Dear friends:

Oh, boy, do I have some good news to share this month. A huge secret I've been sitting on for quite a while is now out in the wild, so I can finally share it with you. Are you ready?

I've teamed up with the divine, one and only Catherine Coulter (yes, THE Catherine Coulter, of FBI thriller and historical novel fame) to start a new series, called A Brit in the FBI. We've just done a two-book deal to kick off the series — JEWEL OF THE LION is first, followed by YARD OF GRAVES. The series centers around DCI Nicholas Drummond, a New Scotland Yard detective who gets himself embroiled with the FBI, and Catherine's characters Dillon Savich and Lacey Sherlock, of the Washington D.C. FBI, will make an appearance. It looks like JEWEL will be out late next summer, though nothing's set in stone. I will absolutely keep you in the loop.

I'm so excited about this new venture. Catherine and I are a match made in heaven — she's brilliant and funny and an absolutely superb writer. Don't know Catherine yet? Well, here's a taste, from her newsletter. (Sign up for it here if you're not already on her list...)

This is so incredibly exciting. A Brit in the FBI is my new series about an extraordinary Chief Inspector in Scotland Yard, Nicholas Drummond, who amazingly ends up in the FBI in New York City. I've partnered up with J.T. Ellison who is a great writer and has a brain the size of Pluto (Yes, I insist Pluto is a planet).

Each thriller in A Brit in the FBI will have two mysteries (just like the FBI series) and Sherlock and Savich will be a part of the Brit series too, which means you'll get a double dose of S&S every year. You're going to love Nicholas, a great bloke, and his meeting Savich and Sherlock in the first thriller of the series, Jewel of the Lion, is nothing short of a full monty.

You've got questions? Come ask me on Facebook or email me at ReadMoi@gmail.com or check in with J.T. Ellison at JTEllison.com or Facebook.com/JTEllison14.

What a blast!

Books I Recommend

Whew. After all that, don't you want to dive into a good book? Well, there are some super books out this month that you must add to your end of summer reading list. I don't know about you, but mine grows exponentially every month. Darling husband keeps reminding me we can't have bookcases in every room. To which I reply, "Why the heck not?" Here are this month's picks:

Catherine Coulter's FBI series — BACKFIRE is the newest...
Laura Lippman — AND WHEN SHE WAS GOOD
Tess Gerritsen — LAST TO DIE
Lee Child — A WANTED MAN
Henry A. Crumpton THE ART OF INTELLIGENCE: LESSONS FROM A LIFE IN THE CIA'S CLANDESTINE SERVICE
And a fabulous debut, Barbara Claypole White — THE UNFINISHED GARDEN

Contest

The winner of the August contest was Phil Smith. Congratulations! Your audio book is on its way. The September contest is live now, and I'm giving away the KILLER YEAR: Stories to Die For Anthology, to introduce you to some of the finest crime fiction writers today when they were just starting out. It includes stories from Marcus Sakey, Brett Battles, Toni McGee Causey, Allison Brennan... the list goes on and on. It's a fabulous anthology, so I hope you win! You can enter here.

September Recipe

Here is a very, very special recipe from my grandmother's kitchen. It's the perfect transition meal from summer to fall — not to heavy, but warm and filling. We call it Ragu.

Warm 2 Tbs EVOO in a large pan
Dredge 1 lb. Top Round Steak — pounded very thin — in salted and peppered flour. Place in oil and cook until done.
Add 1 Cup good sherry and brown the beef
Add 1 sliced green pepper, brown
Add 2 12oz cans of low sodium Beef Consommé
Add 1/2 cup Heinz ketchup
(If needed, add up to 1/2 cup of water if it's too salty)

Simmer for 1 hour
Serve over/with freshly mashed potatoes

Simple and divine! It's the ultimate in comfort food.

Social Butterfly

I've made some changes to the Tao of JT blog — I'm going to be posting writing centric blogs on Thursdays, and on Sundays, there will be a list of my favorite links of the week. So be sure to stop by and see what's new. As always, the Facebook page is lively, and I'm playing on Twitter under the handle @thrillerchick.

Wishing you and yours the very best for the end of summer. See you in October, and happy reading!

xoxo,