3.27.16 - Sunday Smatterings

Hello, Chickens!

Hope you're having a lovely Sunday, and if you're celebrating Easter that it's a happy and blessed day. Are you enjoying the advent of spring? I, for one, am so happy to see budding trees and brilliantly green grass again. Just pumps the life back into you after a long winter.

Also, before we talk links, I have to tell you something:

Thank you so much for all the kind words, reviews, and well wishes for NO ONE KNOWS!

It's truly daunting to send a book out into the world—because after I write it, it's no longer mine. It's yours (as it should be!). It amazes me to see how the words I pour onto the page affect readers in a unique way; nobody reads the same book, really. So I appreciate the feedback; I want to make sure I'm doing my job as the storyteller. 

If you took time to purchase, review (either way! I like to learn from the negative ones, too), Facebook, tweet, or sent anything surrounding the book, I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart.

Speaking of which: Thunderclap supporters, listen up!

I have a special thank-you gift for you: the original ending to NO ONE KNOWS. If you'd like to read it, email Amy (amy@jtellison.com). She'll send it out in the next couple of weeks, when you've had a chance to read the book. I'll be curious to see what you think!

I'm winding down the my campaign blitz for this book. TONIGHT I'll be on Second Sunday Crime with Libby Hellmann at 6 pm CST, chatting about the book. Listen in! It'll be a fun time!

Also, I do have to share one bit of news: Bookbub named NO ONE KNOWS as one of 10 New Thrillers to Read This Spring, which always makes me so excited!

Alright, would you like some links? Here you go.

 

Here's what happened on the Internets this week:

There's a lot that goes into titling a book: more than you'd think. Here's an insider scoop on how authors and publishers (finally) land on a book title.

These are 10 foods from literature you can actually make.

And here are 5 tips to lead a happy life.

This is a library. In the shape of a book!

Creativity is not an accident: it's earned. And speaking of creativity: is solitude a key element to its success?

Whole Foods has committed to replace its chickens, bred to gain weight rapidly, with slower-growing breeds by 2024. 

These bookshelves look like Pantone color swatches. I want them. I want them.

These 12 dogs are mesmerized by books, and it is one of the cutest things ever.

These are the best umbrellas for bookworms. 

 

And closer to home:

On the Tao this week, I shared some of the nonfiction pieces I wrote for the release of NO ONE KNOWS. I wrote 1/4 of a novel just about the book itself!

Are you on Instagram? I've been picking up my Instagram game lately, and I really like it as a social medium (pretty pictures! shiny!). If you're on Instagram, you can follow me here. I post both pictures and words (because... I don't know if you know this, but I love words).

That's it from me! Thank you again for all your support, enjoy your Easter, and hopefully some springlike weather, and we'll chat again soon.

Xoxo,
J.T.

3.20.16 - Sunday Smatterings

Hi, y'all!

Both J.T. and Amy here, super stoked and wondering how we finally got to our first big 2016 moment: it's release week for a little book you may have heard us mention once or twice. 

Still stumped? Well...

NO ONE KNOWS comes out this week!!!!!!!

We know, we know: we're a little beside ourselves. We'll be talking about the book quite a lot this week, so apologies for our excitement: between signings and interviews and chats and giveaways, we've been planning all kinds of fun for this week, and we want you guys to know about all the action. Rest assured, we'll return to our regularly scheduled program soon. 

But we're SO glad to share this week (ahem, five years in the making) with you!!!
 

And don't forget: the pre-order contest to win an iPad Mini is still going strong until Monday at 11:59 pm CST. So if you plan to buy the book, go ahead and do it, and send an email to Amy with your proof of purchase to put your hat in the ring.

Alright, alright, you came here for links, and links are what you'll get. So. Without further ado...

Here's what happened on the Internets this week:

Disney announced they're making a new Indiana Jones movie, slated for a 2019 release, and the Internet had all kinds of feelings about it.

Nashvillians! Have you heard about the newest endeavor of our lovely indie store, Parnassus Books? They just opened a bookmobile called Pegasus (Peggy for short), and it is the cutest thing ever! Wanna find out where Peggy is every day? Follow her Twitter feed!

Fans of The Walking Dead will be excited (or horrified) to hear that Universal Studios is bringing TWD experience to life!

The days of finding a mass market paperback edition of To Kill a Mockingbird (the cheap format used by schools nationwide) are numbered.

It's so satisfying to meet people who love what they do every day. The owner of an Athens, GA, bookstore is one of those people. This is such a great interview! Her enthusiasm is so infectious that we're determined to find our way to this bookstore someday.

Do you have trouble forcing yourself out of bed in the morning? We know: leaving a warm, cozy bed can be the hardest part of the day. But here are some tips on how to wake up—and get up—easier.

Remember Karen Hall's Dark Debts? Everyone in the book world thought this book was the start of Hall's great literary career—but she never wrote another book, only obsessing about Dark Debts' flaws. But Hall just rewrote the book for its 20th anniversary, and the New York Times did a fascinating profile about it.

Here's what your favorite Harry Potter book says about you.

Can drinking wine before bed really help you lose weight!?

These are 27 things every book lover knows to be true.

And closer to home:
 

J.T. blogged about wanting to quit. It's a particularly poignant week for this post, really, considering NO ONE KNOWS took 5 years, 5 titles, and 18 drafts before it became the book you'll get your hands on Tuesday. Never give up, folks.

And if you'd like to say hi to J.T. this week, in person or virtually, head over to the Events page. You can see where she'll be (and, of course, we'll blast it all over Facebook and Twitter, so you're in the know).

Alright, peeps, that's it from us. J.T. is going to end her Lenten fast a bit early (you know, book launch and such), so you'll be hearing from her for the majority of the time from this week on. I (Amy) must say, it's been SO fun to chat and laugh with you guys over the break. J.T.'s right: she really does have the best readers. Thanks for welcoming me so warmly into the fold!

And we'll leave you with this:

Xoxo,
J.T. and Amy

3.13.16 - Sunday Smatterings

Hi, everyone!

Amy here, visiting my flood-drenched family in West TN. Hope your weeks are filled with a little more sunshine than we've seen out here!

And P.S. thanks so much for all the birthday wishes. You guys are the best.

And without further ado...

Here's what happened on the Internets this week:

If you don't listen to Story Corps, you're missing out. Every week, Story Corps shares an interview between two people about anything and everything. Forrest Gump's box of chocolates observation applies here: you never know what you're gonna get. One thing's for certain: I'm probably going to cry every week. This week's episode (featuring Officer Clemmons from Mister Roger's Neighborhood) was no exception. 

It was sad when George Martin died, but even worse when the Internet freaked out because they thought George R.R. Martin, author of the Game of Thrones books, died before finishing the series.

In case you need a dose of sunshine, here are some hidden beaches for bookworms. Perfect for zero-interruption reading!

Could it be? According to this study, drinking wine could help prevent Alzheimer's.

BREAKING NEWS: Mr. Darcy's shirt is coming to America!

From Lifehacker, to get inspired, sometimes you need to give up.

My favorite new podcast is called Curious Nashville, a delightful offering from our local public radio station, WPLN. I'm excited for the show's premise: WPLN reporters invite listeners to submit questions they have about the city of Nashville—anything and everything. Folks vote for their favorite questions they want answered, and WPLN's intrepid reporters try to find out the answers. The first show was an exploration of a mysterious epitaph in the City Cemetery, and it's a wild ride whose answer lies a thousand miles away. I'm proud of the station's quest to report not only the news making headlines, but also for allowing listeners to reach beyond the newsmakers, and to open their eyes to the questions that lie all around us.

Heads up, winos: New Zealand is about to start making Prosecco!

Are you a book hoarder?? Um... me too. Here are 16 reasons for us to be proud of that. And! If you have lots of hoarded books, you could use them to decorate like these fine folks. 

And closer to home:

On The Wine Vixen this week, I featured the first rosé on our site: a delightful Cava that would go perfectly with any celebration you've got this spring. 

And don't forget: there's still time to pre-order J.T.'s standalone NO ONE KNOWS and enter to win an iPad Mini! Odds of winning this iPad >>>>>>> odds of winning the lottery. To enter, just email me proof your purchased NO ONE KNOWS.

That's it from me! I leave you with this quote to inspire your week.

–Amy

3.6.15 - Sunday Smatterings

Happy Sunday, lovely people!

Amy here. I hope you've had a nice, relaxing weekend! I've been reading Kristin Hannah's The Nightingale and eating Mexican food and donuts.

Because I spend my weekends partying hard.

Speaking of partying hard, J.T. and I have been cooking up some fun around NO ONE KNOWS' release later this month.

In the form of an iPad Mini giveaway!

If you'd like to throw your hat in the ring, just email proof that you pre-ordered NO ONE KNOWS to me (amy@jtellison.com)! On March 22 we'll email a randomly selected winner. Your chances of winning this iPad Mini are exceedingly greater than winning the lottery. Just sayin'.

And if you'd like to help us spread the word about NO ONE KNOWS to your friends, you can join our Thunderclap! What's a Thunderclap, you ask? In two clicks, you can automatically send out a message to your friends on NO ONE KNOWS' release day—2 clicks, that's all it takes. And everybody who signs up will send a message at the same time—hence, a social media "clap of thunder"! And we've got some thank-you goodies for taking time out of your day to spread the word. We really appreciate you!

Now then. Here's what happened on the Internets this week:

If you watched the runaway Netflix hit Making a Murderer, you might be interested to hear that Steven Avery's lead prosecutors, Dean Strang and Jerry Buting, are touring the country to have conversations on the criminal justice system.

Have you ever heard an interview with someone and immediately thought, "I wanna be their best friend!" I had one of those moments when I heard this interview with Zimbabwean author Petina Gappah. She's fascinating and hilarious, and I can't wait to read her book!

With the hectic schedules and chock-full routines that consume our lives, sometimes you need poke in the heart to remember why you get up in the morning, why you do what you do. If you need a pick-me-up, read Calvin & Hobbes cartoonist Bill Watterson's 1990 commencement speech at Kenyon College. That man knows how to distill wisdom.

I might've eaten this Madras Chicken Salad for, um, four lunches this week. And maybe a couple of dinners. It doesn't matter if you eat Paleo or not, this chicken salad is the bomb. 

You may know comedian Aziz Ansari from his stint on NBC's Parks & Recreation as Tom Haverford, the silly millennial with a passion for starting ill-fated businesses. But Ansari's passion in real life is food (he and I can agree on that). I follow Aziz's Twitter feed to see where he eats as he travels—it's an easy way to get food suggestions when I visit the same cities. But in the end, Aziz's favorite dish in the world is his mom's  chicken korma, which looks so good and so easy to make that I'm going to try my hand at it this week! (PS if you've never tried your hand at Indian food, it's actually pretty simple to make—the hardest part is gathering the spices, but now that we have the Internet, spices are just a click away!)

And closer to home:
 

Get to know the woman I'm proud to call my boss. This article in a local weekly paper came out this week, and I glowed because so many people got to say lovely things about J.T. She blushed. She teared up. It was wonderful.

On The Wine Vixen, I discussed a red blend that paired delightfully well with chocolate cake. I know. These are the pressing matters I need to keep you informed of.

That's it from me! Be good, enter to win an iPad Mini, and I'll talk to you soon!

–Amy

2.28.16 - Sunday Smatterings

Hi, guys! Amy here, wondering how are we at the end of February!?! Not that I'm complaining: you know I've been waiting for spring for the past few weeks. I spotted the first buttercups peeking out of the ground this week, and I flushed with giddy excitement. 

SPRING IS ALMOST HERE! 
 

But I digress . . . 

Here's what happened on the Internets this week:

This is beyond precious: kids practice reading to shy shelter dogs at Missouri humane society. Be still, my beating heart! 

When I worked for HarperCollins, cover meetings were always my favorite. I loved getting to see someone else's visual representation of what a story was all about, and to watch that cover evolve over time (believe me: there are several iterations of a cover before the book hits shelves). This was a fascinating read from a book cover designer who crafted one of the coolest covers I've seen in a while.

Game of Thrones fans: George R.R. Martin has revealed that his (forthcoming TBD) sixth book in A Song of Ice and Fire, THE WINDS OF WINTER, features a character that's been killed off in the show. Oh my! I'm curious to see how the two plots diverge even further . . . 

Book World Alert: Barnes & Noble says they have an Amazon-like store in the works.

This is the best Harper Lee tribute I read.

You guys. Library bars are a real thing!

I love to cook—a lot. When we were first dating, Boyfriend opened my spice drawer (one of them, anyway) and jumped back about three feet, baffled by the sheer volume of spices I had (hey, they're basically my grown-up box of 96-count Crayolas). It takes a lot for a recipe to get on my regular rotation, and this one just did. I love Greek/Turkish food with all my heart, and I swear, I think this recipe for homemade gyro meat must be identical to my favorite Turkish place in town. Wow, mama, are these delicious! Any extra meat you have leftover would freeze beautifully, I'd wager (and you're gonna want leftovers—trust me).  

 

And closer to home:

J.T. wrote a blog post about Imposter Syndrome, a new buzzword flying around the creative world, and why it's a bunch of rubbish (need a boost? read this post). 

On The Wine Vixen, I wrote about this delicious Sauvignon Blanc that YOU MUST have in your life this spring. Seriously. This is the best white I've had in quite a while AND it's under $20.

And don't forget: there's a Goodreads giveaway to win one of 30 advanced copies of J.T.'s new Taylor Jackson prequel, FIELD OF GRAVES! Look at it this way: your odds of winning a copy far outweigh your chances of winning the lottery. Just sayin'.

That's it from me! I hope you find buttercups, chocolate, and good books somewhere in your life this week. I'll talk to you soon!

–Amy