Friday Reads

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June is flying by and I hope it's included plenty of good books, whether in the comfort of your home, at the pool, or on a memorable vacation. 

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.

Friday Reads

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5 - Frid - Reads.png

It's Friday and that means it's time to discuss books!

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.

What an Author Reads While Writing

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What An Author Reads While Writing

I know so many writers who don’t read while they’re creating, and I can’t even imagine such a thing.

I’ve learned, for better or for worse, that if I’m not reading, I’m not writing.

I can track my Goodreads logs against my daily writing goals, and see the wax and wane. The more I read, the more I write. The sheer joy of story is what drives me to the page, day in and day out. 

I’m not at all concerned that another’s voice might slip in, or an idea, a concept, a character. My voice is strong enough in my head that these things don’t happen. 

I read widely, and I read a lot, a minimum of 2–3 books a week. Right now, I’m listening to a literary novel on audio, reading a mystery novel for a blurb, reading a fantasy ebook for fun, and leafing through a cookbook. So 4 books at once, not at all unusual. In a few weeks, I’ll be transitioning to reading short stories for a project I’m working on, but I’ll still have at least one audio and one ebook going.  

I reread, too, books that I know evoke a certain sense of joy or wonder for me — Diana Gabaldon, especially. 

Do these books influence my writing? Not my voice or my story, per se, but, as an example, I was reading Gabaldon while I was writing THE IMMORTALS and that book feels lush and full to me. While I was writing LIE TO ME, I needed to give myself permission to get really dark, so I read John Connolly and Karin Slaughter. 

I also get in moods — I want big sweeping fantasy trilogies, or light, happy books. I burned myself out on crime fiction, I think, and will have to ease my way back in. I love suspense, though, unreliable narrators and stories that examine women and their place in the world. As a matter of fact, of the 40 books I’ve read so far this year, only 4 were written by men, and two of those had female leads. Nothing against my male author brethren, I'm just more into women's work right now.

Girl power, sisters and brothers… : )

Writers, do you read while you write? Same genre, different genre? And for you readers — can you read more than one book at a time?

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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.

Sunday Smatterings

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Sunday Smatterings 5.20.18

Hi there, chickens, welcome to Sunday Smatterings. Lots of bookish items this week, so buckle up, buttercups, let's get reading.

Here's what happened on the Internets this week:

The 2018 Summer Reading Guide is here! Some superb titles brought to you by Modern Mrs. Darcy!
 

Sweetbitter Author Stephanie Danler on Bringing Her Book to TV. "When you’re a novelist, you’re really playing God and you’re in total control of the action and the characters. I quickly realized that with screenwriting all you’re doing, really, is creating a document that’s a map for the director and the actors to hopefully find something sort of magical in the moment. It’s not a finished piece of work. It’s not the final say. It’s so fluid." Fascinating.
 

The Silenced Woman and the Psychological Thriller - How to Write A Feminist Thriller From a Male Perspective. Superb, thought-provoking piece by Araminta Hall. I’ve long said we need to rethink victimizing our heroines. This dovetails nicely.
 

Dangers of Not Trusting The Creative Voice. Great advice — though I still think it’s perfectly fine to edit your novel once it’s done.
 

17 Secrets of Audiobook Narrators. Pertinent to think about, now that we at Two Tales have published our first audiobook...
 

Today's New Moon In Taurus Is The Perfect Excuse To Treat Yourself. Change is afoot, peeps. Take advantage!
 

Time Mangement Monday: 3 Reasons You're Procrastinating. Any of these apply to you, chickens?
 

Pick up a cat like a pro. Practical advice. 🐈

And closer to home:

TEAR ME APART, on sale August 28

In case you were under a rock this week, I revealed the cover of my new standalone novel, TEAR ME APART! Confession: This book is unlike any other I have ever written. It’s a very serious family drama, a dark suspense with a Girl, Interrupted vibe, albeit if the girls from the film were grown up. It's about a mother's love, and secrets, and darkness. The tagline, Everyone Has A Dark Side, could not be more perfect. I got chills when I saw it on the cover.

Here's where you can order yours:

Barnes & Noble
Indiebound
Books-A-Million
Indigo
Amazon

That's it from me. Y'all have a wonderful week, snag some strawberries at the farmer's market, sit on a porch for a spell, and we'll talk again soon.

xo,
J.T.

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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.

What are you reading this weekend?

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What are you reading this weekend?

Happy Friday, gentle readers. I hope you're awash in the glow of the weekend ahead.

Speaking of the weekend, what's on top of your TBR pile?

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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.