Ryan, Julie Compton and myself in front of a packed room. It was a lot of fun, so big thanks to Sara and Deb and everyone from Main Street Books - it was great to be with you all.

Came home to a happy, lonely, and apparently chilly cat who won't stay out of my lap, a final quick revision of the May '12 book, a bunch of ideas for the sandwich book, a brand new Facebook Fan Page to launch, a newsletter to mail, some fun mail from NYC, and about a billion emails, including a line edit for my short story in Thriller 3. Fabulous husband is going to the store so I can keep working tonight. What a doll! (FH just came home with pretzel bread. He shoots, and he scores!)

And of course, we are all having issues with the new Firefox 6.0.2 update. I'm so glad to find out it isn't just me, and apologize for any discrepancies in the newsletter, of which I have already seen two. I stopped looking. You wonder why I have an editor.

Ooh - UPS is here - hang on a sec....

YAY! Books and a dress for the launch party. Hot Dog!

Sorry - back to it - here are some good links:

To the contest

To the Exclusive Extras on the Fan Page

To a fabulous review from Fresh Fiction - "...a mind-bending, frightening story."

To another goodie from Words I Write Crazy - "loved...loved....loved..."

To Harriet Klausner's review - "Where All the Dead Lie is a super entry in one of the best police procedural series on the market today."

Alas and alack, there was also a disappointing but fair review that came in, but it feels much too enlightened to link to it as well. Suffice it to say I mention this because if you believe the good, you must believe the bad.

So. Tomorrow's the big day. I have a few things planned - one is to finally answer Rachel's question about the impetus for the style of the book - but mostly, I'll be parked here at the house, working on the revision. So goes the glamorous life of the author.

I am tickled to pieces with the entries we've received so far for the haunted ghost story contest. I'm trying to stay out of the comments so I don't confuse things, so let me say - I am reading, and loving, your entries!

Til tomorrow, then!

9.8.11

I have not been writing.

God, I hate to admit that.

But it's true.

And it's becoming readily apparent to the folks around me, because I've been getting grumpy.

It's the two weeks leading up to the book launch, and as such there are many things to do. Blogs to write, newsletters to send, speeches to give. Hair to color, nails to get manicured, outfits to plan. Appearances and television and radio and signings and a conference - all in the span of two weeks. I'm already sick of myself, and I've been at it for exactly 24 hours.

It's crazy making, especially for introverts like me who get very run down being on, on, on. Sparkle! Author Girl is in da house! I adore it while I'm doing it, but when I'm done, I literally collapse.

And in all that, I sometimes lose sight of the end game. The only real responsibility I have is planting my butt in the chair, opening the manuscript, and writing.

I took the opening chapters of the sandwich book to my critique group last night. They loved it. Loved it so much that all I wanted to do was run home and dive into the pages and create, create, create!

But right now, my time is not my own. For the next few weeks, my time belongs to you - you lovely creatures!

I had my first major event yesterday - I spoke at Ingram - and a more wonderful group of people you can't ever hope to meet. They were fabulous - laughed in all the right places, made me feel like I sort of knew what I was talking about. I signed a ton of books and felt like maybe I could pull this off after all.

Because truly, if you're an introvert writer like me, you have a tendency to worry that you'll say or do something idiotic at just the wrong time. Hmm, is that introversion, or just being a geek?

The first time I talk about a book in public is terrifying. Terrifying. But it went really well. I was bummed that I didn't remember my very funny making anecdote until today.... but at least I'll have it for the rest of my talks. 

I'm off to create the newsletter, in which we will have a contest, and a prize, a simple one this time, but a prize nonetheless, and put together the photo slideshow, and... and... and....

And maybe, just maybe, I can sneak in some actual writing time this weekend. : )

Anything y'all are particularly interested in hearing about related to WHERE ALL THE DEAD LIE? Ask away!

8.12.11

No real work today - played golf with my Dad's men's group. I played rather horribly, but our team did well enough to place 2nd, so I won $15. Which I am promptly pumping back into the economy by taking Mom and Daddy to see Harry Potter 7.2 tonight.

Inside baseball time: look away if you haven't seen the flick. 

I've seen the movie, and really loved it, aside from two or three little quibbles. Mainly, and this is simply my take, I was upset that they writers didn't let Harry be fully the hero. I felt like they continued to portray him as a boy when he truly had become a man. That moment happens in the books when he has to bury Dobby. This character alteration started in THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX, when instead of smashing the prophecy like Harry does in the book, they have him hand it to Lucius Malfoy. This bothered me tremendously. Harry is fully in control in the book, very much the hero, making decisions that can only be seen as valiant, courageous, lion-hearted, but in the movies, it's almost as if they don't want to allow him to live up to his potential.

I was also upset that they cut the scene where he goes around to the families and friends to thank them for their "service." He is their leader, after all. Their prince. Their general. Their inspiration. They'd died for him, bled for him. In the books, it's one of the most heartbreaking and inspiring scenes, but they glossed over it in the movie.

I have all sorts of theories about why this happens, but you're not here for a sociology lesson, so let's just leave it as it bugs me.

But overall, it is a glorious bit of filmmaking. I thought the effects were the best yet, and all in all, I give it five stars, because it does such a superb job of finishing things off. I can't wait to see it for the second time. The second of many, I predict.

Now, Rachel asked about short story markets. I'm assuming since you're here you are writing in the crime fiction market? Check here - this is a pretty up to date list of magazines and ezines who are accepting submissions. Don't be afraid to ask around on Twitter - follow some of the crime fic short story gurus - Bryon Quertermous, Dave White, Duane Swierczynski, Gerald So, Steve Weddle, for starters, and see where they're sending their work. Also, start subscribing to the magazines that house the shorts market - Alfred Hitchcock, Ellery Queen, Crimespree, The Strand, Needle and the like. Good luck!

Will be diving back into the May book revision tomorrow - hopefully will be finished by Tuesday. Then it will be time for a full-on read through revision, making sure everything is as good as it can be before it goes to copyedit.

And now, a word from our sponsors:

I was so excited to see that my friend Declan Burke has a new book out - ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL. You've got to get this book! Dec is a wildly original Irishman - that should be enough to entice you right there. But if it's not...

“A genuinely original take on noir, inventive and funny. Imagine, if you can, a cross between Flann O’Brien and Raymond Chandler.” – John Banville, author of THE SEA

“Close it down, blow it up – what’s the difference?”

Billy Karlsson needs to get real. Literally. A hospital porter with a sideline in euthanasia, Billy is a character trapped in the purgatory of an abandoned novel. Deranged by logic, driven beyond sanity, Billy makes his final stand: if killing old people won’t cut the mustard, the whole hospital will have to go up in flames.

Only his creator can stop him now, the author who abandoned Billy to his half-life limbo, in which Billy schemes to do whatever it takes to get himself published, or be damned... .

“ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL is unlike anything else you’ll read this year … Laugh-out-loud funny … This is writing at its dazzling, cleverest zenith. Think John Fowles, via Paul Auster and Rolling Stone … a feat of extraordinary alchemy.” – Ken Bruen, author of AMERICAN SKIN

Totally cool? No. Absolute Zero Cool.

I'll see y'all on Monday - have a super weekend!

Update on 2011-08-13 03:33 by JT Ellison

As has happened with each Harry Potter film for me, the second time around was even better. Maybe it's because I know what to expect, and can instead focus on little details I missed the first time around. Or the fact that the movies take on their own realities, separate from the books. The Twilight films do that, and I expect Hunger Games will as well. Interesting.

Regardless, I was in tears three times. And wow, the production value astounded me all over again. Good times.

KILLER YEAR goes digital

Now available for your favorite ereader, including Nook, Kindle and iPad

Features stories from members of Killer Year, who were all fresh-faced debut authors in 2007:

Brett Battles
J.T. Ellison
Jason Pinter
Bill Cameron
Dave White
Derek Nikitas
Gregg Olsen
Marcus Sakey
Robert Gregory Browne
Patry Francis
Toni McGee Causey
Marc Lecard
Sean Chercover

And some seasoned vets:

Lee Child
Laura Lippman
MJ Rose
Duane Sweirczynski
Ken Bruen
Allison Brennan

“The disturbingly good new talent showcased in this volume bodes well for the future of the genre.”
— Publishers Weekly

“The mentors’ introductions to these stories, plus brief biographies at the end, should entice readers to longer works by these promising new authors. Even amid a recent rash of anthologies in the genre, this one is well worth a look.”                                                                                                                               — Library Journal

Gems come from the 13 Killer Year members…. Remarkably for a collection this ample, there’s no sign of a clinker.”                  
 — Kirkus Reviews

Killer Year is a group of 13 debut crime/mystery/suspense authors whose books were first published in 2007. The graduating class included such rising stars as Robert Gregory Browne, Toni McGee Causey, Marcus Sakey, Derek Nikitas, Marc Lecard, JT Ellison, Brett Battles, Jason Pinter, Bill Cameron, Sean Chercover, Patry Francis, Gregg Olsen, and David White. Each of the short stories displaying their talents are introduced by their Killer Year mentors, some of which include bestselling authors Lee Child, Tess Gerritsen and Jeffrey Deaver, with additional stories by Ken Bruen, Allison Brennan and Duane Swierczynski. Bestselling authors Laura Lippman and MJ Rose contribute insightful essays. Inside you'll read about a small time crook in over his head, a story told backwards with a heroine not to be messed with, a tale of boys and the trouble they will get into over a girl, and many more stories of the highest caliber in murder, mayhem, and sheer entertainment. This amazing anthology, edited by the grandmaster Lee Child, is sure to garner lots of attention and keep readers coming back for more.