THE SIXTH DAY - Available Today!

It’s here! THE SIXTH DAY is on sale today at all retailers in all formats!

I’ll be the first to admit, naming the 5th book in the Brit in the FBI series THE SIXTH DAY shows a small lack of foresight on our part, as now that the 6th book is underway, I keep finding myself saving files to the Sixth Day folder. A small price to pay, though, for what I think is the most intricate, intense ride of the series thus far.

Set in London, Nicholas and Mike are up against a villain who thinks he’s a descendent of Vlad the Impaler, and believes the lost pages of the Voynich Manuscript hold the answers to save his twin brother from the grips of severe hemophilia. (Get it - vampires, hemophilia…) Plus, there is some high-tech madness, and a drone army, and falcons named after the original Cabal. Trust me when I say Nicholas and Mike have their hands full. 

You might wonder how Catherine and I cook up these crazy plots. Normally, we meet at her place in California, but for this book, we set up shop in a lovely hotel in Manhattan, with oodles of tea and bacon (the staples of life) being brought by room service, and started throwing ideas against the wall.  We had two basic concepts to start with — the Voynich Manuscript and Vlad Dracul —  and we tossed out plot twists until they began to gel into a plausible story. 

We had so many cool ideas for THE SIXTH DAY I often wondered how we would manage to fit them all in. But we did, and the result is a mind-bending thriller that will leave you breathless. 

A part of this book’s inspiration was a family affair. I have to give props to my dad and my brothers for inspiring the falcons in the book. We were walking on the beach last year and my eldest brother mentioned a documentary he’d seen about a falcon hospital in Saudi Arabia. My dad had forwarded me a story about the French using eagles and falcons to take down drones just days before … and my middle brother mentioned he’d recently seen a story about a Saudi Prince booking seats for 80 of his falcons on board a plane. I was hooked on these ideas and ran to Catherine and said — Roman has to be a falconer. She bought in immediately, for which I will be forever grateful.

In that vein, I also have to give props to Helen Macdonald for her incredible book H IS FOR HAWK (recommended to me years ago by my very first editor, so how’s that for full circle), and Deborah Harkness for introducing me to the Voynich in her incredible DISCOVERY OF WITCHES series. These inspirations truly helped bring this book to life.

Thanks to all!

I hope you enjoy THE SIXTH DAY – let me know what you think!

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Daily Tao ☯ 5.23.17

A stellar start to the book today, 2300 words. I could have kept going, but there were a ton of distractions, too. My fault, I forgot to turn on Freedom and ended up dealing with an issue that should have waited until after work hours. My goal is to average 2000 per day 5 days a week, and I’m feeling confident enough in the story that I think this is very doable.

I am back in my zone, only taking appointments and calls on Mondays and Fridays, which allows for deep work Tuesday through Thursday. It worked for the last book so well I’m excited to try it again. If it continues to work, it means I can almost double my usual weekly output, which makes my brain (and my publishing partners) very happy, because there are so many stories begging to get out. 

Last night was historic in Nashville. My beloved Predators won the Western Conference title, and will be playing in the Stanley Cup for the very first time. And I will be there, in my nineteen-year-old practice sweater, cheering them on. The Preds came to town the same year I did, and I’ve always been a fan. My parents took me to Colorado Rockies and Washington Capitals games growing up, and darling husband continued in their stead, so this is a lifelong quest, for me to see my team make it to the big dance.  

And at the same time, my heart is breaking for the families in Manchester, England. It’s a terrible thing, and I was so torn last night, filled with great pride and great sorrow. It feels like the world should stop turning when these horrible events happen, but it doesn’t. All I can do is offer a prayer, and make sure the godless people who commit these atrocities are forever stopped in my novels. You wonder why I write crime fiction? So I can stop the bastards in their tracks. 

And on that rather vicious note, sweet dreams!

Daily Tao ☯ 5.10.17

Very late to the blog tonight, but here I am, stuffed full of Barolo and branzino, the most delightfully delicate pears wrapped in prosciutto, and incredible chocolate and coconut soufflés, courtesy of my lovely publishers at Gallery Books. They took Catherine and me to dinner tonight after jam packed afternoon—a couple of interviews, lots of great meetings and planning sessions, and a champagne social with the most adorable cupcakes ever! There is really nothing cooler than meeting the people who take our manuscripts and turn them into the gorgeous creations you pick up at the bookstore. Book making people are the best people, I say. They sure do know how to eat!

Had a fun dinner with my agent last night, as well. We had a celebrity sighting — the most divine Isabella Rossellini — which I took to be a sign, as Catherine and I had just named a major character in THE BLOOD CABAL Isabella. What are the odds?

More Blood Cabal work tomorrow, then another lunch, two dinners and one drinks date with friends… I’m going to waddle home at this rate, with no voice (I'm still husky, coughing and sneezing. Better, but not great. I love adrenaline.) An image, right?

I hope your day was advantageous. Sweet dreams, my dears!

Daily Tao ☯ 5.8.17

New York, New York! I love this place. The vibe, the people, the food… the moment I step out of the car in Manhattan I always feel so very alive.

Tomorrow starts the big brainstorm with Catherine for Book #5 of the Brit in the FBI series — THE BLOOD CABAL. I spent the weekend reading through a metric ton of research—I’ve been clipping stories and writing down ideas for a couple of months now. I made a lovely binder separated by topic to supplement my files in Evernote. (Hello, nerd!)

Nerds Unite! 

I’m a big fan of online research, but there’s something settling about having a print back up, just in case. There is a lot to learn in order to make this book work, and I’m sure some of what I’ve cooked up will be replaced by bigger, grander ideas. When CC and I get together and start working, we’re rather combustible. 

Trip up was just fine, though I’m still lacking in the voice arena. I have Chloraseptic, Halls, tea, cough medicine with codeine, and a massive bottle of water that’s being refilled constantly. I had to cancel my dinner plans tonight, which breaks my heart, but I’m afraid I might infect the world if I’m not careful. Caring is NOT sharing, am I right?

Hope you had a lovely day!

(Also, I've been hearing some of you are having problems commenting. If you are, please let Amy know so we can share the issue with Squarespace!)

7.28.15 - The Kind of News I Like To Share

Some super fun news to share with y'all today -- as announced in Publishers Marketplace.

July 27, 2015 - THE FINAL CUT and THE LOST KEY by Catherine Coulter and J.T. Ellison

Television rights:

Catherine Coulter and J.T. Ellison's NYT bestselling A Brit In The FBI series, including THE FINAL CUT and THE LOST KEY, to Amber Television producing with Endemol Shine International distributing, by Erica Spellman Silverman on behalf of Robert Gottlieb at Trident Media Group.

Talk about fun! More news as we have it. 

Now you REALLY want to pre-order THE END GAME, don't you???

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