By JT Ellison

Kim Alexander once called my work morbidly elegant, which strikes me as possibly the highest praise one can give a thriller novelist. Kim and I go back to MY debut novel, to her days as the hostess with the mostest of Fiction Nation on Sirius XM radio. She very kindly had me on the show, we realized we were both in love with Baldwin, and a friendship was born. Kim and I got to talk twice a year for several years, and those chats were ones I always looked forward to. Now, Kim has hung up her microphone and is writing some seriously cool fantasy, major world-building stuff. I loved her THE SAND PRINCE (I mean, really, just LOOK at that cover!) and I’m so happy she’s here today to talk about it.

Welcome to MY little slice of the internet, Miss Kim! And congratulations on your big debut!

_________

Set your music to shuffle and hit play. What’s the first song that comes up?

Tom Petty – “Here Comes My Girl.” But I don’t usually listen to music while I’m working, I find it too distracting. I prefer the gentle rhythms of the never-ending construction project going on in the apartment unit above my head. Today is “throw 2X4’s at the floor as hard as you can” day!

Now that we’ve set the mood, what are you working on today?

I’m editing and revising the second book in my fantasy series. Its working title is THE UNHAUNTED WORLD.

What’s your latest book about?

THE SAND PRINCE is my debut novel. It’s the story of two worlds, magic, war, betrayal, sex, bad parenting, bad decisions, and a mysterious romance novel within the book. The hero is a half-human demon with social anxiety and a drinking problem. (I should probably mention that it’s not a comedy.) It’s also about finding your place in the world, and since this is a fantasy, my hero has multiple worlds to choose from.

TL:DR- It’s like DUNE with more sex.

Where do you write, and what tools do you use?

I just got a chair! I no longer hunch like a fell beast on the couch, I sit upright like a fully-formed human and look out the window at the National Zoo. I take copious notes (this is really just an excuse to feed my handmade notebook and pretty pen addiction) but I do most of my work on my laptop.

What was your favorite book as a child?

The oldest book I own, and still one of my favorites, is THE LAST UNICORN by Peter Beagle. I’ve had my copy since 1968. It’s falling apart but I couldn’t part with it.

What’s your secret talent?

I have an actual license to sail anything under 23 feet (if it’s a boat and it’s on water, I should add.)

What book are you reading now?

THE GIRL’S GUIDE TO THE APOCALYPSE by my friend and fellow Booktrope author Daphne Lamb, and my new Peterman catalogue.

When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I was really young, like just old enough to read myself. Although it took me many years to try it for real—I didn’t trust that I could do it. I also have to thank my husband for having the faith I lacked and supporting my new job—honey, it only LOOKS like I’m staring out the window all day.

Who is your writing idol? Have you met him/her? If so, did you completely nerd out or keep your cool?

ONE TIME I GOT TO INTERVIEW THIS FABULOUS BABE NAMED JT . . .

[editor’s note: see why I love her?]

Also, the first time I interviewed Neil Gaiman, it was over the phone. For the first five minutes I mainly tried not to have a heart attack. I kept saying to myself, “Just be cool! Everything’s fine!” But he’s so lovely that I calmed down and we had a great chat about THE GRAVEYARD BOOK. When I finally met Stephen King, it was my very last interview for Sirius XM, so it was exciting but also quite bittersweet.

What’s your favorite bit of writing advice?

I have to mention XM Radio again. When I started there, on everyone’s badge was the phrase “AFDI” which stood for “Actually F-ing Do It.” That resonated with me, and I try to AFDI every day. I didn’t know how to write a book when I started—just over two years ago, wow! But I took the coagulated (that may not be the right word) advice of the literally hundreds of authors, artists and actors (including JT) I’d interviewed, and I sat down and began.

What do you do if the words aren’t flowing?

Go back and edit something I did the day or week before. There’s always something to fix, and if not, there’s Pinterest.

Are you creatively satisfied?

Well, I would be more satisfied if I looked out the window and saw Tahiti, but for the moment, I’m thrilled to be writing my own work about characters I adore.

What would you like to be remembered for?

I raise cats with impeccable manners, and I can fold a fitted sheet.

,Alright, now for the really important questions:

Beach or mountains? Beach!

Coffee or tea? Coffee. Espresso with a splash of half and half, if you have it.

Skydive or bungee jump? Why would I jump out of a perfectly good plane? I don’t even like getting off my couch.

Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate.

Winter or summer? Summer—I am an obsessed rooftop gardener.

Cake or pie? Pie, I think. I make a mean Key Lime pie.

Cats or dogs? Leeloo and Onion are looking over my shoulder, reminding me of the inherent superiority of cats.

Pens or pencils? Pens, I collect them.

Truth or dare? Truth. How bad can it be?

Print or ebook? I moved 13 times after I got out of college, that’s a strong argument for ebooks.

_________

Kim Alexander grew up in the wilds of Long Island, NY and slowly drifted south until she reached Key West. After spending ten years working as a disc jockey in the Keys, she moved to Washington, DC, where she reported the traffic and spun the Oldies. After a career upgrade, she became the co-programmer of Sirius XM Book Radio, which gave her the opportunity to interview some of her writing heroes, including Anne Rice, George R. R. Martin, Neil Gaiman, Stephen King and Margaret Atwood, among many hundreds of others. She began writing when she ran out of authors to interview (and they pulled the plug on her channel.)

She currently lives with two cats, an angry fish, and her extremely patient husband close enough to the National Zoo to hear the lions and the monkeys, at least she hopes that’s what those noises are.

THE SAND PRINCE (Booktrope) is Kim’s first novel and begins a fantasy series called THE DEMON DOOR. Her husband tells her she needs to write at least ten more books if she intends to retire in Thailand, so thank you for your patronage.

And here’s a little more about Kim’s debut novel THE SAND PRINCE:

“When the storm came, it was made of magic, not rain, and when it had passed, the life and the city Hellne knew were changed forever.”

In Kim Alexander’s debut novel she weaves a witty, epic fantasy brimming with diverse characters and plenty of intrigue.

Two worlds

On the war-ravaged demon world of Eriis, Hellne, the fierce young queen, fights to keep her people alive.

On the green and gentle human world of Mistra, the demons have faded into myth. Only a handful of old men and children still guard The Door between the worlds.

Bound by magic

Rhuun, the Prince of Eriis, uncovers a sultry book written by a human, sparking an obsession with the other world. When he is forced to flee Eriis he must escape through The Door or pay the price in blood.

Divided by a door

The humans of Mistra are not what Rhuun was expecting—and one insufferable young woman in particular is about to find out that the demons of Eriis are not mythological after all . . .

Via: JT Ellison

    

By JT Ellison

We are in a glorious time for writing.

Writers now have immediate access to readers—not only through books, but through a vast compendium of outlets: magazines, newspapers, blogs, social media, and now ebooks. The Internet has given us freedom to create and share our work directly, and this unfettered access is unlike anything we’ve ever seen before.

I was an early adopter of the idea of independent publishing, selling my shorts on Amazon as individual stories and anthologies.

Content wasn’t hard to come by—instead of quipping on Facebook and Twitter, writers spent their down time trying to impress each other with clever and scary short fiction. One of the saddest casualties of the social media storm were the smaller online sites and magazines, run by laypeople, writers all, that encouraged writers to share their free-form work. Flash fiction, a very short form, usually less than 1,000 words, was a hit, with multiple websites supporting authors, published and not, who wanted to try their hand at the challenge: tell a complete story without breaking the fixed word count.

Many of us took the challenge, myself included. There was something magical about sharing these quick little stories, written the same day as they appeared online. Of course, now that we can publish a novel the day after we finish it (thought I wouldn’t recommend that course—editing is still paramount, and that takes time) the novelty of flash fiction has worn off.

I’ve long looked to short stories as a way to have a bit of fun with my writing, to step outside my comfort zone.

I call it my Johnny Depp career path, doing only what I love, and what’s fun. First person, horror, flash fiction—these are the ways I get my jollies on the side. I’d written three novels before I ever tried my hand at short fiction. But when I did, I discovered an entirely new world, and my love of the short form grew from there. I began placing stories in magazines, writing for anthologies, for the online forums, the works. I love the freedom and limitations of the form, and I still use it as a playground of sorts, a way to stretch my wings and explore genres I wouldn’t normally write in.

My short stories are little slices, vignettes. Crimes of the heart, the mind, the soul.

They’re the bits and pieces that fall from my mind while I’m writing long form novels, the ideas that don’t have a place in my current work. Some are quite short, others have bloomed into novellas. Some have been published before, some are brand new.

I decided to start my own publishing house, Two Tales Press, so you could get a taste of these sweet little lies, too.

Many of the stories have been published before in some manner, whether digitally or in anthologies, but I wanted you to have access to all my work, at an affordable price, through whichever digital store you prefer. We’re on Kindle, Nook, iBooks, and Kobo so far.

There are two Taylor Jackson stories, which appeared first in SLICES OF NIGHT and STORM SEASON, with Erica Spindler and Alex Kava, plus a brand new story, THE NUMBER OF MAN (a shorter version of this appeared in Thriller 3, but this is the very first time this story has been available digitally in this enhanced, rewritten version.)

Each story has a few extras, too, most importantly — an EXCLUSIVE sneak peek at my new standalone thriller, NO ONE KNOWS.

There are ghost stories and stalkers, creepy and poignant, and even some that are a bit autobiographical. I hope you enjoy these, and I will be adding to them soon. Two Tales will be the spot for my new short content forevermore. Come visit us!

And a brief note about the website, covers, and the logo. My incredible assistant Amy designed the beautiful, functional website. The divine Kim Killion designed the covers, and knocked it out of the park. And the logo is her work as well. What could be better than a book that is also a cat? If you look closely, you’ll see three pages which are cats’ ears. The book itself represents Jade, Thrillercat, who was my impetus for starting to write; and the two additional pages are Jameson and Jordan, the Thrillerkittens, aka Two Tales. But this logo represents my love for all my kitty babies, past and present, including Jiblet, Jezebelle, Jasmine, and Jemima, too. The title might be Two Tales, but there are many, many tails in the history of our logo.

Via: JT Ellison

    

By JT Ellison

I thought y’all might like to see this lovely bit of deal news that was just released on Publisher’s Marketplace…

Fiction: Thriller
NYT bestselling author JT Ellison’s next three thrillers continuing her two series featuring Nashville Homicide Lieutenant Taylor Jackson and Dr. Samantha Owens, to Nicole Brebner at Mira, in a significant deal, by Scott Miller at Trident Media Group.

Yes, you’re seeing that right – I’ve agreed to a new deal that both continues the Sam novels and resurrects the Taylor books. I am over the moon.

And, you will shortly see another component of this deal, which will release June 14, 2016 — FIELD OF GRAVES (formerly known as Crossed). (Ignore the meta data mistake, it is a Taylor Jackson novel, not Sam, and it is hardcover, not paperback.) This is the Taylor Jackson prequel to the series.

The next Sam book, currently known as ALL FALL DOWN, is a part of the new deal, and I think it will be out around June 2017.

It is a week of news, with even more to come, but I had to share this exciting new deal with y’all. I can’t wait to revisit my girls!

Via: JT Ellison

    

By JT Ellison

November is upon us, chickens. It’s NANOWRIMO month for thousands of writers across the world. National Novel Writing Month is something I always like to participate in. Truthfully, every month is NaNoWriMo when you’re a professional writer, but there’s something special about November. It’s the annuals in me — the 2nd quarter was always my best time in school, probably because that pesky Daylight Savings Time had ended and I sleep better with more darkness. Better sleep + better focus. So Yay! November and NaNo!

I’ll be updating my progress here on Smatterings. My minimum word count is 12,500 per week. If you’re in, leave a message in the comments, and we can help each other stay on track.

Now, to the wrap-up!

I had the great honor of interview one of my favorite authors this week for A WORD ON WORDS. Deborah Harkness was as charming and erudite as I could have hoped. We did a wine tasting at Natchez Hills Winery at Fontanel, and it was an incredible afternoon. Grab her latest book in the All Soul’s trilogy, THE BOOK OF LIFE, and I promise you’ll love this whole series! #keepreading

Another favorite of mine, Karin Slaughter, talks her travel tips on The Overhead Compartment. Some great ideas here, and I agree, when the plane door closes, it’s ME time!

This guide to The Mobile Writer has a lot of great tips for how to write on the road, or even just away from your house for the day.

With NaNoWriMo upon us, here are 10 Tips for Writers to stay focused this month!

From The Wine Vixen: If you’re anything like us, there is a huge bucket of leftover candy on the steps. What better time to have a candy and wine party? Impress your friends and know what wine goes best with your favorite #Halloween candy.

Also, A WORD ON WORDS officially launched this week! First up was Mary Laura Philpott’s interview with young adult authors Adam Silvera And David Arnold. The show will be airing on Sundays at 10:26 am, then repeating on Thursday nights at 7:26 pm. There will be links online to the shows, and to the longer interviews as well. Will share when I have them, but here’s the website’s blog so you can follow along!

That’s it from me. Don’t forget to sound off if you want to do NaNo with me!

xo,

JT

Via: JT Ellison

    

By JT Ellison

On Friday mornings, when I go to the coffee house with some writer friends to socialize myself, I’m only supposed to be writing blogs.

But once again, my day got away from me and here I am, with nothing to show for it except a wad of business done.

No fiction words, no worthwhile non-fiction words. Nothing but sheer annoyance at myself for letting this happen — again — and a vague unease that permeates everything I’m doing these days.

I have a lot on my plate right now. This is not a surprise to anyone who knows me. I usually function well in this construct. The pressure works for me, most of the time. It keeps me focused, and allows me the freedom to do what I long to do most: say No to things.

Saying No is very, very hard for an author.

There is a so much more to writing now than simply writing a book. You must wear a million hats: writer, marketer, bookseller, social networker, publicist, travel agent. I’m not complaining (well, maybe a little) because the hats I wear outside of being a writer are fun for me. I am a small business owner; my business being my writing, and there are things that must happen outside of story to help that business grow and flourish.

In the course of helping my business flourish, I read a lot of marketing and promotion tips. I read this article last week. The headline grabbed me, as it was meant to do: 4 Ways to Market Yourself As A Writer and Author.

When I decide to read something, my thought process is affected by short, pithy pitches. (Let’s not even talk about the 140 unread articles in my Instapaper.) This particular pitch sounded quick and exciting. I clicked on the link, read the article. There were some excellent ideas in it. Things I’m not doing. Ways I can reach more people.

I immediately tried to figure out where these new options could fit into my retinue of social media outreach. The train of thought made it all the way to “I could have Amy do . . . ” when I cut myself off with a resounding NO!

Amy is my assistant. She’s extraordinary. She’s helping me with things that take a huge amount of my time — like editing, formatting, and self-publishing my short stories (more news on this next week), handling requests from three publishers, updating my websites, keeping me sane . . . all the awesome things great author assistants do to leave writers more time for writing.

Amy has a lot on her plate, too. My business schematic is something of a hydra right now, and Lord knows SHE doesn’t need more work. I don’t need more work, either.

But these are great new ways to reach readers . . .

And it hit me, yet again.

*You can’t do everything, JT. You don’t WANT to do everything. Why in the world would you add in MORE?*

Because, like all writers I know, I am trying to be all things to all people.

Do you know why publishers have been encouraging writers to engage in the social media arena? They figured out early on that personality sells books. (Some people call this a “platform.”)

That’s why they send authors out on tour — so they can make a personal connection with booksellers and readers. That’s why the author website became so important. Why the Facebook likes and Twitter follows and the Instagram clicks and the Pinterest pins and the Tumblr reblogs became such an integral part of the marketing plan.

Only one thing: there’s a B.I.G. problem with this approach.

An author has a single job: write books. Write kick-ass, unputdownable books. But now that the author’s personality is being used to sell books, I’m worried the writing isn’t as important anymore.

It’s readily apparent in the writing world, where a kick-ass Twitter feed can outshine the quality of the work, or finding a cool kid on YouTube channel with a huge following, somehow means that having them write a book is appropriate and worth doing. It’s happening in YA, leaking into the thriller world, and finding it’s way into romance. Sci-Fi is overrun with it. Literary — well, there seems to be a modicum of “FU” going around there — sometimes, the more people think you’re a jerk, the better the books do. Not sure I get that one . . .

For so many years, the story was paramount. The voice, the story, the characters: that was how a reader judged the author’s personality. Visually, at most, you got a photo on a jacket cover to go on, though many didn’t bother, and those that did had photos that were sometimes decades out of date. And those small things used to be more than enough to hook a reader.

Now, authors are expected to do a lot of their own marketing. We have indie publishing, which uses a huge amount of author personality to drive the success or failure of book. Social media has gone from being a great tool to spread news about your latest novel to a way for readers to decide if they actually like the author as a person. And if they like the author, then they’ll buy the book. This worries me greatly.

As more and more of my time is spent trying to make sure readers like me as a person, fewer and fewer words are being written that will hook them for life.

(Don’t worry, I am remedying the word count situation. Never, ever will I take off three months from writing again.)

I don’t know the solution, or that there is a real problem here. I love my social media feeds. I love that I can talk to my readers directly. I’ve had a great time building this network, and it sure as heck helps me sell books. All I know is I won’t be adding in anything more to how I market my books to readers. And there’s a certain relief in that.

Am I crazy? Is it just me who sees this happening?

Via: JT Ellison

    

By JT Ellison

Happy Sunday, lovelies! Hope you guys had a great week and have had all manner of fall weather and apple-flavored everything.

I might have interviewed Margaret Atwood this week. That was pretty rad (FYI she is GORGEOUS. I told her so. C’mon, she needed to know!). She was just as gracious and warm and brilliant and hilarious as I imagined. Can’t wait to share that interview with you!

Here are some interesting tidbits I found on the Internets this week:

First things first, Harry Potter fans: have you heard about the Harry Potter stage play that takes place 19 years after the end of the 7th book? NEW MATERIAL, PEOPLE! This is not a drill. I repeat: THIS IS NOT A DRILL.

One of my favorite online sites, Tools & Toys, has some helpful tips and equipment for mobile writers. Nifty!

Speaking of writers, are any of you in for NaNoWriMo? (aka National Novel Writing Month) If you’re unfamiliar with this 30 days of self-flagellation, every November thousands of writers gear up to write a minimum of 50,000 words (half of a full-length commercial novel) so that they can jumpstart the heck out of their work in progress (WIP). And you thought only the No Shave November people had to most fun! Anyway, I’m partaking in NaNoWriMo (because . . . that’s basically my day job), and here are 10 helpful tips for all of us who are crazy enough to undertake this monumental task.

And if any of you growing a stash or a beard (or doing NaNo) want to go head to head, words to hairs, let me know!

Did you read/watch GONE GIRL? Then here are 9 novels for you. (and if you liked GONE GIRL, check out my new standalone thriller, NO ONE KNOWS!)

On The Wine Vixen front, Amy found a fun pinot grigio, and I had a #TBT when I remember a delicious zinfandel that knocked my socks off. The best part of these wine picks? BOTH are well under $20!

And here at home, I waxed rhapsodic on how I became a TV host (I’m still dumbfounded by this).

Alright, chickens, that’s all I’ve got this week. You guys be good!

Xoxo,
JT

Via: JT Ellison

    

By JT Ellison

I need this. Forever.

Via: JT Ellison

    

By JT Ellison

What’s better than attending a Readerfest? Why, attending a Readerfest in your pajamas, of course!

The lovely Laura Griffin and I are holding a Thriller roundtable at the ‪#‎XOXOConnects‬ Readerfest on Saturday, October 24, at 12:30 pm EST. You should come! (no pants required).

Via: JT Ellison

    

By JT Ellison

There are things that happen in your life that are, to say the least, unexpected. Back in June, I received an email from a producer at NPT (Nashville Public Television) letting me know they were considering rebooting the Nashville literary classic, A Word on Words. If you’re not familiar with it, for 40 years, it was was a Sunday morning staple on Channel 8, hosted by the amazing John Seigenthaler. I was really excited to hear this, because I did my first EVER interview with John on the show, and since we lost him, there has been a real void in the literary community, as well as all of our hearts.

What I wasn’t expecting was an invitation to be the host. “Caught short” is a good term, actually. I mean, y’all know me. I have a serious public speaking fear. I’ve overcome it for the most part, but I still get a wad of butterflies in my stomach before events, and cameras — yeah, right. The idea of voluntarily sitting down in front of a camera multiple times seemed a little masochistic. So my immediate reaction was . . . no.

But.

John Seigenthaler.

What John did for the book in Nashville can’t be discounted for a moment. He was the beating heart of literature in this city for a very, very long time. I always loved being on the show (I think I did it six times over the years.) John made me think about my stories in ways I hadn’t before. He could find that kernel in the book, the why behind the story, and make it come alive for the viewers.

The idea of having even a small part in continuing his legacy drove me to the screen test, then to accepting the offer to shoot a couple of pilots, and through the first shoot. I nearly threw up on Patti Callahan Henry, I was so scared.

But I didn’t. And after a while, in the joy of talking story with a fellow writer, I forgot about the cameras. The end result was awesome, and I can’t wait for y’all to see it.

And I decided that maybe, just maybe, I could do this after all.

Mary Laura Philpott is my co-host — if you’re not familiar with her hilarious book PENGUINS WITH PEOPLE PROBLEMS, you should definitely get it. She’s kind and gracious and gorgeous and one heck of a writer and will be the perfect complement to round out the show. I can’t wait to work more with her.

I need to say thanks to a bunch of people who made this happen. Linda Wei, first and foremost, who found a unique way to reboot the series and thought ML and I would be a good fit; our amazing crew, including Matt Emigh and Will Pedigo, for their incredible generosity making me at ease behind the cameras, and making us look so good; Hank Phillippi Ryan, who gave me the bones for how to build a good interview; Andy Levy, who shared all his secrets; Laura Benedict for cheering me on; Ariel Lawhon for helping us get things kickstarted; Patti Henry and David Bell, for agreeing to let me use them as pilot episodes, coming to Nashville and knocking it out of the park; Amy Kerr, who does just about everything; ML, for being the co-hostess with the mostest; NPT, and especially Beth Curley, for having the bravery and vision to let us try this; our lovely sponsors, Judy and Steve Turner, for funding this awesome show; and of course, Randy, who encouraged me when I needed it the most. As he always does.

And John. You are forever in our hearts, kind sir. I hope we do you proud.

Here’s some shots from the most recent episodes. A Word on Words will begin airing in late October. Specifics to come. Announcement here.

#KeepReading!

Patti Callahan Henry

Greg Iles

My partner in crime, Mary Laura Philpott

Gettin’ real with Paul Theroux

Paul Theroux

Geraldine Brooks

My pal, David Bell

Via: JT Ellison

    

By JT Ellison

Courtesy of my friends at FoxTale Book Shoppe near Atlanta, GA.

Via: JT Ellison