First Look at Taylor Jackson #7 - WHERE ALL THE DEAD LIE (9.20.11)

I've been waiting and waiting and waiting to share the new Taylor Jackson with y'all... and I think it's finally time. I am so excited about this book. It was incredibly fun to write, and Mira came up with a brilliant cover and a whole new format, trade paperback. So it's a triply special book.

Fair warning: if you haven't finished SO CLOSE THE HAND OF DEATH, there is a small spoiler ahead.

Get ready for a whole different side of Taylor Jackson....

The headshot didn't kill Taylor Jackson.
But it will haunt.

In her showdown with the murderous Pretender, a bullet taken at close range severed the connection between Taylor’s thoughts and speech. Effectively mute, there’s no telling if her voice will ever come back. Trapped in silence, she is surrounded by ghosts—of the past, of friendships and trusts lost—of the specter of a lost faith in herself and her motives that night.

When Memphis Highsmythe offers Taylor his home in the Scottish highlands to recuperate, her fiancé John Baldwin can’t refuse her excitement, no matter his distrust of the man. At first, Memphis’s drafty and singularly romantic castle seems the perfect place for healing. But shortly the house itself surrounds her like a menacing presence. As Taylor’s sense of isolation and vulnerability grows, so, too, does her grip on reality.

PTSD. Pills. Ghosts. Grudges.

Someone or something is coming after Taylor. But is she being haunted by the dead...or hunted by the living?

WHERE ALL THE DEAD LIE is available for pre-order from your favorite bookseller now! It goes on sale in late September (9-20-11) and the digital version will be out 10-1-11.

I hope you enjoy it!

Brenda Novak's Auction: Breakfast with JT

I am thrilled to be a part of Brenda Novak's Annual Auction for the Cure of Diabetes, 2011.

Up for auction is breakfast wth yours truly at either Thrillerfest in New York July 6-9 or Bouchercon in St. Louis September 15-18.* We'll talk books, publishing, writing, movies - whatever you want.

Bidding opens today - April 30.

It's such a great cause, I hope you'll consider getting involved. And hey, breakfast is the most important meal of the day, right?

* You don't have to attend the conferences to participate in this auction - only planning to be in New York or St. Louis during that time frame.

Foxapalooza!

I was driving through an area of Nashville called Hillwood the other day, on my way to a taping at our local NBC affiliate. I think there's some sort of weird force field that surrounds WSMV, because I've been there for TV 4 times, and I've gotten lost all 4 times. This isn't a hard place to find, either. Maybe I'm just distracted, or nervous, or whatever, but this taping wasn't any different - I managed to turn on the wrong road, ended up in driving circles, and found myself completely turned around.

So I called Randy, who can naviagate in the dark with his eyes closed, and asked how to get there. He sighed. I turned around. And poof. This is what I saw.

I apologize that the pictures aren't great, but I did the best I could.

Foxes, EVERYWHERE! A skulk of foxes, to be exact.

I counted three adults and at least eight kits. Gamboling in the grass.

Of course, my first thought was: she's rabid. Foxes don't hang out during the day like this. But as I watched, I realized they were totally fine, just airing their feathers. We've had so much rain lately that I'm assuming their den under that big magnolia tree got soaked, and the kits were probably driving everyone mad....

"Mom, can't I go out?"

"No son, there's a tornado out there."

"But Moooooooooooommmmmmmmmm. Bark. Bark. Bark. Bark."

(Mother fox sticks fork in eye.)

I am a big fan of the fox. To the point where I use the Japanese Teahouse as my iGoogle theme so I can watch the little fox throughout the day. I even named him - Jinn Kitsune. We had a number of red foxes where I grew up in the woods in Colorado, heck, they come on the back decks and eat dog food, but I've never seen anything like this.

It was quite the blessing. If I hadn't gotten lost, I would never have seen them, frolicking in that front yard. Sometimes stumbling upon the road less traveled is worth being a few minutes late.

I'm going to be relatively incommunicado for the next couple of weeks. Lots to do! I hope your holiday was blessed, and I'll see you soon!

My New Fave: Edamame Succotash

I grabbed this on a whim yesterday at Bread & Company, and boy was I surprised. This cold salad is a perfect afternoon snack. B&C has it in a white wine vinaigrette, so I've included that recipe too. There are several variations of the succotash online, I like it with peppers instead of tomatoes. Add chicken for a high protein meal.

Edamame Succotash

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium red onion, chopped
• 1 bag (1 pound) shelled edamame (soybeans), thawed
• 1 bag (1 pound) frozen corn, thawed, or 3 cups fresh-cut corn kernels (from about 4 ears)
• 2 red peppers, diced (or sliced small)
• 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup minced fresh chives or basil

Directions

Heat the oil in a 4-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until softened but not browned, 4 to 5 minutes.

Add the edamame and corn and cook, turning often, until heated through, about 7 minutes. Stir in the tomato, salt and pepper. Let cool and then chill if packing in a lunch box. When ready to serve, stir in the chives or basil.

White Wine Vinaigrette

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup white wine vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 pinch ground black pepper

Directions

1. Place the oil, vinegar, garlic, sugar, salt and pepper into a jar with a tight fitting lid. Close the lid, and shake vigorously to blend. Use right away, or store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Entering the 21st Century

Oh boy.

It's been exactly two hours since the doorbell rang and my new best friend the FedEx man handed me my brand new iPad2. My little International traveler has been winging its way to me since Monday, when it left China jetted to Hong Kong, stopped off overnight in Taiwan (naughty), then flew to Anchorage, where it hung out for a day with the mooses before leaving for Indianapolis and then on to Nashville and my place. Yes, I've been tracking it's progress with a zealotry I though I reserved for opening day numbers on Amazon - I visited the page multiple times a day, hitting refresh, refresh, refresh, savoring the adrenaline rush when a new entry popped up.

I am a geek.

I gave Randy an iPad last year for his birthday, and have tried very hard to let it be his, and not something I'm constantly borrowing just to have a quick look at.... you know? It's his. I didn't want to develop an attachment to something I wasn't able to use all the time.

But this little honey is mine. All mine.

My laptop sits closed, not forgotten, but lonely, to my left, like a boyfriend I'm cheating on with a new fella. I am flirting with another. It's way past midnight, we're hanging out at the bar, and I, unabashed hussy, am giving it all she's got. Put it this way - he has a beard, a Harley and just got me to do my fourth shot of tequila.

(And what comes on the iPod as I write that but AC/DC SHOOK ME ALL NIGHT LONG. Oh yes you did, sugar.)

I've hooked my newcomer up to the keyboard dock Randy bought but rarely uses. I know that's essentially cheating, but this is for a good purpose - I'm about to take this sucker on a transcontinental journey and I'd really like to be able to leave my laptop at home. Two hours in, and I think I may be able to pull that off. Holy moly! This thing is freaking slick.

For the geeks out there who might be wondering, here's a list of the Apps I ran for:

Wunderlist
Squarespace
Evernote
Reeder
Instapaper
Dropbox
Mozy
Delta
Southwest
Nook
iAWriter
Pages
Pandora

and of course, The Weather Channel.

Flipboard was Randy's suggestion - and WOW. It's really cool, very visual.

So I did have a few problems - mainly user error - I deleted this post accidentally, then rewrote it and was shocked to find that Squarespace wouldn't let me back into it to edit once I'd hit save - hopefully a bug that will be fixed soon.

But I'm a wee bit in love. So if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go try reading a book on this bad boy.

And hooah - Lent's technical over at 7pm.... I MADE IT!