Daily Tao ☯ 6.9.17

Excellent writing day today. The girls and I hung out on the porch, they: melting into little kitten-sized puddles in the sun, me: typing away. As of this moment, I’ve crossed the 10K line on the book—which means technically, I’m over 1/10th of the way done!—and the story is starting to shape up. I’m going to write some more before I shut down for the night, but I wanted to get this blog done first. A palette cleanser, so to speak.

Preds were outplayed and lost big last night, which was a shame, but they’re back in Nashville Sunday, and I’m sure we’ll whoop some Penguin butt. And then it’s back to Pittsburgh. Our boys need to dig deep to beat them in their own house in Game 7, but it’s not over until the fat penguin sings. 

Quick alert: June newsletter is in your inboxes. If you didn’t get it, check your spam, and if you’re using Gmail, your promotions tab. If you find it there, a favor — drag it to your inbox so Gmail knows it’s a legit email you’ve requested! Same for Outlook users, as it might be stripped out of your focused inbox.

Why is this a good newsletter, you ask? Because it has an excerpt of LIE TO ME, so you definitely want to get it opened!

Oh, the remodel is going great — demo was quick, quiet, and the big push starts again Monday! Still trying to find a rug that's cut pile, not loop, but of all the problems to have...

So it’s a quiet weekend ahead for us. It’s going to be beautiful weather, but since the mister and I are still battling this funk, I foresee a lot of reading and writing, and maybe even some decluttering, if I get the energy. At least the laundry folded and me unpacked — I sort of came back from New York and collapsed. 

Have a lovely weekend, chickens!

Daily Tao ☯ 6.7.17

Riding my wave today. Two versions of synopsis for THE BLOOD CABAL done and sent to California, actual words on the page, edits on a short story, and tonight, I’m in conversation with my friend Heather Gudenkauf for her new novel NOT A SOUND. It’s a great book—the main character is profoundly deaf after an accident, and the claustrophobia of her situation, to be suddenly plunged into silence, and be in danger, was fascinating to me. If you remember, at one point in the Taylor series, she too is made silent by an accident, mute, and the challenges of writing the character without a voice, or hearing, is extreme. I’m looking forward to hearing what Heather has to say. We’ll be at the Vanderbilt Barnes and Noble at 7 pm if you want to come say hi.

Tomorrow begins demolition on my guest bathroom. It is the one original room left in the house, with an icky vinyl floor, ancient wood vanity, and one-piece shell tub and shower (beige… yuck.). When we’re finished, it will be elegant marble floor and walls, and a new vanity and pretty mirror, painted a lovely shade of seagrass, which is a very subtle gray green. Nothing crazy, just a nice update. I can’t wait. 

Don’t worry, I won’t be chipping nails on this. I’ll be on the porch writing whilst the guys deal with the heavy lifting. I can’t wait to see it finished, though. We’re overrun with boxes right now, the dining room looks like it’s decorated in cardboard, and my Feng Shui is way messed up.

Do you believe in Feng Shui? Do you do anything special in your house to help with flow or chi? I don’t do as much as I would like, but we’re working on it.

Sweet dreams!

Daily Tao ☯ 6.6.17

A metaphor has been brewing in me today. 

Our careers are an ocean. You ride each wave as far as it will take you. Some fizzle out in the breakers, some smash into the beach. Either way, they wax and wane, build and smooth. The trick is to ride the wave in as far as you can, and when it hits the sand, you pick yourself up and paddle back out to catch another. Every part of your career is simply another set of waves. (Yes, I surfed some...)

It’s been a free flow kind of day, back and forth from phone to laptop, talking with friends and professionals, creatives all. I realized I feel like I’m riding a wave that is just starting to build. I can literally feel the momentum of the water gathering beneath me. Part of it, of course, is building this new book; it’s a natural feeling as the words start to layer in, the ideas begin to manifest. But it’s also juggling the many components of the creative life, from the writing, to the friends in the trenches with you, to how you’re perceived publicly. The To Do lists, the blogs, the daily word counts, the calls, the planning—all the things we do to make a book happen. 

There are two things we have under our control — the quality of our work, and the interactions we have with the people who make our books and read our books. The rest is timing and luck and arranging a team of people around you to do the best for you as they possibly can.

Thanks for being a part of my team. 

Oh, and GO PREDS! Yes, we’ve been at the games, and yes, it’s been incredible. Our Cinderella story, twenty years in the making. No one’s really an overnight success, you know?

Sweet dreams!

Sunday Smatterings

Happy Sunday, chickens! I hope you had wonderful week. As I'm sure you heard, I had a great time in New York at BEA. You can scroll back through the blog this week to see all the excitement, but suffice it to say, I think the message was sent loud and clear. LIE TO ME is coming... and we kicked it off with a bang. I had a blast, met so many awesome folks, and am really looking forward to September.

Lot's happened in the world whilst I traveled, so without further ado...

Here are your Internet reads for this week:

Going Mobile: can we write a novel on a smartphone, or edit a short story on a tablet? In short? Yes. Yes we can. It's a new dawn and a new day, fellow writers. (You may even spot someone you know in the article!)

Starred Review from Publishers Weekly: NOT A SOUND by Heather Gudenkauf. Looking for your next summer read? Snap. This. Up. And Nashville friends, come see Heather and me in conversation this Thursday, June 7, at the Vandy B&N on West End. 

Amazon made a small change to the way it sells books. Publishers are terrified. It's an interesting time in the book world, folks. I'm not sure how this is going toward out, but I'm hoping for the best. Technically, it means indie booksellers can bid for the buy button to sell their wares on Amazon....that would be sweet irony, right?

Amazon Starts Weekly Bestseller Lists. Amazon had a very busy week, injecting all kinds of variables into the publishing sphere. This was another one. I dig the idea of seeing what people are actually reading, since I know what I buy and what I read are very different.

Six Reasons You're Not as Creative as You Could Be. Lisa Unger brings some truth in the form of a Target parking lot. She's brilliant!

Creator of the GIF says it is pronounced "Jif." I'm just gonna leave this here...

Bill Gates says this is the most important book for college grads to read.  Though perhaps everyone should.
 

And closer to home:

Author Assistant 101: The Best Tool I Use to Create Images. This week, the Kerr divulged how she creates the images you see on this website, my social media platforms, and beyond. If you're into social media marketing, this may be the tool for you!

Win a Mega Bundle of Contemporary Mysteries & Thrillers + MORE! Don't forget about this giveaway, folks. Entry is just a few clicks of a button! (and may get you a boatload of good books and a Kindle Fire!)

That probably got you through your morning coffee.

Our thoughts and prayers are with London today after yet another terrible terror attack. Heartbroken for the victims, and fighting the idea that this is our new normal. We can't let that be the case. 

Read a good book, and I'll see you next week!

xo,
J.T.

Daily Tao ☯ 6.2.17

When is a banner more than a banner?

BEA 2017 —BookExpo— is in the books. I’m back in the plane, heading south. What an incredible, awesome couple of days. The surprise banner, brilliant marketing meetings, the view at the cocktail party, the signing, getting a few moments to commune with friends… just a perfect event. 

You probably saw a bunch of pictures and videos about the banner. I will admit to having all the feels about this. I probably should be so much more laid back and cool and blasé about the whole thing, but I can’t. I couldn’t. It was one of the coolest things that’s happened in my professional writing career. The surprise of it, too, not knowing that’s what I was walking into… wow! 

The thing is, it was so much more than a huge book cover on vinyl and a kick ass catch phrase. For me, standing beneath it, it was … I don’t know, acceptance? Acknowledgement? Faith in my work? Faith in me? I surely felt special, there’s no question about it. I’ve been around this industry for a long time now, and I know a lot of people, and they were all so proud to see it. Which felt really, really great. It was surreal as hell, actually — did you see your banner? was the catchphrase of the con.

My banner.

It was at once exhilarating and terrifying. Exhilarating because of the message it sends — this is the book you should paying attention to. Terrifying because — this is the book you should be paying attention to. I’ve never had so much scrutiny on my work; I pray and pray it holds up to the bright light of exposure. That I can hold myself together, to make you guys proud. I’m feeling pressure, yes, but I’ve spent a decade laying the groundwork for this. If I can’t handle a little exposure now, I’m in the wrong business.

Right?

So, with that, I want to take a second to thank everyone involved in making this huge surprise happen. MIRA Books has been my home for many years, and I think they were just as tickled as me by the attention this book brought. You know why?

Because this isn’t just about me. I wrote the book, yes, but I can’t begin to help you understand the unbelievable amount of work that is going into getting this book into your hands. The meetings, the planning, the dreaming that my team has done with this book is nothing short of breathtaking. Staggering, as my marketing manager said today, and he's exactly right. Their efforts for this IS staggering. They are working themselves so hard to make this happen for LIE TO ME. And the cool thing? They really do this for all their books. The heart and soul of MIRA is always beating for all the authors. Yes, I had the banner. But I was only one of many, many, many authors that are getting promoted and exposed to new readers because of their incredible work.

So to Nicole, Margaret, Loriana, Lisa, Heather, Marjean, Brent, Amy (1 and 2), Randy (1 and 2), Emer, Mariana, Craig, Susan, Dianne, Olivia, Stef, Shara, Lynette, Mary Beth, Margot, Monika, Reka, Scott, Sean and everyone else I’m too flummoxed to hit, and those who are toiling and I don’t even know about it… 

Thank you for believing in me. No lie. xox

Brilliant, peaceful weekend, everyone!