A New AWOW and The Last Smatterings of 2022

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Sunday Smatterings logo on a christmas tree closeup

’Twas the night before…well, Saturday, because it’s Friday evening as I write this. I’m cuddled with the cats in front of the fire; it is genuinely chilly here in Nashvegas. The trees are lit, there is a holiday radio station on the TV (playing The Waitresses, naturally) and I’m going through my ToDo lists making sure everything has been covered before I bid 2022 a fond farewell.

It’s strange how this time of year makes us all flip out. I can’t help feeling compelled to get everything wrapped up, no loose ends or unfinished projects. This year, I am determined to take some time off, and not be worrying about work so I can enjoy the holidays. I have books to read, and cookies to make, and family to enjoy. Its time to put away the Type A personality and chill.

We started early with a quick trip to see bestie Paige and the godbabies in Georgia, which was so deeply soul-nourishing that I am still glowing. Also, Paige’s book launch at Hills and Hamlet was incredible. They have signed copies. You should buy one.

There are a few other things I wanted to share to wrap the year with a tidy bow.

On A WORD ON WORDS this week, I sat down with Gal Beckerman to discuss his fascinating book THE QUIET BEFORE.

If you get the newsletter, you already know about this, but if not, I was delighted to have an extensive, wide-ranging interview with my friend Cal Newport about the realities of becoming a thriller writer.

I made a new friend recently who shares my love of examining the deep life, albeit on her own terms. Lauren Lowrey has a very cool podcast called Amstigator, and her last show of the year discusses the vital nature of allowing ourselves to be fallow over the winter in order to build stronger roots for our creativity. I loved this idea, which is, of course, analogous to the seasonality discussions Cal has been sharing. It seems more and more of us are seeing the value in slowing down instead of grinding it out day after day.

Here’s a quick look at what I’m reading this month, in addition to Paige’s awesome THE LOST WITCH.

And on the Joss side of things, there’s a new short story out today called A BETRAYAL OF MAGIC that you can read for free if you sign up for the newsletter, or grab it on Kindle. A major goal for 2023 - I am taking Jayne’s world wide, so you’ll be able to buy/read from any store you like.

And lo, this brings me to a wonderful moment in time. I am closed for business until January 3!

Mr. E, the kitties, and I wish you a safe, healthy, peaceful, and joyous holiday season. See you in 2023!

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J.T. Ellison

J.T. Ellison is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than 25 novels, and the EMMY® award winning co-host of thJoss Walkere literary TV show A WORD ON WORDS. She also writes urban fantasy under the pen name Joss Walker.

With millions of books in print, her work has won critical acclaim and prestigious awards. Her titles have been optioned for television and published in twenty-eight countries.

J.T. lives with her husband and twin kittens in Nashville, where she is hard at work on her next novel.

IT'S ONE OF US Cover Reveal!

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I am absolutely thrilled to share the cover of IT’S ONE OF US with you today. Just look at this beauty!

Everybody lies. Even the ones you think you know best of all . . .

Olivia Bender designs exquisite home interiors that satisfy the most demanding clients. But her own deepest desire can’t be fulfilled by marble counters or the perfect rug. She desperately wants to be a mother. Fertility treatments and IVF keep failing. And just when she feels she’s at her lowest point, the police deliver shocking news to Olivia and her husband, Park.

DNA results show that the prime suspect in a murder investigation is Park’s son. Olivia is relieved, knowing this is a mistake. Despite their desire, the Benders don’t have any children. Then comes the confession. Many years ago, Park donated sperm to a clinic. He has no idea how many times it was sold—or how many children he has sired.

As the murder investigation goes deeper, more terrible truths come to light. With every revelation, Olivia must face the unthinkable. The man she married has fathered a killer. But can she hold that against him when she keeps such dark secrets of her own?

This twisting, emotionally layered thriller explores the lies we tell to keep a marriage together--or break each other apart . . .

And here’s a mini-interview about IT’S ONE OF US at Crime by the Book, so you can get a bit of the story behind the story.

I can’t wait for you to read this book. Stay tuned for all sorts of giveaways, special treats, and more. But in the meantime, might I suggest that you pre-order?? 🤠

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J.T. Ellison

J.T. Ellison is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than 25 novels, and the EMMY® award winning co-host of thJoss Walkere literary TV show A WORD ON WORDS. She also writes urban fantasy under the pen name Joss Walker.

With millions of books in print, her work has won critical acclaim and prestigious awards. Her titles have been optioned for television and published in twenty-eight countries.

J.T. lives with her husband and twin kittens in Nashville, where she is hard at work on her next novel.

HER DARK LIES Media Roundup and End of the Year Sale

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What a wondeful way to wrap up the release year! Only for this week, HER DARK LIES is $2.99.

Fast-paced and brilliantly unpredictable, HER DARK LIES invites you to a wedding none will forget—and some won’t survive.

Pick up the ebook before the deal ends. And read on for the media round up. It was a wonderful year for this little book, and I can’t thank you enough for all your support!

Get your copy!

Kindle | Nook | Apple Books | Google Play | Kobo

Recognition

•   PW Picks: Books of the Week, March 8, 2021

•   New York Post: The best new books to read, week of March 6: Top releases, updated weekly

•   Apple Books March Must Listen

•   The Big Thrill feature

•   Mystery Scene feature

•   Goodreads: 36 of the Most Anticipated Mysteries and Thrillers of 2021

•   CNN: 20 of the most anticipated new books to read this March

•   Crime Reads: The Best New Books Out in Paperback This March

•   The Real Book Spy’s March 2021 Reading Guide

•   Smart Bitches, Trashy Books: March 2021 New Releases, Part One

•   Frolic: Ten Hot Reads for March 2021

 

Featured Reviews

•   Publishers Weekly, starred review

•   Shelf Awareness

•   Bookreporter

•   Criminal Element

•   Booktrib

•   Providence Journal

•   Nashville Scene/Chapter 16

  

Featured Essays

•   Rogue Women Writers: J.T. Ellison Goes Rogue

•   Crime Reads: Eight Dark Novels of Love and Obsession, Against A Mediterranean Backdrop

 

Interviews to Watch

•   Parnassus Books: In Conversation with Allison Brennan

•   Writer’s Block Bookstore: In Conversation with Lisa Gardner

•   Murder By The Book: In Conversation with Helen Ellis

•   Mysterious Galaxy: In Conversation with Lisa Unger

•   Page 158 Books: In Conversation with store owner Sue Lucey

•   Woolfer Author Series: In Conversation with Carmen Tanner Slaughter

•   First Chapter Fun with Hannah & Hank

•   ScaredStraightReads Instagram Live

•   Write for Success with Leslie Zemeckis

•   Murder By The Book: Adele Parks and Lisa Jewell In Conversation with J.T. Ellison

 

Podcasts and Interviews

•   Crime By The Book

•   Author Stories with Hank Garner

•   Thoughts From A Page Podcast 

•   Howe's Things

•   Thriller Talk with K.J. Howe and Ryan Steck

•   Vox Vomitus

•   Book Brag with Lynne Constantine and Wendy Walker

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, , ,

J.T. Ellison

J.T. Ellison is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than 25 novels, and the EMMY® award winning co-host of thJoss Walkere literary TV show A WORD ON WORDS. She also writes urban fantasy under the pen name Joss Walker.

With millions of books in print, her work has won critical acclaim and prestigious awards. Her titles have been optioned for television and published in twenty-eight countries.

J.T. lives with her husband and twin kittens in Nashville, where she is hard at work on her next novel.

It’s gonna be a KILLER YEAR!

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I am thrilled to share that Killer Year is back! This amazing collection of stories from the debut authors of 2007 and their International Thriller Writers (ITW) mentors is worth reading for itself, but here we are, lucky thirteen years later, and the careers of the authors inside this collection have blossomed. Some have even gone stratospheric.

There have been movies and television shows, multiple New York Times bestsellers, publishing houses established, ghostwriting and cowriting gigs secured, flourishing indie careers—the works. Some of us have published only a few books in the intervening years, some have published many. But what we all have in common is an abiding love for the crime fiction genre, which is on showcase in this collection. From supernatural suspense to mob stories, literary to private investigators, police procedural to true crime, plus stories, essays, and observations from the ITW mentors, KILLER YEAR truly has something for everyone. So sit back, relax, and let the finest voices in crime fiction take you away! I hope that you'll find some new to you authors in these gems, and seek out their work as well.

Meet the Killer Year debut authors of 2007


Brett Battles
J.T. Ellison
Jason Pinter
Bill Cameron
Dave White
Derek Nikitas
Gregg Olsen
Marcus Sakey
Robert Gregory Browne
Toni McGee Causey
Marc Lecard
Patry Francis
Sean Chercover

(with honorable mentions to original members who weren't in the anthology way back when, Sandra Ruttan, C.J. Lyons, and Phil Hawley.)

What’s this all about, you might ask? Here’s a little history on Killer Year, the organization and the anthology:

Debuts novelists didn't used to get a lot of attention, and in crime fiction particularly, many of us started in mass market paperback, which, at the time, had little to no chance of being reviewed in the trades. Concerned we might get lost in the shuffle of big name authors debuting, a few of us banded together to start a crime-fiction-specific marketing organization to raise the profile of ALL the debut authors in the genre. We of course missed a few, folks like Laura Benedict and Karna Bodman, among others, but a small knot of writers got involved, and we went into the very first Thrillerfest armed with T-shirts, postcards, riding a wave of media and our own enthusiasm so high that we drew the attention of the leadership of ITW. M.J. Rose, Steve Berry, and Lee Child in particular thought what we were doing was smart, and sat down with us to offer a deal—let ITW adopt the Killer Year program. Each of us got a mentor, an established ITW bestseller who helped us navigate our release year, read our books, offered personal advice and public support. It was a staggering cool situation, made all the better by actually working—our debut novels all got press. We got reviews. We got blurbs from bestsellers. We got media attention. We made a splash. (The Debutante Ball was the literary/women's fiction equivalent of our program, definitely check them out, too.)

There were other positive downstream effect of Killer Year that continue to this day. ITW was able to design a debut author program that brought up each new "class" of writers, year after year. Publishing in general paid attention as well, and lo these many years later, being a debut is a special, incredible, managed "event" rather than a spaghetti against the wall attempt to start a career.

Pretty heady stuff.

The anthology was a natural extension of this endeavor. My own mentor, the indomitable Lee Child, stepped in as editor. M.J. wrote us an introduction that perfectly explained the adage we all now know to be true: a rising tide lifts all boats. Laura Lippman gave us a coda. Mentors Allison Brennan, Ken Bruen, and Duane Swierczynski wrote original stories. And all the Killer Year members wrote a tale, which is introduced by their individual mentors. St. Martins did us proud with the release, and now, Two Tales is trying to do the same.

This is a special, special collection, in too many ways to count. I hope you love it—especially this stunning new cover! It's gonna be a Killer Year, again!


What are you reading this weekend?

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, , ,

J.T. Ellison

J.T. Ellison is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than 25 novels, and the EMMY® award winning co-host of thJoss Walkere literary TV show A WORD ON WORDS. She also writes urban fantasy under the pen name Joss Walker.

With millions of books in print, her work has won critical acclaim and prestigious awards. Her titles have been optioned for television and published in twenty-eight countries.

J.T. lives with her husband and twin kittens in Nashville, where she is hard at work on her next novel.

JUDAS KISS has a new cover!

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Next up in the Taylor Jackson series cover re-issue is Judas Kiss! What do you think?

Get your copy!

KINDLE
NOOK
APPLE BOOKS
KOBO
GOOGLE PLAY

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, , ,

J.T. Ellison

J.T. Ellison is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than 25 novels, and the EMMY® award winning co-host of thJoss Walkere literary TV show A WORD ON WORDS. She also writes urban fantasy under the pen name Joss Walker.

With millions of books in print, her work has won critical acclaim and prestigious awards. Her titles have been optioned for television and published in twenty-eight countries.

J.T. lives with her husband and twin kittens in Nashville, where she is hard at work on her next novel.