Sunday Smatterings

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Blessed Sunday, friends. Release week is upon us. It’s really strange because it feels like only yesterday I was sitting at the dining room table with a borrowed iMac trying to piece together the story. It doesn’t seem possible that the book is done, much less in your hands. I’m still back there, in a messy bun with a pencil (or two) stuck through it, dragging and dropping and copying and pasting and throwing down new words and throwing out old subplots. 

But I’m not. I’m on to the next project, and a bit of the one after that, and you’re about to sit down and have that bizarre yet blessed psychic connection with me that we get to share -- the words flowing from my fingers onto the page and into your brains. It doesn’t matter if I wrote them yesterday or six months ago or six years ago, when you start reading, I am there with you, in mind and spirit. I like that image.

So let’s get to all the happy news and launch info.

Onward!

📚HER DARK LIES IS COMING IN TWO DAYS!

Preorder your copy of HER DARK LIES today!

You can preorder a signed copy from Parnassus Books.

A few of the bookstores hosting me for the virtual tour have signed books and bookplates available with your purchase as well: Writer’s Block Bookstore, Murder By The Book, Mysterious Galaxy, and Page 158. Happy to personalize if you want.

🖥 THIS WEEK’S EVENTS

I hope you’ll join me at one (or many) of the virtual tour stops this week!

📕Monday March 8 @ 7pm ET/6 pm CT: Parnassus Books in conversation with Allison Brennan

Join me virtually at my hometown indie bookstore to welcome HER DARK LIES into the world! I’ll be in conversation with Allison Brennan (New York Times bestselling author of TELL NO LIES). You can preorder a signed and personalized copy here. More details here.

📕Tuesday March 9 @ 1 pm ET/12 pm CT: Literati Live

I’ll be going Live in my Facebook group J.T. Ellison’s Literati to celebrate release day!

📕Tuesday March 9 @ 7pm ET/6 pm CT: Writer’s Block Bookstore in conversation with Lisa Gardner

I’ll be in conversation with Lisa Gardner (New York Times bestselling author of BEFORE SHE DISAPPEARED) at Writer’s Block Bookstore! Click here to purchase a bookplate signed copy of HER DARK LIES. More details here.

📕Wednesday March 10 @ 8 pm ET/7 pm CT: Murder By The Book in conversation with Helen Ellis

I’ll be in conversation with Helen Ellis (author of BRING YOUR BAGGAGE AND DON’T PACK LIGHT and SOUTHERN LADY CODE) at Murder By The Book! Signed bookplates are available when you purchase HER DARK LIES. More details here.

📕Thursday March 11 @ 10 pm ET/9 pm CT/7 pm PT: Mysterious Galaxy in conversation with Lisa Unger

I’ll be in conversation with Lisa Unger (New York Times bestselling author of CONFESSIONS ON THE 7:45) at Mysterious Galaxy! Signed bookplates are available for HER DARK LIES. More details here.

📕Saturday March 13 @ 4 pm ET/3 pm CT: Page 158 Books

Page 158 Books is hosting a virtual event in honor of HER DARK LIES’s release! Signed bookplates are available for HER DARK LIES. Register here.

The Events page is being updated regularly, so stop by for more.

That’s it from me. Assuming I’m still standing, I’ll see you next Sunday!

Peace and hugs,
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.

Sunday Smatterings

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Smatterings - February 28.png

Blessed Sunday, friends. As I write this, I’ve just returned from dropping my parents at the airport. We had a lovely—albeit short—visit, and I am again reminded how very grateful I am that we have a vaccine that’s being distributed. I miss being able to hop on a plane and go see them. It all seemed so easy before. And how ironic that it’s safer for my parents in their 80s to fly to me than for me to fly to them. Such a strange world we live in.

It was a fun visit though. There were culinary delights and mishaps, movies watched, laughter and joy. I had to break away to do a library talk, which we then watched together. I’ve never done a postmortem on an event like that and probably won’t again (my goodness I play with my hair a lot). But it was fun for them to see the studio in action.

I’ve been doing a lot of big thinking this week as part of my Lenten practice, and listening to my favorite podcast, Cal Newport’s Deep Questions. If you’re a writer reading this, may I recommend you hit up this episode? The entire episode is fantastic, but if you home in on the 1 hour mark, there’s some very healthy art vs. business advice that I’m taking to heart. Sometimes you just need someone smarter than you to give you permission to make changes to your system that you know are right, but are afraid to enact. 

And with that, let’s jump straight into the HER DARK LIES all the time links! Onward!

📚HER DARK LIES IS COMING MARCH 9!

What an incredible honor to be the face of this month's Mystery Scene! I had so much fun doing this interview with John Valeri—he asked the best questions! I hope you get a chance to read it—this issue of Mystery Scene is on stands now!

Preorder your copy of HER DARK LIES today!

You can preorder a signed copy from Parnassus Books.

A few of the bookstores hosting me for the virtual tour have signed books and bookplates available with your purchase as well: Writer’s Block Bookstore, Murder By The Book, Mysterious Galaxy, and Page 158. Happy to personalize if you want.

J.T. Ellison Goes Rogue. I’m over at Rogue Women Writers sharing the inspiration behind the book!

The event I mentioned above: Chapter 16 and Art Circle Library Public Library hosted me for a novel chat. You can catch the replay here.

I was honored HER DARK LIES was included in The Real Book Spy’s March 2021 Reading Guide.

Read an excerpt of the book at Novel Suspects.

🖥 THIS WEEK’S EVENTS

Sunday, February 28 @ 3 pm EST/2 pm CST: Parnassus Books in Conversation with Alisha Klapheke
If you have some free time this afternoon, I’ll be chatting with my good friend Alisha Klapheke about her new novel, ENCHANTING THE ELVEN MAGE, which is utterly enchanting itself, by the way, at Parnassus books. Click here to join us.

Thursday, March 4 @ 12:30 pm EST/11:30 am CST am: First Chapter Fun
I’m thrilled HER DARK LIES will be featured on First Chapter Fun with Hannah & Hank! More details here.

Thursday, March 4 @ 7 pm EST/6 pm CST: Woolfer TV
I’m very excited to speak with my friend Carmen Tanner Slaughter about HER DARK LIES for Woolfer TV’s author series. Here’s a link.

The Events page is being updated regularly. Hope you can join me at one (or many) of the upcoming tour stops.

That’s it from me. Stay safe, stay dry, and I’ll see you next Sunday!

Peace and hugs,
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.

Sunday Smatterings

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Smatterings - February 21.png

I hope this finds you safe and warm, your power working, and your troubles behind you. Lent has started and with it, my intention to be more mindful with my schedule. It’s only been a few days but I’m feeling very good about things.

Lots of fun links today, and some wonderful news about HER DARK LIES. We’re only a few weeks from launch and it’s time to shift gears to all the fun events and conversations I’ve been participating in.

Onward!

HER DARK LIES IS COMING MARCH 9!

I'm incredibly honored Publishers Weekly gave HER DARK LIES a starred review. When you put a book into the world, you never know how it will be received. You hope for the best, of course, but it's out of your control. This review was a gratifying relief.  I cannot wait for you to have a copy in your hands come March 9. It's right around the corner!

Preorder your copy of HER DARK LIES today!

I participated in a wonderful chat with authors Wendy Walker and Christina McDonald to celebrate the launch of Christina’s new novel, DO NO HARM. We were hosted by the Cuyahoga Public Library, and moderated perfectly by Ron Block. We discussed everything from book outlining to life secrets, and it was a super fun night.

That’s it from me. Lots on the plate this week, so I’ll see you next Sunday!

Peace and hugs,
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.

Sunday Smatterings

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Smatterings - February 14.png

Happy Valentine’s Day, friends!

I don’t usually name these Smatterings essays, but this one I am calling Scatterbrained.

Y’all. It has been a frustrating week. I’d feel sorry for myself if it was just me, but wow, I am hearing from all corners of my world that EVERYONE has been struggling. It’s like we’ve all been gifted with a kind of myopia that only lets us see half the picture. Half of email headers. Half of file generation. Half of uploads. Half of, well... everything.

I’ve been having computer issues on top of it all. While I have a nice but old iMac, for years, I’ve done the vast majority of my work on a laptop. Over the summer, because I had to do a massive edit on HER DARK LIES that needed a large screen with the two manuscript files open side by side, I set up the iMac on the kitchen table and dang if I didn’t get used to the big screen. Now the laptop feels cramped, but it works lightyears faster. Problem is, my poor iMac is acting up. Dragging. Lagging. Freezing. I’ve run every diagnostic in the book, updated every bit of software, but it’s still unable to do more than one thing at a time. I’ve lost hours these past few weeks trying to nurse it along. I’m going to pop in some extra memory and if that doesn’t work, it’s to the refurbished Apple site I go.

I think what’s happening is bigger, though. It’s not only our electronics or personal distractions. 

We’re coming up on a year of COVID restrictions. We are not creatures meant for extended isolation. Our bodies can’t cope with a constant state of fight or flight. Our minds can’t segment themselves properly to pay attention to the myriad issues we’re trying to handle every day. 

This is bigger than stress. This is an unprecedented shift in our day-to-day lives. Evolution is just that— evolving. By its very nature, it is a slow-going process. It’s part of why there are so many food allergies now— our bodies haven’t evolved as quickly as the technology that alters much of our food base. 

This Valentine’s weekend, I highly recommend everyone take a breath. Take a step back. Take a few hours to yourself, if at all possible. Do something you love. Do something that makes you happy. Do something from “before” that you haven’t allowed yourself to indulge in because you’re too busy and stressed dealing with the demands of “right now.”

Wishing you a lovely holiday and a better week ahead. Give that To Do list a rest for the day, okay?

Onward!

HER DARK LIES IS COMING MARCH 9!

Did you see the news? I’ll be seeing you virtually for the HER DARK LIES bookstore tour! I can't wait to hang out with my brilliant friends Allison Brennan, Lisa Unger, Helen Ellis, and Lisa Gardner. These incredible women are going to shepherd me through release week and I could not be more grateful and excited. Many thanks to Parnassus Books, Writer’s Block Bookstore, Murder By The Book, Mysterious Galaxy, and Page 158 Books for hosting us. It's going to be a blast!

Be sure to keep an eye on the Events page because there’s more fun stuff ahead.

Preorder your copy of HER DARK LIES today!

THE LATEST ON THE INTERNET:

66 of the Year's Most Anticipated Fiction by Black Authors. Great list, and a great headline!

36 of the Most Anticipated Mysteries and Thrillers of 2021. Yay for HER DARK LIES making the list!

11 Crime Novels You Should Read This February. Any of these on your radar? I swear I can’t keep up with the bevy of incredible books coming out.

46 Books We Can’t Wait to Read in 2021. As I said, it’s impossible to keep up but I sure enjoy trying.

A Reading List for Bookstore Lovers. I love books (and movies) set in bookstores! What’s your favorite?

10 Female Assassin Books About Death, Justice, and Survival. Sign me up!

New Treatment for Writers’ Block. This is fascinating…would you consider doing this? If it works for depression, which I’ve heard it truly does…

40 YA Fantasy Books We're Highly Anticipating In 2021. There goes my TBR…

Related: 15 Of The Best YA Thriller Books To Read.

The History of the Spelling Bee. Did you ever compete in a spelling bee? That used to be one of my favorite things ever…

That’s it from me. Here’s a big fat virtual hug from me to you. I’ll see you next Sunday!

Peace and hugs,
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.

Sunday Smatterings

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Smatterings - February 7.png

Happy Sunday, friends! When the world gets too big, I try to take solace and comfort from the little things. Like how much I am loving my new washer and dryer. Or the camellias we just bought to be a privacy screen and windbreak into our back yard. Or taking four entries on my Day One, where I draft all my non-fiction, from #drafting to #final. Or brushing the cats. Or vacuuming. Lord, I love vacuuming. I need someone to send me a house elf to fold laundry in a timely manner, but the Dyson comes out all the time.

These tasks feel mindless but they are incredibly grounding. My friend Anne wrote about how the pandemic has given her the gift of enjoying doing laundry, and I couldn’t agree more. There’s something just so satisfying about housework. Sisyphean, yes. But comforting.

I’ve spent the whole week on non-fiction, and I am itching to get back to my manuscript. I’ve discovered a direct inverse correlation between my to do list and my fiction word count. The longer the list, the fewer words get written. So this week, I decided to load all the nonfiction I needed to do for the next month into these few days so I can get back to work on the book as quickly as possible. I’ve written essays, done interviews, the newsletter, plotted and planned some art work, and worked on a big side project that I hope will make you happy. Starting Sunday, I’m back into the fiction groove, and I can’t wait!

Since I have to draft one more essay before I shut it all down, off I go. Onward!

That’s it from me. Enjoy the Super Bowl (I’m rooting for Tampa Bay) drink some water, fold those clothes, and I’ll see you next Sunday!

Peace and hugs,
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.