Tao of J.T. is the online blog of New York Times bestselling author and EMMY-award winning television host J.T. Ellison.
I was going to write y'all a Christmas poem this year, something along the lines of:
"On the day after Christmas, all through the lands, ereaders were fired up, hot in their hands..."
but I'm really not a very good poet, it seemed a bit too precious. So instead I will just tell you the good news sans rhyme - Taylor Jackson is back in a brand new e-novella called WHITEOUT.
Read MoreToday's the day! Edge of Black is on sale in all formats - paper, ebook and audio.
There is nothing more exciting that release day. After all the work, the labor, the pain and the joy, your story is no longer your own. It belongs to the reader. It belongs to you.
Stephen King's glorious book ON WRITING tells of a somewhat supernatural contract between writer and reader, a kind of ESP that exists because the writer puts the words on paper and the reader reads said words and a psychic connection is formed between the two entities. Cool, huh? He writes in one time and space, and the reader is able to read his mind regardless of their plane of existence, simply by reading the words.
Read MorePeople always ask what was my favorite book to write. And I always reply, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, the one I just finished. Which stands to reason, considering I've lived, breathed and slept the story for the previous four months to a year, depending.
EDGE OF BLACK, though, was the fastest book I've ever written, clouded by the severe illness and ultimate death of my writing companion, Jade, AKA Thrillercat.
Read MoreRelease week is nearly upon us, so it's time to share some of my thoughts about writing the Samantha Owens series, and about the newest book EDGE OF BLACK. This is the first installment.
But first - here's a special Sneak Peek inside the book. Just click on the BROWSE button below to read the first chapter! And then, you know, feel free to meander further down to that pretty little three letter word..... ; )
Starting a new series is scary. But it’s an exhilarating kind of scary, like riding a roller coaster in the dark. You know you’re going to be thrown about, you just can’t see what turn is coming next.
Dr. Samantha Owens played a role in my Nashville-based Taylor Jackson series. As Taylor’s best friend, she was the cast of characters’ lodestone, the moral compass of the books. Sam could always see the shades of gray Taylor missed. So when it was time to take her out for a spin in her own book, I figured it would be easy. She was already a real person in my mind, fully formed.
Best laid plans. When I started to write her, she became an enigma. Her voice wasn’t the same when she was the one calling the shots. It took weeks for her to start speaking to me in a language I could understand. The language of loss.
At the beginning of the first book in the series, A DEEPER DARKNESS, she’s broken, practically disabled by the deaths of her family, and barely has the will to live. By the end of the book she’s crossed a threshold into a new world, one that includes the love of a man named Xander, a former Army Ranger who has had his share of trauma and heartache and is slowing trying to mend himself in the Maryland woods.
Love at first sight. People scoff, but it happens. It happened to me, (twenty years and counting) and it happens to Sam. Something about Xander draws her in, literally starts her heart beating again. Even though he’s a murder suspect, she’s intrigued. Careless, even.
And Alexander Whitfield is such a classic hero: so self-contained he’s simmering, really. Simmering for her.
They belonged together, that was clear to me from the moment Xander entered the scene. I had to do a bit of editorial scrambling when I realized it, too, because I wasn’t planning to hook Sam up with a man so soon.
But what could be better for a series than two broken souls joining to make a whole?
With that intensity comes a multitude of opportunities, the first of which you’ll see in EDGE OF BLACK. Sam and Xander have a bright future together, if they can learn to work together instead of striking off alone. And I think they’ll find a way to make it work.
EDGE OF BLACK is on sale November 13, 2012, and is available for Pre-Order Now
What a great honor! I am so excited, and look at the company I'm keeping! Thanks Romantic Times! There's something rather amazing being nominated along side the women you read, respect and in several cases, get into trouble with late at night after award ceremonies. Needless to say, I am so thrilled to nominated with these awesome ladies. Read their books and enjoy!
All the books nominated for Suspense / Thriller Novel
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