Happy Sunday! I hope you’re having a restful weekend.

When I sat down to draft Smatterings this week, I had a sudden realization.

I am out of practice living my life.

It sounds strange to say aloud, but that’s exactly what’s happening. For months now, I’ve been working toward the dual goals of book release and book deadline, doing knee rehab and managing both pain and expectations. It’s taken oodles of time, all my brain energy, and much of my physical energy, as well. 

But now the incredibly fun but taxing GOOD GIRLS LIE tour is done and the path is cleared for me to finish this book. I can go to the gym regularly without terrible pain. I’m reading a couple of great books and watching some excellent TV.

But everything feels... strange. I am not an adrenaline junkie, far from it, but the stress of the past few months has certainly temporarily rewired my brain to crave a different kind of excitement and stimuli than normal. 

Which is why I’m debating starting my social media sabbatical a little early, so I can get back into a more quiet groove. Wake, eat, write, gym, write, cook, read/watch, sleep. That’s my perfect day. It is simple, and calm. It gives me my best chance to produce work that you will enjoy. Which, truly, is the only thing that matters in the long run. I hope stepping away from the day-to-day socials early will help me find that equilibrium again. 

Speaking of watch: I’ve been watching the Netflix show THE WITCHER, which is based on Andrzej Sapkowski's fantasy books. It is so good, so much fun, a knight-errant tale that has all the best fantasy tropes: humor; romance; monsters; moral quandaries; sword-fighting; new worlds; evil, evil villains; and of course, magic. It’s been the perfect antidote to my own adrenal overload. I find Henry Cavill strangely appealing in this role, much more so than any he’s played. And it is littered with incredible female characters. I am mad for the Mage Yennifer, played by the stunning Anya Chalotra. I have to say, she would be AMAZING as Dr. Samantha Owens… Highly recommended.

I sent out a plea on Twitter this week asking for new shows to watch, so now I have a huge long list. I’ll report back my thoughts as I plow through them. I find great TV, like great writing, refills my well very nicely.

And with that, off we go!

GOOD GIRLS IN THE WILD…

Though the bulk of the physical tour is over, more PR and media coverage continues to roll in, for which I am forever grateful! Here are a few of the places GOOD GIRLS LIE has popped up recently:

-Shelf Awareness: “An intense work of suspense, featuring a protagonist who holds her cards close to her vest…The final act's twist will send readers back to the beginning, eager to see how the pieces fit perfectly without having given anything away.”

-BookReporter: “I encourage readers to pick up what may be Ellison's most addictive novel to date. While reading, I could not help but think that this page-turner would make a great film or miniseries. Can you hear me, Netflix?”

-Game Of Books Corks and Conversation with J.T. Ellison: This was such a fun conversation. We chatted up a storm, and I know you’ll love their podcast.

THE LATEST ON THE INTERNET:

New York Public Library’s Top 10 Checkouts of All Time. Not what I was expecting!

Crafters create pouches, mittens for burned animals in Australia. Attention, knitters and crafty folk…what a wonderful endeavor!

12 Genius Hacks for Bookworms. Do you do any of these?

Netflix’s ‘The Witcher’ Has Turned ‘The Last Wish’ Into An NYT Best-Seller, 27 Years Later. As plugged above… but this is a wonderful lesson on IP — intellectual property — it’s never too late for a book to be optioned!

10 Facts About Jane Austen’s Sanditon. The miniseries looks pretty great, and is on my list.

What I learned from studying billions of words of online fan fiction. "The overriding reason that authors wrote fan fiction, we found, was for the love of it. They unanimously believed that it had helped them to become better writers." Have you read any great fan fiction?

‘Little Women’ was filmed entirely in Massachusetts. Here are the historic, picturesque locations from the movie. Gorgeous! Have you seen the movie yet? I am SO overdue for a trip to the theater.

7 Dream Jobs For Book-Lovers. There’s nothing better than books.

WHAT I’M READING:

DIGITAL MINIMALISM by Cal Newport

I’m sensing a theme this week, aren’t you? Cal Newport is always on my best of list when he has a book out, mostly because I admire how he stares into the digital abyss and finds a path for us mere mortals to navigate. I appreciate the thought behind this book—how can we find ways to make the internet work for us, instead of sapping our energy and creating issues? A wonderful quick read and a solid life plan for those of us who struggle with digital addictions.

What are you reading?

That’s it from me. Take a day off the socials and see how it feels, find a great new show to binge, organize your TBR pile, and I’ll see you next week!

Peace and hugs,
J.T.