April 10, 2018

THE SIXTH DAY - Available Today!

April 10, 2018/ J.T. Ellison

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!

Get Yours Now!

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March 30, 2018

Sabbatical is over, so... I’m back!

March 30, 2018/ J.T. Ellison

Hello, good people! My social media Lenten fast was lovely and calm, but now I’m back — rested, recharged, and full of words. I hope you’ve had a lovely six weeks without me! Many props to The Kerr, who handled the socials so wonderfully! I know y’all had fun with her — thanks for all your sweet notes to us both.

Oh, SO MANY THINGS to talk about!

Blog Resurrection

I missed the bulk of the #quitfacebook kerfuffle, but I know many of you aren’t entranced with how FB is handling your info. Neither am I.

Because I would hate to lose touch with you if you are leaving, I’ve decided to resurrect my blog.

Aside from the privacy issues, FB frustrates me to pieces because while so many of you have joined my author page, you rarely see the posts unless I pay to boost them, so I think it's time to invite you to join me in my blog and we’ll go from there.

I have to admit, I’m rather excited to be jumping back into non-fiction. I miss blogging, but it won't exactly be regimented. Whatever is on my mind, I’m going to share. I’ve been very inspired by Nora Roberts’ blog lately. It’s fun, and relaxed, and that’s my goal. Don’t be surprised to see some rebranding happening next week, too.

And do me a small favor? Leave a comment to let me know you’re around and reading. Writing into the void isn’t fun!

New Books

THE SIXTH DAY is about to release (April 10).

Romantic Times gave it an extremely rare 5 Star Gold rating. It’s as crazy a thriller ride as you will take this year, guaranteed to please fans of the series, and hopefully entrance new ones as well.

During my sabbital, Catherine and I hooked up out in California and put together the 6th Brit in the FBI novel, which I am working on right now. We even have a title, though I don’t think she’s released that info yet (#socialmediasabbatical). It’s been a research-intensive month, with so many things to learn. The writing is underway, though! I had a great writing retreat in March, and am now regularly laying down words again.

TEAR ME APART went through two edits whilst I was away.

It’s going to be in galley soon, and we’re finalizing the cover. I just received the AAs — author alterations, aka last pass pages. This is my last chance to make any changes to the book before it goes into production. We do have back cover copy to share, so look for that on the blog shortly. Suffice it to say... Girl, Interrupted grows up.

Other Projects

Amy and I have been making books!

We have a spiffy new German version of NO ONE KNOWS for sale, and we’re busy putting together some print versions of my most recent short stories.

And (drumroll... 🥁) We're about to release our first Two Tales audiobook: an incredible vocal performance of the DEAD ENDS anthology! And there’s more in the works, including another anthology that is going to blow your mind.

A WORD ON WORDS has seen many new entries these past few weeks, so you need to check them out ASAP! One of the things that I think is very cool about AWOW is the fact that my co-host (Mary Laura Philpott) and I are both writers. It makes these interviews very much peer-to-peer, adding insight to both how we work and how the authors we’re interviewing approach their craft, books, and life in general.

I have some more news that I can’t share yet and it’s about killing me to stay quiet, but that’s how the cookie crumbles. Trust me, you will be the first to know when I can tell you.

That’s enough for now!

Since you haven’t seen them here in a while, here are a few shots of Jameson and Jordan, aka The Minions, on our latest adventure. They are very happy to be home and back on their porch.

January 28, 2018

Sunday Smatterings

January 28, 2018/ J.T. Ellison

Hey there, chickens, how's it going? All goes here. I am deep into a revision of September's standalone. It's a different kind of story for me, and I am working hard to make it right. This is the stage when the manuscript has left Scrivener and is in Word, and it's hella-hard for me to see the forest for the trees. It's due in a short week, and I'm a wee bit worried about that deadline.

Not so worried that I didn't take advantage of the 60º Friday afternoon to sneak out to the golf course and get in nine holes – shhh... don't tell my editor. Honestly, I've been staring at the screen for weeks, and a bit of fresh air was really helpful.

Also ran out Thursday evening to have a drink with fellow authors Kate Moretti, Emily Carpenter, Kimberley Belle before their Parnassus signing. We were joined by David Bell, too – That's a cabal of suspense writers, all under one roof. It was a fun night with some excellent writers you should be reading!

Murder on the Menu and Murder in Magic City next weekend... hope to see some of you in Birmingham and Wetumpka! The divine Laura Benedict will be visiting this week and we're driving down together. For a writer recluse, I seem to be seeing an awful lot of humanity...

Here's what happened on the Internets this week:

Apple Has Big Plans for E-Books, Audiobooks. Big news, audiophiles and ebook lovers! Apple's site is always so gorgeous, I'm anxious to see what they curate now.

My Drunk Boyfriend - SNL. For you viewing pleasure – Gosh, this makes me laugh. I want to see the Drunk Girlfriend video, too.

13 Books Downton Abbey Fans Will Love in 2018. There are some goodies in here – including Ariel Lawhon's I WAS ANASTASIA!!

Ursula K. Le Guin, the immensely popular author who brought literary depth and a tough-minded feminist sensibility to science fiction and fantasy, is dead at 88. I was so sorry to hear this. She was literally majestic. The Earthsea books are some of my favorites.

10 Things to Throw Away Before 2018. So I'm a little late on this, but it's still applicable in late January. We do all of this, en mass, a few times a year. It does help!

And closer to home:

Sunday Reads: LIE WITH ME by Sabine Durant. Add this one to your TBR, folks!

I present to you the cover of the next Nicholas Drummond book, THE SIXTH DAY!

Spiffy, don't you think? Here's a bit more about it:

When several major political figures die mysteriously, officials declare the deaths are from natural causes. Then the German Vice-Chancellor dies on the steps of 10 Downing Street, and a drone is spotted hovering over the scene. The truth becomes clear—these high-profile deaths are well-constructed assassinations, and the Covert Eyes team is tasked to investigate.

With the help of Dr. Isabella Marin, a young expert in the enigmatic Voynich Manuscript and cryptophasia (twin language), Nicholas and Michaela home in on Roman Ardelean, a wealthy cybersecurity genius and a descendant of fifteenth century Romanian Vlad the Impaler—often romanticized as Dracula. Ardelean believes the Voynich Manuscript will unlock the secret to curing his severely ill twin brother’s blood disorder and is willing to murder anyone who gets in his way, including Nicholas and Michaela.

Along with MI5, the Covert Eyes team must race against the clock to find Ardelean before he unleashes a devastating attack on London intended to destroy those he believes betrayed him.

THE SIXTH DAY releases April 10. If you'd like to pre-order, here's where you can find it. Also, Barnes & Noble has exclusive signed copies for pre-order... trust me, those took a while. Let's just say I streamed all of season 1 of Stranger Things whilst signing them...