THE SIXTH DAY - Available Today!

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!

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Daily Tao ☯ 5.12.17

Home again, home again, jiggity jig! And let me tell you, I have a couple of very happy cats who’ve been alternately running around in joyful leaps or purring on my lap. Always nice to be wanted, right?

So New York was a monstrous success all the way around. Catherine and I pulled together a solid story and characters for THE BLOOD CABAL. Next week I will take everything we did and put it into a cohesive narrative so we can get this puppy outlined fully. We have the first 6 chapters already set, and wow, this one is so cool! 

Thursday was full from start to finish. Several hours of plotting with CC, then lunch with my publisher and editor at MIRA, which was a blast. I admit, I rather enjoy sitting in a dark wood paneled New York steakhouse plotting world domination. I had a lobster Cobb salad that was divine, too. We are all getting excited for LIE TO ME, and BEA is right around the corner!

I spent part of the afternoon reading a blurb book, then we met up with Catherine for dinner, which was a hoot. Mexican food in New York is interesting, to say the least. I asked for queso and the waiter was confused. Enough said. But the tacos were yummy!

And then we had second dinner with a dear friend who we haven’t seen in months, and that made the trip for us. A long walk back to the hotel, a little blood orange and lemon basil sorbet for dessert, and a well-earned glass of wine topped off a very pleasant evening. I stayed up half the night reading the book I was blurbing—I will absolutely share links when this one comes out. It’s great. 

The flight home was uneventful, happily, outside of the woman who spilled her double vodka on my bag (she was having a VERY bad day). Warm cuddles with the kitties more than made up for that. Tonight, it’s a quick supper party with friends, and then, my dears, I collapse. My doctor (who was my first call upon landing) kindly called in some antibiotics, so this sick puppy should be feeling better in no time. 

Sweet dreams! 

Daily Tao ☯ 5.8.17

New York, New York! I love this place. The vibe, the people, the food… the moment I step out of the car in Manhattan I always feel so very alive.

Tomorrow starts the big brainstorm with Catherine for Book #5 of the Brit in the FBI series — THE BLOOD CABAL. I spent the weekend reading through a metric ton of research—I’ve been clipping stories and writing down ideas for a couple of months now. I made a lovely binder separated by topic to supplement my files in Evernote. (Hello, nerd!)

Nerds Unite! 

I’m a big fan of online research, but there’s something settling about having a print back up, just in case. There is a lot to learn in order to make this book work, and I’m sure some of what I’ve cooked up will be replaced by bigger, grander ideas. When CC and I get together and start working, we’re rather combustible. 

Trip up was just fine, though I’m still lacking in the voice arena. I have Chloraseptic, Halls, tea, cough medicine with codeine, and a massive bottle of water that’s being refilled constantly. I had to cancel my dinner plans tonight, which breaks my heart, but I’m afraid I might infect the world if I’m not careful. Caring is NOT sharing, am I right?

Hope you had a lovely day!

(Also, I've been hearing some of you are having problems commenting. If you are, please let Amy know so we can share the issue with Squarespace!)

Daily Tao ☯ 5.6.17

All hail silence! Yes, I've lost my voice. It's a super low grumble, and I can whisper without too much issue, but things aren't looking good in larynx land. I'm guzzling tea, keeping it warm and loose, but if you have any suggestions, I'm all ears. This seems to happen once a decade for me, and ALWAYS at the worst possible time. As a matter of fact, the last time was when I was heading to NYC for Thrillerfest, when THE COLD ROOM was nominated. I won and had to give a speech with no voice. Fun times!

Tons of deep research today, especially on the Voynich Manuscript. The ideas are coming fast and furious as the historical timeline reveals itself, and I'm excited to hash them out with Catherine on Tuesday. I'm really digging writing these books with a historical tie-in. Gives the adventure so much more texture! 

Hope your weekend is fun and peaceful!

Daily Tao ☯ 5.4.17

I rather miss my little daily updates, and a quick poll showed y’all did too. So to keep me accountable as I get started on a big new project (Novel #20!), off we go again!

I finished the revision of my newest standalone today. Right now, it’s called THE LOST ONE, though that might change. (And yes, I am wearing my battered Harvard T-shirt for the second time — don’t mess with a streak!) I happily only added a net 2000 words, so it comes in at 113,600. Probably 450 pages, all told. This book won't be out until next year, so it's not available or anything. But I wanted one in the hole, so to speak.  

I sent the book to a couple of alpha readers, who are going to help me address an issue I’m concerned about (yes, even 19 books in, I still need advice from trusted friends), tidied up my office, then prepared a new Clairefontaine notebook. This one has a blue cover, and I always bring out my Brother P-Touch to print out the book title and series title. 

This label reads: Brit in the FBI #5 — THE BLOOD CABAL. Cool title, right? Catherine and I are meeting up in NYC next week to get started.

Also took delivery of my new chair, which I’ve been coveting in a certain catalog for about six years. It is very pretty, and a lovely reward for writing two standalone novels in 9 months. We must celebrate all the things, right?

A little meditating and hip work to help clear out the old thoughts and welcome the new, then cracked the cover on the big fat research book! Hello, Voynich Manuscript, you sexy (heavy) beast.

Anything you want to know about, ask in the comments, and I'll get the questions queued to answer as they come. Also, check out the cool organizational system Amy and I use to keep track of our world in this morning's big blog!

XO, JT